Apocalypse When?. Jerry L. Sumney

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СКАЧАТЬ of situation can be said to produce apocalyptic, it may be broadly characterized as crisis literature. It developed when communities were under great stress, stress that threatened their belief in the power, goodness, and justice of God. Sometimes this was a national crisis, other times it was simply a crisis for the group. The best terms to describe the situations in which apocalyptic thought did (and does) develop are relative deprivation and cognitive dissonance. In a situation that involves relative deprivation, the group is deprived of some status, position, authority, or other value that they believe they should have but do not, in fact, possess. So a comparatively well-off group could develop an apocalyptic mind-set if they were convinced they were being deprived of something of significant value because of their religious beliefs. This experience of opposition from those outside the group can arise from circumstances that are not historically significant but nevertheless have a great impact on the group affected. It is the experience of oppression that is important for the development of apocalyptic thought, not the historical significance of what causes the group to feel this way.

      The term cognitive dissonance may also be appropriately applied to many such situations. This expression describes a situation in which there is significant disparity between what one thinks and what one experiences. Again, this does not have to be a circumstance that has a noticeable effect on world or even local history; it simply involves a perceived great difference between what one expects and thinks ought to be and what is felt to be the reality. In our cases, those who believe they are God’s people expect this identity to enhance their status but just the opposite seems to be happening. For the early church, becoming a member of the movement meant a person had begun to worship the only true God. Members gave up participation in other cults to be associated with this God. But instead of this leading to blessings and good fortune, it led to disadvantage and persecution. Such experiences could be interpreted as evidence that they had made the wrong choice. Apocalyptic thought tries to reconcile who the people of God know themselves to be and what they think that identity means with the ways they perceive their existence at that moment in time.

      Whether seen more as cognitive dissonance or relative deprivation, apocalyptic develops in situations in which a group feels deprived and sees the world to be in a crisis. Things are not what they should be or, more importantly, what God wants them to be. Since the group is powerless to change the situation, the only solution is an act of God, an act in which God destroys the current world order and establishes an order in which justice and goodness are dominant.

      The type of situation described here as that which provides fertile ground for the seeds of apocalyptic to grow was present in the second century BCE in Palestine. As the discussion of the historical context of Daniel in chapter three will show, this was a period in which people were persecuted and killed precisely because they were remaining faithful to God. This seems to be the moment when the various elements of the mix came together to form what we know as apocalyptic. It is at this point that belief in judgment after death and in the resurrection of the righteous take hold within Judaism. By this moment in history the Jews have had extensive exposure to Persian and Greek ideas and they have had to begin to reinterpret the messages of the prophets because their hopes for national prominence had not materialized. Thus, apocalyptic thought comes to prominence in the desperate struggle in Judea, probably between 200 and 150 BCE.

      Some Important Aspects of Apocalyptic Thought

      It will help us understand apocalyptic texts if we know something about how most apocalyptic writers think about God, the nature of humanity, and ethics. These are among some of the most important issues that these writings address.

      The nature of God in apocalyptic thought

      The topic of the nature of God is not a common one in apocalyptic writings, but some characteristics of God stand out as very important for this way of thinking. This topic is also important because maintaining belief in God is one of the primary functions of apocalyptic thought. As a means to help us understand apocalyptic, we will focus our attention on three other matters: God’s transcendence, sovereignty, and justice.

      All apocalyptic writers agree that God is personal, powerful, and holy, but there is a debate among scholars over whether apocalyptic thought reflects a view of God that sees God as increasingly transcendent and so less immanent. Some scholars see the rise of a developed angelology (the study of angels and ranks of angels) as a sign that God is no longer as accessible as God had been when the prophets spoke of God as a parent. In some apocalyptic writings, angels seem to be the link between God and the world; occasionally angels even appear as mediators between God and people who pray.

However, in some of these same writings (e.g., 1 Enoch3) we find immediate acts of God performed with no mediation. Additionally, in books like Daniel the characters obviously have direct access to God in prayer and God acts directly throughout the stories. Other apocalyptic writings also teach that God acts directly among humans (e.g., 2 Esdras). What we find, then, is that apocalyptic works do not all agree on this matter, but those who think God is accessible only through intermediaries are a distinct minority. Furthermore, a developed angelology does not necessarily mean that God is thought to be distant. The War Scroll from Qumran has an extensively developed angelology, but it also has God “in our midst” in the final battle. What all of these apocalyptic writers do agree on is that God must be separated from the evil in the world. All of them see God’s holiness as inviolable. Thus, while God may be in direct contact with the world, God does not come into contact with evil.

      Belief in the sovereignty of God is essential for apocalyptic. One of the main points of apocalyptic writings is to assure the readers that, in spite of evidence to the contrary, God is sovereign. We see this in the confidence these writers have that the plan of God is moving forward. It is further demonstrated in the extensive ex eventu prophecy found in some apocalyptic writings. These elements of apocalyptic discourse are evidence for a historical determinism. They show that these writers believe that history, at least its main outline and final outcome, has been ordained and arranged by God. The certainty of God’s final victory is central to apocalyptic thought. This theme stands out especially clearly in Daniel. In the story in which Nebuchadnezzar becomes like an animal, Daniel declares to the king three times (4:17, 25, 26) that God is sovereign, and the story ends with Nebuchadnezzar acknowledging this very point (4:34). God’s sovereignty is also a theme which runs through all the visions of Daniel 7.

      This point is so important in apocalyptic writings because the writers and the readers seem to be living in a world that is ruled by evil, a world in which God is not sovereign. In fact, most apocalyptic thinkers are convinced that the world is not currently ruled by God. This is certainly the viewpoint of the New Testament writers. Though most Christians today are used to thinking that God is in control of our lives and our world, apocalypticists were (and are) convinced that this was not the case. They emphasize that the current domination of the world by evil is temporary. They assert that even though the world is presently ruled by the forces of evil, the true sovereign of the entire cosmos will soon act. The God who is the ultimate King will reclaim what rightfully belongs to God and will punish the usurpers along with their accomplices and will reward those who have been faithful to God. Without such a belief in the sovereignty of God, apocalyptic faith—indeed any Christian faith—cannot exist.

      Apocalypticists are also convinced that God is just. Belief in the justice of God is another primary motivation for apocalyptic thought. That the world is ruled by evil and that the righteous are those who suffer most are only problems if one believes God is just. So apocalyptic seeks ways to show that God’s justice will be exercised and will be the final word. This belief is manifested in the development of the ideas of judgment after death and of the resurrection.

      Judgment is a central characteristic of apocalyptic thought. At the heart of all apocalyptic speculation about judgment is the conviction that God will not let God’s people be destroyed by their enemies. Judgment is necessarily related to their belief in the justice of God, because for justice to reign, evil must be punished and good must be rewarded (see 1 Enoch 102:1; 103:18). This СКАЧАТЬ