THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY

APOCALYPTICISM Part I

DISPENSATIONAL INTERPRETERS often categorize various prophetic books of the bible, such as Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation, as “apocalyptics literature”. In doing so these interpreters simply means that these books unveil or disclose God’s future prophetic programs. The Greek word apokalypsis simply means to unveil or disclose.

A NEW MEANING

However, some recent evangelical interpreters have began to vest this term with a new meaning. When they use the term “apocalyptic literature”, they are equating the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation with a host of non canonical, extra-biblical writings that flourished from the intertestamental period into the Second Century A.D. Examples include Enoch, Apocalypse of Baruch, Jubilees, Assumptions of Moses, Psalm of Solomon, Testament of the Twelve Patriarch, and the Sibylline Oracles. These writing possess a common cluster of attributes.Such attributes includes the extensive use of symbolism, vision as the major means of revelation, angelic guides, activity of angels and demons, focus on the end of the current age and the inauguration of the age to come, urges expectation of the end of earthly conditions in the immediate future, the end as a cosmic catastrophe, new salvation and paradise, manifestation of the Kingdom of god, a mediator with royal functions, dualism of God and Satan, spiritual order determining the flow of history,pessimism about man’s ability to change the course of events, periodization and determinism of human history, other worldly journeys, and a final showdown between good and evil ( Gregg, pp. 10-12;Murphy,pp. 130-33). Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation share some of these characteristics—- especially the book of Revelation, which was composed about the same time as the non-canonical apocalyptic writings. How ever, categorizing Revelation with non-canonical apocalyptic writings significantly challenges the traditional dispensational interpretation of Revelation and alters the hermeneutical principles used to interpret the book.

LANGUAGE OF APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

For example, the literal approach that one uses when interpreting scriptures is difficult to apply to noncanonical apocalyptic writings. Gregg(p.11) contends that although taking the text literally, unless it yield an absurd result is a good rule of thumb to follow when dealing with others types of biblical material,this approach does not work in the case of apocalyptic literature where literalism is the exception and symbolism is the norm. Apocalyptic writings cannot be interpreted literally because they represent crisis literature ( Collins, p.38). In order to be highlight the severity of crisis, the apocalyptist spoke in exaggerated terms. Consider this statement: “My world has come to and end because my girlfriend has broken up with me.” The world is obviously not literally coming to and end. Rather, the heightened language communicates the significance of a personal event. If John used the same methodology in Revelation, then statements such as half of the worlds population being destroyed ( Revelation 6:8; 9:15) and the greatest earthquake in human history ( Revelation 16:18) can not be construed literally. Rather, they similarly represent heightened language communicating a past event that the people of God experienced, such as oppression by Jerusalem or Rome. Understanding Revelation in such hyperbolic terms opens the possibility that John Simply described a localized historical phenomenon with global language. This mind-set opens the door to historicism and peterism. Also, apocalyptists sometimes used symbolic language to disguise the entity that was oppressing them. They sought to give hope to the oppressed people of God by predicting the the cataclysmic destruction of their enemies. However, because of fear of retaliation, the apocalyptist was not free to identify the oppressor.