A Letter to Explain the Subtleties of Revelations - Essay Example

Prof’s A Letter to Explain the Subtleties of Revelations Dear Mom, I know you have recently been watching a lot of television, especially preachers who insist that the end of humanity is coming very soon, based on prophesy and interpretations of the Book of Revelations in the Bible. I think before you go too far in planning for the imminent destruction of all of mankind, I could probably give you a few words to calm your nerves, based on readings I have done and a more thorough understanding I have gained about the historical background surrounding this work, and its possible meaning both as a work of cultural production and as a component of the New Testiment. Probably the first thing that it is important to understand is that Revelations is grounded firmly in the time of its writing – that is, the first century after the death of Christ, and it can take on a completely new meaning when looked at under that light. Probably the first thing that it is important to understand is that Revelations is not at all unique, but rather part of a “literary tradition” of apocalyptic literature that was flourishing in the first century (Kirsch 38). This literary tradition was not just Christian, but also Jewish, and in fact expanded to many other groups, including “shamans” and other religious leaders (38). Many of these works take the form of visions granted by a divine being, said to show the end times and to warn people of the coming apocalypse, so in this way too is the Book of Revelations part of a broad tradition (103). But, I can imagine you saying, this is part of the bible, not just some raving of a Shaman. The fact remains, however, that there was a great amount of apocalyptic literature that was coming in and out of popularity during this era, and the decision of what would become canonical (or part of the Bible) and what would become apocryphal (not part of the Bible) would be made only centuries later and through an incredibly complex and fraught political process. So, in some ways, if you are worried about the end of the world as depicted in revelations, you also have to be worried about the end of the world depicted in a wide variety of other literature in this genre. So now that we have understood a little bit about the cultural and literary context that Revelations came from, it is important to delve into the historical realities that surrounded its creation, which have a palpable impact on one’s understanding of it once one is aware that the historical context exists. The first century after Christ’s death was an incredibly uproarious time religiously, and Christianity is in fact part of that uproar. During this time period there was widespread social unrest, especially in Judea, because of the relatively recent conquest of the area by the Roman Empire (45). This was simply the latest in a long line of conquests and enslavements that Jews (at this period Christians might be better understood as a sect of Judaism rather than as an independent religion) had suffered, which was made especially dire by the destruction of the Second Temple. These times of conquest and upheaval have always been accompanied by the emergence of apocalyptic literature (48), which serves several purposes. One is to provide hope and spirit to the people suffering – the end of the world necessarily means the prevailing of the righteous at the hands of the evil, which is an especially appealing idea to a downtrodden people. Another is to solidify the base of believers, whose beliefs might be weakened or who might be tempted to stray from the teachings of their religion based on the persecution that they suffer at the hands of the conquering force. So along with being part of line of literary traditions of apocalyptic literature, Revelations is also a fairly common response to political upheaval. One of the most commonly known prophesises in revelations, for instance, is the “mark” or “seal” of the devil (Revelations 13:16) that will become spread widely during the end times, and will mark people who have fallen to the devil based on their vile need to continue in the process of buying and selling (13:17). The inclusion of this passage might not make very much sense, until one understands the historical background. As mentioned before, Judea was being controlled by a foreign Roman government, one of whose principle attributes was rampant commercialism of society. This description of “marks” of the devil makes much more sense when one understands that Roman Emperors were stamped onto the coins that were traded, usually also with a short line signifying their supposedly divine status (Kirsch 120). Tellingly, the word used in Revelations that is translated as “mark” also had a technical meaning of the image stamped on to a coin (120). So suddenly, upon understanding the historical background, a bizarre tale of a false god marking and controlling people through commerce becomes understandable – the Roman Emperor is the false god, and he pulls people away from true Christianity through enslaving them in the “evils of Greco-Roman society” (83), especially commerce. Finally, it is important to recognize that many of the moral panics represented in Revelations are timeless. Revelations shows significant discomfort with free sexuality, as portrayed through the Whore of Babylon, probably the primary villain of the work (Kirsch 39), and also with commerce. These are common societal anxieties, and it should not be surprising that they ring true today just as they did two thousand years ago – no society will probably ever be completely comfortable with money and sex. This does not mean the end times are just around the corner any more than it did when this was written millennia ago, just that some fundamental aspects of society and psychology still ring true. I hope this has calmed your mind, Read More