Apocalypses

Introduction to Apocalypses

Non-scholarly usage

• The Apocalypse = The Apocalypse of John = The Book of Revelation
• Apocalypse = the catastrophic end of all things
  • The end of the world, or at least the unraveling of someone’s world
  • The movie, “Apocalypse Now;” “Snow-pocalypse”
• Apocalyptic = dark, bizarre, violent, similar in some way to the Apocalypse of John
• Apocalyptic (noun) = the phenomenon of all things related to apocalypses

Three distinct terms

• Apocalypse (noun) = a type of literature
• Apocalyptic (adjective) = characteristic of apocalypses
  • Apocalyptic worldview = the set of ideas typically found in apocalypses
• Apocalypticism = a religio-social phenomenon
  • A group or groups of people whose beliefs are consistent with the apocalypses
  • Debate whether an organized group existed, or just a vague movement or trend

Apocalypse (literary genre)

• “Apocalypse” is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework,
• in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both
• temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and
• spatial insofar as it involves another, supernatural world. (from Semeia 14, 1979)

The apocalyptic worldview

• The set of ideas typically implicit in the use of the literary genre.
  • The ideas can be expressed without the literary genre.
• Revelation: in order to understand the visible realm one must seek secret knowledge from heaven. Seen from a bird’s-eye (heaven’s-eye) perspective, the visible, present world looks different.
• Spatial axis: the visible world is determined by the actions of invisible agents (angels, demons). Besides the visible world, there are invisible places of reward and punishment (heaven and hell).
• Temporal axis: the present world will soon be overturned. The broad pattern of history has been an exponential decline, but God will soon (at an appointed time) intervene to restore or replace the entire cosmos.

Enoch and the books attributed to him

Recommended: If you lack confidence when I talk about major figures and events such as creation, Eden, Adam, Eve, Noah, and the flood read Genesis 1-11 (LINK)

Enoch

• Seventh generation from first human (Adam)
• Roots in Genesis 5:23–24

  The whole lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years. Then Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer here, for God took him.

• Walked with God / toured with angels
• Did not die
• Noah’s great-grandfather, precedes the flood

The flood and justice

• God would not kill so many people unjustly
• Sinners were warned
• Enoch the scribe (warner, attorney, witness, record keeper)
• Enoch’s apocalypses view the present as the greatest wickedness since before the flood
• The flood is model for final judgment

The Watchers, Sons of God

• Genesis 6:1–4
  1. When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them,
  2. the sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took as many women as they wanted.
  3. …
  4. At that time the Nephilim [fallen ones] appeared on earth (as well as later), after the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.
• Rebellion against God
• Angelic Origin of Evil
  • Demons
  • Explanation of flood
  • Human agency diminished

The Books of 1 Enoch in order of composition

• Astronomical Book, chapters 72-82
• Book of the Watchers, chapters 1-36
• Dream Visions, chapters 83-90 (we will read)
  • First dream vision, chapters 83-84
  • Second dream vision, Animal Apocalypse, chapters 85-90
• Epistle of Enoch, chapters 91-105
  • Narrative Bridge and Introduction, chapters 91-92
  • Apocalypse of Weeks, chapters 93, 91
  • Epistle Proper, chapters 94-105
• Parables, chapters 37-71

Enoch’s First Dream Vision

Prepare 1 Enoch 83–84 (pp. 116–119) (HTML or PDF)

Revelatory framework

• Explicit audiences
• Implicit audiences
• Scribalism
• Chastity?
• Dreams
• Wisdom and hidden things

Spatial axis

• Angelic origin of evil
• Judgment of whole cosmos, not just local
• Astronomy
• Portrayal of God: political, royal, judge
• Remnant, sectarianism

Temporal axis

• Judgment day(s)
• The end of the world

For next time: allegorical key to the Animal Apocalypse

• Owner/Lord of the sheep = God
• Stars = watchers
• White men = archangels
• Shepherds = angels
• Cattle = first humans
• Sheep (lambs, rams) = Jews
• All other species = different nations
• House and tower = temple
• Color indicates quality
• Blindness = lack of wisdom
• Open eyes = gain wisdom
• Horn = military strength

The Animal Apocalypse, explaining the present

Skim 1 Enoch 85–89; read carefully 90:1–19

Origin and explanation of evil (spatial axis)

• NOT Adam and Eve (85:3)
• The watchers (86:1-6)
• The seventy shepherds (89:59-60)
• The record-keeper (89:61-64)
• God (89:70-71; 76-77)

The present

• View of the present world
  • Deferred judgment
  • The worst time in all of history
  • Ruled by corrupt angels
• View of Gentiles, 90:4
• View of bad Jews, 90:7, 16
• View of good Jews, 90:6, 9
• Expected action, 90:10, 11, 13
• Expected result
  • Angelic intervention, 90:14
  • Divine intervention, 90:18
  • Military victory, 90:19
• Date of composition = shift from description to prediction

The Animal Apocalypse, expectations for the future

Prepare 1 Enoch 90:20–42

The future judgment

• Foreigners: 90:18–19
• Angels: 90:21–26
• Other Jews: 90:26-27
• The temple: 90:28
• Thematic imagery: thrones, books, unsealing, good and bad angels, places of judgment, day of judgment

The future restoration

• Hopes for the temple, 90:29
• Hopes for the Jewish people, 90:30, 32–36 (Perhaps hint of resurrection in 90:33)
• Hopes for the Gentiles
  • 90:33 if emendation is wrong
  • 90:37-38, national divisions erased
  • Compare 1 Macc 1:11–15
• The first white bull with black horns

Narrative framework

• Characteristic of apocalypses to narrate revelation and response
• Hidden things revealed in dreams
• History predetermined (or at least foreseen)

The Apocalypse of Weeks

Prepare 1 Enoch 93:1–91:17 (pp. 139-142)

Narrative framework

• Audience
• View of revelation
• Spatial axis
• Scribalism

Review of the past

• History begins righteous
• The first end
• Election and pruning the plant
• Positive view of first temple, second temple not acknowledged
• Decline of history continues

The present

• Worst generation, ever
• Sectarian election
• Sevenfold wisdom
• Underdog resistance movement.

The future

• Week 8, Sword, judgment against humans, Temple (in Israel)
• Week 9, Universal Law, unification (all earth)
• Week 10, Judgment of cosmos, new heaven (all cosmos)

Narrative Bridge, messiahs

Prepare 1 Enoch 91:1–92:5 (pp. 136–138)

Narrative Bridge

• Audience: Testimony to all brothers forever = all nations
  • Everyone was warned before the flood
• Temporal axis
  • Predetermined history, 91:1
  • First wickedness and judgment, 91:5
  • Second wickedness and judgment, 91:6–9
• Human Agency

Epistle Intro

• Scribalism
• Audience: explicitly to the last generations
• Temporal axis: appointed days

Messiahs

• A single human designated by God to act on God’s behalf, especially in an eschatological context
• Originally the Davidic king was the anointed one (= messiah, = Christ)
• Kings were referred to as son of God (figuratively, adopted, or literal)
• Developed into supernatural Messiah in the absence of the monarchy
• The high priest was also anointed, some texts anticipate a restored high priesthood rather than a restored monarchy
• The New Testament and early Christian sources portray Jews at the time of Jesus as expecting a Davidic Messiah to fulfill the scriptures
• The righteous one in 92:3
• The white bull in AA 90:37
• The righteous one in 91:10

Test

• Study guide (PDF)