Sárospataki Füzetek 15. (2011)
2011 / 4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK
Houwelingen, P. H. R. van Paradise Motifs in the Book of Revelation I ntroduction Among Christians, the books of Genesis and Revelation are generally referred to as the first and the last books of the Bible. And that is quite true, when one considers the position these two books have been given in the Bible: it begins with Genesis, and it concludes with Revelation. It is just as true when one pays attention to the themes that are central to these books: the beginning and the end of the present world order. In regard to their age, however, it is not so simple. The debate is still ongoing. In the case of Genesis, it depends on whether Moses is to be seen as its main author. If so, then Genesis could be regarded as the oldest book of the Old Testament; but even then, the book of Job appears to be very old according to some scholars. In the case of Revelation, this book is generally taken to be the most recent New Testament book, because of all the future-oriented visions it contains. However, the early tradition needs to be taken into account: this holds that John, after his exile on Patmos — where he saw these visions — was released again, and went to live in Ephesus. There, at a very old age, the aposde wrote his gospel.1 In that case, not Revelation but the gospel of John ought to be regarded, historically, as the last book of the Bible. For an unsuspecting reader of Scripture, that would be a strange thought: the Bible beginning with the book of Job and ending with the gospel of John... Nevertheless, if we take our starting point in the canon as it has been handed down to us, then Genesis is indeed the first book of the Bible, and Revelation its last. The biblical canon forms an integrated whole, for there is a clear connection between these two books. More precisely: the beginning of Genesis, the account of the creation of heaven and earth, is linked to the end of Revelation, which presents us with the prospect of a new heaven and a new earth. The final part of Revelation has been called the capstone of the Christian Bible, and rightly so.1 2 The grand narrative of God encompasses the past, the present and the future, from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. 1 Eusebius, Church History III 18,1. The apostolic authorship of Revelation is disputed, but that makes no difference to the argument of this article. The author communicates his own authority in his work, since he presents himself unambiguously in the role of a Christian prophet (David A. de Silva, Seeing Things John’s Way. The Rhetoric of the Book of Revelation [Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009], 33). In the remainder of this article, simply the name ‘John’ will be used, as he calls himself in Rev. 1:9 and 22:8. 2 Thomas Hieke & Tobias Nicklas, "Die Worte der Prophetie dieses Buches”. Offenbarung 22,6-21 als Schlussstein der christlichen Bibel Alten und Neuen Testaments gelesen (Neukirchen/Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 2003). 2011/4 SÁROSPATAKI FÜZETEK 11
