Sárospataki Füzetek 15. (2011)

2011 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK

Houwelingen, p. h. r. van

The book of revelation:

FULL OF EXPECTATION

I

ntroduction

The last book of the biblical canon is both fascinating and puzzling. It uncovers as much as it conceals. Is there any clue that could help us to interpret the book of Revelation? This article intends firsdy to explore the title as a textual key, suggesting a redemptive-historical perspective as the most appropriate approach to the book of Revelation as a whole, and secondly to grasp by means of this perspective the key motif of the future vindication of the Christian martyrs according to Revelation 20.

Many interesting introductory points will be left aside, such as the authorship, character and exact dating of the book of Revelation, because this article focuses particularly on several topics which are useful as a contribution to biblical theology. For our purpose, it is sufficient to observe that the author, who received a revelation during his exile at Patmos “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1: 9-10),1 calls himself ‘John’ twice, both at the beginning and the end of his book (1: 9; 22: 8); that Revelation is a prophetic-apocalyptic book; and that the circumstances of the seven churches in Asia, to wliich the book originally was addressed, reflects the situation of the second half of the first century AD.

1 Why, how, and when?

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw...” (Rev. 1: 1-2). Here we have the title of the last book of the biblical canon. What does this title tell us about the why, how, and when of the revelation which came to John on the island of Patmos? 1

1 In itself it is also possible that the Greek preposition 8iá with accusative indicates not the cause but the purpose of John’s stay at Patmos. In that case, he would have gone to the island in order to receive the revelation or to proclaim the gospel. Yet the phrase “Because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” occurs twice later on in a martyr’s context (Rev. 6: 9; 20: 4). And it was not unusual that the Roman authorities deported annoying persons to an island (‘relegatio ad insulam’). Moreover, there is also a strong exile-tradition around John at Patmos, referring to the stay of the prophet Ezekiel in the land of Babylon (Ian K. Boxall, “Exile, Prophet, Visionary. Ezekiel’s Influence on the Book of Revelation.” In The Book ofTL^ekiel and Its Influence, eds. Henk Jan de Jonge and Johannes Tromp [Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007], 147-164). Therefore, the traditional interpretation of banishment still seems preferable.

2011/1 SÁROSPATAKI FÜZETEK 11