HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and…
Loading...

The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and Empire (edition 1997)

by Leonard L. Thompson (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
631414,365 (3.33)None
As the author states, his "interest in the book of Revelation is limited to the situation in which it was first read and written" (p.3).

Thompson basically contends that John did not write his revelation in a time of crisis, that is, in the midst of intense persecution at the instigation of Domitian and covering the whole of the Roman empire, and that it was directed and limited to those "Christians who were living in roughly the same geographical zone and at the same time as John," that is, the seven Churches mentioned in the letter (p.5). He finds evidence that Domitian was not as cruel a tyrant as claimed by the early Church Fathers but rather that he neither demanded divine titles for himself from others nor was a "mad tyrant seeking divinization."

Thompson suggests from the evidence he gathers that "overt conflict between Christians and their non-Christian neighbors requiring official, legal acton was rare: 'In most areas of the Roman Empire Christians lived quietly and peaceably among their neighbors, conducting their affairs without disturbance'...On the face of it, the Book of Revelation presents a minority report on how Christians relate to the larger Roman society. The seer is apparently advocating attitudes and styles of life not compatible with how most Christians were living in the cities of Asia" (p.132). Thompson suggests that the churches mentioned in Revelation only experienced persecution that was "occasional and selective, and that the chief dangers were," not persecution, but "complacency and compromise" (p.16).

The crisis, Thompson contends, is found within the letter itself and not in the real life situation of Christians at the time of the writing of Revelation, and that most Christians living in urban surroundings were fairly successful and got along well with their neighbors.

His "thesis" is that Christians lived stable and peaceful live within the Empire; the "crisis," that is the persecution envisioned by most interpreter's of the book of Revelation, "is characteristic of the genre" as an apocalypse and "not of political circumstances occasioning the genre...Apocalypses are not always occasioned by great political and social crises, nor do political crises always result in an apocalyptic response. The presence of the theme" in Revelation "tells us nothing about the social and political situation" (p.175). That is, he further contends, the "elements in the Book of Revelation do not point to serious conflicts between Christians and the politics of urban Asia; they point to an apocalyptic point of view towards society" (ibid.). "John encourages his audience to see themselves in conflict with society; such conflict is part of his vision of the world" (p.174).

Thompson's "Revelation" is intriguing, illuminating, compelling, and convincing. I recommend this book to anyone who assumes, as I have, the normal interpretation of the Book of Revelation as inspired and written for Christians enduring widespread and politically motivated persecution. It will cause you to, at least, be open to the possibility of a wholly different social atmosphere and the circumstances within which John wrote Revelation, and to view it in different light that reflects the intensity of the seer's religious belief rather than the intensity of the social and political climate during the time of its writing.

Reading this book makes me wonder and question if John's Revelation had such an impact on the Christian community as to delay its absorption into the Roman Empire for 300 years where it became the ruling political power as in Constantine's era and, thereby, having become so worldly, rich, and powerful, lost it's unique influence as the true people of the true God. ( )
  atdCross | Nov 25, 2018 |
As the author states, his "interest in the book of Revelation is limited to the situation in which it was first read and written" (p.3).

Thompson basically contends that John did not write his revelation in a time of crisis, that is, in the midst of intense persecution at the instigation of Domitian and covering the whole of the Roman empire, and that it was directed and limited to those "Christians who were living in roughly the same geographical zone and at the same time as John," that is, the seven Churches mentioned in the letter (p.5). He finds evidence that Domitian was not as cruel a tyrant as claimed by the early Church Fathers but rather that he neither demanded divine titles for himself from others nor was a "mad tyrant seeking divinization."

Thompson suggests from the evidence he gathers that "overt conflict between Christians and their non-Christian neighbors requiring official, legal acton was rare: 'In most areas of the Roman Empire Christians lived quietly and peaceably among their neighbors, conducting their affairs without disturbance'...On the face of it, the Book of Revelation presents a minority report on how Christians relate to the larger Roman society. The seer is apparently advocating attitudes and styles of life not compatible with how most Christians were living in the cities of Asia" (p.132). Thompson suggests that the churches mentioned in Revelation only experienced persecution that was "occasional and selective, and that the chief dangers were," not persecution, but "complacency and compromise" (p.16).

The crisis, Thompson contends, is found within the letter itself and not in the real life situation of Christians at the time of the writing of Revelation, and that most Christians living in urban surroundings were fairly successful and got along well with their neighbors.

His "thesis" is that Christians lived stable and peaceful live within the Empire; the "crisis," that is the persecution envisioned by most interpreter's of the book of Revelation, "is characteristic of the genre" as an apocalypse and "not of political circumstances occasioning the genre...Apocalypses are not always occasioned by great political and social crises, nor do political crises always result in an apocalyptic response. The presence of the theme" in Revelation "tells us nothing about the social and political situation" (p.175). That is, he further contends, the "elements in the Book of Revelation do not point to serious conflicts between Christians and the politics of urban Asia; they point to an apocalyptic point of view towards society" (ibid.). "John encourages his audience to see themselves in conflict with society; such conflict is part of his vision of the world" (p.174).

Thompson's "Revelation" is intriguing, illuminating, compelling, and convincing. I recommend this book to anyone who assumes, as I have, the normal interpretation of the Book of Revelation as inspired and written for Christians enduring widespread and politically motivated persecution. It will cause you to, at least, be open to the possibility of a wholly different social atmosphere and the circumstances within which John wrote Revelation, and to view it in different light that reflects the intensity of the seer's religious belief rather than the intensity of the social and political climate during the time of its writing.

Reading this book makes me wonder and question if John's Revelation had such an impact on the Christian community as to delay its absorption into the Roman Empire for 300 years where it became the ruling political power as in Constantine's era and, thereby, having become so worldly, rich, and powerful, lost it's unique influence as the true people of the true God. ( )
  atdCross | Nov 25, 2018 |

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.33)
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3 2
3.5
4 1
4.5
5

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,222,787 books! | Top bar: Always visible