In this collection of essays, Adela Yarbro-Collins expertly illustrates a wide variety of scholarly methods for interpreting apocalypticism. These include history-of-religion, social-historical, and theological approaches as well as genre studies and rhetorical criticism, especially the device of vivid description (ekphrasis).
In this volume of collected essays, Adela Yarbro Collins provides a wide-reaching insight into her work on the Apocalypse that spanned her professional career from 1973 to 2021. Emphasizing the variety in form and content of the early and late antique Christian apocalypses within the genre, she focusses on the apocalyptic Son of Man sayings in the Synoptic Gospels and raises questions about the impact of Revelation on its ancient and modern audiences regarding ethical norms and the problem of violence. Also examined in detail are a range of themes in the Apocalypse, feminine symbolism, the role of the city of Pergamon in the work, its use of vivid description (ekphrasis), its millennial themes, portraits of rulers, and time and history, especially the author's contemporary history. The collection is rounded off with a discussion of the challenge of apocalypticism to the project of creating a New Testament theology.
Table of contents:
Introduction
A. Genre, Types, and Topics of Early Christian and Related Apocalyptic Literature
A.1. Early Christian Apocalyptic Literature
A.2. Journeys to the Upper and Outer Regions of the World
A.3 The Dream of a New Jerusalem at Qumran
B. The Apocalypse in Its Social Setting
B.1. Persecution and Vengeance in the Book of Revelation
B.2. Insiders and Outsiders in the Book of Revelation and Its Social Context
C. Themes in the Apocalypse
C.1. Feminine Symbolism in the Book of Revelation
C.2. Pergamon in Early Christian Literature
C.3. The Apocalyptic Ekphrasis
C.4 The Apocalypse of John and Its Millennial Themes
C.5 Portraits of Rulers in the Book of Revelation
C.6 Time and History: The Use of the Past and the Present in the Book of Revelation
D. Christian Son of Man Sayings
D.1. The Son of Man Sayings in the Sayings Source
D.2. The Apocalyptic Son of Man Sayings
E. The Potential Impact of Revelation Today
E.1. Vilification and Self-Definition in the Book of Revelation
E.2. Apocalypticism and New Testament Theology
