Parody and Counterimaging in the Apocalypse

Lunceford

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781498275514
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

As numerous scholars have noted, The Revelation was first received orally. Directed not merely to the intellect, its author deliberately employed different literary schemes and devices to evoke the imagination of his audience. In this new study, Joe Lunceford examines the specific use of parody and counterimaging in The Revelation, arguing that this often overlooked device was an essential means by which its author engaged the imagination of his readers and hearers. In light of the best of recent scholarship on The Revelation, Lunceford examines over thirty uses of this device--most notably the contrasting images of the "evil trinity" of dragon, beast from the sea, and beast from the earth and the Holy Trinity.

Part One

Counterimaging

1

Kings of the Earth

. . . and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead (ones) and the ruler of the kings of the earth . . .

(Rev 1:5)

And the kings of the earth and the great ones and the military commanders and the wealthy ones and the strong ones; also every slave and free (person) hid themselves inside the caves and rocks of the mountains.

(Rev 6:15)

And one of the seven angels who had been holding the seven bowls came and spoke with me saying, Come—I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is sitting upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and those inhabiting the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her fornication.

(Rev 17:2)

And the woman which you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

(Rev 17:18)

. . . because she gave all the nations to drink from the wine of her fornication and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth were made wealthy from the power of her sensuality.

(Rev 18:3)

And the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived sensually with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning.

(Rev 18:9)

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their soldiers, gathered together to do battle with the one sitting upon the horse and his soldiers.

(Rev 19:19)

And the city has no need of the sun or moon to shine in it because the glory of God enlightens it and the Lamb is its lamp; and the nations will walk about by means of its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

(Rev 21:24)

In this chapter I will deviate from the general pattern I established in the Introduction, because in this case there is not only a positive and negative usage of the term but also one that is possibly neutral. Moreover, it is possible in this instance to keep the passages in the order in which they appear in Revelation without any shift between the positive and negative usages of the phrase.

In Rev 1:5 we confront a threefold designation of Jesus as the faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth. Only two individuals are designated as faithful witnesses in Revelation: Jesus and Antipas (Rev 2:13). Both witnessed through giving their lives, anticipating the later-developed usage of martys, or “witness,” as martyr in the contemporary sense. As Mounce has noted, “Throughout the Revelation the word is associated with the penalty of death which results from a firm and constant witness (cf. 2:13, 11:3, and 17:6).”1 And while Aune may be correct in asserting that the exalted Jesus is the one who guarantees the truth of the revelation to John rather than the human Jesus,2 I would respond that any absolute separation of the two may be true for such scholars as Bultmann but not for the Christian Testament. The exalted Jesus is the faithful witness because the historical Jesus witnessed to the point of giving his life.3

As for the second designation, firstborn from the dead, Sweet points out that for Jews who believed in resurrection, the resurrection was a corporate event rather than individual resuscitation. Hence Jesus’s resurrection would have been understood by his first followers—all Jews—as proleptic of the general resurrection.4 This understanding is probably in accord with Paul’s reference to Jesus as the “firstfruits” of resurrection (1 Cor 15:20, 23).

The third designation, ruler of the kings of the earth, will be the particular focus of this study. Krodel is not far wide of the mark in asserting that the basic issue of Revelation turns on the question of the identity of the true ruler of this world and the proper object of worship.5 The title “ruler of the kings of the earth” was claimed by Roman emperors, but John is juxtaposing Jesus as the true ruler of the kings of the earth over against the false claims of Rome.6 This title contains a rather obvious allusion to Ps 89:27 (LXX 88:28). The larger context of that psalm is an exposition of God’s promise to establish the seed of David in perpetuity. The Seer used the words of this psalm to express the developing understanding of Jesus’s identity.7 John, along with early Christian tradition in general, understood Jesus to be the ultimate fulfillment of the promises made to David.

The root of the word archōn, translated “ruler” in this passage, may mean either “to rule” or “to begin.”8 Both “have preeminence over” and “source” lie within the range of usages of this word. While the former is probably intended here, we should not overlook the possibility that the Seer is presenting the exalted Jesus as the source of all human kingship. This usage would agree with the understanding of Paul (Rom 13:1–4) and the author of 1 Peter (1 Pet 2:13–14).

Crucial to this study is the determination as to whether “kings of the earth” is a positive or negative category. As Beale points out, and exposition of the following passages will confirm, the predominant use of the term in Revelation is negative. Beale is probably correct in claiming that this passage does not present Jesus as ruling over his redeemed people but over defeated enemies.9 ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part One: Counterimaging
• Part Two: Parody
• Conclusion
• Bibliography