REVELATION. 



A. D. 93-96) is so strong that Harnack is compelled to 

 resort to the theory of a later revision. But these 

 arguments are open to objections : (1) The reference 

 to Jerusalem must be explained in a literal sense, if it 

 points to the city as still standing, yet _the rest of the 

 book can scarcely be interpreted in this way. More- 

 over, it is difficult to account for the absence of specific 

 reference to the impending destruction of that city in 

 a professedly prophetic book, if that book were writ- 

 ten before the catastrophe, which Christ himself had 

 plainly predicted. (2) The interpretation of xiii. 13, 

 as referring to Nero, as well as the assumed reference 

 to the reigning emperor in xvii. 7-12, cannot be 

 deemed conclusive. It is not agreed who this 

 emperor was ; it is implied that the ideal date of the 

 vision and the actual date of the book coincide, an ut- 

 terly unwarranted assumption. Furthermore, the 

 notion that the Antichrist of the Apocalypse is Nero 

 come to life is often linked with this argument. That 

 notion belittles the book and virtually makes the 

 author a superstitions dreamer, a retailer of heathen 

 fables. Yet many interpreters who reject all this hold 

 that the early date is to be preferred as affording a 

 better theory of interpretation, namely, one that- finds 

 the visions, in part at least, fulfilled in the first cen- 

 tury. (3) The difference in style between the Apoca- 

 lypse and the Fourth Gospel can be explained by the 

 difference of the character of the works. The style of 

 the Apocalypse is not that of one unfamiliar with 

 Greek, but rather of one choosing intelligently the 

 peculiarities of language that he employs. As the 

 current of opinion now sets strongly in favor of the 

 earlier date, it is well to note some positive reasons in 

 favor of the " traditional^" view. The letters to the 

 seven churches of Asia indicate an intimate relation 

 with those churches. These churches were mainly 

 founded by Paul, and up to A. D. 63 there is no hint 

 of the presence of the apostle John in that region. 

 He seems to have gone there to escape the impending 



calamities in Judea. Some time would be required 



361 



the channel ofprophetic revelation to the J^fe surviv- 

 ing apostle. Those who believe in the Christ of the 

 Gospels will find it difficult to believe that this apostle 

 invented this Apocalyptic scenery to give expres- 

 sion to his own personal hopes. Regarding it as a 

 prophecy, which it claims to be (i. 1 , 2), we need not, 

 however, regard it as a prediction of chronological de- 

 tails. It certainly sets forth in outline a conflict 

 between Christ (and his people) and the enemy, but 

 the constant recurrence of the number seven (the 

 number of perfection) seems to indicate that this con- 

 flict extends over the entire period of the church mili- 

 tant, whether the various details are given in chrono- 

 logical sequence or not. (See further under 5.) It is 

 therefore a book for all ages, but especially full of hope 

 for the persecuted church. 



The plan of the Apocalypse is not distinctly marked 

 throughout, but some of the divisions are very 

 obvious. The number seven is conspicuous ; hence 

 the effort has been made to find seven distinct visions, 

 each seven-fold in its details. But it is difficult to 

 verify this theory of the arrangement. After a pro- 

 logue (i. 1-8) we find seven epistles (i. 9-iii. 22) ; 

 then comes the prophetical portion, as it is termed. 

 Here a series of seven visions may be accepted, but 

 there are episodes, and the events signified in one 

 vision seem to be symbolized in a succeeding one. (1) 

 The prelude or opening vision in heaven, iv.-v. (2) 

 The seven seals, yi.-viii. 1. (3) The seven trumpets 

 of judgment, viii. 2-xi. 19. (4) The seven mystic 

 figures (the woman, her enemies, the Lamb, the three 

 angels of judgment), xii. 1-xiv. 20. (5) The seven 

 bowls of wrath, xv. 1-xvi. 20. (6) The seven-fold 

 judgment upon Babylon, xvii. 1-xix. 20. (7) The 

 final triumph, xix. 11-xxii. 5. An epilogue follows 

 in xxii. 6-21. 



Some take the epistolary portion as Ihe first in the 

 series of seven visions, and join (1) and (2), while other 

 variations are advocated by other 



interpreters. It 



should be noted that the numbers four, three, and 



for the establishment of the relations indicated by the | twelve are also used with symbolical significance, 

 epistles in the Apocalypse. Moreover, these seven The many correspondences between the sets of seven 

 churches are taken as representing the whole church ; symbols have suggested the view that the visions, 



a fact that seems inconsistent 

 before Jerusalem had fallen. 



with the earlier date, 

 Other considerations 



from internal grounds tend to confirm the well-at- 

 tested date in the reign of Domitian. 



3. Tlit Cunonicity of tJie Apocalypse. The book 

 seems to have been well-nigh universally accepted in 

 the second century. The extravagances of some in- 

 terpreters led to some doubts respecting its authority, 

 which find expression in Eusebius and other writers. 

 But Eusebius himself did not reject it. In the fourth 

 century these doubts were dispelled, and since that 

 time the book has been recognized well-nigh univer- 

 sally, though for a long time ignored in the Eastern 

 church . 



4. Design and Contents of tlie Apocalypse. We 

 may dismiss at once the notion that the book is a 

 Jewish-Christian polemic against Paul and the whole 

 Tubingen theory respecting it. Accepting the apostle 

 John as the author and the record of the vision as a 

 transcript of what he actually saw "in the Spirit," 

 we must reject all theories of its design that cast 

 doubt upon the prophetic character it claims for 



some of them at least, represent the same periods, 

 are synchronous, not successive, in their significance ; 

 each series being complete in itself, and probably rep- 

 resenting some aspect of the conflict, from the begin- 

 ning to the close. There is, moreover, in each princi- 

 pal group of symbols a climax represented. All the 

 imagery is presented with more or less of the charac- 

 teristics of Hebrew poetry, parallelism, and contrast, 

 involving occasionally double representations of the 

 same theory, the ideal and the actual aspect of the 

 object being described in close connection. The epi- 

 sodes which occur are quite obvious, and the writer 

 frequently uses " prolepsis," anticipating "in earlier 

 sections, by mere allusion, what he is only to explain at 

 a later point of his revelation ' ' (Milligan). 



5. Trie Interpretation of the Apocalypse. Three 

 leading systems of interpretation have been advocated ; 

 a fourth is now becoming prominent. (l)The prce- 

 terist system, or theory, applies the revelation as a 

 whole to the early Christian ages, either to the destruc- 

 tion of Jerusalem or to the overthrow of heathen 

 Rome, or to both. This system has had many advo- 



iteelf. The article in the BRITANNICA assumes, as do cates in the past, who accepted the Apocalypse as a 

 many critics of this generation, that the author's view real prophecy. At present it is the favorite system in 

 was " entirely bounded by his own subjectivity and j Germany, but is very often joined with the "Nero 

 circumstances" (Alford). Hence the arguments in! fable." The earlier date of composition is usually 



regard to authorship and interpretation are based 

 upon the assumed standpoint of the author, his per- 

 sonal hopes and fervid fancies. Its value is made to 

 consist in the clear view it presents of the aspirations 



maintained by the advocates of this system, in order 

 to antedate the events to which the visions are assumed 

 to refer. Undoubtedly there is an element of truth 

 in this system, since the book itself claims to reveal 



and anticipations of this unknown author, who though "the things which must shortly come to pass" (i. 1). 

 a Jew had a firm faith in Christ, and yet had not at- But to limit the meaning to events in the early cen- 

 taincd to the full freedom of the gospel. Those who i tunes seems unwarrantable. For (a) the visions most 

 accept the gospel narratives as historical will find no obviously coyer events that can become actual only_at 

 difficulty in oelieving that such visions could be made the end of time ; (4) the interpretation of the special 

 VOL. IV.-x 



