By Theodore W. Cooley
Definitions are in order. First: Apocalyptic: This is a religious world view orientated towards the end of time, or eschaton, and, secondly, it is a genre of literature that articulates this world view. Typically it is characterized by cosmic dualism, a focus on transcendence and a deterministic and pessimistic view of history. It makes extensive use of symbolism, emphasizes ecstatic experience as the source of revelation, and identifies superhuman beings, devils, angles, etc. as agents of cosmic conflict. As the literature is usually pseudonymous, without identifiable authorship, so studying it can be somewhat problematic.
Second: Eschatology: This is the understanding of the essential nature of existence in terms of it s goals and destiny. Eschatology constitutes one element in practically all religious and philosophical thought systems. Some ambiguity in it may refer to the realm of the absolute, or may point to events (Judaism and Christianity) that mark the goal of the historical process. In popular thought, it often is seen as describing the end of the age, Technically the end if the age is the eschaton.
The development of these ideas in Judaism and later in Christianity appear to have a historical basis, though the dualism of Zorastorianism contributed concepts during the exile. During the time of the prophet Isaiah, around 700 BCE, the greatest power in the ancient world was Assyria. By the time of the beginning of the prophet Jeremiah’ work, around 627 BCE, this power was clearly weakening. By the time Jeremiah was taken with other refugees into Egypt, about 585 BCE, the nation of Assyria had ceased to exist, the language had almost ceased to be used, and remaining traces of the culture were rapidly disappearing. Thus in the lifetime of one person, Jeremiah, and others living through this time of social change, a 1000 plus year old culture and power went from dominance to ceasing to exist. This was a great culture shock for the ancient world, used to the rising and fall of nations, but not to either the quickness or finality of the exit of Assyria.
Isaiah chapters 24-27, written in the late Persian period but apparently before Alexander the Great, has the prophet expecting the total reconstruction of reality, but within history, not in heaven or in a golden age in the past. This was to be in this real world and to come through the power of God, as such power had already been seen in the return of the exiles and the vision of the re-established worship. However, it became more complete as not only the Jewish exiles but all peoples will be included in it and coming to Jerusalem, a theme beginning in Isaiah 40, for the exiles, but carried to a much more massive and earthshaking end.
Alexander the Great, from 333 BCE to 323 BCE, conquered the known world, closing out many established systems and overturning the established order. The Greeks saw themselves as bringing civilization, the Jews saw this in theological terms. God was acting to totally change the order, and if God could act in this way, God could act to glorify Jerusalem.
Zechariah chapters 12-14 has the Day of the LORD, characterized by “on that day” language. This day for Zechariah will be a day of change in history rather than philosophical or out of history or myth. The Jewish people had lived through the demise of Assyria, the exile under Babylon, the good rule of Persia allowing the end of the exile, and possible Alexander the Great. On the Day of the LORD another massive change will come to pass with God’s action to establish new order which would recognize the special nature of Judah.
Certainly with Alexander the Great, this already present anticipation of world shaking change gained further momentum. Persian rule, possibly the most honest in the ancient world, was overthrown by a much smaller army which, according to the experts, had no chance of success, somewhat like Lobo men taking the NCAA. The Jews are more than innocent bystanders, they adopted events to fit their theology, so it became required to interpret as God’s hands in the event.
The goal of all the Greek governments of the “successors” was to Hellenize the populace. So under the Syrian Seleucid reign, the Temple in Jerusalem was taken over by Antiochus IV with a pig offered on the alter. (He had been whipped soundly by the Egyptians in battle and took out his anger on the rather defenseless Jews on his return towards Syria.). This is the “abomination of desecration” of Daniel, 1 Maccabees, Mark, and probably II Thessalonians, the greatest insult to the Jewish faith since the destruction of the temple under Babylon 400 years before. It started the Maccabean revolt, successful for about 100 years before the Romans came in, and again, this was seen as God acting in history, with the world turned upside down, with Judah, as in the time of David, conquering nearby peoples and protected by Almighty God.
This expectation of the coming “end times” was very popular around the first millennium, 1000 AD, with expectation of Jesus’ return, and again today, with social change, great wars such as WWI, WWII, the threat of communism, the “BOMB”, etc. When we feel our lives to be threatened or out of control, there is a temptation to place emphasis on God stepping in to set things straight.
Remember chicken little. It was not the sky but an acorn on his head. There are things behind our control, but be wary of expecting history to repeat itself to our own satisfaction.
These themes of apocalyptic and eschatology are not central to either Judaism or Christianity, but they are popular with peoples considering themselves oppressed. Truly oppressed peoples, like the slaves in the South before 1865, were more in tune with the exodus and prophet calling for justice than this revolution in the social order where the “baddies” will certainly get theirs. Watch out for an almost vindictive picture of punishment (Dante) of those in social opposition to the “right “ people who will be lifted to heaven to watch the events unfold on the Earth with primary emphasis of the punishment of their opponents. These themes, though from the Bible, are capable of a lot of self-projection where we show our own desires rather than the grace, power and love of God in this interpretation of our anticipated outcome of events in history.
First Thessalonians 4 is an account of the end of the age. This was termed the “Rapture” some 200 years ago, and can be seen as perverting, as an idea, not only many of our churches, but influencing government actions in ways very negative to the overall tradition of the Bible. A Scottish chap by the name of Darby invented the millennialist system in 1830, with trips to the United States in the 1840’s and 50’s to sell it here. Moody Bible institute and similar fundamentalist groups bought the story. Now much of the religious TV programing is dominated by this theme, which has been rejected by all mainstream Christian groups, Protestant, Roman, and Orthodox.
In short, the theme is that the “right” Christians will be jerked out of the world in the Rapture while for seven years evil triumphs, then Christ is to return as King to bring punishment on those “left behind”. It is very violence prone and totally rejects any concept of environmental concern as all is to be destroyed anyway. The view of creation, from Genesis 1, is totally absent, that God looked upon the creation and called it good. As one commentator has expressed it, the scripture has been changed to read: for God so loved the world that he sent World War III. In all of this there is the psychological sick idea that the chosen few (read me and those like me) are going to get to set up on the clouds enjoying the punishment being visited upon those left behind.
This is non-Christian in rejection of the goodness of the creation. It is non-Christian in the exclusive nature of the “in” group when the Church struggled for years to establish that all who are “in Christ” in the words of Paul are to be part of the new life. And all of this is supported by a system of “cut and paste” approach to the Bible which takes statements out of context and distorts them to find what is desired without regard to the purpose of the scripture. God’s creation is good. God is love. God’s grace is to shared with all. Such is the true theme of the Bible.