Trumpeting God's Mercy: A Socio-rhetorical Interpretation of the Seven Trumpets of Revelation (original) (raw)
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Allusions, Exegetical Method, and the Interpretation of Revelation 8:7-12
2023
This dissertation attempts to overcome a signifi cant obstacle to the development of a comprehensive exegetical method that can enable an interpreter to unlock the meaning of such difficult apocalyptic passages as Rev 8:7-12. The first chapter utilizes a survey of previous research to explore four issues whose resolution is vital to the interpretation of the book of Revelation: (1) the sources of the Apocalypse, (2) how the Revelator used them, (3) the language and text tradition of the Old Testament that he used, and (4) the nature and location of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. his allusions to earlier literature. The literature survey indicates that a major obstacle to the accurate interpretation of Revelation is the lack of an objective method for evaluating the allusions to prior literature that characterize the book. Chapter II opens with a brief outline of a comprehensive exegetical method for the study of the Apocalypse. The bulk of the chapter focuses on a proposed method that can enable interpreters to more objectively evaluate the allusions in Revelation. Through a pains taking analysis of the verbal, thematic, and structural parallels to the Old Testament in Rev 8:7-12, the process of evaluating proposed allusions to the Old Testament is clearly demonstrated. The results of that analysis have implications for many of the issues raised by the litera ture survey of Chapter I. Chapter III offers an interpretation of Rev 8:7-12 in the light of the comprehensive method outlined at the beginning of Chapter II. The imagery of the passage is compared to its context, to the author's sources, and to the overall structure of the Apocalypse. Relevant insights from the first two chapters are incorporated. The resulting interpretations help to illuminate the basic meaning structures of the first four trumpets. Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. How could I ever find words to thank you all? iii Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
"Exploring Intertextuality: Revelation 18 and Overlooked Allusions to the Old Testament." A Proposal Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree, Master of Arts, Theologische Hochschule Friedensau, December 7, 2023, 2023
The literature review of the intertextual allusions in Revelation 18 to the Old Testament reveals certain deficiencies. While the allusion of Revelation 18:1 to Isaiah 6:3 was completely overlooked, the allusions of Revelation 18:4, 20 to Genesis 19:15 and Ps 95[96]:11 were merely mentioned. In addition, a detailed methodological analysis of these allusions is lacking. Goal: The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the investigation aims to establish the nature of the Old Testament allusions in Revelation 18:1, 4, 20. Second, the thesis aims to conduct an in-depth intertextual analysis. This analysis will focus on unravelling and understanding the intricate relationships between source texts (Isaiah 6:3, Genesis 19:15, and Psalm 95[96]:11) and target texts in Rev 18:1, 4, 20. In order to accomplish this goal, the investigation focuses at the linguistic, thematic, and structural intertextual relationships between the source and target texts.
Seeing Things John's Way: Rhetography and Conceptual Blending in Revelation 14:6–13
Bulletin for Biblical Research, 2008
During the past decade, socio-rhetorical interpretation has incorporated insights from cognitive science into its interpretive model. The result has been an emphasis on "rhetography," inviting interpreters to give more explicit attention to the mental images evoked by a particular text, and "conceptual blending," inviting interpreters to consider what conceptual frames are evoked by these images and how these larger frames supply premises that advance argumentation. This mode of analysis is especially promising in regard to uncovering the argumentative force of narrative and pictorial/visionary texts, like Revelation, that contain relatively few explicit indications of argumentation. The present study undertakes an exploration of Rev 14:6–13 with a view to demonstrating these interpretive tools at work and assessing their promise for interpretation.
A Sound Map of Revelation 8:7-12 and the Implications for Ancient Hearers
2018
The Book of Revelation was written for a listening community of faith living in Asia Minor in the late first-century CE. 384 The members of the seven churches were largely illiterate and so their communication would have been oral and aural. 385 Harry Gamble states, "we must assume. .. that the large majority of Christians in the early centuries of the church were illiterate, not because they were unique but because they were in this respect typical." 386 These facts, while acknowledged by recent commentators, have not had a significant impact on the interpretation of the book of Revelation. 387 This can be seen in the various publications that continue discussion of the contextual or non-contextual use of the Old Testament in Revelation, thematic approaches to the book and the deployment of traditional schools of thought in interpretation. 388 According to John D. Harvey, "most biblical scholars continue to examine the NT documents using presuppositions that apply more to nineteenth and twentieth-century literary/print culture than to the culture in which those documents were originally produced." 389 Generally speaking the aural features of this enigmatic book and the role of the lector have been neglected in scholarship even though John pronounces a blessing on both those that read and hear his book (Rev 1:3). 390 More specifically, the passages about the seven trumpets (Rev 8:1-11:19) have been deemed by some to be the most difficult to interpret in Revelation. R. H. Charles says chapter 8 and 9 present "insuperable difficulties." 391 According to Herman Hoeksema, "the interpretation of the trumpets in the book of Revelation is very difficult." 392 Roy Naden confirms that "Revelation 8 and 9 contain the most graphic example of apocalyptic writing in the Bible. The complexity of the imagery has led to more speculative nonsense than can be found written about any other chapter of John's final work." 393 Methodology This chapter will develop a sound map of Rev 8:7-12 in an attempt to uncover fresh meaningmaking potential from this passage. 394 Revelation 8:7-12 is acknowledged as a unit of text that symbolically depicts the blowing of the first four trumpets.
This article traces the contours of the past century of discourse surrounding the underlying textual form of allusions embedded in the book of Revelation. Special attention is paid to the rapid developments on this issue in the past thirty years, a period in which New Testament scholarship has grappled with the textual complexity of the Hebrew Bible presented by the scrolls from the Judaean Desert. The question of textual form is of foundational importance for analysing the reuse or interpretation of Scripture in the book of Revelation. Despite this reality, it is common to find assumptions or misconceptions in recent studies that obfuscate the textual reality of the Hebrew Bible and its early Greek versions the first century ce. The appraisal of scholarship on this issue allows scholars to better contextualize their own approaches to the text of allusions in the light of previous research. This analysis also highlights the changing methods and approaches by which scholars analyse the text of allusions and suggests some avenues for future research on the allusions embedded in the Apocalypse.
The Structure of the Book of Revelation: A Discourse Analysis Perspective by Stephen J. Schooling
The Structure of the Book of Revelation: A Discourse Analysis Perspective. Part 1 - Chapters 1-7., 2004
The present work is a discourse analysis of the book of Revelation. The analysis, using linguistic tools, reveals that the book is composed of seven cycles arranged in a parallel, chiastic structure. Each cycle is organized according to a different, seven-fold motif which usually manifests itself in seven distinct sub-units. The seven cycles are bracketed and connected together by a narrative framework. Cycles 1 and 7, being the introduction and the conclusion,
The Spirit in Revelation: Explorations in Imagery and Metaphor
Criswell Theological Review 17.1, 83–96, 2019
Overt references to the Holy Spirit in Revelation are few. Although the Spirit may appear to be the least significant member of the Godhead in the book, such a cursory observation is misleading. The article begins by examining two problematic texts related to the Spirit in Revelation’s prologue and epilogue. It then explores whether John teaches pneumatology through metaphors by looking at two pericopae whose imagery suggests the Spirit. A figural reading will be employed to provide a pneumatic interpretation for the intertextual allusions drawn from the Old Testament and the Synoptics. This study will hopefully provide a more holistic perspective on the Spirit’s ministry as depicted in this rich eschatological text that closes the canon of Scripture.