Apocalyptic Literature

Apocalyptic Literature in the Bible

Apocalyptic literature is a literary genre that uses visions and symbols to disclose God's hidden purposes, especially concerning the end of history and God's victory. The name comes from the Greek word apokalypsis in Revelation 1:1, which means the uncovering or unveiling of what has been concealed.

• Old Testament: Daniel 7–12 is the chief example and contains the vision of the four beasts (Daniel 7:1–8). Isaiah 24–27, Ezekiel 38–39, the visionary sections of Zechariah, and parts of Joel are also often regarded as apocalyptic in character.
• New Testament: The Book of Revelation is the chief example. Apocalyptic language also appears in Mark 13, which contains Jesus' teaching on the end times and is often called the "Little Apocalypse"; in Matthew 24; and in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4.

Background and Characteristics

Apocalyptic literature is generally thought to have flourished from the post-exilic period to around the New Testament era, when the Jewish community was living under foreign domination and persecution. Jewish apocalyptic writings also exist outside the Bible, such as the Book of Enoch, and related texts have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Common features of apocalyptic literature include:

• Visions and dreams, along with angels who interpret their meaning
• Symbols such as beasts, horns, and numbers
• Sharp contrasts between good and evil, and between the present age and the age to come
• God's judgment, the arrival of a new world, and the vindication of the righteous

Significance Within the Whole Bible

Whereas the Prophetic Books chiefly called the people of their own day to repentance, apocalyptic literature offers suffering believers comfort and hope by affirming that sovereignty over history belongs to God. The "one like the Son of man" in Daniel 7:13 carries over into the New Testament as the Son of Man, the title Jesus used for himself. Daniel's vision of the beasts is taken up again in Revelation 13.

Interpretation and Debates

• Dating of Daniel: Traditionally, the book is held to have been written by Daniel in the sixth century BC. Many critical scholars hold that it was completed in the second century BC, during the persecution under Antiochus IV. Conservative theological traditions generally follow the former view.
• Reading Revelation: There are four principal approaches.
• Preterism: reads it as describing events of its own Roman era.
• Historicism: reads it as tracing the whole course of church history.
• Futurism: reads most of it as describing events yet to come.
• Idealism: reads it as setting forth spiritual principles that transcend any particular era.
• Interpretation by tradition: Dispensationalism reads Revelation primarily in a futurist way and emphasizes the Rapture and the Great Tribulation. Many in the Reformed tradition adopt a symbolic reading and amillennialism, though historic premillennialism also remains a strong tradition within Korean Presbyterianism. These differences are closely tied to interpretations of the Millennium.
• Limits of symbolic interpretation: Interpretations that match symbols one by one to specific individuals, nations, or years are not stated by the text itself but are added by the interpreter. Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour (Mark 13:32–33).

In the Korean Church

Revelation and eschatology have long been regular topics in revival meetings and Bible studies. In 1992, the Dami Mission's prediction of a specific date for the Rapture became a matter of public controversy. In addition, because Shincheonji, which many denominations have declared heretical, has made its interpretation of Revelation central to its message, churches have increasingly stressed the need for sound interpretive teaching and for cult counseling.