The Old Testament in the Book of Revelation
Overview
Steve Moyise examines the relationship between the new context that John provides for his allusions, and their context in the Old Testament. For example, did John choose texts to meet the needs of the recipients, or did his meditation on the scriptures give him a unique insight into their situation? Some hold that local knowledge led to John’s choice of texts, whereas others believe that Revelation is a midrash on Daniel. Moyise contends that both of these perspectives are one sided through a study of John’s use of Ezekiel. John based a number of his incidents on Ezekiel, in much the same order. Nevertheless, there are also major discontinuities, such as his denial of the very thing—the temple—that Ezekiel 40-48 is all about. To do justice to John’s use of the Old Testament requires an interactive model, which involves the use of scripture at Qumran and the concept of intertextuality. Moyise shows John to be a master of combining and juxtaposing images.
Top Highlights
“As a result of his own expeditions, he discovered that each of the cities lies on a trade route. A messenger coming from Patmos would arrive at Ephesus and moving North would come first to Smyrna and then up to Pergamum. If he then turned and descended in a south-easterly direction, he would come to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and finally Laodicea, where the route back to Ephesus would be due West.” (Page 26)
“Far more probable is that John composed the vision narrative using a mosaic of Scripture texts and then applied what was relevant to the various churches. This does not mean that John’s choice of Scriptures was not influenced by the overall purposes of the book—that still has to be investigated. But with respect to local allusions in the seven messages, it is more natural to see John applying already chosen Scripture to the local situations than the local situations suggesting the Scripture texts.” (Page 36)
“To Thyatira, the only one of the seven known to have had a guild of coppersmiths, the divine speaker is described as having eyes like a ‘flame of fire’ and feet like ‘burnished bronze’. The actual word rendered ‘burnished bronze’ is χαλκολίβανος (χαλκός = copper, λίβανος = frankincense), which is usually taken to designate some sort of alloy.” (Page 26)
“Secondly, the presence of a quotation or allusion means that the clues that enable interpretation to take place are coming from two separate sources. Like a radio dial that is incorrectly tuned, the listener hears several ‘voices’ simultaneously and may have to choose which to concentrate on.” (Page 19)
- Title: The Old Testament in the Book of Revelation
- Author: Steve Moyise
- Series: Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series
- Volume: 115
- Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
- Print Publication Date: 1995
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Revelation › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. Revelation › Relation to the Old Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. O.T. › Relation to Revelation--Criticism, interpretation, etc
- ISBNs: 9781850755548, 185075554X
- Resource ID: LLS:LDTSTMNTBKRVLTN
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:08:12Z