The Book of Revelation is arguably viewed as the definitive eschatological text in the biblical canon. The writer was well-versed in Hebraic thought, culture, traditions and the entire Hebrew scriptures since the text is infused with allusions and direct references to the Hebrew scriptures. The Greek text also contains words that hearken back to the Semitic language either by transliteration or by the importation of descriptions, metaphors and idioms (Newport 1988). Apart from an understanding of Revelation against the backdrop of the entire biblical canon, an appreciation of time as it is applied in Revelation is essential to understand both the frightening and the encouraging aspects of Revelation. Due to the context of Revelation, the appreciation of time needs to encompass the usage of time in the remainder of the biblical canon. Exploring the social culture of the writers of the biblical texts within their historical and geographical settings is a useful means of providing additional information towards the discussion of the nature of time. Although the prevailing post-modern and western concept of time is described as linear, various factors such as the descriptions of annually recurring feasts linked to the climatological patterns and farming and gathering of crops, point to the observation that the first-century CE Mediterranean concept of time appears to have been far more cyclical than merely linear. These annual feasts demonstrate an inherent dual meaning , which allows the function and role of each feast to develop over the passing of time while the annual recurrence of the feast establishes a cyclical pattern of worship. This enables a comparative appreciation of the secondary role of the feast against the backdrop of its initial function. A discussion of the text also shows that these and other festivals kept by the early Christian believers were infused with Temple cult rituals that appear as motifs and images through rhetography within Revelation as well as the remainder of the biblical canon. Given the numerous differing interpretations of Revelation offering a gloomy and frightening scenario of the future, this dissertation seeks to offer a fresh understanding based on an examination of the nature of time by applying textual comparisons against the backdrop of the socio-historical setting of the first-century Mediterranean society. It is hoped that this fresh understanding will result in a more nuanced understanding of the concept of time in Revelation within the context of both the extant texts as well as the socio-cultural intertexture during the first century CE. The success of this endeavour would thereby allow the text of Revelation to be read afresh as a timeous message to contemporary, and hopefully, future believers. This would comply with the pastoral concerns of the author of Revelation as well as contemporary leaders of believing communities, since a fresh and nuanced understanding of time based on the text itself would deepen and enrich the interpretation of the reading. Hence, the communication between the author and the reader or believer would be improved and enriched. Pastorally, the message contained in Revelation would become clearer to the contemporary reader as well as any reader or hearer of the text. For example, the contextual backdrop of the meaning of biblical feasts, particularly the “fall feasts” (Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day) would deepen the appreciation of the eschatological content of the Book of Revelation. The relationship between 'chronos’ and ’kairos’ would shed further light on the placement of the believer within the scope of “church history” and the future events discussed in Revelation. And lastly, a more nuanced understanding of Revelation would assist the believer in positioning themselves in the present life as well as in light of the future, which would lead to the understanding of the believer’s salvific position. Since these matters are foundational to the believer, this work is crucial in offering a different approach to reading and understanding Revelation. The analytic tool selected for the task at hand is based on the socio-rhetorical interpretation introduced and elaborated upon by Vernon K. Robbins . For the scope of this dissertation, two of these socio-rhetorical tools were utilised. Firstly, the text of Revelation was analysed by selecting specific terms pertaining to time, which was discussed in greater detail with the aid of inner texture, as well as intertexture, where oral-scribal intertexture was the predominant analytic in the search for further layers of meaning of the selected terms. Secondly, working with intertexture, cultural and social intertexture allowed further insights into the cultural context of Revelation to assist in the clarification and enrichment of our analyses. Terms and phrases used in the text which allude metaphorically to a cultural aspect were good examples of the application of cultural intertexture as a subtexture of intertexture, whereas additional cultural information relevant to the content of the text would fall under the umbrella of social and cultural intertexture. Given that our primary focus is the text, a certain amount of cross-contamination might occur, however, a concerted effort was made to distinguish between subtextures and textures, notwithstanding the naturally occurring blending between these. For this work, textual excerpts from the entire biblical canon as well as various apocryphal literature and Patristics, as well as writings by Eusebius and Josephus, were incorporated. The application of the second methodology, especially social and cultural intertexture, includes the discussion on comparisons between various terms or passages in Revelation to chiefly Second Temple cultic practices, to tease out further information towards a nuanced understanding of time. After applying both sets of analytics, the observations gleaned were woven together to form a fresh fabric of appreciation of time as applied in Revelation. Apart from the observations that Revelation is to be read against the backdrop of Hebraic culture, thought, and most significantly the Tanakh, it will become increasingly clear that the general understanding of the nature of time as a foundation to the reading of Revelation can be enriched by further research, for example, by the application of socio-rhetorical interpretation. Given that the chosen analytics minimize pre-conceived notions, and further limit interpretations based on a preterist or an historicist concept, it negates the effects of a preconceived notion of a pre-millenial rapture or anything of this nature. It also casts aside interpretations produced through the lens of the replacement theory. This examination allows the text itself, by the application of the sociorhetorical tools to offer insights based on working with different layers of the text. The dissertation discusses the way 'kairos’ and 'chronos’ impact on each other, as well as the meanings gleaned from the Torah of terms such as “time”, Sabbath, week, month, jubilee, the seven feasts as well as the two other feasts based on the Book of Esther and the Books of Maccabees. The ceremonial style within Revelation combined with the textual examinations demonstrates that time appears to have been applied as a specifically and intentionally planned dimension, pointing to an intention and a specific meaning attributed to the believers’ lives in those instances. The methodology used reveals a nuanced appreciation of time. This dissertation offers a contribution to existing scholarship and encourages further research into the Book of Revelation and its relevance to contemporary believing communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/30867 |
| Date | 05 February 2020 |
| Creators | Taylor, Birgit |
| Contributors | Ukah, Asonzeh |
| Publisher | Faculty of Humanities, Department of Religious Studies |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | application/pdf |
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