Doe the Book This Present Darkness Apply Today?

For this paper I am boiling the redemptive trend hermeneutic down to two components. First is the concept of momentum – asking if an interpretation or application of the passage continues in the spirit of previous Scripture. For example, Webb argues that both testaments “make significant modifications to the institution of slavery relative to their broader cultures” (74), therefore reading a passage such as Titus 2:9, “tell slaves to be submissive,” as pro-slavery would be a contradiction of what had previously been accomplished within God’s people. Second is the concept of now and then (with a shout out to The Blue Parakeet), where the redemptive thrust, projected by the Bible, along with general cultural ebbs and flows, may have changed our contemporary world so much that components of the original text have become confusing, dated, or perhaps even irrelevant.

The relationship between madness and prophecy have been, for so long, a source of contention in literary circles. These two concepts are somewhat difficult to tackle as both are connected to a mystical world that can give meaning to human existence and truth about life. After the Holocaust, people seriously began questioning the existence of a supreme Deity and the lack of divine intervention to such destructive, inhumane war. As a result, the concepts of prophecy and madness are intertwined in several Holocaust stories. Such complexities make one wonder how to differentiate the two concepts; a question that is still perplexing even to specialists.

The Book of Revelation and its fantastic images and gory details has captivated people for centuries. Some have deemed the work of John of Patmos as prophecy, arguing that after its completion it fulfilled historical events or predicted events yet to come. Others view his work as simply another religious prophet’s patriarchal view of “right” behavior for women as it draws a defining line casting women into one of two groups: pure or sexually immoral. And still others proclaim Revelations to be purely “anti-Roman propaganda” as John begins a two point attack against Rome and God’s faithful people who accommodate them, “accomplices in evil”. These points have their merits; however, each view runs the risk of “domesticating” Revelation to the point that it no longer holds positive religious meaning.

Years ago, a man was crucified for saying he was God’s Son. His name was Jesus Christ. Those who followed his teachings were named Christians; and Christians soon resented Jews for their sinful act. This tension between Christians and Jews lead to increasing hatred for one another. Not too long ago, anti-Semitism was common. Anti-Semitism led to the death of an entire population during the Holocaust. Luckily, the church has taken measures to rectify this anti-semitism with the publication of Nostra Aetate. In 1965, the Vatican II Council completely transformed the church’s policies and theology with this document. Nostra Aetate signifies “In Our Time.” Indeed, in our time, the ill sentiments towards Jews have changed tremendously. Nostra

Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, Inferno, and the Book of Revelation as told by John in the Bible each regale the natural curiosity of humans involving manifestations of endings and possibilities of new beginnings in the afterlife. The purpose of informing God’s people of these manifestations and possibilities is mutual and key to the preparedness of humans for life after death. Still, justice is surely delivered appropriately in Inferno and Revelation, due to God’s brilliant arrangements. Divergence between minutiae is outshone by appreciation of seemingly incredulous similarities between God’s plans in the texts. Analysis reveals that Inferno and the Book of Revelation share countless themes, concepts, and scenes, though they differ slightly in the specific details surrounding the unfolding events.

Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow. In the end it is a story of the ineluctable conflict between good and evil, daylight and darkness, the White City and the Black. (Larson

Some people may believe that prophecy and apocalyptic literature is a well-known subject because there are lots of books and papers concerning it, but there is still so much that will always be misunderstood. Prophesy and apocalyptic literature may have some similarities but they are structurally different in a way that makes them distinct. This paper will address prophecy and apocalyptic writings and determine the differences between them by using Daniel and Amos as templates.

Walter Miller, the complex personality who produced the apocalyptic novel A Canticle for Leibowitz, shot himself in January 1996 following the unexpected death of his wife, Anne. His passing is an unfortunate loss to the world, but this novel survives and will continue to influence generations of people whose inner souls have been powerfully influenced and inspired by his work. A Canticle for Leibowitz is an emotional roller coaster, full of the fluctuations of life, and exhibits an eternal tale about treacherous times and the fall from innocence as well as the rise to a more technologically advanced, yet further delusional world. Like many novels, Canticle attempts to answer some of the most fundamental questions of life: Who are we? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? These are significant questions that many different religions have attempted to answer, including the Catholic Church. According to Miller, science can answer questions about how the world works, but only religion can answer questions about why things are the way they are. Miller’s religious answers, given by theistic characters, are contrasted with the opinions of secular, nonspiritual characters in a way that embodies both the faith and ethics of the church. Walter Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz contains the debates of the raging conflict of religion versus science, religious ethics and secular ethics, and sin and redemption. It is a comprehensive analysis of apocalyptic sequences and how they

The book of Daniel and the Revelation are counterparts of each other. They should be studied together as to get the whole picture of God’s redemptive plan, world’s history, the future of the world, God’s victory over evil at the end of the world, and a glimpse into the new heaven and the new earth. Even if these two books are different, many parts of the books talk about the same event of world’s history in which we are about to find out. In this essay, I will show how the book of Daniel is related to Revelation and then how John uses the imagery of Daniel. First of all, let us look at the introduction to the books of Daniel and Revelation. I will

Ira Chernus’ article, “Cheer up, it’s just the end of the world,” addresses the effect of the many apocalyptic worries today on Americans. Chernus begins by introducing the biblical origin, then the dilution, and lastly the multiplication of the ideal apocalypse. The article describes the foundation, biblical apocalypse, as one ending becomes means to a new beginning; a rebirth of this world into a better one. The author depicts the evolution of apocalypse succeeding the biblical era beginning with the nuclear age of World War 2 which introduced the new idea of complete extinction. The article goes on to challenge the blossoming apocalypses that stemmed from the nuclear age with, in Chernus’ opinion, the prominent danger of environmental destruction.

This is a wonderful monograph by Melissa Archer with a comprehensive study of the theme of “worship in the Apocalypse”. It illustrates various aspects of worship and the role of worship in the Apocalypse. The language of the book and different approaches to the theme are appreciated, because those are simple and clear to understand the theme.

The Book of Daniel is the only full-blown apocalyptic book in the Protestant recognized version of the Canon. A literary device divides the book into two halves. Chapters 1-6 are a collection of stories that introduces the reader to Daniel and three other Israelites as unwilling guests of the Babylonia Empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. The second half, Chapters 7-12 consists of apocalyptic imagery of deformed beasts and the heavenly court. The focus of this paper will be on chapter 7, which serves as a bridge of the two halves. Chapter 7 is the earliest of the visions as it identifies with the genre of 8-12 while through language and content it reverts to Daniel chapter 2. The linguistic break down is not as neat as the literary divide in

“However, we must distinguish between Scripture, as the unique source of revelation, the fons unicum, and other sources as subordinate to Scripture. Reminding us of the special role that Scripture plays, Spykman says, “Given the reality of our radical fall into sin, there is only one noetic point of departure, the Bible.” Likewise, Warfield says, “the superior lucidity of this revelation makes it the norm of interpretation for what is revealed so much more darkly through the other methods of manifestation.”(Shepherd, nd)

This paper will analyze the "Divine Purpose" as it appears in the various "highways of prophecy" in the New Testament, and show how those "highways" may be followed to a deeper and fuller appreciation of God's message.

The book The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views was edited by Robert G. Clouse. It was originally published in Downers Grove, Illinois in 1977 by InterVarsity Press. Clouse combined writings from George Eldon Ladd, Herman A. Hoyt, Loraine Boettner, and Anthony A. Hoekema to produce this book. "George Eldon Ladd (Fuller Theological Seminary) present[ed] historic premillennialism. Herman A. Hoyt (Grace Theological Seminary) [wrote] on dispensational premillennialism. Loraine Boettner (theologian and author of The Millennium) discuss[ed] the postmillennial view. And finally Anthony A. Hoekema (Calvin Theological Seminary) describes the amillennial position."