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The Book of Revelation Essay

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This essay will argue that the eschatology of the Book of Revelation forms an integral part of John’s attempt within the pages of his book to form a literary world in which the forms, figures, and forces of the earthly realm are critiqued and unmasked through the re-focalization of existence from the perspective of heaven. It will attempt to show that, in response to the social, political, religious, and economic circumstances of his readers, the Book of Revelation forms a counter imaginative reality. Through drawing upon an inaugurated sense of eschatology and evocative imagery, John is able to pull the reader in and show them the true face of the imperial world and consequences of its ideology, forcing the reader allegiance to fall …show more content…

In chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation, we see Christ enter John’s vision in the form of the slain lamb, a picture of Christ sacrifice (Rev 5:6). In the ‘new song’ of the saints, the lamb is said to have “ransom[ed] for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation’ (5:9) and, later in the chapter, that “…every creature in heaven and on earth…” now sings praise to the lamb (5:13). These verses speak of God’s victory already having been fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice in a way that leaves the reader with a vision of the eschatological hope of the Christian faith as being both fulfilled, but yet to be completed, a conception which falls within an inaugurated understanding of eschatology. As such, the ‘end of the world’ in Revelation can be considered as having already occurred in Christ’s death as evil was defeated and the New Creation initiated, while simultaneously not complete as the forces of Satan; the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot, still function in the cosmology of the First Creation. This understanding of the eschatological reality is an important aspect of John’s text, as it is through this that he is able to identify the dangers to the Church as well as encourage and strengthen its faith.

With this inaugurated conception of eschatology and the ‘not yet’ aspect of it in which his readers must dwell, John perceived many threats to the Church, the most powerful one being

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