Apocalyptic Literature

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Apocalyptic Literature
The Science Fiction of the Ancient World
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Qumran
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Qumran
The Essenes in their harsh solitude at Qumran
directed all their thought towards the invisible
realities they were avid for visions,
revelations and apocalypses. In that inhuman
desert they already lived in the company of
angels, and the heavens opened to reveal to them
their hidden mysteries. They were men of vision,
who see the angels of holiness, whose ear is
opened and who hear profound things. (War Scroll
X, 10-11) They were assiduous readers of the book
of Daniel. Not only did the author of the War
Scroll draw his inspiration from Daniel, but
seven copies of the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Daniel
have been found in the caves at Qumran.
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Development of Apocalyptic Literature in Israel
Ezek 38-9 vision of cosmic battle Is 24-7 cosmic
image of final days Zech 9-14 vision of world to
come Dan 7-12 vision of cosmic battle 1
Enoch world to come Jubilees world to come War
Scroll vision of cosmic battle (Dead Sea Scrolls)
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Introduction to the Book of Daniel Apocalyptic
Literature
Structure of the book around the Kingdom of
God Interactive tension created by the central
focus on the activity of God The key question
how the rule of God becomes reality in this
world Features of apocalypses Who are the
maskilim?
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
Kingdomof God
judgment
salvation
Structural Overview
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
Kingdom of God Yahweh consistent, powerful,
sovereign, and almighty
Interactive tension between stories and visions
that reveals the importance of this theological
center of the apocalypse and its worldview
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
Israels special name for GodYahweh, the
national Jewish deity (restricted to Daniel
9)gives way to more universal divine titles used
elsewhere in the OT God in Heaven 218, 19, 28,
37, 44 King/Lord of Heaven 437 523 God of
gods 247 1136 Lord of lords/kings 247 Great
God 245 94 Living God 620, 26 Most
High 417
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
Story and Vision together portray God as personal
using personal pronouns enjoined to God
throughout (our, your, his, my, Daniels) God is
revealed as compassionate, forgiving, listening
to prayer, giving revelation, never distant or
remote for the faithful ones God is one of mercy
and grace. Always appearing when least expected
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
God reveals Himself in the mysterious image of
the stone monument of the four kingdoms (ch.
2) God appears like a son of the gods in the
fiery furnace (ch. 3) God makes Himself known
through the handwriting on the white-washed wall
(ch. 5) God delivers within the den of lions (ch.
6) In the Book of Daniel, this God is always
there when least expected.
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
In the Book of Daniel the God who faithfully
acted in the past, faithfully acts in the
present. Thus, His actions in the past and
present become the reliable foundation for the
apocalyptic expectation that He will act
similarly in the future.
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Theological Focus of the Book of Daniel
Kingdom of God How the rule of God becomes
reality in the world
Particularly in contexts where the Jews are
politically powerless but where the Gentiles who
have political power oppress them and will
ultimately have to answer to God
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Kingdom of God How the rule of God becomes
reality in the world
The Stories invite us to set Daniels experience
and testimony alongside the stories that emerge
from our political experience and see what
happens. The Visions reveal that kings and
modern leaders tend to exercise their rule in
such a way that prevents the reign of God from
being the reality that we experience.
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Kingdom of God How the rule of God becomes
reality in the world
The Book of Daniel reveals that only an act from
heaven can bring Gods rule into earthly reality.
Persons and nations are incapable of achieving
what belongs only to God. The apocalyptic visions
offer an alternative picture of how Gods rule
becomes reality one that helps us live within
history when we cannot control its flow or
outcome. In the apocalyptic worldview Gods rule
eventually replaces that of earthly leaders and
is given to the saints of the Most High, the
holy ones who remain faithful to God (727).
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Kingdom of God How the rule of God becomes
reality in the world
How is Exile related to the kingdom of God? In
the Apocalypse of Daniel Exile is the result of
Gods doing it is under His rule and
control. Therefore, it is neither meaningless nor
the reflection of the greater power of other gods
or earthly rulers who defeated Yahweh to govern
His people. The time in Exile can be redeemed by
faithful living, but faithful living is always
precarious and under pressure wherever it is
livedin Jerusalem or Babylon, the US or Russia.
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Features of Apocalypses
Definition Apocalypse is a genre of revelatory
literature with a narrative framework, in which a
divine revelation is mediated by an otherworldly
being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal,
insofar as it envisions eschatological salvation,
and spatial insofar as it involves another,
supernatural world.
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Features of Apocalypses

• Basic Elements
• Pseudepigraphic authorship
• Secret revelation made known
• Symbolic language that must be decoded
• Prophetic prediction authority
• Pessimism Optimism
• Dualism classic good vs. evil on cosmic scale
• Determinism planned order to history
• Intermediaries demons angels
• Hope victory from God for the faithful

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Features of Apocalypses
Determinism the periodization of
history History is divided into a set number of
periods. This is the most characteristic feature
of all apocalypses. The number of periods may
vary. In Daniel chapters 2 and 7 there are four
kingdoms and in chapter 9 there is an
interpretation of Jeremiahs 70 weeks of years
(literally 70 x 7 490 years). These kinds of
determined time divisions were common in ancient
Hellenism and early Judaism.
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Features of Apocalypses

• Periodization of History
• This aspect serves two functions in apocalypses
• It enhances the deterministic view of history and
  time as having been measured out carefully under
  divine control. Thus, nothing happens outside
  Gods control.
• It enabled the reader/audience to personally
  enter the revelation as the final generation near
  the final sequence leading to the eschaton.

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Features of Apocalypses
Eschatological Predictions All historical
apocalypses have end-time predictions, which
invariably fall into a pattern of
crisisjudgmentsalvation. It is characteristic
that the salvation portion includes the
restoration of the Jewish people but also for it
to transcend the bounds of ordinary history with
cosmic/universal extension of the judgment and
provision for retribution of the dead, usually
through resurrection.
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Features of Apocalypses
Eschatological Signs Signs of the end of time are
usually precede the final crisis and cataclysmic
earthly events involving the Jews specifically
are mirrored in the cosmic heavenly realm. Those
suffering on earth are to find comfort in the
heavenly revelation since victory for the angelic
host is assured by God against the demonic forces
of evil. The faithful on earth who persevere will
be saved in the end.
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Features of Apocalypses
Eschatological Signs in the Book of Daniel Daniel
7, 8, 11, and 12 picture intense persecution
against Gods faithful ones. In Dan 121 this
experience is understood as a sign of the time
And there shall be a time of trouble, such as
has never been since there was a nation till that
time. The function of these signs is to evoke an
awesome fear and to serve as a foil for the
eschatological salvation which will follow.
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Features of Apocalypses
The Judgment Scene in the Book of Daniel The
final judgment finds the heavenly judge enthroned
and ready to execute justice. The judgment is
concerned with whole peoples rather than
individuals. The background for this scene are
the Enthronement Psalms (93-100) which depict
Yahwehs role as the royal judge universally. In
Daniel 79-14 the judgment is not explicitly
concerned with the dead, although a judgment of
resurrected persons is clearly envisioned in
chapter 12.
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Features of Apocalypses
The Judgment Scene in the Book of Daniel Within
the judgment scene of chapter 7 is the epiphany
(divine manifestation) of a heavenly figure, one
like the son of man. In this case, as in other
apocalypses, the epiphany is clearly related to
theophanies in the OT, such as found in Psalm 29,
Psalm 895-18, and Psalm 104, and other passages
that depict Yahweh as the divine warrior,
enthroned for judgment and worship (note also
Amos 12 and other proto-apocalyptic texts like
Joel).
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Features of Apocalypses
The Sitz im Leben for this Apocalypse The
question of social setting for the apocalyptic
genre is bound up with the dates and historical
contexts of each particular text. Any discussion
of the setting must take account of the fact that
the historical situation of the apocalypse is
concealed by pseudepigraphic authorship.
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Features of Apocalypses
The maskilîm In the Book of Daniel the maskilîm
(the wise or insightful ones 14 1133, 35
123, 10) may be responsible for the composition
of the book and the person Daniel is certainly to
be counted among them. This wisdom group,
however, seems to have adopted a more pacifistic
stance regarding the Maccabean Revolt than the
hasidim (the faithful ones, loyalists) mentioned
in 1 and 2 Maccabees. Just who each of these
groups is, is unknown.
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Features of Apocalypses
Authorship The esoteric nature of apocalypses
suggests that they were written by learned people
who had access to various types of background
material to which they allude (i.e. Ezekiel,
Jeremiah). They were sages rather than prophets
in the that they sought a comprehensive
understanding of the world and Gods time. The
wisdom of Daniel is different, however, than that
of Proverbs. Here it is secret wisdom being
revealed so that it can be made known.
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Features of Apocalypses
Intention The intention of the book is related to
its setting. It is an apocalypse related to a
wisdom group, in general, and specifically to the
individual Daniel, divinely gifted with insight
to make these truths known to a broader audience.
Persecution seems to be the backdrop but the
intensity of this persecution may be relative to
this particular group of maskilîm seeking to be
faithful.
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Features of Apocalypses
Intention Thus, the apocalypse of Daniel provides
a comprehensive worldview related to the kingdom
of God. The predetermined course of historical
events underscores the perception that God is in
control of time and that world empires are
subject to His power even when that may not be
the experienced reality of the audience. This
intention brings an alternative view, securely
rooted theologically in the Kingdom of God, the
source of consolation in the face of distress.
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Value ofApocalyptic Literature
1) God is not indifferent or powerless 2) one can
expect God to act in new ways 3) God is in
control of history 4) God will triumph over
evil 5) death is not the final word - martyrdom
will not be in vain 6) the community must trust
in God 7) there will be a final judgment
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Focus on the Book of DanielHistorical Background
Judaism during the Hellenistic Age Alexanders
ideal for the ANE

1. all conquered people ought to live in harmony
2. in Egypt he declared himself the divine Pharaoh
3. in Babylon he was king and worshipped Marduk
4. in Persia he was successor to the royal dynasty

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Focus on the Book of DanielHistorical Background
Judaism during the Hellenistic Age Alexanders
ideal for the ANE

• forced inter-marriages to encourage a "united"
  people
• Greek was the universal language and currency
• Greek culture was introduced throughout the
  Empire

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Focus on the Book of DanielHistorical Background
Alexanders death in 323 1. divided kingdom
Seleucids in Syria Ptolemies in Egypt2. each
sub-kingdom claimed Palestine3. after a century
of fighting Palestine controlled by
Antiochus III of Seleucid kingdom
(198 BCE)
Jewish culture merged with Hellenism Jewish
Struggle for Freedom Jewish Maccabean revolt led
by Mattathias in 167 against Antiochus IV
Epiphanes god made manifest (175-164 BCE)
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The Book of Daniel
A. Placement in the OT 1 In the English Bible
4th of the major (classical) prophets, after
Ezekiel 2. In Hebrew Bible found among the last
of the writings not treated as a prophetic book
at all B. Contents 1. Part 1 (chapters 1-6) a.
six romantic stories court tales intended to
teach proper religious attitudes b. a young hero
who lived under a great danger in the royal
Babylonian court of Nebuchadnezzer (605-562 BC)
and in the Persian kingdom (539-485 BC)
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The Book of Daniel
ch. 1 dietary law tests of Daniel ch. 2
Nebuchadnezzers dream statue of 4 metals ch. 3
young men in fiery furnace ch. 4 Nebuchadnezzers
dream great world tree ch. 5 Belshazzers feast
hand writing on the wall ch. 6 Daniel in the
lions den
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The Book of Daniel
Part 2 (chapters 7-12) a. four visions in which
Daniel learns about the future either in a dream
or through an angel b. each contains an
explanation of past and future events that will
culminate in the destruction of Israels enemies
and their wicked allies in a final battle
conducted from heaven itself
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The Book of DanielApocalyptic nature of the book
1. the entire book claims to take place in the
6th century BCE but the references to historical
people and places are wrong 2. the court tales
seem to be a collection of stories from the
Persian period (529-333) 3. the four visions
also reflect the Babylonian and Persian period as
Daniel is shown all the events of the centuries
right down to the time of Antiochus IV
(vaticinium ex eventu prophecy after the event)
4. the purpose a. coded in symbolic language
and imagery b. it seeks to give meaning to the
present distress
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The Book of DanielApocalyptic nature of the book
Chapters 5 and 6 references to King Belshazzar of
Babylon Belshazzar is the son of Nabonidus, who
is the last Babylonian king. Belshazzar was only
viceroy who stood in during his fathers
absences. The author of chapter 5 considers
Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzars father rather than
Nabonidus though there were three kings who
ruled between Nabuchadnezzar and
Nabonidus. 531-628 seems to confuse the reigns
of the Persian kings Darius and Cyrus, switching
them around. Cyrus is the first Persian emperor
(550-530), then Cambyses (530-522) and finally
Darius I (522-486). This author seems to collapse
the historical chronology somewhat. The title
used for Darius in 531 has no historical
support there was no Darius the Mede. And, it
was Cyrus who overthrew the Neo-Babylonian
kingdom not Darius I.
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The Book of Daniel Other connections
1. close to the wisdom literature (Daniel as an
example of the scribe in the court of a foreign
king, who stays loyal to Yahweh even under
pressure) 2. Daniel and his friends are models of
faith to the point of martyrdom 3. the Pharisaic
doctrine of resurrection to an after-life of
eternal happiness with God is introduced in Dan
122 4. Kingdom of God, Son of Man are Messianic
conceptions which are introduced in Daniel and
central to the NT