The diversity of scripture, when understood properly, represents one of the most dynamic aspects of a unique religious legacy. It points to the fact that biblical revelation is both intrinsically tied to human history and specifically related to individual persons and groups within their particular setting, a unique pattern of meaning emerges that constitutes the contribution of the apocalyptic writing to our scriptural heritage. Having considered the specific message of representative passages in chapter 4-5, we now consider the apocalyptic messages as a pattern woven into the fabric of the canon.
One of the recurrent themes of the apocalyptic writing of the Bible is the deadly struggle being waged between the power of good and evil and threat thereby posed for all humans. The problems besetting the human race are not viewed in facile terms, as mistakes requiring certain adjustments, but as the culmination of a long history of sinful repudiation of divine will and grace that has brought the world to the drink of the total disaster. The world view thus constructed is thoroughly moral and the critique utterly radical. In a hard-hitting manner both Jewish and foreign, who pursued their own ambitious schemes at the cost of the suffering of the faithful, the infirm, and poor, come under scathing judgment of a holy God. One of the unforgettable lessons of the apocalyptic writing is thus their radical assessment of evil and of the collaboration of humans in the ungodly processes that threatened to destroy the world.
In antiquity this lesson no doubt spoke with a high degree of authority and credibility to those suffering grievously under the powerful oppressors of their time, and perhaps was heard as a warning to many whom through complicity or complacency abetted the degradation of human life.
Another of the ubiquitous themes of the biblical apocalyptic writings is the universal reign of the one true God. In a majestic manner, all facets of life and the world are drawn into the drama of the unfolding purpose of the Sovereign God. Though the agents of evil both on earth and in heaven seem to be on the rampage, the visionaries exhibit a remarkable audacity in peering beyond the transitory to the ultimate, which in the mythological symbolism of the time mean peering into the drama of heaven and the conflict of God with the evil hosts. The effect of this peering is the formulation of a clear statement of faith, namely, that God’s righteous purpose for reality would prevail and that all of the life would finally be drawn into the cosmic harmony of the one true Sovereign.
It is readily apparent how these two themes, radical assessment of evil and daring affirmation of God’s sovereignty, constituted the basis for a message of comfort to the faithful in their times of most bitter suffering. We can thus characterize apocalyptic writing as literature that applies the tenets of classical biblical faith to situations of crisis.
We have emphasized earlier how important it is to keep the original message and setting of the apocalyptic writings clearly in mind, in approaching the question of their modern significance. This prevents the co-opting of these writing buy those who, whether consciously or unconsciously, are partners in the exploitation of the poor and weak and underprivileged of the earth. In relation to such, a historical reading preserves a harsh word of warning and admonition that dispels false illusions of peace and well-being, through in-depth description of reality, and extends a call to repentance and radical reform. On the other hand, in relation to those denied all earthly, and sources of hope and comfort the apocalyptic writings (again, historically understood) hold out an uncompromisingly realistic assessment of the human dilemma and a clear confession: God’s righteous reign will prevail over all evil, and the faithful will be delivered from all forms of bondage.
Given the very serious problems facing our world, foremost among them global hunger and the nuclear arms race, two themes of apocalyptic literature are conspicuously appropriate: judgment upon oppressors and upon those complacently overlooking systemic structures of injustice, and hope and courage for those finding no earthly source of comfort. The situation we face is serious, but at the made time the divine power inviting humans to a radical alternative is creatively and redemptive present.
If we remember that the apocalyptic writings are a remarkable ancient example of the courage to look beyond human powerlessness and historical disaster to a new creation willed by God, we can take this part of our scriptural legacy as an invitation to engage our own imaginations, using the idioms and images of our own time, to describe a world reconciled, living in peace and harmony. The radical assessment of evil combined with the vision of God’s sovereignty come together in a vision of global community that gives up tribalism in favor of a commitment to world peace and justice and that realistically sees sacrifice and risk-taking, both on an individual and a national scale, as aspects of thinking beyond war and poverty and hunger. Such modern visions should no more be dismissed as utopian than the visions of the new heavens and new earth of ancient Judaism. Their reality us not measurable alone, or even primarily, in terms of their descriptive accuracy, but above all in terms of their ability to bring the godless to repentance, the oppressed to hope, and the faithful to action. In having these effects, godly visions do have a powerful impact on reality. They destroy obsolete notions and open up human consciousness to righteous They break down human barriers and, on the basis of God’s universal reign, create the basis for bridge-buildings and suspicions. Far from being an exercise in utopian fantasy, such contemporary versions of the apocalyptic visions of a new creation may be the only remaining alternative to another apocalyptic vision whose possibility none of us can deny: the vision of the total destruction of the earth and all who dwell on it.
In our world, a vision of God’s alternative to global extinction encounters obstacles, especially in the form of two mental attitudes toward the world situation. One is the attitude of facile optimism and boundless trust in the human (or the national) capacity to meet every challenge and to prevail. History has demonstrated how tragically misleading such hubris is, yet how seductive it can become, blinding its adherents to illusions of grandeur and invincibility. Against such triumphalism, the apocalyptic legacy projects the foe of every oppressive human institution: the righteous God.
The second destructive attitude is displayed in a guise that a far more sympathetic appeal too many. Its adherents begin with a realistic assessment of human situation that in many ways recalls that of biblical apocalyptic. Then, with grim determination and often with very minimal hopes, they set out to engage in pitched battle with evil and its human agents. Dietrich Bonheoffer describes the pitfall lying in wait of those espousing this attitude:
Then there is the man with a conscience, who fights single-handedly against heavy odds in situations that call for a decision. But the scale of the conflicts in which he has to choose-with no advice or supports except from his own conscience-tears him to pieces.
The way out of the impasse demarcated by facile optimism and grim realism is opened up at the point of confluence between radical critique of evil and radical faith in God’s sovereignty, that is to say, at the meeting point of the two fundamental themes of the apocalyptic writing of the Bible. People of faith , both in community and as individuals, can be utterly realistic in their assessment of the human situation and yet not succumb to despair or bitterness, because they act not on the basis of their own programs of reform but as those drawn into God’s creative, redemptive purpose on behalf of all humans. People of faith who are drawn into God’s purpose are given a dependable basis for transcending the petty schemes and disputes of driving the world towards the nightmare of the definitive ending of human history and the extinction of all forms of life on our planet. In the confession that God is present in every struggle for justice and every campaign for peace, empowering all those who accept the reign of righteousness that transcends every claim of special privilege, the faithful today as in ancient times can find a hope-filled path into the future that avoids both heartless arrogance and grim despair, by embracing a vision of a reign of peace and justice uniting all life around one holy Source.