The Revelation to John. Approaches to the last book of the bible

Essay from the year 2024 in the subject Theology - Biblical Theology, grade: 1,4, Nations University (Nations University), course: New Testament Interpretation, language: English, abstract: The last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse, or Revelation to John, is one of the most difficult to interpret because it is dense with foreign and elaborate symbolism, which appears odd to the modern reader. Symbolic language, on the other hand, is a key feature of apocalyptic literature, of which this work is an exemplary example. From around 200 B.C. to A.D. 200, such writing was extremely popular in both Jewish and Christian society. This book offers a narrative of visions in symbolic and allegorical language derived heavily from the Old Testament, particularly Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. It is unclear whether these visions were genuine experiences of the author or merely literary conventions adopted by him.