"The wrath of the Lamb" in the Revelation of St. John (6,16-17)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2013.012Keywords
Revelation of John 6, 16-17, Lamb, Wrath, God, Christ, Redemption, Cross, apocalypticAbstract
Revelation of John is concerned with the final conflict with evil and the ultimate fulfillment of God’s redemptive act in Christ, so the book speaks to generations of Christians who are convinced that history cannot be allowed to continue on its present course. Consequently, conflicts and threats from the first century achieve apocalyptic significance, and the description of the end time is painted with colors drawn from a period in history in which the churches were confronted concretely with the seduction and threats of oppressive and idolatrous powers.
One aspect of the text of Revelation is the expressive and evocative nature of its language. Part of the power of the book's language is in the fact that much of it was borrowed from the Hebrew scriptures and made to function with freshness and relevance in the settings of the first-century churches of Asia Minor and beyond. Several theological points from the book should be made to help establish a context for discussing them. Firstly, the wrath that is poured out upon the world is the wrath of the "Lamb" (6:16). Even the conquering Christ at the final day of triumph rides upon his steed with his "robe dipped in blood" (19:13) implying that he conquers as the one who has been baptized in suffering through the cross. This is not the wrath of an evil or capricious tyrant but the wrath of injured love supremely revealed in the cross. Secondly, the saints themselves conquer by the blood of the Lamb (12:11). Their victory is also the victory of suffering love over evil as they identify with the crucified Lamb. Revelation granted oppressed Christians of the late first century an ultimate dignity before God that the world could not take away, for the world’s judgments have been realized by the Lamb who functions as the final Judge of history.
References
Bauckham R., “The earthquake in the Apocalypse of John”, NT 19 (1977), s. 220-235.
Caird G. B., Revelation of the St. John, (London 1984).
Fallon M., The Apocalypse as revelation that history is graced, (Estwood 1990) 63; J. Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, (Zürich 1984).
Giesen H., „Symbole und mythische Aussagen in der Johannesapokalypse“, QD 126 (1988).
Hohnjec N., Das Lamm-to, avrni,on in der Offenbarung des Johannes. Eine exegetischteologische Untersuchung, (Roma 1980).
Holtz T., Die Christologie der Apocalypse des Johannes, (Göttingen 1962).
Prigent P., L’Apocalisse di S. Giovanni, (Roma 1982)
Roloff J., Die Offenbarung des Johannes, (ZBK NT 18; Zürich).
Schüssler Fiorenza E., Apocalisse. Visione di un mondo giusto, (Brescia 1994).
Swete H. B., The Apocalypse of St.John, (London 1907).
van Ruiten J., „Der Alttestamentliche Hintergrund von Ap 6,12–17“, EstBib 53 (1995), s. 238-249.
Vanni U., L’Apocalisse. Ermeneutica, esegesi, teologia, (Bologna 1988).
Vögtle A., Das neue Testament und die Zukunft des Kosmos, (Düsseldorf 1970).
Whale P., „The Lamb of John. Some Myths about of the Johannine Literature”, JBL 106 (1987), s. 289-295.
Wilk J., „Triumf Baranka jako przewodnia idea Apokalipsy”, CT 40 (1970), s. 41-58.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
CC BY ND 4.0. The Creator/Contributor is the Licensor, who grants the Licensee a non-exclusive license to use the Work on the fields indicated in the License Agreement.
- The Licensor grants the Licensee a non-exclusive license to use the Work/related rights item specified in § 1 within the following fields: a) recording of Work/related rights item; b) reproduction (multiplication) of Work/related rights item in print and digital technology (e-book, audiobook); c) placing the copies of the multiplied Work/related rights item on the market; d) entering the Work/related rights item to computer memory; e) distribution of the work in electronic version in the open access form on the basis of Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 3.0) via the digital platform of the Nicolaus Copernicus University Press and file repository of the Nicolaus Copernicus University.
- Usage of the recorded Work by the Licensee within the above fields is not restricted by time, numbers or territory.
- The Licensor grants the license for the Work/related rights item to the Licensee free of charge and for an unspecified period of time.
FULL TEXT License Agreement
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 566
Number of citations: 0