Abstract
Some attention has indeed been given to the "little" scroll of
Apocalypse 10, but that attention pales in comparison to the
treasury of essays, monographs, and commentaries that attend to the
of chapter 5. Most recently, Richard Bauckham has argued that the
βιβλαριδιον
of 10.2a, 8-10 (along with its multiple variants) is equivalent to
the βιβλιον of 5. In this paper,
I will argue that the
βιβλαριδιον
of Apocalypse 10 and the βιβλιον
of Apocalypse 5 are distinct scrolls that serve unique prophetic
functions in John's larger apocalyptic narrative. This interpretive
option allows the reader to understand chapter 10 as a signal of
the second major section of the Apocalypse in which God's triumph
over Satan is reflected in the triumph of the faithful witnesses
over persecution and Creation's subsequent redemption. To support
this argument, I will make a number of observations and establish
some essential conditions for asserting and appreciating the
difference between the two scrolls. My initial observation is that
the attempt to accurately translate and identify the little scroll
in chapter 10 can be illuminated by turning one's attention to
ancient Christian authors, who read and wrote in Greek. As I will
show, early commenters on Apocalypse 10 read
βιβλαριδιον
as a little scroll and described it quite differently from the
scroll of chapter 5. I will place those authors within the context
of reception history and demonstrate their commitment to reading
the little scroll as indeed unique. One critical foundation of my
argument is that the scrolls appear in quite different settings as
they are introduced to the reader within the Apocalypse. The
βιβλιον of the fifth chapter
emerges along with the Lamb at the heart of the heavenly vision. It
produces consternation for the celestial court and emotional
distress for John. Alternatively, the
βιβλαριδιον
of Apocalypse 10 is handed to John on earth, where the mighty angel
has planted one foot on the earth and the other on the sea.
Although there are some elements from heaven in chapter 10 (the
seven thunders and the mighty angel's own qualities), I will
maintain that they are different settings and thus signal unique
purposes. In addition to belonging to different spaces in the
narrative, the scrolls are situated at different locations in their
respective apocalyptic cycles, as well as significantly different
locations in the overall structure of the book. The scroll of
chapter 5 is introduced after John's epistolary vision of Christ
and the golden lampstands and immediately before the seven seals
cycle, which itself precedes the trumpet cycle after the narrative
interruption in which the 144,000 are sealed. The little scroll of
chapter 10 is situated before the sounding of the seventh trumpet
and narrative of the two witnesses, which precedes the story of the
Woman and the Dragon. Another essential component for arguing the
scrolls' difference from each other is that the agents or bearers
of the scrolls in chapters 5 and 10 are clearly not the same. That
is, whereas John first sees the scroll of chapter 5 in the right
hand of the one seated on the throne, introduced orally by a mighty
angel and ultimately given to the Lamb, the scroll of chapter 10 is
in the hand of another mighty angel. John is commanded to take the
scroll from this other mighty angel, who is provided a level of
narrative detail not afforded to the mighty angel of chapter 5.
Further, there is no mention of a transition of the scroll in
chapter 5 to the other mighty angel of chapter 10. The settings and
agents of the two scrolls are kept apart, explicitly or otherwise,
by the author. Of perhaps even greater importance for my argument
is the fact that the scrolls themselves appear quite different from
each other. The βιβλιον of the
fifth chapter is sealed with seven seals and is an opisthograph.
The
βιβλαριδιον
of Apocalypse 10, on the other hand, is open and bears the
diminutive suffix in its three references throughout the chapter.
This is another problematic element of the
βιβλαριδιον
of chapter 10 for anyone who would argue that it is identical to
the scroll of chapter 5. The terminology for each scroll is
different and the difference is maintained. Richard Bauckham and
others argue that the noun in chapter 10 had acquired what is
called a faded diminutive status, but I argue below that these
arguments are unconvincing. A dearth of meaningful extant evidence
and the telling anarthous and anaphoric articles of chapter 10 call
for deep suspicion of that claim. Deciding to render a translation
and interpretation of the little scroll of Apocalypse 10 as
distinct from the scroll of Apocalypse 5 results in a valuable
outcome for the reader. It allows one to see the scrolls as
prophetic signals or indicators of the two major sections of the
Apocalypse. The scroll of chapter 5 inaugurates the cosmic
dramaturgy of the first half, which is a densely apocalyptic
projection of John's religious imagination. The little scroll of
chapter 10 announces the commencement of the second half of the
book, which imagines the same conflict taking place between the
faithful witnesses of the Lamb and their persecutors, the followers
of the Beast. In other words, the little scroll moves the narrative
into a recasting of the first section of the book in more human or
practical terms for the readers. This is in keeping with the
ancient religious cosmology that conceived of a set of earthly
social constructs that reflected or aligned with heavenly
realities. If this interpretive option for structuring the book is
accepted, then the understanding that the two scrolls are different
is further validated, as they would necessarily belong to separate
literary endeavors within the larger text.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Apocalypse as Problem and the Task at
Hand…………………………...3
Structure of Apocalypse
10……………………………………………………………..6
Exegetical Evaluation of Apoc.
10:1-11………………………………………………..7
Modern and Ancient Readers: Summaries and Evaluations of the
Literature ………...26
Implications for Reading The Apocalypse:
Genre……………………………………..43
Implications for Reading the Apocalypse:
Structure…………………………………..46
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..50
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………...54
About this Master's Thesis
Rights statement
- Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.
| School |
|
|---|
| Department |
|
|---|
| Degree |
|
|---|
| Submission |
|
|---|
| Language |
|
|---|
| Research Field |
|
|---|
| Palabra Clave |
|
|---|
| Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor |
|
|---|
| Committee Members |
|
|---|