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Adamsen, Georg S. Parousia and Paraenesis: The Parousia Motif and Its Paraenetic Use in the Book of the Revelation. Dr.theol. thesis, Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology, Oslo (Det teologiske Menighetsfakultetet, Oslo), 2001/2002.

The Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo, Norway, (http://www.mf.no) has accepted the 369 page dissertation Parousia and Paraenesis: The Parousia Motif and Its Paraenetic Use in the Book of Revelation by cand.theol. Georg S. Adamsen, The Lutheran School of Theology in Aarhus, Denmark, (http://www.teologi.dk) for public defence for the degree Doctor Theologiae (dr.theol.). The defence took place at Saturday, June 8th, 2002 at 10:15 am.

The official opponents were Professor, teol.dr. David Hellholm, University of Oslo, and Reader, teol.dr. Håkan Ulfgard, University of Linköping, Sweden. The third member of the committee was Professor, dr.theol. Hans Kvalbein, NLST. Professor Hellholm served as chair of the committee.

The degree of Dr.theol. was awarded June 14th, 2002.

The submitted dissertation consists of Five Parts.

Part I contains four introductory chapters which argue that the topic parousia and paraenesis merits a specialised study (Chapter 1), preliminarily define important concepts and terms such as parousia and paraenesis (Chapter 2), discuss the role of the OT (Chapter 3) and the methods and procedures (Chapter 4) in this study.

Part II presents a preliminary study of the narrative character, structure and setting of Revelation (Chapter 5), outlines the conceptual OT background for the portrayal of the parousia in Revelation, i.e. the OT imagery of theophany, divine warfare and judgment, the Day of the Lord, and some other concomitant motifs (Chapter 6), and closes with some concluding remarks (Chapter 7).

Part III analyses the parousia motif in the pro- and epilogue (Chapter 8), in the first vision in Revelation 1:9–3:22 (Chapter 9), and in the second vision in Revelation 4:1–22:5 (Chapter 10). The author argues that the whole prologue and the entire epilogue (apart from the very last verse) concern the parousia and reveal that the main theme of the two visions is the parousia. The analyses make clear that the parousia is not only conceived of as a martial and judicial coming, i.e. as a divine judgment warfare epiphany, but also as the coming of the bridegroom. The aim of Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 is to substantiate that the two main visions of Revelation concern the parousia of (primarily) God and Christ by applying the parousia concept developed in the preceding chapters of the dissertation. Thus, Chapter 9 argues that the texts which in the first vision (Rev 1:9–3:22) refer to the coming of Christ concern the parousia. Chapter 10 endeavours to demonstrate that an outline of a parousian interpretation of the second vision (Rev 4:1–22:5) can plausibly be provided. The author therefore concludes that the parousia is the main theme of Revelation and the most important issue (Chapter 13).

Part IV (Chapter 12) deals with the paraenetic use of the parousia motif. The author argues that there is a paraenetic use of the parousia motif and that the paraenesis is directly related to the parousia and the parousian Son of Man, not to a non-parousian martyrdom. The problem which the paraenesis addresses is that many of the churches are no longer properly prepared for the parousia. They therefore need to repent in order to prevent the Son of Man’s coming as a warrior-judge and ensure that that he will come as their bridegroom. The churches who do not need to repent are urged to remain faithful so that they will not loose the salvific relationship they already have with Christ and, in consequence, suffer the eternal judgment plagues instead of the temporary defeat by Satan and his helpers followed by the resurrection. Thus, the aim of the paraenesis is to urge the churches to be and remain appropriately prepared for the coming of Christ which results in either defeat and judgment or wedding and salvation, depending on people’s relationship to Christ. The paraenetic exhortations in the first vision are supported by the second vision in general and a number of specific passages in particular, and they are strongly reinforced by the epilogue in that it explicitly urges all individual listeners to call for the parousia.

Part V (Chapter 13) garners the conclusions of the whole thesis and concludes that the parousia is not only an important theme, but the central main theme (Part III) as well as the focus of the paraenesis of Revelation (Part IV), which is also indicated by the peculiar double opening of the prologue. Thus, the theme and function of Revelation are brilliantly integrated with its structure, or form. The few pertinent studies of this theme and in particular those studies who have dealt with various aspects of the parousia concept, outlined a path to a new understanding of Revelation (Part I, Chapter 3). The starting point was a combination of the analysis of the narrative structure of Revelation and the Old Testament portrayal of the Day of the Lord and the divine warfare which will take place on this day (Part II). The longer part of the journey was then an analysis of the theme of Revelation on this basis (Part III), while the shorter part (Part IV) surveyed the texts once more in order to determine how the theme was used paraenetically. The author believes that this is a substantial contribution to the determination and understanding of Revelation’s main theme and the paraenetic use thereof.

For a Danish summary, see http://www.mf.no/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39.

Revelation mailing list: Dissertation Abstracts 6.002: Georg S. Adamsen: Parousia and Paraenesis: The Parousia Motif and Its Paraenetic Use in the Book of the Revelation
Date of original posting on Revelation mailing list: May 9th, 2002

McCormack, Philip. The Nature of Judgment in the Book of the Revelation. This 272 page D.Phil.-thesis was successfully defended at The Faculty of Humanities, The Institute of Theology, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 15th, 2001 and the D.Phil.-degree awarded July 4th, 2001. The examiners were the Reverend Doctor Steven Motyer of the London Bible College and the Reverend Professor J. Cecil McCullough of Union Theological College Belfast and Queen’s University. Copies of the thesis are available in the University library.

This investigation into the nature of judgment in Revelation will demonstrate that John’s use of this theme is highly developed and consistently woven throughout the Apocalypse. It is multivariate in its employment of its images and global in its effect.

This thesis will also establish, through a consideration of the theme of judgment in Apocalyptic works contemporary to Revelation and models of judgment found in the Old Testament, that John utilised images and ideas from a number of sources and freely modified them for his own purposes.

It will also prove that John’s presentation of this theme shares more similarities with contemporary apocalypses, than with the model identified in the Old Testament.

The main conclusion which follows from an examination of the nature of judgment, covered in chapters two and three of this thesis, is to propose that the nature of judgment in Revelation is primarily punitive upon the unregenerate at the eschaton.

When this major theme is considered exegetically in the context of the parousia, in which it is set in the text of Revelation, judgment has no didactic or salvific element in John’s understanding of it. This presentation of the nature of judgment may seem initially to be somewhat out of step with the clear images of hope contained in chapter 21-22v5, in which there is the clear revelation of the conversion of the nations. However, a consideration of three other important themes found in the Apocalypse, the combat motif, the salvation of the nations and the function and use of witness in Revelation, will reveal that a punitive understanding of judgment upon the ungodly may not only be defended but is consistent with these themes.

This thesis will endeavour to reach this conclusion and therefore make a contribution to scholarly research on the theme of judgment through; 1) the reading strategy employed – Biblical Literalist; 2) the methodology utilized in considering the subject material – exegetical; 3) the comparison of the nature of judgment in Revelation with that in contemporary Apocalyptic works and the Old Testament.

Revelation mailing list: Dissertation Abstracts 6.001: Philip McCormack: The Nature of Judgment in the Book of the Revelation
Date of original posting on Revelation mailing list: February 20th, 2002

Percer, Leo R. The War in Heaven: Michael and Messiah in Revelation 12. This 260 page Ph.D.-thesis was successfully defended on August 13, 1999 at Baylor University. Mentor was Robert B. Sloan, Jr., D. d. Theol.

The book of Revelation is notorious for an almost chaotic diversity of interpretations, no doubt as a result of the surprising symbols like those found in other apocalypses. The book is saturated in apocalyptic symbolism, and many of the characters are not so much named as caricatured. Revelation 12, a central chapter both in location and theology, contains characters whose importance and background have been thoroughly investigated: (1) the celestial woman, (2) the dragon (Satan), and (3) the Messianic child. John throws an unexpected name into this mix of characters—the angel Michael.

This study examines the role of Michael in Revelation 12 from two perspectives: (1) that of the ideal, first century audience, and (2) that of the author of the Apocalypse. In Revelation, angels assume a variety of roles, and even Jesus is depicted in what may be called “angelic” terminology. Michael, the only angel mentioned by name, appears at a pivotal point in Revelation’s narrative and embarks on a significant battle with the dragon, Satan. The role Michael assumes in this story would seem to belong naturally to the child Messiah of Rev. 12:5, yet instead of Messiah removing the dragon from heaven, Michael and his angels fight the war.

This study considers the roles of Michael and Messiah in Revelation 12, looking specifically for a paradigm through which the first century author and audience may have understood the story. This paradigm grows from an investigation into the various interpretive streams used by John in Revelation 12 and how his audience understood those streams. These streams present various roles for Michael in the developing eschatology of Jewish (and Christian) theologies. Some of Michael’s roles mirror aspects later assigned to Messiah. Although these concepts could lead to a confusion of Messiah with Michael, a close reading of Revelation actually indicates that Michael was understood as subservient to Messiah. Indeed, this examination of the Michael traditions suggests that John may have reinterpreted Michael’s eschatological function in Revelation 12. This study investigates that reinterpretation and compares Michael’s new function to the role of Messiah in Revelation.

The thesis is available from UMI order no. 260689.

Revelation mailing list: Dissertation Abstracts 4.003: Leo R. Percer: The War in Heaven
Date of original posting on Revelation mailing list: November 11th, 2001 (?)

Sheets, Dwight David. The Sitz Im Leben of the Apocalypse: Realized Eschatology and Apocalyptic Expression. This dissertation was submitted to and passed by the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA) in June 2000, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (New Testament). The readers were Donald Hagner (advisor), David Scholer, and John Court.

The deprivation theory is commonly employed to explain the origin of apocalyptic movements and literature. The traditional theory contends that apocalyptic expression originates among those deprived of power (be it economic, social, political, religious, etc), who suffer hardship from their situation. The introduction of social scientific models allows the deprivation theory even broader application. With the marriage of the concepts of cognitive dissonance and relative deprivation, deprivation no longer requires an observable source. The subjective deprivation existing in the minds of group members is now assumed to be the impetus for most apocalyptic expression. The deprivation experienced by Jewish apocalyptic movements is commonly thought to have been the failure of prophetic promises.

This study rejects the deprivation theory because it does not fit the setting of many apocalyptic movements; it cannot account for the rise of such movements from various settings, nor explain why the deprived often exhibit no apocalyptic expression. We contend that Jewish apocalyptic thought often originated from a Sitz im Leben of realized rather than delayed or failed eschatology. Thus, to understand the rise of apocalyptic movements one must know the eschatological expectations of the group and examine how it perceived of its present situation in light of that tradition. A number of Old Testament, second temple Jewish, and first century texts manifest prophetic fulfillment and eschatological imminence. Objective deprivation is often part of the fulfillment. The apocalyptists believed the delay was over, the final day was imminent.

The Sitz im Leben of the Apocalypse of John was also realized eschatology. The letters reflect the end-time apostasy. Seals one through four reflect the fulfillment of the synoptic eschatological discourse. Because Jesus’ prophecy in the discourse was not completely fulfilled, in the trumpets and bowls cycles and their associated narratives, John shows how those events had been or would be fulfilled in another way. Similarly to his own life experience, John transfers the center of end time events from east to west, and shows how in his revised end-time scenario it was Rome rather than Jerusalem that would be destroyed before the final battle of Armageddon and the parousia.

Revelation mailing list: Dissertation Abstracts 4.002: Dwight D. Sheets: The Sitz Im Leben of the Apocalypse
Date of original posting on Revelation mailing list: July 19th, 2000