Niels David Theodor Hellholm (b. 1941) is a Swede. Since 1984 Hellholm has served at Norwegian universities (see more in Norwegian here).

In his important contribution to the development of the problem of apocalyptic genre, Professor, dr.theol. David Hellholm, the author of, .e.g., Das Visionenbuch des Hermas als Apokalypse, analysed the Book of Revelation (see David Hellholm’s works). In another very technical article, Hellholm has analysed the prologue of Revelation (see David Hellholm, The Visions He Saw).

See also:

• “Apokalypse. I. Form und Gattung.” Pp. 585-8 in Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart. 4th ed. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1998.
• “Apokalyptik. I. Begriffsdefinition als religionsgeschichtliches Problem.” Pp. 590-1 in Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart. 4th ed. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1998.
• “Apokalyptiken som religionshistoriskt och litterärt fenomen.” [Apocalyptic as a religio-historical and literary phenomenon]. Nordisk Teologisk Tidsskrift 98 (1997): 131-42.

Dr.theol. Jarl Henning Ulrichsen wrote his second thesis on Revelation: “Das eschatologische Zeitschema der Offenbarung des Johannes” in 1988, for which he was awarded the degree of dr.phil. by the University of Trondheim in 1988. He is currently professor at the University of Trondheim.

Related to this work:

• Ulrichsen, Jarl Henning. “Die sieben Häupter und die zehn Hörner: Zur Datierung der Offenbarung des Johannes.” Studia Theologia 39 (1985): 1-20.
• Ulrichsen, Jarl Henning. “Dyret i Åpenbaringen: En skisse til tidshistorisk forståelse av kapitlene 13 og 17” (The Beast in The Book of Revelation: Towards a Contemporary-Historcal Understanding of Chapters 13 and 17). Norsk Teologisk Tidsskrift 87 (1986): 167-77.

A significant part (pp. 354-509) of Aage Hauken’s doctoral thesis, “The Greek Vocabulary of the Roman Imperial Cult and the New Testament,” is devoted to Revelation. The thesis is available on-line in a pdf-file. It was submitted as a Dissertatio ad lauream [doctoral thesis] to the Pontificia Universitas S. Thomae de Urbe, [1986-1991]. Aage Hauken’s 278 page book, Roma og de første kristne: En bok om dyrets tall [Rome and the First Christians: A Book on the Number of the Beast] (Oslo: St. Olav forlag, 1998), may be seen as a popularisation of some aspects of his doctoral thesis, according to Hauken. Hauken argues that the contemporary-historical situation is the key to Revelation, namely the Domitianic imperial cult in Ephesus.

Professor Peder Borgen, well-known on account of especially his Philo research, has written at least two articles on the imperial cult and persecution with relevance for Revelation:

• “Emperor Worship and Persecution in Philo’s In Flaccum and De legatione ad Gaium and the Revelation of John.” Pages 493-509 in Frühes Christentum. Edited by Hubert Cancik, Hermann Lichtenberger, and Peter Schäfer. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1996.
• “Moses, Jesus, and the Roman Emperor: Observations in Philo’s Writings and the Revelation of John.” Novum Testamentum 38 (1996): 145-59.

Sverre Bøe, assoc. professor at Fjellhaug Skoler, is the author of the thesis Gog and Magog (cf. Bruken).

Sigve Tonstad is the author of a doctoral thesis submitted to St. Andrews University, Scotland: Saving God’s Reputation: The Theologial Function of Pistis Iesou in the Cosmic Narratives of Revelation. Library of New Testament Studies, 337. London; New York: T & T Clark, 2006. [More to follow later]

Johan Lyder Brun, professor of the New Testament at the University of Oslo 1897-1940, argued that Revelation 13 and 17 must be interpreted contemporary-historically, in “Die Römischen Kaiser in Der Apokalypse.” Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 26 (1927): 128-51. A short biography is here.

Martin Synnes, former assoc. Professor at The Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology, made important contributions to the study of the Book of Revelation (cf. “Synnes, Tusenårsrike” and further below). He argues that the resurrection of the martyrs in Rev 20:4-6 primarily functions as a rehabilitation. Olav Hovdelien surveyed the millennial problem as well in his M.Theol.-thesis, Martyrenes belønning. Perhaps one should also mention: Jon Olav Ryen. “Herold og tolk: Englenes funksjon i Johannes’ Åpenbaring.” Tidsskrift for Teologi og Kirke 68 (1997): 25-35.

Major scholarly commentaries

I have found no major scholarly commentary on Revelation originally written in Norwegian. A major commentary by C. H. A. Burger (Karl Heinrich August von Burger) was translated from German and published in 1889. The original Die Offenbarung St. Johannis is 347 pages long.

Other commentaries

A 85 page commentary by J. H. H. Brochmann, providing an a-historical interpretation, was issued in 1917 by the Publishing Company of the Norwegian Luther Foundation (Lutherstiftelsens Forlag).

Apparently no commentary was written in Norwegian between 1917 and 1960 when professor Olaf Moe published his 275 page commentary: Bibelens siste bok [The Last Book of the Bible]. Unlike the Swedish translation that was reprinted twice, it was apparently only printed once.

No commentaries being available for a long time, Lars Eritsland (b. 1913), a lecturer at the Bible School of the Inner Mission Society in Oslo, Norway, was persuaded to write a new commentary. This 231 page volume came out in 1978. It has been reprinted at least twice (1979 and 1990). Eritsland’s commentary is premillennial, but otherwise quite traditional. Eritsland often quotes Madsen, Torm and Moe.

Finally, professor of philosophy Egil A. Wyller (b. 1925) has published a volume, featuring a translation, an introduction and some essays (1986). A second edition was included in the author’s henological series in 1997.

In 1996 Martin Synnes (see above) published a very useful commentary on Revelation 2–3 (cf. Synnes, Sju profetiske budskap).

Translations

Translations include professor Frederik Torm’s Danish Johannes’ Aabenbaring (1942) and dr. David Hedegård’s Uppenbarelsebokens budskap till nutiden (1944) as well as von Burger’s commentary mentioned above. “Katolsk sokneprestembete, Arendal” published an exposition of the prophecies of Daniel and the Book of Revelation (”Forklaring av Daniels profetier og Johannes’ åpenbaring”), written by the Dutch J. van den Burg, a dr.theol. This 162 page book came out in Norwegian in 1965 (repr. 1967).

Updated: July 9th, 2008

More to follow later.

Theses and related works

Dr.theol. Georg S. Adamsen (b. 1963) seems to be the first Danish exegete who wrote a doctoral thesis on Revelation. His thesis (in English) provides the first full-scale analysis of the parousia motif in the Book of Revelation as a whole.

In 1998 Adamsen wrote an essay in which he argues that the millennium is future, but truly a-millennial, i.e. atemporal. He contributed a new 12 page article on Revelation to Lohses Store Bibelleksikon, a Danish translation and revision of The New Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed.

A 300 page commentary by Georg S. Adamsen is forthcoming in the series Credo Kommentaren.

See here for a comprehensive list of Adamsen’s Danish and English writings.

Major scholarly commentaries

Professor Peder Madsen (d. 1911) who studied with, among others, professor Hofmann, in Erlangen, was professor of systematic theology, but he also lectured extensively in New Testament. In 1885-1887 (2nd ed. 1894-1896), he wrote an almost 750 page Revelation commentary, including a lengthy history of interpretation and research.

Professor Holger Mosbech (d. 1953), who studied with professor Bousset in Tübingen, wrote three volumes on Revelation. Like Peder Madsen, he wrote about the history of interpretation and research (1934), undoubtedly as a preparation for the commentary proper (1943). A linguistic commentary completed his “trilogy” (1944).

Academic articles

Although other Danish theologians have also made contributions to the study of Revelation, lecturer Geert Hallbäck (b. 1948), University of Copenhagen, is the one that must be mentioned. Hallbäck has published several articles on Revelation and “apocalyptic” since 1984 (e.g., this one and the dictionary entry on Revelation, “Johannes’ Åbenbaring,” in the 1998-edition of Gads Bibel Leksikon [vol. 1, pp. 384-385]), but as yet no major work or commentary.

See also Hallbäck’s “Johannes’ apokalyptik: Aktuelle tendenser i apokalypse-forskningen.” Præsteforeningens Blad 77 (1987): 50-8 and Jesper Høgenhaven, Aspekter i Åbenbaringsbogen, both of which deal with recent history of research at that time.

Hallbäck’s colleague at the University of Aarhus, Johannes Nissen, has published “Menighed i trængsel: Johannes’ Åbenbaring – historie og teologi.” [approx.: A suffering church: History and theolog in the Book of Revelation]. Dansk Teologisk Tidsskrift 58 (1995): 27-39.

See also Jan Stolt: “Om dateringen” [on the dating of Revelation]. In the same year, A. Greve published ” ‘Mine to Vidner’: Et forsøg på at identificere de to jerusalemitiske vidner (Apok. 11,3-13).” Dansk Teologisk Tidsskrift 40 (1977): 128-38. Greve makes an attempt to identify the two witnesses in Revelation 11.

Commentaries

Nineteenth century

The Grundtvigian theologian and pastor Otto Møller published a 348 page church-historical commentary on Revelation in 1889.

A 160 page critical commentary was published by A. C. Larsen in 1899.

A very small, premillennial commentary by Adam Bülow, a pastor associated with the Inner Mission, was published posthumously in 1906, but very likely written in the nineteenth century.

The first half of the twentieth century

Just after the First World War, another small commentary, by Johannes Loft, was published in Copenhagen (Synerne fra Patmos [The Patmos Visions], 1919), but the lectures were delivered during the early years of the war. This was also the case with another book that consists of six talks on the main visions of Revelation (Hovedsynerne i Johannes’ Aabenbaring. 1919). The author was a (Grundtvigian) rural dean and a doctor of theology, his speciality being exegesis: Anders Andersen (1846-1919 [?]). Erik Thaning, an author, also published a popular reading of Revelation, Rytteren paa den hvide Hest [The Rider on the White Horse] which he originally delivered in Messiaskirken in Copenhagen in the early 1919. Thaning mostly follows the commentary by Peder Madsen.

Also during the war, in 1917, another author associated with the Inner Mission, L. Bostrup, issued a small commentary (Johannes’s Aabenbaring) that argued that the narrative of Revelation is historically progressive and that the current time was described in Revelation 8-9. Bostrup suggested that the millennium was obscure and future, but its actual length symbolic (cf. 2 Pet 3:8). Bostrup refers to the signs of the recent times (p. 3), i.e. the war.

In another minor commentary, Johannes’ Aabenbaring from 1918, pastor Peter Ivertsen of the Danish folk church, interpreted Revelation church-historically. He rejects that Revelation is chronologically progressive (p. 9f) and prefers the recapitulationist view (p. 10).

In 1934, the Danish Bible Society of Copenhagen published a small commentary by Harald Wellejus (Johannes’s Åbenbaring). Wellejus preferred the eschatological approach (p. 13f).

During the Second World War, professor Frederik Torm published a popular commentary that was, in part, based on his academic own lectures on Revelation. Pastor Aage Krohn based his commentary, The Fifth Gospel, on others’ research, but was much more direct in his application of the message of Revelation to his own time and church. Bishop Carl Skovgaard-Petersen of Copenhagen also published a popular commentary in 1942.

The second half of the twentieth century

Popular, minor commentaries were published by pastor Christian Bartholdy, the chairman of the Danish Inner Mission (1955), and by pastor Flemming Frøkjær-Jensen, a long-time board member of the Inner Mission (1993). Both commentaries were part of a series published by the Inner MissionIn 1947 the organisation Ordet og Israel [The Word and Israel] published Bibelstudier over Åbenbaringsbogen [Bible studies of The Book of Revelation], written by K. M. Schmidt (1892-????). The author of this 151 page interpretation refers to Joseph A. Seiss’s The Apocalypse as the best interpretation known to him. The book consists of a series of articles from the Magazine, Budskabet [The Message], published by the mission society Danish Lutheran Mission, which is also an inner mission society closely associated with the legacy of the Swedish Carl Oluf Rosenius. The premillennial, pre-tribulational view is very popular, at least in the Ordet og Israel (cf. also Ole Andersen, the present secretary general), but others are post-tribulational (see here).

Harald Rich (d. 1983), the founder of the present Danish Pentecostal Bible College, published a small dispensational commentary in 1978.

An entry level commentary by the former pastor Andreas Davidsen was published in 1988.

Professor (”docent,” i.e. Reader) Anna Marie Aagaard (b. 1935) is a systematic theologian. Unlike Peder Madsen she did not lecture in New Testament. She has published several articles on eschatology and apocalyptic theology. Aagaard’s commentary from 1999 has a liberation-theological emphasis.

The late professor Ebbe Thestrup Pedersen’s commentary was published posthumously. One gets the impression that it was written perhaps even decades ago. It is, however, a decent introduction for lay people and, e.g., students of education.

The twenty-first century

Inspired by Frøkjær-Jensen, another author, Gunni Bjørsted, pastor in Det danske Missionsforbund, adapted a primarily symbolic approach to Revelation. Bjørsted’s volume is not a traditional commentary, but verbal “images and messages from the Book of Revelation.” More on this volume later.

See also Adamsen’s forthcoming commentary mentioned above.

Updated: July 7th, 2008

Immediately after the war, Johannes Loft, theologian, translator, author and lecturer (at a teacher-training college?) published The Patmos Visions (Synerne fra Patmos) at the publishing company of the Danish YMCA and YWCA (1919). The commentary is brief, but communicates contemporary scholarship. Loft emphasises that Revelation proclaims Christ’s coming, not in grace, but for judgment (pp. 9f). He rejects the church-historical approach. He prefers to interpret chs. 6-19 symbolically about “principles and forces,” while chs. 20-22 depicts the Second Advent of Christ.

Loft exercises restraint throughout the commentary, not least in his interpretation of Rev 20:1-10: “here it is God and the Devil that meet in the last conflict. It must be enough for us to know that the conflict ends in the judgement and eternal punishment of the Devil” (p. 106). Unlike those of Revelation 11-18, the principles of the millennium are unknown to us (ibid.).

Loft gives a series of short retrospects, dealing with geography, people, the dead, nature, and demonic forces (pp. 89-96).

Loft’s commentary is not interesting for the history of interpretation, but if Loft was a lecturer at a teacher-training college, then it may perhaps inform us as to what the future teachers of his time had learned.

—: Johannes Uppenbarelse: Bibelns sista bok. Translated by Frithiof Dahlby. Stockholm: Diakonistyrelsens bokförlag, 1963 (reprinted by Verbum, 1968 & 1978). The Swedish translation is available as an audio book.

Olaf Moe (1876-1963) was a reader/associate professor at the University of Oslo (1906-1916) and from 1916 professor of NT at what is now The Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo (Det teologiske Menighetsfakultetet). Some of Moe’s theological views were discussed when he was appointed as professor (see here).

Professor Moe was a specialist on Paul, but he also wrote extensively on the Johannine writings. In 1937, professor Moe published a 630 page commentary on the Gospel of John. His commentary on Revelation – the last but one of the many he wrote – was published in 1960, while his 115 page exposition of the Johannine letters was published in 1961. He lectured until the year after, although 86 years old.

According to Moe, his commentary was the first since J. H. H. Brochmann’s 85 page commentary from 1917. Frederik Torm’s popular commentary from 1941, however, was translated into Norwegian and published in 1942. One must also bear in mind that Norwegian theologians and pastors were able to read Danish and Swedish as well as German and probably English.

Professor Moe’s introduction discusses Revelation and prophecy/apocalyptic (pp. 9-23), interpretive principles (pp. 24-33) and the structure of Revelation (pp. 34-40). He also describes briefly the history of interpretation and various interpretive approaches (pp. 41-59). Questions about authorship (pp. 51-59), the recipients and the dating are considered as well (pp. 60-64). The last introductory chapter outlines the form and the content of Revelation (pp. 65-70).

Apart from the commentary proper, Moe gives a short retrospect of the book (pp. 273-275) and a list of commentaries (p. 276). He often refers to Peder Madsen and Holger Mosbech.

Although John’s use of the Old Testament is now a research field of its own, this area was not neglected earlier. Moe focuses very much on it throughout the commentary, and he spent some pages on the use of Daniel in the introduction (pp. 14-18). He also discusses the relations between Revelation and “the New Testament prophecy” (pp. 18-23).

Moe discusses how to understand the visions. He concludes that it is often a matter of opinion whether one should interpret Revelation “symbolically” or “realistically” (p. 26). As regards Israel, Moe is more favourable towards a “realistic” interpretation than was usually the case, especially among Lutheran interpreters (cf. pp. 28-31).

Although Moe is very cautious, he does prefer the premillennial position (pp. 30f; pp. 252f). Accordingly, he also rejects the recapitulationist theory and argues for the progressive or chronological point of view (p. 38-40). Moe prefers the eschatological approach, but emphasises that Revelation has a message for the interval between John’s time and the end time (pp. 48f). Thus he also interprets the references to Christ’s comings in Revelation 2-3 as “temporary” (ad loc.).

Moe argues that the author is the apostle John (p. 59), and he dates Revelation to the nineties (p. 64). As to the structure, Moe follows the proposal of Hadorn (p. 66).

Theses

In his thesis, Christ the Conqueror: Ideas of Conflict and Victory in the New Testament (London: SPCK, 1954), Professor of NT Ragnar Leivestad (1916-2002), University of Oslo, included a detailed discussion of Revelation.

Professor Jarl Henning Ulrichsen’s unpublished doctoral thesis “Das eschatologische Zeitschema der Offenbarung des Johannes”, submitted to the University of Tronheim, Oslo, 1988.

Aage Hauken submitted his “The Greek Vocabulary of the Roman Imperial Cult and the New Testament: Del I [Sic]” to the Pontificia Universitas S. Thomae de Urbe, probably in 1992.

Håkan Ulfgard, Revelation 7:9-17 and the Feast of Tabernacles. This thesis was accepted by the University of Lund.

Sverre Bøe, a Norwegian theologian, defended his doctoral dissertation on Gog and Magog in 1999 at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo. It was published in 2001 by Mohr Siebeck in Tübingen.

Georg S. Adamsen, a Danish theologian, submitted Parousia and Paraenesis to the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo. This thesis is not yet published.

Sigve Tonstad is the author of Saving God’s Reputation: The Theologial Function of Pistis Iesou in the Cosmic Narratives of Revelation. Library of New Testament Studies, 337. London; New York: T & T Clark, 2006. [See more here: Norwegian writings on Revelation]

Full-scale exegetical commentaries

Major scholarly commentaries are few: Peder Madsen, Johannes’ Aabenbaring and Holger Mosbech, Johannes’ Aabenbaring with the two accompanying volumes: Mosbech, Fortolkningen (history of interpretation) and Mosbech, Sproglig Fortolkning (a linguistic commentary).

Other commentaries etc.

In Danish

Danish commentaries written by scholars include (apart from Madsen and Mosbech mentioned above): Torm, Johannes’ Åbenbaring, Anna Marie Aagaard’s Danish commentary on Revelation and Thestrup Pedersen, Johannes’ Åbenbaring.

See my separate entry with an overview of a number of Danish writings on Revelation.

In Norwegian

Torm’s commentary from 1941 was mentioned above. Important is professor Olaf Moe’s commentary from 1960 and Martin Synnes’s commentary on Revelation 2-3. Martin Synnes has also published two articles on the millennium (see Synnes, Tusenårsrike). Moe and Synnes were professors at the present Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology.

Separate entry with an overview of a number of Norwegian publications will follow.

In Swedish

Otto Ferdinand Myrberg (1888) and David Hedegård (1944) [description to follow].

Bullinger’s commentary (2nd ed., 1909) was translated into Swedish and published in 1927.

In 2007, teol.dr. Leif Carlsson published a 272 page commentary on Revelation. Carlsson is the author of Round Trips to Heaven: Otherworldly Travelers in Early Judaism and Christianity. Lund University, 2004 (description to follow).

Separate entry with an overview of a number of Swedish publications will follow later.

In Finnish

Finnish does not belong to the Scandinavian languages, but Anssi Simojoki’s thesis  Apocalypse Interpreted should be noted.

Academic articles

Select articles are listed in the individual entries: Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish [links to follow].

Updated: July 9th, 2008

Leif Carlsson is TD and professor (universitetslektor) at Jönköping University. He is also the author of Round Trips to Heaven: Otherworldly Travelers in Early Judaism and Christianity. Translated by Judy Breneman. Lund Studies in History of Religions, 19. Lund: Department of History and Anthropology of Religions, Lund University; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2004.

See the Swedish presentation at the publisher’s webpage.