Johann Albrecht Bengel, who is also known by the English rendering: John Albert Bengel, was born in Württemberg i Germany in 1687. He died in 1752. He was contemporary with Johann Sebastian Bach who lived from 1685 to 1750. While Bach was a North German, Bengel was from the South of Germany.

Bengel served as a pastor and an ecclesiastical leader in the beginning and in the end of his career. For twenty-eight years, however, he lived at Denkendorf where he headed the cloister school that prepared young men for an education for Lutheran ministry as the University of Tübingen (1714-1741).

Bengel became “the father of textual criticism” (K. Aland, cited in Weborg, p. 185). Bengel was very proficient at languages and prepared critical editions of Latin and Greek texts, including the New Testament.

Influenced perhaps by Spinoza and certainly by Francke of Leipzig, Bengel explored “the role of the feelings in interpretation” (John Weborg, p. 186, citing Bengel’s New Testament Word Studies [The Gnomon]. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel, 1978, nos. 12 and 15). Bengel “developed Cocceius’s exegesis of biblical prophecies and his chiliastic orientation” (Willem J. van Asselt, in: Trevor A. Hart, The Dictionary of Historical Theology, p. 133 [Carlisle, Cumbria, U.K.: Paternoster Press, 2000]).

Bengel’s influence was enormous. His Gnomon was republished many times, and through John Wesley, “Bengel became part of the the confessional corpus of the Methodist church” (Weborg, p. 186). Indeed, the Lutheran Jaroslav Pelikan says that Bengel’s Gnomon “was commonplace in the libraries of evangelical pastors” (Weborg, p. 186).

Apocalyptic interests

Of most interest at this site is Bengel’s apocalyptic interests:

Bengel is noted for his apocalyptic interests. He calculated a date for the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ: 1836. He wrote two major books on the Book of Revelation and two works specifically coordinating time, nature and astronomy with the prophetic material. His Ordo temporum (1741) attempted to be a history of the divine economy [one of the major interests of Bengel] and a proper accounting of prophecy and how parts and whole form one story. The Cyclus (1945) especially tried to link astronomy with prophetic material, and the Explained Revelation (1740), a massive commentary on the text, concludes with six excurses detailing the history of the exegesis of Revelation. (Weborg, p. 187).

Bengel’s Explained Revelation, i.e. Erklärte Offenbarung Johannis, is now accessible at Google Books in its 3rd, 1758 edition. Bengel also published sixty devotional speeches on Revelation: “Sechzig erbauliche Reden über die Offenbarung Johannis” (1747). According to Weborg, this work has a strong “theocentric character” and “a strong emphasis on God’s glory and holiness” (p. 187).

Bengel’s interpretation of Revelation was of the historicist type, as was, e.g., Luthers. Bengel, however, lacked Luther’s reservations about the validity of this approach.

The exegete of Pietism

Bengel was “the exegete of Pietism” (J. Weborg, DMBI, p. 184). Weborg is right in mentioning the Lutheran Johann Brenz as part of Bengel’s context. One may question, however, whether Brenz would have approved of Bengel’s pietism. In fact, Bengel was criticised by Lutherans for his eschatological and apocalyptic views. When Weborg states that the critics of Bengel based “their criticism on Article 17 of the Augsburg Confession,” one may add that they did so because they were certain that this article was based on the clear teachings of the Bible. Thus, “many Lutheran scholars accused him of being either Judaistic or Anabaptistic because of his defense of an earthly millennium and literal fulfillment of prophecy” (Weborg, p. 187).

As to the significance of Bengel, see John Weborg’s concluding section.

Select online sources

More on Bengel in Wikipedia and Wikisource, and, especially, in Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon.

Select bibliography:

Bengel, Johann Albrecht. 60 erbauliche Reden über die Offenbarung Johannis oder vielmehr Jesu Christi …. Stuttgardt, 1748.
________. Bengel’s New Testament Commentary. Translated by Charlton Thomas Lewis, and Marvin Richardson Vincent. [1864]. Repr. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1981.
________. Erbauliche Reden über die Offenbarung Johannis. [Berlin-Dahlem]: Der Christliche Zeitschriftenverlag, 1946.
________. Gnomon. Translated by C. F. Werner. 8. Aufl. Mit einem Vorwort von Egon W. Gerdes; und dem Vorwort von Johann Albrecht Bengel ed. Stuttgart: Steinkopf, 1970.
________. Die Offenbarung des Johannes: Nach d. Auslegung von Johann Albrecht Bengel. Translated by Berthold Burgbacher. Metzingen, Württemberg: Franz, 1975.

Mealy, J. Webb: After the Thousand Years: Resurrection and Judgment in Revelation 20. (JSNT.SS 70). Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992. 273 pp.

Mealy’s study is the first monograph on Revelation 20 since Bietenhard’s from 1955. Mealy argues in favour of a premillennial position, even though he, at first, seems to present arguments that to me (and, indeed, him) rather supports an atemporal millennialism.

Mealy proposes several new readings and points to some very important prima facie arguments which have not been recognised before Mealy.

Mealy’s study was a very important inspiration for my article on ‘the thousand years.’

Reviews (kindly provided by dr. Mealy)

• Georg S. Adamsen, Revelation Resources [this page]
• Gregory K. Beale, “Review Article: J. W. Mealy After the Thousand Years,” in: Evangelical Quarterly 66 (1994): 229-49
• Ian Boxall, in: Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches 1/2 (1993): 250
• John M. Court, in: Journal of Theological Studies 44/1 (April 1993): 488
• Charles E. Hill, in: Journal of Biblical Literature 14/1 (Spring 1995): 169-72
• Martin Karrer, in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 118/10 (1993): cols. 836-38
• Russell Morton, in: Catholic Biblical Quarterly 55 (1993): 595-96
• Steve Moyise, in: Anvil 10/2 (1993): 164.
• Mathias Rissi, in: Interpretation (Jan. 1994): 102-103
• D.S. Russell, in: Expository Times 104/5 (February 1993): (155-)156
• John Sweet, in: Theological Book Review 6/1 (October 1993): 20.

See also the abstracts in New Testament Abstracts 38/2 (1994), 307; Theology Digest 40/2 (Summer 1993), 174.

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Wainwright, Arthur William. Mysterious Apocalypse: Interpreting the Book of Revelation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993. 293 pages, bibliography, indices and 35 pages with notes. Reprint. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock publishers, 2001.

This very well-written and well researched book contains three parts, the first of which treats “The Millennium and History”. It depends on first hand source studies and is easy to read in spite of the difficult subjects treated. Professor Wainwright treats the interpretations of Revelation throughout history in its relationship to general church history thereby facilitating understanding of the history of interpretation of Revelation.

The two other parts of the book deal with Critical Approaches, and Revelation and Human Experience.

There are six colour and two black and white illustrations supporting Wainwright’s analysis of the use of Revelation in art.

It is an excellent introduction, but I am quite sure that even scholars familiar with the literature on Revelation will find much useful information in Wainwright’s book.

Notes on individual topics
See pp. 189ff about Revelation and art.

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Maier, Gerhard. Die Johannesoffenbarung und die Kirche. (WUNT, 25). Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1981.

This book with more than 600 pages is one of the most profound studies of the history of interpretation of Revelation.

It thesis is that the chiliastic interpretation is the correct one, and it follows the debate between chiliasts and anti-chiliasts throughout the history.

The author was principal at Albrecht Bengel Haus in Tübingen and admires Bengel.

As a book with a very broad presentation, you might disagree with a lot in this book (as I do personally). Nevertheless, it is a classic.

Hill, Charles E. Regnum caelorum: Patterns of Future Hope in Early Christianity. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. xviii + 236 pp.

Hill, Charles E. Regnum Caelorum: Patterns of Millennial Thought in Early Christianity. , 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2001. xx + 324 pp.

In the first edition of his book, a revised dissertation, Charles Hill argues that chiliasm (premillennialism) was not in fact the only orthodox eschatological position of the early church. The amillennial position was present from the very beginning.

Hill argues that chiliasm was closely associated with a Jewish realistic-eschatological faith while amillennialism was associated with the belief that the dead went to heaven immediately.

In my opinion, Hill has written an important study, but, historically speaking, the chiliasts were not regarded as orthodox by the non-chiliasts, as far as I know. Neither is it clear to me that the concepts of “Jewish realistic eschatology” and amillennialism are diametrical opposites in every respect. Further research would be very helpful.

In any case, Hill’s study is very important and should be studied carefully.

More to follow later on the second edition that “updates and substantially expands Hill’s highly respected original work published by Oxford,” as the publisher states. See also the Table of Contents there.

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