JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA 55

Exegesis and Proclamation

"And I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth, for the First...
Were Passed Away..." (Revelation 21:1-8)
G.D. Cloete and D J . Smit

EXEGETICAL
1. In the Common Lectionary this pericope is being prescribed for the New Year and
in popular use it is often preached on the last evening of the year.
2. The exegetical problems with regard to Revelation are so complex and contro-
versial that many often hesitate to preach on the Book. Therefore, a few general
comments may perhaps be helpful.
The first, and major, exegetical problem is caused by the simple fact that it is so
difficult to understand Revelation itself, in its totality as a Book. What kind of writing is
this? What is the proper way of reading and interpreting this strange, mysterious
document? Over the years of study it has become clear that the total, overall perspec-
tive of the Book plays a decisive role in understanding specific pericopes. As is also
well-known, a variety of different, often conflicting, perspectives with regard to the
Book of Revelation can be distinguished.
The so-called contextual-historical method reads the Book as the prophetical
version of real historical events during the period 68-95 AD. Symbols, numbers,
figures and events are taken literally and are all explained by way of direct comparison.
Related to the above is the so-called religious-historical method'which on the basis
of the knowledge of the world of Persian, Babylonian and Gnostic religions regards
the Book as typical mythology of that time.
Well-known is also the so-called church-historical method, according to which the
Book is to be read as prophetical descriptions of phases in the history of the church
(Joachim of Fiore). Whoever reads it in this way, then usually tries to determine at
what stage of history he/she finds him/herself and what is still to happen.
Closely related to this is the so-called end-historical method'which takes its point of
departure from the seemingly prophetic character of the Book and regards these
"prophecies" as especially referring to the end times, the final days - often under-
stood as the days in which the readers find themselves.
A popular way of dealing with the Book can be found in the many and various
attempts to make predictions on the grounds of particulars in Revelation. Many
chiliastic and millenianistic groups still reflect this type of approach. Classical exam-
ples are, for instance, the many attempts to apply the number of the beast on historical

Professor Daan Cloete is Dean of the Faculty of Theology, and D.J. Smit Professor of Theology
at the University of the Western Cape.
56 EXEGESIS AND PROCLAMATION

figures, or efforts to identify the beast with the horns. P.G.R. de Villiers refers to a work
in Afrikaans from 1982 (Kleynhans) which argues extensively that the beast sym-
bolises the European Economic Community.
In recent years the insight developed that one should read Revelation in precisely
the same way that one reads all other documents in the Bible, namely, in the first
instance, as directed towards the readers of that time and therefore, secondly, with
due consideration of the specific genre that it represents.
3. It is, therefore, extremely important to understand something of the genre of the
Book of Revelation. But what is the genre of Revelation? What kind of ancient litera-
ture does it represent?
This is unfortunately a very difficult question to answer. Over the years it became
clear that this Book is part of the so-called apocalyptic literature. Exegetes even warn
that one should be careful in preaching on this kind of literature, unless one is know-
ledgeable of its character and how it functioned.
But: What is apocalypitic literature? Who were the first exponents of it and under
what circumstances? And what were the life situations of the addressees and what did
it mean to them?
Once again, these are extremely difficult questions to answer! And one is over-
whelmed by the volume of scholarly material available on these questions, reflecting
deep differences of opinion.
In recent years and past decades, knowledge about apocalypticism has increaed
extensively. During the nineteenth century many new apocalyptic writings have been
discovered and in 1947 even more in the library of Qumran, suggesting the existence
of an apocalyptic community during the time of the New Testament. Translations were
made of some of the original manuscripts whereby the material was made accessible
to many researchers. Since then, different pioneering works appeared, like the well-
known ones of Russell (1960, 1964), Koch (1969) and Hanson (1971, 1975). In the
USA a research group from the Catholic Biblical Association was started in 1973 and
in 1981 another research group was formed by the SBL. Different issues of the CBQ
and Semeia deal with their findings. In 1987 the NISSA at its annual conference dealt
with Revelation and apocalypticism as its main theme.
The question of the specific genre of Revelation has not been finally answered,
because within the apocalyptic literature different subgenres and deviations can be
observed. In recent years different researchers individually and collectively explored
the genre of the apocalyptic literature thoroughly, but there seems to be no general
consensus yet as to what all the characteristics of this genre really are.
As far as Revelation is concerned, it becomes clear that here the "normal" charac-
teristics of an apocalypse are combined with that of a letter. The apocalyptic story is
presented within the format of a letter to congregations. The author, who preferred not
to remain anonymous, which is typical apocalyptic literature, but to identify himself,
like the writer of a letter, therefore, obviously wanted the Book to be read in the con-
gregations.
In the research special attention is paid to the function of apocalyptic literature. The
following is, for example, the definition of apocalyptic literature of the influential
Seme/a-group originally formulated in 1979, but expanded in 1986, precisely to raise
the issue of its function more explicitly:
 JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA 57

"Apocalypse" is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation

is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality
which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial insofar as it
involves another, supernatural world. (It is) intended to interpret present, earthly circumstances
in light of the supernatural world of the future, and to influence both the understanding and the
behaviour of the audience by means of divine authority, (italics GDC & DJS)

It is very obvious that almost all these characteristics of apocalyptic literature in

general are also applicable to the Book of Revelation. The emphasised part of the
paragraph makes the important point: both the understanding and the behaviour of
the readers/listeners are to be influenced. Apocalyptic literature is not mere specula-
tion. On the contrary, it is dramatic indoctrination and propaganda. As P.G.R. de
Villiers puts it: "It is about dreamers who dream." Schillebeeckx expresses the same
idea as follows: "Revelation is a book representing the spiritual resistance of Chris-
tians. The author seeks to encourage believers: Christ is coming soon. The end is in
sight."
This comforting, encouraging and motivating character of the Book must be
emphasised strongly, especially in times when preachers often tend to use it for a con-
trary purpose, namely to frighten people with sinister revelations of predicted mys-
teries and cosmic catastrophes, as we all know so well. Instead of security, the Book
is thus used to create insecurity! Nothing is further from the point than this kind of
approach to the text.
4. Many writers regard it as crucial to try and reconstruct the possible socio-historical
circumstances in which the Book and this particular chapter made good sense to the
original readers. It is obvious from the Book itself, that it was written during a time of
tribulation and even martyrdom. But what caused the tribulation, and during what
period?
Concerning the real social-historical circumstances of "this great oppression,"
there are major differences of opinion. Most exegetes accept that Revelation was writ-
ten in the time of Domitian. From Revelation itself, but also from later Roman his-
torians, his reign is generally seen as one of bitter oppression of the Christians.
Recently, Thompson doubted this premise by saying that it is not a true reflection of
the situation.
What stands firm, however, is that there was an emperor-cult and that Christians
experienced this situation as an intense conflict, and as an attack on their faith. More
important than the "real situation" (about which exegetes differ) is this "rhetorical situ-
ation" (reflected in the Book itself.) Added to this, it seems that the greatest threat did
not come so much from outside, but from inside in the form of possible compromise
and dissidence.
5. Looking at the structure of Revelation and how chapter 21 fits into that could also
be helpful. Once again, however, the efforts of exegetes to describe this structure,
vary quite significantly.
In 1955 Bowman listed a number of structures from commentaries to illustrate the
differences. As the exegetical works on apocalyptic literature and specifically on
Revelation have multiplied in the past fifteen years, one can extend this list even
further. Five well-known examples are those of Kraft (1974), Hahn (1929), Lambrecht
(1980), Schüssler Fiorenza (1981) and Hellholm (1982). See Botha, De Villiers &
Engelbrecht for a useful comparison and discussion of proposals.
58 EXEGESIS AND PROCLAMATION

The structure of Schussler Fiorenza finds general approval According to her the
Book was built up concentrically as follows
A 1 1-8 Prologue and greetings
Β 1 9-3 22 Prophetic message to seven churches
C 4 1-9 21 Christ, the eschatological liberator
D 10 1-15 4 The prophetic community and its oppressors
CC 15 5-1910 Trial and sentence of Babylon/Rome
BB 19 11 -22 9 Eschatological judgement and salvation
AA 22 10-21 Epilogue and epistolary frame
The important question remains where and how does chapter 21 now fit into this
structure of the Book of Revelation? It is clear that these verses form part of the final
vision of triumph, salvation and liberation (BB), and therefore corresponds with the
prophetic message to the seven churches (B), according to Fiorenza's structure
Some (like Fiorenza) think that this passage already starts at 19 11 so that the rider
on the white horse and the binding of Satan form part of the description, others let the
passage start at 20 1 and still others regard only 21 1-22 9 (or 22 5 or 22 8) as the
description of the final salvation Differences concerning these larger divisions, how­
ever, do not really change the function of these particular verses
It is accepted here that the pencope proclaims the promise of the new heaven and
new earth (1 -2), of the holy city, the new Jerusalem of God descending from heaven
(2), the dwelling of God amongst the people, where everything becomes new and suf­
fering will disappear (3-5) The promise is reliable and true (5-7), which comforted
those who persevered, but warned those who were unfaithful and fearful that they
would not share in it (8) From verse 9 onwards the new Jerusalem is then described
In these verses two themes therefore come together, that of judgement and of sal­
vation In the preceding passages to 21, the judgement is described, in the following
passage, salvation is the theme It is clear that this is the key passage since the two
themes are combined
6 This combination of judgement and salvation also makes it possible to understand
the serious warning in verse 8
Apocalyptic literature is indeed - as has been said earlier - meant to comfort, but
an inherent part of this comfort and support is the extremely important exhortation
The purpose of Revelation is precisely to warn against backsliding, infidelity, dissi­
dence, coolness and the lack of perseverance
Elizabeth Fiorenza emphasies this thrust, namely, the call of exhortation directed at
the Christians themselves
We ought not to overlook that the author does not posit an absolute dualism between the Chris­
tians and the "dwellers of the earth " Not only the seven letters but the whole book are full of ethi­
cal admonitions and exhortations for the Christians This ethical interest of the author prevents
the reader of that time as well as us from projecting "evil" only onto others but not to hold our­
selves accountable Revelation speaks not only of vengeance against the dehumanizing, anti-
Christian, demonic and political powers, but also calls the inhabitants of the earth as well as the
Christians to repentance The author insists that the Christians in no way have "made it" but that
they are still in danger of losing their share in the New Jerusalem

The interesting, almost remarkable, expressions that are used in the admonition in
 JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA 59

verse 8 must all be seen in the light of this exhortation, this warning to the believers
themselves.
The two embracing terms for those who do not share in the vision of heaven are that
they are "afraid" and "cowardly. " Both these expressions must be read in context.
Morris writes:
It is not without importance that the cowardly (not the fearful, as AV) head the list. In the cir-
cumstances in which John's readers found themselves, courage was a prime virtue... To be
cowardly before the enemies of God at the last is finally to lose the things of God. John is speak-
ing not of natural timidity and fear, but of that cowardice which in the last resort chooses self and
safety before Christ.

"Cowardly," therefore, identifies those who left the congregation or who left Christ,
those who proved to be unreliable in the time of oppression and attack, "those who in
the testing time have given way" (Morris). In the time of the early church, loyalty in this
sense could have been one of the most important characteristics of the believers in
the face of martyrdom and the suffering that society brought upon them.
The other expressions in verse 8 ("licentious," "murderers," "adulterers," "de-
ceivers," "idolaters," "liars") must all in the first instance be understood in this way.

HERMENEUTICAL
1. A very important question is: how did apocalyptic writings function? And also: is it
perhaps possible to understand something of the way the Book of Revelation itself
functioned, i.e. what its rhetorical effect on its readers was supposed to be?
Remarks by Wayne Meeks, John de Gruchy and Ernst Käsemann may perhaps be
helpful in this regard:
a. In his excellent work on the moral world of the early Christians, Meeks deals with
Revelation under the heading: "On the side of the angels." He says that the level of
description in this book is so cosmic and unreal that it seems that morality does not
play a role. This view, however, may be misleading. Apocalyptic literature is filled with
"moral passion" and Revelation is no exception. This letter, directed towards the con-
gregations of the seven cities in Asia Minor, was clearly meant to influence the
behaviour of those who listen to it in their gatherings.
The strategy of Revelation, Meeks goes on to say, is to influence the reader's
general view of reality, of life, by giving an alternative vision of reality as it is seen from
the perspective of heaven: "The business of this writing is to stand things on their
heads in the perceptions of its audience, to rob the established order of the most
fundamental power of all: its sheer facticity."
The moral strategy of the Apocalypse, therefore, is to destroy common sense as a guide for life.
Prudential morality is based on the taken-for-granted consensus about the way things are.
Rome, for example, is a fact of such magnitude that it is unlikely to be altered. For a century she
has represented peace and stability in the provinces. So long as one does not disturb the public
order or wilfully affront one of the symbols or agents of her sovereignty, Rome is a powerful but
benign presence. That is the common sense and from it follows a quiet and peaceable life.

"The vision of the Apocalypse shreds and strips away that common sense..."
"But what kind of life follows, if the reversed images and torn language of John
succeed?..."
"Military images abound... but... the humans who 'conquer' do so by remaining
60 EXEGESIS AND PROCLAMATION

faithful, perhaps, also to the point of death, not by taking up arms against the govern-
ment The Revolution is no call for revolutionary action, but for passive resistance, for
disengagement and quietism "

b John de Gruchy, in his recent work, Liberating Reformed Theology, makes similar
comments
The proclamation of the reign of God, which was central to the ministry of Jesus and which
embodied God's freedom, providential and covenantal care, and commitment to justice, was
central to the apostolic preaching of the early Christian communities In Pauline Chnstianity in
particular it found its sharpest form in the confession that "Jesus is Lord," and in the doxologies
of the Book of Revelation, which - as Salile McFague reminds us, though critically-found such
powerful expression in Handel's Messiah It is true, as we have already said, that such confes-
sions and doxological affirmations can be misappropriated so that they lead, as they often have,
to a triumphalist faith, church, and missionary vision, to say nothing of the secular and political
variations of the same theme But let us recall the context within which they emerged
The doxologies of the Book of Revelation do portray the triumph of God and of his Christ, but
it is their triumph over the idols of destruction, the apocalyptic beasts threatening to destroy not
only humanity but the entire cosmos There is undoubtedly a sense of sharing in the triumph of
God, but it is the victory of "the Lamb that was slain," and the participants are the humble and
the meek of the earth who have known something of the suffering of the Son of Man and those
witnesses or martyrs who have been washed in his blood It is true that God is our friend, but in
the confrontation with idols, with evil, with tyranny, with the "principalities and powers," the
appropriate metaphor is surely not "friend," but "Lord and God " The doctrine of God s
sovereignty puts limits on the human "will to power," the idolatrous desire to play God's role in
human affairs The doctrine of God's sovereignty read in the light of the theology of the cross is,
in fact, the basis of ideological critique and the struggle for human liberation from oppression
On the one hand, the proclamation of the reign of God in the crucified Mediator is a check against
arbitrary human power, but on the other it is a doctrine of empowering hope and encouragement
for the oppressed I ndeed, it is only from this perspective - the perspective of suffering and strug-
gle, the perspective of the cross - that we can begin to understand the sovereign reign of God
in Jesus Christ and thus begin to appreciate the mystery of God's gracious election of people
through whom God's redemption becomes a historical reality This is not the election of a people
who are powerful, but of a people who, being rendered powerless by dominant society, have
been empowered by God to be his witnesses for liberation and justice in the world Through them
God fulfills his redemptive purpose for all humankind and thus reveals his true glory in his rede-
mptive acts in history

c Kasemann, in Jesus Means Freedom, understands the function of Revelation in

the same way, as a powerful transformative vision He deals with Revelation under
the heading "Hunger and thirst after righteousness " It has to do with comfort and
strengthening of people yearning for righteousness, who as a result are being oppres-
sed and become sufferers It is about people who in the worship service really plea for
salvation from the concrete life as they experience it daily, who would want to be trans-
ferred to another, better world For people who experience this "first - or First world"
as acceptable and good to the extent that they wish it will never pass away, this vision
will evidently not give the same comfort On the contrary
Kasemann actually summarises the scope of Revelation with the questions To
whom does the world belong? To whom does the earth belong? Who has the last say
on the direction of world history? He continues as follows
If the outlook of Revelation was described above as revolutionary, we must not overlook the par-
 JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA 61

ticular character of those revolutionaries. They fight, not to achieve power, but because they
have to become like their Lord. Their wish is not to conquer the world, but to defend their Lord's
claim to the earth, and they die in doing so. Their aim is not the overthrow of the existing order,
but the testimony that he who makes all things new is on the way. They are nothing else than the
Creator's deputies in a world given to apostasy, and so they have to deal with those who have
set up their own name against their Lord, who do not regard power as a mandate from the
Creator and therefore misuse it. Thus far, Christians who accept the call to resistance are not
simply witnesses to God's reign and tokens of its realisation. They are at the same time re-
presentatives of a misuse creation, the spokesman of all who oppress, the people of the desert
who remind everyone that Egypt must be finally abandoned, and that salvation is to be found only
in the exodus.
These comments may together perhaps serve as a general framework and an over-
all perspective for preparing sermons on this pericope and its vision of salvation: The
moral strategy is to destroy common sense as a guide for life. (Meeks) To whom does
the world belong? Who has the last say on the direction of history? (Käsemann) Only
from the perspective of the cross can we begin to understand the reign of God in
Christ. (De Gruchy)
2. One could of course say that the essence of the gospel itself and definitely of
Christian worship, liturgy and cult in general is to transform the believers, in that they
are given an experience of another strange, new reality. In this respect, therefore, the
pattern of Revelation is indeed similar to that of the other Books of the New Testa-
ment.
It is certainly true of the parables. They are intended to open the eyes and ears of
the listeners for another reality, for God and for the life in God's presence, and thus
the parables become an invitation, but at the same time a challenge to the listeners
to hand themselves over to the new world and its possibilities or to keep on living with
their known reality.
The same can be said of the Sermon on the Mount, of the miracle stories, of the
Gospels as a whole, and of the story of Acts: the believing readers are time and again
invited into another reality, to agree to it and to allow themselves to be changed by it.
In short, faithful preaching on this pericope must in the first place be an attempt to
proclaim such an alternative vision of reality.
It could indeed be argued that, through the centuries, Christian liturgy played the
same role: the elements like the sermon, the sacrament, the prayers, the songs, the
benediction.
A challenging illustration of this is James Cone's description of a worship service of
black Christians in America:
The black church congregation is an eschatological community that lives as if the end ottime is
already at hand... The eschatological significance of the black community is found in the people
believing that the Spirit of Jesus is coming to visit them in the worship service each time two or
three are gathered in his name, and to bestow upon them a new vision of their future humanity.
This eschatological revolution is not so much a cosmic change as it is a change in the people's
identity, wherein they are no longer named by the world but they are named by the Spirit of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit's presence with the people is a liberating experience. Black people who have
been humiliated and oppressed by the structures of white society six days of the week, gather
together each Sunday morning in order to experience a new definition of their humanity. The
transition from Saturday to Sunday is not just a chronological change from the seventh to the first
day of the week. It is rather a rupture in time, a kairos-event which produces a radical transforma-
62 EXEGESIS AND PROCLAMATION

tion in the people's identity. The janitor becomes the chairperson of the Deacon Board; the maid
becomes the president of Stewardess Board Number 1. Everybody becomes Mr and Mrs, or
Brother and Sister. The last becomes first, making a radical change in the perception of a self and
one's calling in the society. Every person becomes somebody, and one can see the people's
recognition of their new-found identity by the way they walk and talk and "carry themselves."
They walk with the rhythm of an assurance that they know where they are going, and they talk
as if they know the truth about which they speak. It is this experience of being radically trans-
formed by the power of the Spirit that defines the primary style of black worship.

3. It may, in fact, be useful for preachers to consider the role of visions, dreams,
utopias, imagination in general when considering this pericope for a sermon.
Some remarks by known scholars may be helpful in this regard. In one way or
another they all affirm the transformative power of such visions:
Amod Wilder, well-known for his work on the powerful language and myths of the
new Testament, writes (Theopoetic): "Our visions, stories and utopias are not only
aesthetic: they engage us."
Gregory Baum, the Canadian Catholic systematic theologian known for his impor-
tant work on theology and social theory, says (Religion and alienation, an excellent
work on the power of symbols to use for this purpose): "... symbols which dominate
people's imagination have great power in the creation of their future."
E. Schüssler Fiorenza emphasises the therapeutic influence of such a vision:
"Although John could not change the brute realities of their world, he could control
their destructive effects by taking his audience on a dramatic-cathartic journey."
In short, faithful preaching on this pericope must in the second place be an attempt
to employ the transformative power of the alternative vision of reality.
4. Several theologians also emphasise the existential, personal needs of people
that make it possible for them to appreciate comforting visions like these. To put it
bluntly: Only people who suffer, truly long for salvation! Only people who are in need,
truly appreciate comfort! Only people who experience reality as painful, long for an
alternative, transforming and liberating vision of reality!
For it is clear: Exactly in the comforting newness of the coming heaven and earth
an implicit reference is hidden to the suffering and pain of the present experience of
heaven and earth. All the preceding chapters of Revelation, in fact, dealt with this at
great length. Here, in chapter 21:1-8, it is therefore not repeated but definitely pre-
supposed.
It is self-evident that this kind of literature will give tremendous comfort only to those
that suffer and protest against the pain of the present, but that it will mean very little
for those who find life comfortable and good and are, therefore, relatively at ease with
the present experiences of heaven and earth.
Dorothée Solle writes in this spirit on the content of verses 3-4. She was asked by
an evangelical magazine to write something in relation to these verses on the theme:
"Life without sufferingι - a Utopia?" She says that she started thinking about this vision
from the "dehistoricising" and "deconcretising" mentality of the typical civil religion in
which she grew up and was educated. She continues:

That is, I automatically presupposed that the biblical revelation is given to all, including me. I
unconsciously assumed that the expectations and desires expressed in the Apocalypse were
the same as mine in the twentieth century. Without realising it I made a carefree appropriation
of hopes that as a matter of fact were those of historically determined groups. At that time it was
 JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA 63

the disinherited and the outlawed who were looking for the city of God. It was Christians per-
secuted by the Roman state who conjured up this vision of the city of God from the midst of "great
tribulation" and distress. Similarly, throughout the history of the interpretation and appropriation
of the Bible, the ones who have called for a God who will wipe all tears away have been those
who, like the German peasants of the sixteenth century, have been oppressed and persecuted
and have had their right to life severely curtailed.
By a "bourgeois appropiation of the Bible" I mean the claim made by a privileged group to all the
treasures laid up in history. I regard such an appropriation in our day as impudent and bourgeois
because it pays no heed to the underlying distinction of classes and because, although it pro-
ceeds historically at its point of departure, it acts ahistorically in its determination of the goal. A
life without hunger is promised to the hungry, not to the satisfied.
The concern of the biblical authors was not to make a general statement about a situation as free
as possible of suffering for everyone, but rather to console those under persecution and unjustly
treated. They pay no heed to the persecutor and the onlooker at this spectacle. But bourgeois
theology has ways of interpreting revelation to suit its own pleasure. It passes over in silence the
judgement and the necessity that "the former things must pass away" before the tears of the
afflicted can be dried (just think of the world that is meant by "the former things"), and it privatises
hope, as though hope were meant for each individual as such, regardless of his or her economic
and social position.
To read the Bible in a materialist manner means to resist these tendencies to neutralisation and
class neutrality. It is true, of course, that Jesus Christ died for all and came to liberate all. But we
would be interpreting this liberation in a completely schematic, miraculous, and extrinsic way if
we thought of it simply as a shifting of objects to another place, where, so to speak, the sun
shines brighter. Objects cannot be liberated; they can only change owners. If liberation is only
an exodus from injustice, then it need bear little relationship to specific classes; without a trans-
formation in the relationship of ownership and property, it will be just another idealistic expres-
sion of individual desires that remain completely unconverted.
In short, faithful preaching on this pericope must in the third place keep in mind that
only listeners who experience their own pain and suffering will appreciate the trans-
formative power of this alternative vision of reality.
5. Perhaps a final warning must be sounded to be kept in mind when preaching on
these verses. Although this pericope, as is the case with the Book of Revelation as a
whole, was meant for suffering Christian churches and can really only be claimed by
them, it is a sad truth that exactly these groups have misunderstood it during the cen-
turies with disastrous and painful consequences.
Luke T. Johnson writes about this and applies it specifically to 21:1 -8:
Few writings in all of literature have been obsessively read with such generally disastrous results
as the Book of Revelation. Its history of interpretation is largely a story of tragic misinterpretation

For the dispossessed and resentful, Revelation (in passages such as 21:1 -8) offered, with the
idealised picture of the primitive church in Acts 4:32-37, the basis for Utopian, egalitarian projects
that sought by human effort to bring about the vision of a heavenly Jerusalem. No matter that
such movements invariably led to the destruction of their sponsors. The ideal is born again in
every age, including our own, when many Christians find in Revelation the most helpful hand-
book for the determination of the inevitable Armageddon (16:16). In short, the Book of Revelation
is one of those rare compositions that speaks to something deep and disturbed in the human
spirit with a potency never diminished by fact or disconfirmation.

In short, faithful preaching on this pericope must in the fourth place be extremely
careful not to arouse this kind of self-destructing misunderstanding.
64 EXEGESIS AND PROCLAMATION

HOMILETICAL
To summarise and apply the four theses developed above, against the overall
framework (Meeks, De Gruchy, Käsemann, see Hermenetucal 1): It seems that
preachers have to focus on two rhetorical strategies with regard to this pericope,
namely, comfort and exhortation (see Exegetical 3 and 4 as well as 6 and Hermeneut-
ical 2) and transformation (see Hermeneutical 4), and be careful of causing the mis-
understanding of self-destructive fanaticism (see Hermeneutical 5).
With regard to the first strategy, namely to comfort, the emphasis could be on the
fact that suffering as a result of oppression, discrimination, hunger is very typical of the
"first world" (in the Pauline sense, see Käsemann.) And the church and Christians are
undoubtedly part of it. On many occasions in the course of history the church and
Christians have been the victims of these maltreatments. The extent and severity of
these experiences often had as a consequence that believers became impatient,
unfaithful, apostate (See the exhortation, Exegetical 6.)
In these situations the message of the new heaven and the new earth, the vision of
the new Jerusalem, could have been comforting. It could remind them that in spite of
their present ghastly experiences, God will fulfill his promises. There is hope and there
is a totally different world to the one of their present experience. Their prayers would
be that it would come soon and that God would keep them faithful. Their comfort would
be that the present is not the final world, that those who oppress them would not have
the final word. (See the quotations from Käsemann and Cone, Hermeneutical 1 and 2)
On the strategy of transformation, it should be explained in relation to and not in
opposition to the above. While it is true that only God in the final analysis will change
the existing order and turn it upside down, it also explains the role of the faithful in this
process. (See the quotation from De Gruchy, Hermeneutical 1) Precisely in the
attitude that they reveal in the situation of suffering and oppression there is a re-
volutionary element. This is especially true during times of so-called "peace and sta-
bility." It is important to note that the Book of Revelation is full of military images and
revolutionary language. This is, however, no call for revolutionary action. Rather, in
the passive resistance, in the steadfast clinging to the alternative vision and its moral
implications, in the refusal to be overwhelmed by the common sense of sheer facticity,
lies the challenge to the established order and the subversion of the principalities and
powers of this world. In this manner the process of transformation can take place and
the preliminary signs of the awaiting new heaven and new earth could be erected.

BIBUOGRAPHY
COMMENTARIES
Beastey-Murray, G R (NCB) (London Oliphants, 1974)
Boring, M E (Interpretation)
Bruteen, Ch (ZBK) (Zünch Theologisher Verlag)
Caird, G Β (London Black, 1973)
Hendnksen, W More than conquerors (London Tyndale, 1962)
Morns, L (London Tyndale, 1976)
Schussler Fiorenza, E (Proclamation) (Philadelphia Fortress Press, 1981)
Sweet, J Ρ M (London SCM Press, 1979)
HOMILETICAL
Boesak, A A Comfort and protest (Philadelphia Westminster Press, 1987)
Smit, D J Open 5 5-6, Riglyne vir prediking oor vrede Woord teen die Lig HI/1 (Kaapstad Lux Verbi 1990)
Smit, D J Open 12 10-12, Riglyne vir prediking oor vrede Woord teen die Lig HI/1 (Kaapstad Lux Vertu 1990)
Smit, D J Open 21 1-8, Verdede nglyne vir adventsprediktng Woord teen die Lig I/7 (Kaapstad Lux Verbi 1989)
Tillich, Ρ The shaking of the foundations (Hammondsworth, Middlesex, Penguin, 1963)
Wuellner, W & Leslie The surpnsing gospel (London Abingdon Press, 1984)
 JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA 65

ADDITIONAL
Baum, G. Religion and alienation (New York: Paulist Press, 1975)
Botha, E., De Villiers, P.G.R. & Engelbrecht, J. Reading revelation. (Pretoria: J L van Schaik, (Pty) Ltd, 1988)
Cone, J. Sanctification, liberation and black worship Theology today 35,139-152.
De Gruchy, J.W. Liberating Reformed Theology (Grand Rapids: Wm Β Eerdmans/Cape Town: David Philip, 1991)
De Villers, P.G.R. Leviatan aan 'n lintjie (Pretoria: Serva, 1987)
Hellholm, D. The problem of apocalyptic genre and the Apocalypse of John, Semeia 36/1986
Johnson, L.T. The writings of the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986)
Käsemann, E. Jesus means freedom (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968)
Meeks, W.A. "Social functions of apocalyptic language in Pauline Christianity" in D. Hellholm (ed) Apocalypticism in the Mediter-
ranean world and the Near East (Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1989)
Meeks, W. The moral world of the first Christians (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987)
Schillebeeckx, E. Christ (London: SCM Press, 1987)
Schüssler Fiorenza, E. The Book of Revelation. Justice and judgement. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985)
Schüssler Fiorenza, E. Invitation to the Book of Revelation. A commentary on the Apocalypse with complete text from the
Jerusalem Bible (Garden City, New York: Image Books, 1981)
Solle, D. "Between Matter and Spirit: Why and in What Sense Must Theology Be Materialist?" in: Schottroff, W. & Stegemann,
W. God of the Lowly (Maryknoll New York: Orbis Books, 1984)
Thompson, L. A sociological analysis of tribulation in the Apocalypse of John, Semeia 36/1986.
 ^ s
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