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My favorite heresy is the view that many prophecies in Revelation and the Gospels already happened, and in fact happened within a few decades of Jesus' death. T
by alisonatwork 3y ago
My favorite heresy is the view that many prophecies in Revelation and the Gospels already happened, and in fact happened within a few decades of Jesus' death. That is, the end times should be understood in the local context of the people of Roman Judea and their defeat in the siege of Jerusalem. The subsequent spread of Christianity was the second coming. This makes for a less mythological and more politically interesting view of scripture. I suppose the reason why this view never really took off is because the idea that some divine pay-off is just round the corner is a compelling hook. Not sure the religion would be as successful if it was just branded as the story of a guy on the other side of the world who was an inspiration to his people 2000 years ago.
- atourgates 3y agoI’d even say that the scholarly consensus on Revelation goes a bit further: that it was written as a type of political commentary on current events. Also interesting to note that Revelation was nearly rejected for canonization because it depicts Christians in heaven continually feasting, while asceticism and a life of poverty were hallmarks of Christianity at the time. Wild to compare those values to the “prosperity” gospel of today. If you’re interested in the history and development of Revelation, I’d recommend Bart Ehrman’s Great Courses lecture[1], or his Podcast episodes on the topic[2]. [1] https://archive.org/details/BartEhrman-TheHistoryOfTheBibleTheMakingOfTheNewTestamentCanon https://archive.org/details/BartEhrman-TheHistoryOfTheBibleT... [2] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-of-revelation-and-the-end-of-the/id1650657462?i=1000599490312 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-of-revelation...
- alisonatwork 3y agoThanks for linking this course, it's great!