The revelations of Revelation: The book that fits, even when it does not

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The revelations of Revelation: The book that fits, even when it does not
 
Creator Janse van Rensburg, Hanré
 
Subject Theology; New Testament; Apocalyptic Literature; The Book of Revelation; Performative Studies the Book of Revelation; COVID-19; crisis; the Apocalypse of John; apocalyptic literature; performative text; anamnesis; practical exegesis; significant doings; effecting change
Description The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has again confirmed our obsession with, and misuse of, the Book of Revelation. Of course, this is definitely not the first time that Revelation’s themes and imagery have been pulled out and used to try and explain the current situation. In fact, the Book of Revelation is well-known as ‘the’ book of the New Testament where information about the present as well as the future can be found. Unfortunately, in situations like these, people simply do not bother to draw from the reservoir of experiences on which the author of Revelation naturally expected his hearer or reader to draw. This phenomenon is made worse by the fact that the primary study of the text has moved into the academic institution and, by inference, away from the faith movement. This may make earnest scholarly biblical study of the Apocalypse seem irrelevant to the general concerns of the faith community and the world. But the Book of Revelation does provide an indispensable resource for helping Christians conceive of their place in the contemporary world and meditate on the role the church is to play in a modern, secular society. John’s Apocalypse is not a mere nostalgic trip down memory lane; it is a form of anamnesis or recollection – in recalling or performing the narrative, the past is made physically present. By way of a performative reading of the Book of Revelation, this article makes use of a more practical exegetical dimension.Contribution: This method brings the Apocalypse as New Testament text back into the life of the community of faith it belongs to and should be performed in, thus also increasing the usage and impact of the Book of Revelation in the faith community.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2021-07-13
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Social-scientific criticism; performative studies; speech act theory; ritual studies
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v77i4.6476
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 77, No 4 (2021); 12 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6476/18512 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6476/18513 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6476/18514 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6476/18515
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2021 Hanré Janse van Rensburg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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