The question of Mark 13 as an apocalypse

Verbum et Ecclesia

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The question of Mark 13 as an apocalypse
 
Creator Nel, Marius
 
Subject Theology apocalypse; apocalyptic; eschatology; parousia; overheated end-time expectations; imminent end
Description Background: Many researchers accept that the Gospel of Mark is apocalyptic, which necessitates the need to determine whether Mark 13’s eschatological discourse represents an apocalypse.Setting: The question of whether the early church utilised an apocalyptic worldview is widely discussed in scholarly circles.Methods: The article utilises a form-critical and syntactical analysis of the text of Mark 13.Results: Mark 13 is deliberately written in a mode displaying several apocalyptic features. The text engages the present crisis situation when Roman authorities quelled Roman resistance by destroying parts of Jerusalem, including the Temple, in response to the question of whether the present crisis indicates the end of the present aeon and the introduction of a new world.Conclusion: The Markan Jesus emphasises that the current situation introduces further suffering and persecution for believers but that does not indicate the end in itself. The time of the end is unknown, even to him. The discourse hence serves anti-apocalypse to discourage believers from overheated end-time expectations of an imminent end. Christians do not know when the end is coming, but they know who they expect to return.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research findings contribute to Old and New Testament studies into apocalypticism.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2023-11-21
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ve.v44i1.2837
 
Source Verbum et Ecclesia; Vol 44, No 1 (2023); 8 pages 2074-7705 1609-9982
 
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://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2837/6822 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2837/6823 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2837/6824 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2837/6825
 
Coverage Near East Early Christian church —
Rights Copyright (c) 2023 Marius Nel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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