I am lecturing on Revelation for Prof. Susan Eastman’s NT intro class this Friday here at Duke. Here is the outline of my lecture, minus illustrations. I will post parts of the lecture in coming days.
Worshiping and Following the Slaughtered Lamb into the New Creation
I. When I say “Revelation,” you say…
II. Attraction or Revulsion?
A. The Aesthetic Appeal of Revelation: music, art
B. Revelation as a Problem
1. Critics
2. Functional de-canonization
3. Fanatics
III. Introductory questions
A. Genre(s): a hybrid
B. Date: 60s or 90s
C. Authorship: which John?
D. Rhetorical situation: persecution or accommodation?
E. Addressees: then and now
IV. Hermeneutics
A. Four possible strategies
1. Preterist (historical-critical)
2. Predictive
3. Poetic
4. Prophetic
B. Misinterpreting Revelation: Why the “Left Behind” series should be left behind
1. Hermeneutical problems
2. Theological problems
3. Political problems
C. Principles for the Interpretation of Revelation
V. The Contents of the Revelation
A. An Outline
B. Seven Prophetic Oracles
1. Form
2. Examples: Smyrna, Laodicea
C. Theological Foci in Images and Symbols
1. The Son of Man
2. The Heavenly Throne Room
a. Counter-imperial
b. Source of judgment and salvation
c. God and the Lamb
d. Central Image: The Lion of Judah as The Slaughtered Lamb
3. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
4. Judgment and Plagues: Seals, Trumpets, Bowls
5. The Unholy Trinity: One Dragon, Two Beasts
6. Babylon the Harlot and the Lamb’s Bride
7. New Heavens and New Earth
VI. The Spirituality of Revelation
VII. Revelation as Climax: of prophecy, NT, canon, God’s story
Bibliography
- Commentaries by Mitchell Reddish (Smith and Helwys), Ian Boxall (Black’s), Chris Rowland (NIB), Eugene Peterson (Reversed Thunder)
- Richard Bauckham, The Theology of Revelation
- M. Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly (late 2009 or early 2010)