Apocalyptic Literature II: Conditions and Purposes

I explained in the first article of this series that apocalyptic literature was quite common in many religions, and that was true of Judaism and Christianity as well. It flourished in the latter two religions from about 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. I want to discuss in this post some of the background conditions of this genre of literature and then its purposes. I touched on this briefly in the first article, but let me do it in a bit more depth here.


Tumultuous times gave birth to apocalyptic literature. For example, the Babylonian captivity and the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. And, as we shall see when we get to the book of Revelation, the persecution of Christians by Romans. There were trials, suffering, sorrow, near-despair—these sorts of emotions furnished the soil from which this literature grew. So the writers penned their works in days of adversity. The present time was pictured as one of great persecution, tribulation, and suffering, but, in glorious contrast, the future was a time of deliverance and triumph. God would intervene and lead His people to victory. This is the common theme of apocalyptic writings.

The purpose was to stress loyalty and stimulate faith by revealing the certain overthrow of evil and the final victory of God’s righteous cause. If we know we are going to win in the end, then it’s much easier to endure the trial, suffering, and persecution for a season. The apocalyptic books—and this is crucial—were always written in signs and symbols for the protection of the writer and reader alike; if the persecutors understood the true meaning, that could create even greater danger for those who possessed the literature. I’m not sure that always worked because, as noted, many religions wrote such books, but that was the idea. We find apocalyptic literature among the Jews when they were under foreign domination—again, examples of which are Daniel and Ezekiel in Babylon, and the dreadfulness of Antiochus Epiphanes. And, for Christians, John in the Roman empire.

The writer didn’t really deal with specific events; there would be some of that, but mostly he’s trying to get below the surface, delve to the bottom of the essence of things, find their real significance. If we try to find a precise meaning for every sign and symbol in an apocalyptic book, number one, we’ll fail because they don’t exist, and number two, we’ll miss the true import of what is being written. Look at the whole picture, not at the details—that’s what the author is trying to get us to do. He might sketch the entire course of world affairs with a view to presenting the ultimate triumph of righteousness over wickedness. The forest is what we want to look at first; individual trees might have some significance, but if we get lost in the details, we’ll miss the point. Good vs. evil is the theme, with evil initially appearing to have the upper hand, but the glorious conquest of God’s holy cause assured in the end. Our job is to endure while evil is in the ascendancy; or, as John wrote in what is probably the best summary thesis of the book of Revelation: “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). And that’s not just “be faithful until you die;” that’s “be faithful, even if it causes your death.” Since we are going to win in the end, there’s really no excuse for compromise or surrender.

But can you imagine how comforting that would be to people who were in the midst of such suffering and persecution? “Hang on, God knows what you are going through, you’ll win in the end.” That’s why a futuristic interpretation of Revelation is in err. If, as premillennialism teaches, most of the book hasn’t even happened yet, what good was that going to do the people in John’s day? They needed comfort now; they needed to know that their enemy, Rome, was going to be punished and defeated, that the Lord knew their sorrows and tribulations and would deliver them. That’s what apocalyptic literature was designed to convey. The people in John’s day couldn’t have cared less what was going to happen in Israel or China or the United States in the 21st century; that wouldn’t have helped them in the least. And that’s not why John wrote his book.

And in apocalyptic literature, nearly all of that will be conveyed in weird, or gorgeous, or unreal, terrible features and scenes in visionary form. Signs and symbols, rarely specifics. It’s imperative we grasp that, and the purpose of those signs and symbols.