An Ethical Reassessment of the Depictions of Violence in John's Apocalypse

Abstract

A challenge that both ancient and modern readers have faced with regard to John's Apocalypse is the tenor of violence depicted in the book. A common response (or reaction) to its hostile tonality is to consider these aspects to be couched in the metaphorical, symbolic, and otherworldly, so as to set them into a category of unreality. This serves to make ample room for a christological reading of the book which leans towards a theology of nonviolence modelled on the example of Jesus submitting to death on a cross. In light of the phantasmagoric images therein this seems to be a reasonable pivot, as the violence of Revelation is depicted in the realm of a cosmic revenge fantasy, mixed with the background of historical political tensions. Yet there have been no shortage of excuses for and/or condemnatory assessments of John's Apocalypse, which compel interpreters to take a variety of positions regarding the nature of Revelation's depictions of violence, in particular the representation of its constituent military elements. In this article I will reconsider relevant passages that speak to this tension, arguing that significant ambiguity does appear in these areas, while also suggesting that the genre of Jewish wisdom literature is the appropriate category reflective of such elements.