"By an Immediate Revelation": Studies in Apocalypticism by Christopher Rowland

Abstract

Reviewed by: "By an Immediate Revelation": Studies in Apocalypticism by Christopher Rowland Francis J. Moloney christopher rowland, "By an Immediate Revelation": Studies in Apocalypticism, Its Origins and Effects (WUNT 473; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022). Pp xiii + 861. €229. Christopher Rowland was the Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1991 till 2014. His doctoral dissertation at the University of Cambridge (1975) focused on the influence of the vision of the first chapters of the prophet Ezekiel on Judaism and early Christianity. It resulted in his influential book The Open Heaven: A Study of Apocalyptic in Judaism and Early Christianity (London: SPCK, 1982). The present large collection continues to reflect on and develop these themes. R. shares his conviction and experience that apocalypticism continues to exercise a transforming power in an unjust society. An opening essay sets the theme and describes the genesis and ongoing importance of R.'s views on apocalypticism ("By an Immediate Revelation: Studies in Apocalypticism, Its Origins and Effects; Rationale and Retrospect," pp. 1–27). R. then divides the studies into five sections. Section 1, "The Nature of Apocalypticism" contains "The Visions of God in Apocalyptic Literature" (pp. 29–45); "Apocalyptic Literature and Scripture" (pp. 46–63); [End Page 374] "Apocalyptic: The Discourse of Heavenly Knowledge" (pp. 64–84); "'A Man Clothed in White Linen': Daniel 10:6ff. and Jewish Angelology" (pp. 85–96); "The Book of Daniel and the Radical Critique of Empire: An Essay in Apocalyptic Hermeneutics" (pp. 97–113); "'A Door Opened in Heaven': A Comparative Study of the Character of Visionary Experience in Ancient Judaism and Christianity [with Patricia Gibbons and Vincente Dobroruka]" (pp. 114–30); "Apocalyptic Literature" (pp. 131–50); "Mysticism Recorded: Text, Scripture and Parascripture" (pp. 151–65); and "'The Heavens Were Opened and I Saw Visions of God': The Open Heaven – Nearly Four Decades On" (pp. 166–84). Section 2, "Apocalyptic, Eschatological and Related Themes in the New Testament" offers the following articles: "The Vision of the Risen Christ in Revelation 1:13ff.: The Debt of an Early Christology to an Aspect of Jewish Angelology" (pp. 185–94); "Apocalyptic Visions and the Exaltations of Christ in the Letter to the Colossians" (pp. 195–203); "John 1:51, Jewish Apocalyptic and Targumic Tradition" (pp. 204–14); "Keeping Alive the Dangerous Vision of a World of Peace and Justice" (pp. 215–25); "The Parting of the Ways: The Evidence of Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic and Mystical Material" (pp. 226–51); "Apocalyptic, the Poor and the Gospel of Matthew" (pp. 252–65); "Apocalyptic, Mysticism and the New Testament" (pp. 266–89); "The Lamb and the Beast, the Sheep and the Goats: 'The Mystery of Salvation' in Revelation" (pp. 290–99); "Apocalypse, Prophecy and the New Testament" (pp. 300–315); "The Temple in the New Testament" (pp. 316–30); "Prophecy and the New Testament" (pp. 331–49); "'Intimations of Apocalyptic': The Perspective of the History of Interpretation" (pp. 350–63); "Joachim of Fiore and the Theology of the New Testament" (pp. 364–80); "The Apocalypse: Sensitivity and Outsiders" (pp. 381–95); "The Book of Revelation: The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ" (pp. 396–411); "Paul as an Apocalyptist" (pp. 412–35); "'Eschatology Properly Understood, and Acted On': A Perspective on Eschatology in Honour of Andrew Chester" (pp. 436–48); "Why Albert Schweitzer's Writing on the New Testament Is So Important" (pp. 449–60); and "'Diversely and in Many Ways God Spoke by the Prophets': The Perspectives of the New Testament and the Texts and Images of William Blake on the 'Prophetic Word'" (pp. 461–76). Section 3, "The Reception of Apocalypticism and Its Significance" includes "Apocalypse and Violence: The Evidence from the Reception History of the Book of Revelation" (pp. 477–92); "English Radicals and the Exegesis of the Apocalypse" (pp. 493–509); "Imagining the Apocalypse" (pp. 510–28); "Tyconius and Bede on Violent Texts in the Apocalypse (with Ian Boxall)" (pp. 529–46); "'By an Immediate Revelation … by the Voice of His Own Spirit to My Soul': A Perspective from Reception History on the New Testament and Antinomianism" (pp. 547–69); "The Reception of the Book of Revelation: An Overview" (pp. 570–92...