Fear Appeals, Crisis and the Apocalypse of John: Analyzing an Apocalyptic Coping Strategy with the Extended Parallel Process Model

Abstract

This article will present and heuristically utilize the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) to analyze fear appeals in the Apocalypse of John. John sought to increase the fear of God in his hearers as a means to cope with other pressing fears and motivate faithful obedience (in line with his vision of what that entails). John rhetorically utilized fear appeals to reshape his hearers’ perceptions of danger and efficacy. He sought to increase fear of one object (God) and the inescapable crisis of divine judgment in order to decrease fear of other crises (death, disease, natural disasters, war, oppressive government, poverty, low social status).