Worlds at War, Nations in Song: Dialogic Imagination and Moral Vision in the Hymns of the Book of Revelation by Kendra Haloviak Valentine

Abstract

Reviewed by: Worlds at War, Nations in Song: Dialogic Imagination and Moral Vision in the Hymns of the Book of Revelation by Kendra Haloviak Valentine Russell Morton kendra haloviak valentine, Worlds at War, Nations in Song: Dialogic Imagination and Moral Vision in the Hymns of the Book of Revelation (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016). Pp x + 196. Paper. $23. Originally submitted in 2002 as a Ph.D. dissertation to the Graduate Theological Union, Valentine’s book is a literary-critical analysis of the hymns of Revelation. She employs the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin as her methodological paradigm. Her interest in utilizing this method was informed by her Adventist heritage and the abuse of that heritage by David Koresh and the Mount Carmel Community before and during their disastrous 1993 standoff with federal authorities in Waco, Texas (chap. 1, Introduction). In light of Koresh’s ties to Adventist theology, V. expresses a desire “to read the book of Revelation in a way that is sensitive to how the text means, and thus proved an alternative to monologic readings that claim to uncover what the text means” (p. 13; emphasis original). She finds Bakhtin’s dialogic theories to be helpful points of departure for this enterprise. In chap. 2, V. applies Bakhtin’s understanding of genre to the hymns of Revelation 4–5. According to Bakhtin, genres are more than literary devices; they are “utterances” that anticipate future “utterances.” “The author and audience form some type of relationship” (p. 27). Thus, all genres anticipate future dialogues with future audiences. John’s use of the apocalyptic genre, informed by the book’s self-understanding as prophecy, meant that John’s vision was a “prophetic apocalypse.” It is as expressions of a “prophetic apocalyptic” perspective that Revelation’s hymns impact different eras. For example, when John alluded to Isa 6:3 LXX in Rev 4:8, he not only employed an earlier text; he also adopted a way of thinking about humanity’s relationship to the God of Israel. The result is a multidirectional dialogue, where “the transcendent realm takes on the ideology of prophetic throne room encounters” (p. 51). In chap. 3, V. explores the temporal and spatial perspectives of Revelation’s hymns. These perspectives, referred to as “chronotopes,” are “temporal and spatial relationships expressed in literature” (p. 87). Specific attention is given to the hymns of Revelation 7–16. The hymns of chap. 7, for example, reflect time and space “in flux” (p. 111). The redeemed are saved by the Lamb. They also await future redemption. This chronotopic perspective of salvation within time combined with eschatological hope also figures in the hymns of chaps. 11, 12, and 15, making Revelation’s dual outlook unique among apocalypses. [End Page 160] In chap. 4, V. discusses the hymns of Rev 19:1–10. Do these hymns, which express delight in God’s violent judgment, reflect a moral vision? The four hymns, like those of chaps. 11–16, are chonotopically complex. This vision is just because it anticipates God’s new relationship to humanity (p. 178). This discussion is hampered by its failure to interact with the work of Loren T. Stuckenbruck and J. Nelson Kraybill, who note how, despite its violent imagery, Revelation’s understanding of divine victory, in fact, eschews human violence. V. does, however, seek an affirmation of how Revelation’s hymns function as a moral witness in her postscript (pp. 180–88), which narrates how local Seventh-day Adventist congregations employed Revelation’s hymns during ordination services of women to the clergy. In light of Adventist opposition to women’s ordination, the use of Revelation’s hymns in this setting is given as evidence of the Apocalypse’s continuing moral and prophetic impact. Valentine’s use of Bakhtin’s theories provides an interesting perspective for reading Revelation. It can free readers from both a literalist understanding of the text, and a rigid historicism. Her plea for reading the text as interactive dialogue is welcome and necessary. These observations, however, do not mitigate the work’s numerous inadequacies. First, one may ask if her working hypothesis is overly deterministic? Do genres in and of themselves create dialogue? More problematic is the fact...