The Reality of Apocalypse

Far from spinning a fantasy of what will never be the book of Revelation depicts an alternate social world in order to shape the community and individual identity of an audience living under imperial rule. To highlight the Apocalypse s meaning for its original audience this volume focuses on two interrelated themes pulsing throughout Revelation: rhetoric and politics. It considers rhetorical strategies and tactics in Revelation and demonstrates how its rhetoric fits the situation in Roman Asia Minor and the struggle within the Apocalypse community. It also examines community and cultural conflicts showing how myth symbol and liturgy function as means of resistance in an imperial setting. By offering a fresh window on the lively interplay between imagination and history between words and worlds this volume will be indispensable for anyone seeking to understand current scholarly analysis of the book of Revelation. The contributors are Gregory L. Linton David E. Aune David L. Barr Greg Carey Paul Duff Steven J. Friesen Jan Willem van Henten Edith M. Humphrey Jean-Pierre Ruiz and Elisabeth Sch ssler Fiorenza.