Apocalypse Midterm
Messiah, a Hebrew term that begins in the Hebrew Bible, means:
Anointed One
The key to deciphering the codes in Daniel may e linked to this king who persecuted Jews in the 160s BCE, but who is never explicitly named in the book
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Define "apocalypse" and describe some of the main characteristics and purposes of this genre of ancient writing chosen by some early Jewish and Christian authors.
Apocalypse: a narrative in which a divine mediator reveals the secrets of a transcendent reality about time and space to a human. - main characteristics: --narrator has visions / symbolic dreams --concerned with the eschaton -- divine sovereignty -- predictions of final judgment -- dualism -- symbolic language --dissatisfaction with the present
the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed twice in history, by these two foreign empires in 587-586 BCE and 70 CE respectively:
Babylon and Rome
The "four easts of the sea" in Daniel 7 are probably meant to represent these kingdoms in the book of Daniel that rule one after the other:
Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece
The two main divisions or kinds of apocalypses
Cosmological Historical
the apocalypse of john (aka Revelation of John) was probably written during this Roman emperor's reign
Domitian (81-96 CE)
T/F modern scholars think that the book of Daniel was written in the 500s CE, the time period that it depicts
False
T/F the 3 major monotheisms, all of which stem from the Near East and have something apocalyptic about them are Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism
False
T/F the Hebrew Bible (aka the Christian Old Testament) can e divided into 2 major sections or devisions: the Torah/Law and the Writings
False
T/F the ancient of days seated on a throne in Daniel ch 7 is an angel
False
T/F the only ancient apocalypses that we have are in the Bible
False
The following is NOT a characteristic of an ancient apocalypse
God speaking directly to a human with no intermediary
The New Testament gospel that is least like the others, in that it is highly spiritual, and has a different order of events than the others:
Gospel of John
The Babylonian king who historically conquered Jerusalem and deported Judean/Jewish elites to Babylon twice, and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 567 CCE
Nebuchadnezzar
Greek term for the "second coming" or "arrival" of Christ
Parousia
Island at which John wrote the Revelation or Apocalypse of John
Patmos
early christian missionary and letter writer with an urgent eschatology proclaiming that Christ's return or second coming would be soon:
Paul
The foreigners who conquered the Babylonians in 539 BCE and allowed Judeans / Jews to go home:
Persians
Most modern scholars usually date the final form of the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible to about 164 BCE in a period of particular persecution of the ancient Jewish people. Why? In your answer, mention and explain the possibility that the historical Antiochus IV is the key to understanding Daniel, with specific details.
Scholars believe that Antiochus IV is the key to understanding Daniel, because - 7:8, 20- little horn with a mouth speaking "arrogantly" - 8:11 "it acted arrogantly, it took the regular burnt offering away from him and overthrew the place of his sanctuary"
Egyptian god of chaos who also kept the universe balanced y fighting chaos
Seth
Choose one of the parts of 1 Enoch that we read for the course (the Book of the Watchers, the Apocalypse of Weeks, or the Animal Apocalypse), and give a succinct interpretation of its contents with some "decoding" of the symbolic language and terms.
The Animal Apocalypse - ch 85-89 1 Enoch: recap of all biblical history from Adam & Eve onward with all human characters as animals - 1 Enoch 90: the "sheep defeat the animals (Maccabean Revolt) and the "stars" and "shepherds" are judged followed by a glorious new era - white bulls: most important men of israel (Noah, patriarchs, Adam) - wolves, camels, elephants, lions, etc. = enemies of Israel (foreigners)
The following is NOT one of the court tales in the Book of Daniel chs 1-6
The narrative of Daniel's vision of the ram and goat with two horns
Mesopotamia is the term for the ancient region between these 2 regions in the Near East
Tigris & Euphrates
T/F History in Daniel is more accurate in the last half of the book than the first, even if it is written in code, without specific names
True
T/F Satan in the Hebrew Bible is a term that simply means "adversary" or "enemy" it can refer to other humans and more rarely celestial/angelic beings.
True
T/F Some Jewish and Christian apocalypses, such as 4 Ezra, interpreted or reinterpreted the fourth beast of Daniel 7 (written in about 164 BCE) not as Greece, but as Rome
True
T/F the Jewish festival that celebrates the rededication of the temple after it was profaned by the Greeks in 164 BCE is Hanukkah
True
T/F the character Daniel in the book of Daniel was one of several young Jewish men deported from Jerusalem to Babylon
True
T/F the ruler who conquered Persia and the entire Near East in the 330s and 320s BCE was Alexander the Great
True
t/f in the Apocalypse of Weeks, the author only goes beyond his/her time period in weeks 8-10, whereas weeks 1-7 are past history to him/her
True
t/f the separatist jewish group that lived beside the Dead Sea and disliked the Temple and other Jewish groups was the Qumran Community
True
this is NOT a feature of proto-apocalypses (the ancient forerunners to apocalypse)
a concern with an eschatological future beyond human history
the "watchers" in Jewish apocalypses are
angels or celestial beings who interact with humans
creature that represents Rome in the Jewish apocalypse 4 Ezra
eagle
Term that means the study of "last things" or "end times"
eschatology
(t/f) the New Testament portrays Jesus as a non-apocalyptic teacher, more concerned about teaching wisdom than talking about the end times
false
T/F Prophecy ex eventu is a term for a report of an otherworldly journey through heaven and hell
false
T/F the book of daniel was written in aramaic and greek
false
T/F when the book of Daniel was translated into Greek in around 100 BCE, the stores in ch 1-6 were removed
false
modern scholars are certain that "Daniel" in the book of Daniel was a historical person (t/f)
false
our earliest images of Jesus of Nazareth are paintings and drawings that date to his lifetime and were done by his friends and followers (t/f)
false
t/f the wild animals in the Animal Apocalypse represent the Maccabean's who led the Maccabean Revolt
false
the earliest writings about Jesus are by Roman-era authors outside the New Testament (t/f)
false
the following is NOT true about Enoch, in the very short description of him in the Bible:
he was one of the giants in the days before Noah
A sufficient definition for the genre of "apocalypse"
narrative about a divine mediator giving secrets about time and space to a human
the figure in Daniel 7 who is given dominion over the earth y the Ancient of Days
one like son of man
the concept that the kingdom of God had already begun to come into the world when Jesus is born is called
realized eschatology
in the animal apocalypse, the israelite people as a group are frequently depicted as:
sheep
the following was an apocalypse in 1 Enoch that we did NOT read for this class:
the Astronomical Book
the empire that controlled Judea in the days of Jesus was that of:
the Romans
the following apocalypse divides human history into 10 periods or units of time:
the apocalypse of weeks
the Jewish apocalypse includes Enoch's otherwordly journeys to see the universe, including the mountains of the dead and the pits and desert where angels are punished:
the book of watchers
the following is NOT an apocalypse theme in the gospels
the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem
"son of man" is a term applied to jesus in the new testament (t/f)
true
Azazel is the name of the angel in the Book of the Watchers who teaches humans how to make swords, cosmetics ornaments, etc.
true
T/F 4 Ezra, one of the transitional apocalypses that bridges Judaism and Christianity, has the view that the hoped-for Messiah would reign for 400 years and then die
true
T/F ancient apocalyptic literature frequently has lots of high symbolism, imagery and code language
true
T/F the Ptolemies were the Greek dynastic rulers of Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great
true
T/F the resurrection after death described in the predictions of Daniel 12 is only for a few people and not universally for all people who ever lived
true
scholars think that the Jewish group that wrote the writings in 1 Enoch (the so-called Enochic group) were more prone to encourage resistance through violence rather than silently suffer and wait for deliverance (t/f)
true
t/f the hebrew bible utilizes ancient near eastern imagery in depicting God doing battle with the sea and sea monsters
true
the word "apocalypse" from Greek, apokalypsis, literally means:
uncovering, unveiling
What apocalyptic ideas were central to early Christianity, as reflected in the New Testament? In your answer, make sure to discuss Jesus as the Messiah, resurrection, and other beliefs in the gospels and Paul's letters about the nature of Jesus and the end of time.
- Messiah is the "one like a son of man" - Jesus as fulfillment of messianic and other prophecies from the OT - resurrection of Jesus, to be followed by the resurrection of others - parousia: 2nd coming of Jesus Christ - Paul's letters -- faith/belief in Jesus' death and resurrection is enough to have salvation -- urgent expectations of the parousia - Gospel of John -- realized eschatology -- son of Man is pre-existent
What are some of the proto-apocalyptic concepts or themes in both Ancient Near Eastern literature and the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament before Daniel (the only full apocalypse in the Hebrew Bible) that are picked up by Daniel and other full-fledged Jewish apocalypses? In your answer, make sure to list and describe 2-3 concepts from Ancient Near Eastern literature and 3-4 concepts from different books in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.
- NOT concerned with the eschaton - Ancient Near East: 1. divine judgment 2. divine combat 3. interpretation 4. revelation - Hebrew Bible 1. resurrection 2. recreation: new heavens and earth 3. final battle 4. God's throne room in heaven 5. Satan = adversary, prosecutor
What are the main themes of the important Christian apocalypse that we call the Revelation of John (aka Apocalypse of John), and why was it written? In your answer, make sure to discuss not only John of Patmos and his historical situation during the Roman empire in the first century B.C.E., but also some idea of how the book continues to be influential today.
- written by John of Patmos during Flavian dynasty (destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem) todays impact - 19th century Protestants interpret it as predictive prophecy -MLK Jr. interpret metaphorical message
What is 1 Enoch? In your answer, please give some outline of its contents, date, and language.
- written in 300-100 BCE - originally written in Aramaic, but now only copy is Ge'ez Ethiopic - Content: --Apocalypse of Weeks --Book of Watchers -- Animal Apocalypse -- The Astronomical Book