Apocalyptic Literature and the Twentieth Century

Recurring Themes in Apocalyptic Literature:

  • God is sovereign ruling over all history and individual stories of human beings
  • God permits evil and controls its implementation for His glory
  • God allows evil to oppress the righteous
  • God calls the righteous to stand firm even to their death
  • Evil doers will be judged and suffer eternally for their rebellion
  • God will raise the righteous to a perfect universe
  • The righteous will reign with Christ
  • The curse will be fully reversed
  • The new universe will be better than the old because it will be incorruptible

Apocalyptic literature is written in symbolic language for its first readers who would have been familiar with the real world situation being described (set as present tense – NOT FUTURE – so not meant as a chronological recipe for the end of days. Rather, as a series of lessons meant to encourage the righteous to stay on the path and live knowing that punishment will come for the evil doers. The prophesies are like an onion, rather than a straight chronological timeline, in which there can be multiple layers to be revealed for those in the past, the present, and the future.

The Antichrist:

  • Modern society is in the process of searching for signs of the end of days, just as hundreds of generations have done before, and much of that journey is centered around the search for the (or an) Antichrist.
  • However the Bible only mentions the Antichrist once:
  • 1 John 2:18-22:

Warning Against Antichrists

18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.

  • Therefore we must posit several things about the Antichrist(s):
  • There have been and will be many
  • They will not last long (relatively) and
  • We, as human beings, are all Antichrists when we deny the father and the son. I understand this last point may be a touch controversial – but so be it.
  • How does this apply to teaching about the 20th century?
  • The rise and fall of both Fascism and Communism are powerful examples of masses of people aspiring to replace God’s will with ideologies that oppose the very foundations of Christian teachings.
  • Too often we are on the lookout for an antichrist – which is the logical starting point for the discussion – but ultimately we must draw the conclusion that these men (Hitler and Stalin especially) are mere representations of the masses, who have forsaken Christ in a time of great trial, for the illusion of safety in man’s nature and ideology
  • Rev 13:14

14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

  • This is the archetypal Antichrist – a (or any) beast who deceives the inhabitants of the Earth.
  • Thus we are left with the warning of punishment offered up by Revelation 16:2:

2The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

The Beast

  • In particular, it is important to place the beast and the sea as the topic for the beginning of the 20th century and WWI because of the way in which events unfolded. The increase in political, economic, and military tension at the turn of the century (particularly the naval buildup of Germany and Britain), and the assignment of blame after WWI, are important in exploration of these metaphors (Rev.13).
  • So to were the evil motives that guided the start, and “resolution”, of the war on all sides (Dan. 7:3-8, 16-25).
  • It is also important that you explore the relative optimism of Wilson’s 14 Points and, despite the failure of the treaty process to produce a lasting peace, it did begin a new era of human history with the creation of the League of Nations. (Job 7:12 and Is. 27:1) Note: these passages are reinforced when discussing the Blitz and the attempted bombing of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The Mark

  • The mark is a constant thematic device in apocalyptic writing and in the 20th century there have been many examples of the Mark.
  • There are, of course, the literal marks (tattoos) given to the Jews and other “undesirables” within Fascist and Communist societies in contrast to the symbols of the “righteous” in those societies (swastika or sickle and hammer) and how they will be treated in the long run (Rev 14:9-11).
  • Rev 14:9-11

9A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."

  • Not a literal mark on the forehead, but the ideas that reside behind it.
  • But what of a man who, trapped in a totalitarian (Nazi) society, caught up in its ideals at the beginning of WWII, shifts his beliefs and actions so as to become a man who selflessly sacrifices his worldly possessions to save those who he is charged with destroying? The most prevalent example of such behavior is in that of Oscar Schindler, as well as many who sought to resist the destruction of their fellow man.
  • Rev 20:4

4I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

  • Men and women who resisted, many of whom perished in their attempt to do so, will be given reward for such actions. From soldiers in the Allied war effort, to resistance fighters, to the ordinary people (like Schindler) abhorred by the final solution.
  • This passage also alludes to the judgment of those who wore the mark. In literal terms; the Tokyo and, more famously, the Nuremburg trials revealed to the world the results of such belief systems.
  • Schindler was also judged, acquitted, and then given the honour of being called one of the “Righteous Among the Nations”. No one knows what Schindler's motives were. However, he was quoted as saying "I knew the people who worked for me... When you know people, you have to behave toward them like human beings." Although, it should be noted that, as forewarned (Rev 14:11) that he never found true rest from that which he had done, and those he had supported, earlier in the war.
  • When we understand that the Antichrist is a representation of the masses aspiring to replace God’s will with ideologies that oppose the very foundations of Christian teachings then we can place these events into the framework of how we should behave according to apocalyptic literature.
  • An exploration of these times, and the logical conclusion of such societies, are ideal case studies from which to draw conclusions about our contemporary society and how we all decide to live in this world, and ultimately, for the next.
  • Rev 15:2

2And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God

The Dragon

  • During the Cold War, and the rise of the age of Mutually Assured Destruction, it was at once possible for man to destroy all human existence in an instant. The symbol of The Dragon (or Red Dragon) is quite apt at illustrating this terrifying and potentially destructive period in human history. The period illustrates how the USA and the USSR worked together, despite seeing each other as the enemy, in order to maintain the fear of a nuclear holocaust as a means of preventing humanity from achieving such an end. Rather than applying The Dragon to either people, as some are inclined to do, it is the potential destruction of humanity in a blaze of nuclear-fueled hatred that is the representation of Satan during the Cold War. Thus by using scripture (Rev 12:7-9, 13:2, 20:2) it is easy to illustrate the warnings attached to such a period of human history, as they are to our own, not to terrify us, but to inform us of the potential for destruction if such warnings are left unheeded.

Revelation 12:7-9
7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Revelation 13:2
The Beast out of the Sea
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
Revelation 20:2
2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Assignment:

Write a paragraph on each of the following; The Antichrist, The Mark, The Beast, and The Dragon, to illustrate how each can be applied to events surrounding WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. Be sure to use specific examples from history and apply them to the scriptural references provided above. This assignment should be not shorter than two pages, typed, 12pt, and double-spaced.