HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422

Page 1 of 7 Original Research

Violence in the Bible and the Apocalypse of John: A

critical reading of J.D. Crossan’s How to Read the Bible
and Still Be a Christian

Author: This critical reading/dialogue follows a straightforward structure. Firstly, it presents some of
Sergio Rosell Nebreda1,2,3
the major insights in J.D. Crossan’s book, attending to its inner logic on his critique on the
Affiliations: violence which little by little creeps into the biblical texts. Secondly, it engages in a critique of
1
Department of New his reading of Revelation, which is Crossan’s starting point for his discussion on violence. He
Testament, Faculty of observes here a direct contradiction with the Jesus of history, centre of interpretation for
Theology and Religion,
Scripture. This article points to certain lacunae in his reading of Revelation and, finally, moves
University of Pretoria,
Pretoria, South Africa to a conclusion offering new ways to interpret and question Revelation’s violent imagery
within its own literary context.
2
Department of Theology,
Faculty of Biblical Studies, Contribution: This article is a critical dialogue with one of J.D. Crossan’s latest books: How to
Facultad SEUT, Madrid, Spain Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence From Genesis Through
Revelation. This is a vibrant and insightful book about how violence ultimately crept into the
3
Department of Humanities, canonical texts, tainting even its ‘good news’. Crossan’s concern with this crude violence
Faculty of Theology, Saint Louis
surfaces as he teaches different groups and he is asked why the Bible ends in Revelation on such
University, Madrid, Spain
a violent note, essentially with ‘a war to end all wars’, somehow buttressing the ‘myth of
Description: Dr Sergio Rosell redemptive violence’. The special focus of this article resides thus on a nuanced reading of
Nebreda is participating as a Revelation which tries to understand, in context, the function of such violent images.
research fellow in the project,
‘Biblical Theology and Keywords: Crossan; Apocalypse of John; Revelation; imagery; violence.
Hermeneutics’, directed by
Prof. Dr Andries G. van Aarde,
Senior Researcher in the
Dean’s Office at the Faculty
Main thrusts in How to Read the Bible and Still Be a
of Theology and Religion of
the University of Pretoria,
Christian
South Africa. The title of the latest book of Crossan: How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling
with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation expresses his maintained existential concern
Corresponding author:
when approaching the Bible with an open and critical mind. There has been an ongoing effort
Sergio Rosell Nebreda,
srosell.nebreda@gmail.com for projecting violence outside the Bible, as if an unfortunate side-effect of wrong interpretations,
rather than confronting the texts and their violent content. However, while most studies focused
Dates: on the violence of the Old Testament, recent ones are looking more intently into the New
Received: 15 Sept. 2021
Accepted: 11 Nov. 2021 Testament as well (Carter 2017; eds. Matthews & Gibson 2005). Crossan is aware of the Bible’s
Published: 11 Mar. 2022 own proclivity to violence, so his aim is to explain how this virtuous anthology which starts
with the luminous chapters on creation (Gn 1–2), follows with the radical non-violent praxis of
How to cite this article
Rosell Nebreda, S., 2022,
Jesus based on Jesus’ concept of a non-violent God, could end then portraying such a gruesome
‘Violence in the Bible and the view in Revelation, with a war to end of wars. ‘Does the end of a book determine the meaning
Apocalypse of John: A critical of the story?’ (Crossan 2015:21). These different emphases lead him to conclude that we are
reading of J.D. Crossan’s How
dealing with a ‘vision of a bipolar God’ which needs further exploration (Crossan 2015:16–18).
to Read the Bible and Still Be
a Christian’, HTS Teologiese Crossan’s nuance is to engage with the ‘inner matrix’ (his preferred word for ‘context’) of the
Studies/Theological Studies biblical texts. Jan Assmann, a well-renowned Egyptologist, spoke in this very sense of a ‘cultural
78(4), a7142. https://doi. semantic’ of violence by which Israel’s monotheistic faith is both presented and remembered. It
org/10.4102/hts.v78i4.7142
is not that monotheistic faith is violent per se as that Israel’s historical memory and social
construction are embedded in violent narratives (Assmann 1996, 2014:41–42). Crossan does not
dodge the problem either and confronts it head on. Scripture is not for him (not his words)
the norma normans (‘the norm/rule that governs’) of the Christian faith, we need to look
somewhere else.
Read online:
Scan this QR
code with your So he proceeds: If, for Christians, the biblical Christ is the criterion of the biblical God, then, for Christians,
smart phone or
mobile device the historical Jesus is the criterion of the biblical Christ (Crossan 2015:35, original emphasis).
to read online.
Copyright: © 2022. The Author. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access

 Page 2 of 7 Original Research

The historical Jesus is thus the norm of the Christian Bible, a man is now family-less, a wanderer, the initiator of the first
view shared by many others (see Luciani 2010). This requires city, indefectibly tying sin-as-violence with culture. The
a ‘proper’ reading of Scripture that takes into account ground is no longer friendly and other inhabitants may now
the rhythm-of-assertion-and-subversion that ultimately want to take revenge on Cain (cf. Gn 4:14). The Lord’s
converged to present us with a written canon which response to Cain expresses this normalisation of violence:
ultimately brings ‘wheat and tares’ into the mix. ‘Very well, then’, YHWH replied, ‘whoever kills Cain will
suffer a sevenfold vengeance’. So YHWH put a mark on Cain,
This researcher is well aware of the complexity of the so that no one coming across him would kill him (Gn 4:15).
hermeneutical task Crossan aims to carry. This has been the
search of the Christian church all along, as Irenaeus, bishop of How can it be that the punishment for killing the killer is
Lyon (c. 130–202 CE), pointed that the aim of interpretation of suddenly multiplied by seven? This is just the beginning of
Scripture, as a mosaic made of tesserae, is to display beauty. the ‘downwards progression’: how good humans are at
Irenaeus writes against the Valentinians’ heresies, because this violence. Just a few generations later, Lamech prides at killing
group chooses passages and arranges them to fit their own people for sport. The escalating of violence is clear: Lamech
lusts. There is no beauty in such a handling of Scripture, he said to his wives (Gn 4):
concludes (Adversus haereses I, 8, 1). Any other way of
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, wives of Lamech, listen to what
interpreting the biblical texts would be lacking unless it reveals I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me.
the human face of Jesus, God’s final Word (Heb 1:2). Some may Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for
see this as a sort of cop-out, but this view of Scripture makes Lamech. (vv. 23–24)
perfect sense (Crossan 2007:223, also 2015:243).
The narration moved from fratricide to a sevenfold
We do not have to travel far into the Bible to realise about the punishment for taking revenge to a seventy-sevenfold
presence of violence. Very early, in Genesis 4, we witness a penalty for Lamech. In the short period of three to four
brother-kills-brother event. This chapter commences with generations, violence has reached its culmen. Sin-as-violence
‘religion’: humans feel separated from the divinity (Gn 3) and has taken control over humanity. Humanity has ‘missed the
need to make amends by bringing forth offerings. The familiar mark’ by a long stretch. The reverse of this will be found in
tale does not answer the question why God chose the shepherd
the pericope where Peter, trying to impress Jesus with his
over the farmer, but Crossan argues that we need to look
willingness to forgive asks: ‘Lord, how often must I forgive
much earlier to understand the story, based on a Sumerian
my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ To
tale that depicts the well-known genre of controversy or
what a non-amused Jesus responds: ‘Not seven, I tell you, but
logomachy. This Sumerian tale is known as ‘Dumuzid and
seventy-seven times’ (Mt 18:22).
Enkimdu: The dispute between the shepherd-God and the
farmer-God’ (Kramer 1981:45–50; Pritchard 1969:41–42).
The story of the flood comes about because the earth was ‘full
God’s predilection for the second born is a ‘common place’ of
of violence’ (Gn 6:11), as if God had to press the ‘reboot’
biblical literature. Both Cain and Abel represent two phases in
button to start anew. But no matter about second
human development, the domestication of the ground and of
opportunities, humanity has really gone on the violent spree
animals. Somehow, God’s pleasure with Abel sparks a
ending in the construction of a city whose tower can reach
negative reaction in the older brother (Gn 4:3–7).
the skies so that humans can once again try to reach the
This is the first time the term ‘sin’ (hatta’h) appears in the divine on their own strength (Gn 11).
biblical account. ‘Sin’ is not defined, but Crossan ties it up to
violence. Sin is like a panther ready to overcome a prey. At his point, Crossan returns to the earliest chapters of
However, the text affirms that Cain can still master over it, so Genesis where humanity – male and female – is created in the
it is not inevitable to succumb to its power (Gn 4:7). Crossan, image and likeness of God. The first story of creation, from
in discussing the double account of creation, concluded that the Priestly tradition (P) finds its climax in the 7th day, the
sin-as-violence is not based on genetics but on culture. It day when God and all his creatures can rest, a sort of
takes hold of humanity, develops in culture and becomes a distributive justice (Crossan 2015:78). This is a way to (re)
normal standard for social living, though sin/violence is not socialise and go back to ‘being’. After all, we are human
part of creation. But it belongs to the sphere of morality, the ‘beings’, not social ‘doings’.
actions of free-will creatures (Sarna 1966:26–27). This is what
Crossan calls the normalcy of civilisation, a brilliant expression The practice of the Sabbath reveals a major egalitarian bias:
which clarifies what follows. all people, free and slave, and all animals (even the land, i.e.
law of Jubilee) are given a chance for rest. This event,
Cain, having the power to master over sin, is finally dominated signalled in the creation story, becomes a commandment in
by it and commits fratricide. Jealousy has led humanity to a the law, but its source is found in creation, in God. This is part
heinous act. And, thus, even the ground, the ‘adamah’ which of being made into the image/likeness of God: humanity is
gave rise to humanity, cries on account of the blood shed (Gn not meant to be enslaved but to live freely. Perhaps, this is the
4:9–12). Crossan is right. It is not God who punishes Cain, but reason why Jesus so adamantly opposed the pharisees and
that his actions have concrete ‘human’ repercussions. The experts of the law who had created such a vociferous ‘fence

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access

 Page 3 of 7 Original Research

around the law’, preventing the ‘people of the land’ to commented as the starting point. After Revelation, he returns
ascertain the true telos of the law. Gone from sight the element to discuss Paul, in a rather strange chronological twist which
of distributive justice, these enforcers of the law concentrated is justified by his three-stages of Pauline thought discussed at
on insignificant details and minutiae that benefitted no one length elsewhere (Crossan & Borg 2009).
except the religious ego.
When commenting on the Revelation of John, it is evident
Crossan continues developing the transformation taking that in this normalcy of civilisation, the cosmic Christ has
place within the biblical text, influenced by the matrix become a sort of ‘badder’ Nero redivivus:
described in the first pages of his book. The Mosaic covenant, Not Nero but Christ will destroy the cosmic Roman Empire, the
especially the version found in the Deuteronomy, which divine Roman emperor and all of Roman imperial theology – but
follows the Assyrian covenant pattern, concludes with a long with a violence far more overwhelming than anything Rome or
list of blessings and curses. In fact, curses outnumber Romanisation can muster to defend itself. […] This is Revelation’s
blessings (see Dt 27–30) as the matrix of state violence creeps worst libel against God and worst slander against Jesus. It is also,
into the covenant (Crossan 2015:91). Coercion in the form of to finish that trinitarian round, the worst sin against the Holy
curses is now dominant in Israel’s imaginary. Spirit. (Crossan 2015:184–185)

This way of comprehending God makes it into the prophetic Does the conclusion of a book determine the meaning of its
and the Psalmic tradition but with a more ambivalent opinion story? he asks. Well, it all depends on how you read such a
on the divine character. This tension is also present in the conclusion.
Wisdom tradition, which at first returns to the pristine
Priestly tradition of Genesis. It is not God who punishes, but Front cover and back cover: When
that the same acts carry (human) consequences. Thus, what it
is proposed is not a ‘utopia’ as an ‘eutopia’, a good place,
the structure just does not quite fit
because human transformation is still a possibility to reckon There seems not to be an attempt, on Crossan’s part, to
with (Crossan 2015:137). present a balanced picture of Revelation; just scattered
glimpses here and there, some beautiful remarks on the new
Moving to the New Testament, Crossan describes the matrix heavens and the new earth, but one gets the idea that there is
of first century CE. Through the study of the biblical sources, really no interest in engaging with the book in detail. In the
Josephus, Philo and Roman historians, we get a good glance search for a more detailed commentary on Revelation in his
of the events, concentrating on the Jewish resistance to writings, this researcher’s efforts have met with only general
imperialistic violence and how diverse and creative it proved impressions, and not elaborated comments (cf. Crossan
(Crossan 2015:147; cf. Josephus Bel 2.200; Ant 18.272; Horsley 2007:217–235). It is as if, in his aversion to Revelation’s
1993). Crossan focuses on other contemporary literature violence, Crossan had developed a sort of ‘willful disinterest’
which is tendentiously violent in its rhetoric. Both the Psalms about it (see also Grimsrud 2017). However, his main concern
of Solomon and some Sibylline Oracles are straightforwardly in is precisely to be able to present a unified vision of Scripture
favour of the fall of the empire, in a similar fashion to John of despite the violence, he admits, found in it. It could be just
Patmos and his circle of intellectuals (Rosell 2011, 2021). too easy to dismiss his criticism on the violence of Scripture
as a personal and biased projection, but more disturbing are
Within this matrix, the towering figure of Jesus of Nazareth some biblical interpretations which simply gloss over these
highlights the real possibility of peaceful (i.e. non-violent) violent images as something to be ascribed to God as if this
resistance to evil. Crossan stresses the need to rescue the cruel presentation of the divinity is justified because he is,
Jesus of history in all his radicality from amid the plethora of well, God (cf. Caird 1984:279). No, Crossan’s insights force
opinions and emphases which try to display him as rhetorical interpreters to look carefully at Scripture and deal with its
violent. The way Jesus is finally punished on a Roman cross inner matrix.
is a witness that Rome considered him dangerous, but not
violent. Certainly, Revelation contains many a violent image which
has been used to justify a violent version of Christianity, and
However, the Jesus of history, the clearest representation of Crossan affirms that eventually, ‘the radicality of God
the radicality of God, ends up being presented rhetorically succumbs to the normalcy of civilization’ (Crossan 2015:174).
and physically violent (Crossan 2015): Thus, ‘Jesus is changed first into the rhetorically violent
The problem is emphatically not that the historical Jesus was Christ within the Gospels and then into the physically violent
proclaimed as Christ or Son of God by those earliest Christian Christ of Revelation’ (Crossan 2015:185). This can be shown
Jews, but that the nonviolent Jesus became the violent Christ and in how contemporary interpreters distill such a view. Thus,
the violent Son of a violent God. (p. 171) C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (1950) display the grim
recalling of such an unfortunate pairing: Aslan much
After a quick but dense journey through the Gospels, where resembles the Lion of Judah and the White Witch could stand
he explains how the Q Gospel ended up projecting both a for Babylon/Rome (the female evil counterpart). Aslan finally
violent John and a violent Jesus (in chapters 10–11), Crossan does away with her by killing her. Violence is met with
concerns again with the Book of Revelation, about which he stronger violence.

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access

 Page 4 of 7 Original Research

To understand John’s violent imagery, we need a fulcrum ‘allied’ nations as a sort of cura (Latin for ‘care’ or ‘attentive
against which we can affix such images to adequately make administration’, promoting Caesar as the benevolent yet
sense of them, lest we completely do away with the Jesus of disciplinarian father) for the peoples of the earth. But
history who taught to ‘show the other cheek’. This is not a Revelation is about dis-veiling what is hidden, which is
proposal to dig deep until we find an original (pacifist) layer, nothing less than Rome’s lie and humanity’s willingness to
but rather to engage with Revelation on its own terms, go along with it: she conquers for her own sake, not for the
considering ‘its centre’ so that a less distorted image may be good of the world. She is a whore drunk with the blood of the
recovered. Indeed, we can affirm that Revelation reproduces nations, her victims (Rv 17:6). That is why, John of Patmos,
the gospel message in nuce, but John has chosen to dress it in the Spirit, calls the Christ-following communities to
with such violent images that it often appears as pure go back to their first love, because the last things – the
‘retributive justice’. eschatological – have already been said.

Revelation 1–3 address the situation of the Asia Minor But what about Revelation 19 with the rider on the white
churches in their struggle to be true to Jesus the faithful horse who conquers and celebrates his victory over the
witness (Rv 1:5). The problem with these communities of enemies (19:11–16)? If we look at the scene, it appears to be
believers is not that they are suffering persecution qua the announcement of a bloody war where enemies are split
Christians, but that they are succumbing to Rome’s imperial asunder by the sword-in-mouth of the rider. But, if we pay
seduction. This is not difficult to understand if we consider careful attention to detail, we notice that prior to the war, the
that the imperial cult was the key to political and economic rider’s cloak is already soaked in blood. Is this the
advances. Submitting to the status quo was the manner to be announcement of Christ’s second (bloody) coming? Or, is it a
in the loop and Rome presented her oppression/leadership retelling of the gospel story: victory through sacrifice?
as benefitting the (subdued) nations, what is called soft power
(Thompson 1990:95–115; Walker 2002:48). Revelation 4–5 Admittingly, this ‘gospel image’ needs to be stripped from
follow, showing an open window into the heavens where the violent imagery in which John has wrapped it, which is
God, and not Rome, reigns. This vision works as the centre of not an easy task. John, eager to present a victorious Jesus
interpretation of the book, especially Revelation 5:1–6. against the apparently all-powerful Roman Empire, has used
a violent rhetoric that may blur the deeper message. The
The ‘one worthy of opening the seven seals’ refers to the one wrappings are violent, whether imagined and rhetorical, but
who can reveal the mysteries of history. The Lion of Judah, the core of the message, ‘if read well’, is not. What we have is
symbol of strength and conquest, is announced, but a lone a retelling of the vision of Revelation 5: The Lion is in fact the
slaughtered lamb appears. John skilfully plays with this dual Lamb in a ‘blended metaphor’ which presents the two images
image: conquering (Lion) is carried out by a slain Lamb (yet in dynamic tension. This ‘blended’ aspect (violence-Lion/
standing, a symbol of his resurrection). sacrifice-Lamb) should not be lost in translation. The
language of conquest (nikáō) is found throughout the book,
The Lamb’s victory is to be found in his sacrifice (Rv 5:9), which prevents the reader to ignore this aspect, although it is
which translates to the destruction of the enemies. There is a linked to resilience and patience in the side of those who
clear difference between the Lamb and the Dragon, lest the resist/suffer (Rv 2:2). These two images do not cancel each
two were to be mistaken (Barr 2006:205). Thus, the Book of other, ‘the Lamb does not mute the violent imagery’
Revelation can be summarised with a rotund phrase: ‘pure (Bauckham 1998:215; Hylen 2011:789 speaks of a new forged
gospel’, a suggestive imagined/imaginary expression that symbol of ‘conquest by sacrificial death’, original emphasis).
Jesus has reverted the flow of history (i.e. the ‘normalcy of Victory, thus, comes through suffering and selfless love,
civilisation’) by showing that real power is found in service unlike Rome’s ‘victory as conquering’ (to coin Crossan’s oft-
and sacrificial love (cf. Jn 15:13). used expression). The ‘wrath of the lamb’ is Jesus’ absorption
of evil, which encompasses the (metaphorical) display of
Somehow, the Jesus of history as the centre of Scripture is violence against the enemy. The passage of Revelation 19 is
still in view, though John’s fervour in his use of militaristic/ not a picture of Christ’s second coming, but rather ‘another’
violent images sometimes seems outlandish. We will image of what Jesus’ love-sacrifice entails. This is in keeping
describe a plausible purpose for these violent images which with the structure of Revelation, which uses repetition or a
can be read as devoid of ‘real violence’, for no war ensues plurality of perspectives, to speak about the same event, in
(Bauckham 1988). order for readers to gain more insight with each new image.

Crossan mentions the appearance of a rider both in Revelation The obliteration of all enemies follows in Revelation 20. Both
6:2ff and 19:11, confirming this fateful divine violence. beast and false prophet (Rv 20:10) are not to be understood as
Despite John’s exacerbated violent images, Crossan deserves individuals, but rather as personifications of ‘unjust
credit because it is exactly his insight which perfectly fits structures’, constructed and buttressed by society, thus
here: human consequences derive from humanity’s own ‘structural’ evils. These structures ‘are shown as already
lusts and violence against the other. Humanity was supposed defeated’ in John’s visions. The ‘killing of the rest’, attested to
to dominate sin, but sadly it has fully taken control of our in the text, is symbolic as it is carried out by the Rider with
lives. Rome has perfected this, for it presents her abusing of the ‘sword of his mouth’, an Old Testament image of

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access

 Page 5 of 7 Original Research

judgement already anticipated in Revelation 2:16. This image blood (Rv 12:10–11) ‘and’ be ready to stand firm for whom
appears in Isaiah 11:4, in Isaiah 49:2 and in the LXX in Psalms you worship, even to the point of death. There is no magic
of Solomon 17:24-25 (Klaasen 1996:308). The hope is that one wand, only the sheer determination to be faithful to him who
day, they’d just be a distant reminder of a bad dream because walks amid the churches (Rv 1:13). This faithfulness/
a new heaven and a new earth, in the shape of a city (Rv perseverance (hypomonē; cf. 2:2–3) translates as ‘resilience’
21:1–2), have descended to signal the start of a new era of because God, in Christ, takes on the ‘roles of domination’ (i.e.
healing and prosperity: progress without violence, communal warrior, lord, king, etc.) carrying on the ‘dirty work’ on their
affluence without oppression. behalf so that they can live and benefit from its fruits (Kreider
2016:29–30; Weber 2015). And this is done through self-
We need to pause a moment to regroup some of the ideas sacrifice, so that the myth of redemptive violence is exposed
presented so far. I, together with others, understand and made devoid of its supposed benefits (Wink 1998:42–62).
Revelation 19 as a retelling of the kerygma, not as the threat of The followers of the Lamb are never encouraged, nor do they
a Second Coming. Collins (1998:278) presented a different engage in battle, for the Lion/Lamb conquers on their behalf
opinion, using the metaphor of D-day versus V-Day, awaiting (cf. Rv 17:14). They are asked to resist, and there is a price to
a future resolution. However, such an affirmation of ‘pure pay for such faithfulness (Skaggs & Doyle 2007:226).
gospel’ might just look ludicrous for, after all, we still suffer
evil in the form of violence, be it rhetorical or physical. Some Thus, the following problem arises for these Christ-following
do away with this interpretation on these very grounds communities: the benefits of submitting to the beast seem
(Gager 1975:56). So, what is John trying to say? It is not a more advantageous, in the short-term, than following the
dualistic understanding where ‘heaven forces itself upon Lamb (Kraybill 1996:197–198). That’s why John needs to
earth’, but rather a call to the community of believers to start remove the veil and let them look at the stark reality. John
living in the now ‘as if’ all these things have taken place. presents the futility of accommodation, for there is no way to
Crossan is right when writing that projecting our hopes into live in both worlds and be faithful to the Lord. His use of
the Kingdom’s future is many a time an excuse for not metaphors and imagery is not so much the description of
engaging radically with the present (Crossan 2015:167). historical reality as ‘exaggerated projections’ which convey
not just plausible scenarios, but typical fears associated with
God’s actions await a human response. After all, if Jesus is epochs of terror such as Nero’s or Domitian’s reigns
Messiah – if he is king – there must be people that follow him. (Mayordomo 2013:215).
This is what we call an ‘eschatology of participation’, that is,
the victory is already won, but it needs to be experienced
anew every day in daily life, the realm of decision and choice,
But, is it then all settled?
and it requires of a ‘new humanity’ to make it a reality Of course not. This is, and will always be, a dialogue that
(Callahan 2009:52). This way of living goes beyond the each generation needs to confront head-on in mature and
traditional ‘already-but-not-yet’ and presents a more creative ways. There is no last word on the matter. John of
nuanced perspective: ‘already-here-despite-us’. Patmos, sometimes, seems unsure about the limitations of
language to convey what he has seen. His explanations often
The question then becomes how to make this ‘here and now’ regress to terms such as ‘like’, ‘as if’ or adjectives like ‘equal
present. John’s first answer is both worship and life-practice. to’, ‘similar’, which means that we cannot expect a linear or
It is not coincidental that John starts with a mention of the literal presentation of facts. However, much can be gained
throne room displaying Jesus as the ‘ruler over the kings of from the perspective presented here, in spite of its inherent
the earth’ (Rv 1:4–5). But worship is more than recognition of limitations.
his sovereignty – it is celebration of his achievement ‘and
participation’ in his victory (Rv 1:5–6). In worship, the Firstly, what do we do with the violence in Revelation,
community anticipates this reality into their daily lives. Barr even if rhetorical or imaginary? We need to recognise that
is right in affirming that the community of faith that violence is not ‘out there’ but amid us, even ‘within’ us. It
recognises Revelation as a ‘live performance’ will experience is not right to think that others are the problem where
a profound transformation both at a personal level and of violence is concerned, whereas we are just affected by it.
their world (Barr 1984:49). In worship, the community is able We can be both victims and/or perpetrators. Revelation
to visualise what is not obvious to the eyes (Smith 2013): points not just to political and cultural violence, but to
ecological violence as well (for a helpful typology on
[A]nd herein lies a central aspect of Christian worship: it is an
alternative imaginary, a way that the Spirit of God invites us into violence, see Galtung 1999:40). When studying Revelation
the Story of God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. But in depth, the problem of violence is dealt with in a holistic
[…] if such a story is really going to capture our imaginations, it manner, not devoid of tensions.
needs to get into our gut – it needs to be written on our hearts.
(p. 105) Secondly, there is a call to resistance, sure, but in non-violent
ways. John of Patmos proposes a way out of the system
Is this a sort of cop out, a desideratum? Revelation could be which admits no middle ground. As a matter of fact, he uses
accused of many things, but not of being lukewarm. The provocative language. To the church of Laodicea, he writes
answer is: worship the Lamb who conquers through his (Rv 3):

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access

 Page 6 of 7 Original Research

[I] know about your activities: how you are neither cold nor hot. ‘roles of domination’ so that Israel did not have to get her
I wish you were one or the other, but since you are neither hot hands dirty. Jesus the Christ does the same now: he is the
nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. divine warrior so that the faithful do not have to engage in
(vv. 15–16) violence (cf. 2 Cor 5:21). The Lion-Lamb blended metaphor
holds this dynamic tension in place and there is no easy
John’s ‘perceived world’ is at war and Christ-followers way out.
cannot be tepid in this matter: you are either sided with the
Lamb or with the Dragon. The Apocalypse creates a state of Lastly, we need to reflect on the ‘function’ of these violent
mind which makes all be ready to ‘detect the enemy’ around images. After all, we are confronted not only with violent
(Nogueira 2020:641). The problem, now as then, is that images but invited to rejoice in Babylon/Rome’s demise:
society’s veneer, used to conceal this blurring of values, is so ‘Now heaven, celebrate her downfall, and all you saints,
effective that most seem to have a hard time distinguishing apostles and prophets: God has given judgement for you
one from the other. Crossan is right in pointing out how against her’ (Rv 18:20). Isn’t this, too, violence, even if
violence has little by little even crept into the biblical texts imaginary/rhetorical? Maintaining the offensive nature of
and their interpretation, and rampantly in the history of the the images, perhaps such a strategy may allow people
church, proudly ‘pacifying’ the nations for Christ at the pace undergoing suffering to channel their thirst for vindication
of the sword and the stake. Quickly, too quickly perhaps, the and wishes for revenge in ways which are not physically
community of the Lamb acted like the community of the violent; what T. Pippin calls a ‘cathartic or apocalyptic
Dragon without noticing the subtle transformation. arousal’ (Pippin 1992:17). Is there a cathartic or therapeutic
value to such images? (Dietrich & Mayordomo 2005:188).
That is the reason John has no qualms about admonishing
these communities of believers to break up with the system Human response in the face of domination (be it political,
that threatens with swallowing their first love and ultimate physical or even imagined) is complex and diverse. James. C.
loyalty. Using sexual imagery, he commands them to ‘come Scott spoke of these expressions as ‘hidden transcripts’, not
out of her’ (Rv 18:4), that is, to interrupt their love-affair at the outburst of frustration with no inner logic, but as an
once (Claiborne & Haw 2008:151. Cf. Barreda Toscano 2016; inchoate scream of rage, finely drawn as a visual image,
Kraybill 1996:199–200). To come out (pull out) of the system using the same cultural raw materials which make up the
is more than denying the worship of Caesar. It is to opt for dominant culture’s understanding (Scott 1990). Thus, we
the way of the Lamb, that is, victory over the system acquired cannot take away the right to rage for those who experienced
through service and sacrifice. It doesn’t seem much at the cruel domination of the empire. Perhaps, John of Patmos
present, but it implies a life focused on something deeper appears too human for us who, today, look for idealistic ways
than that which is apparent to the senses, and this requires to obliterate violent behaviour from our world forever, while
boldness and resilience. he signals a rudimentary first step in this direction: ‘just
imagine it, but do not act likewise’ (Mayordomo 2006:65; Cf.
The new order that looms – in the form of a city which Yarbro Collins 1984:171).
descends from ‘above’ (Rv 21:2) – presents another dynamic
tension in Revelation. The New Jerusalem has an area The apocalyptic imagination is not so much concerned with
roughly equivalent to the distance between Rome and offering a better future world as a call to action in the present.
Jerusalem (Rv 21:16, 12 000 stadia per side, about 2 200 km, It is not communicated via exhortations and appeals to the
with 70-metre-high walls). Her building materials are law but tries to activate our emotions and our fantasies. A
precious stones, gold, pearls, jasper, sapphire, agate, better world is possible if we act differently, even at the cost
emerald, onyx, ruby, chrysolite, beryl, etc. John’s description of our own lives.
of these construction materials is not a list of heavenly
clouds, rainbows, etc., but of elements humans mine from Perhaps, only perhaps, John of Patmos’s success in
earth. That John pauses here (Rv 18:11–17a) to describe in all presenting such an intricate imaginary narrative might
detail, these building materials are at odds with what, just a have ultimately worked against him. The history of the
few chapters before, he has been criticising in all detail church is witness to the many abuses carried out in the
about Rome/Babylon’s spoiling of the subjugated nations name of the ‘Christ Victor’, without understanding the
(cf. Bauckham 1991). subtext that guided his whole reflection on violence.
Crossan’s sensibility to such a display of violence in the
John makes a sharp economic critique of the Roman Empire biblical texts forces us to read these texts anew and, for that,
and then he reflects these same elements to describe the we should be truly grateful.
prosperity of the new city. What’s the difference? The New
Jerusalem displays a prosperity not won by oppression and
which is for all inhabitants to enjoy. Perhaps, this is a clue to
Acknowledgements
understand his logic when speaking about violence. To do Competing interests
away with violence you need to ‘become that which you are The author declares that he has no financial or personal
trying to overcome’. After all, God has been doing that all relationships that may have inappropriately influenced him
along for Israel in the Old Testament. God assumed the in writing this article.

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access

 Page 7 of 7 Original Research

Author’s contributions Dietrich, W. & Mayordomo, M., 2005, Gewalt und Gewalttüberwindung in der Bible,
Theologischer Verlag Zürich, Zürich.
S.R.N. is the sole author of this article. Gager, J.J., 1975, Kingdom and community: The social world of early Christianity,
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Galtung, J., 1999, ‘Cultural violence’, in M.B. Steger & N.S. Lind (eds.), Violence and
its alternatives: An interdisciplinary reader, pp. 39–53, St. Martin’s Press,
Ethical considerations New York, NY.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without Grimsrud, T., 2017, The Book of Revelation and the problem of violence: A response to
John Dominic Crossan, viewed 20 May 2021, from https://thinkingpacifism.
direct contact with human or animal subjects. net/2017/10/11/the-book-of-revelation-and-the-problem-of-violence-a-
response-to-john-dominic-crossan/.
Horsley, R.A., 1993, Jesus and the spiral of violence: Popular resistance in Roman
Funding information Palestine, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN.
Hylen, S.E., 2011, ‘Metaphor matters: Violence and ethics in Revelation’, The Catholic
This research received no specific grant from any funding Biblical Quarterly 73, 777–796.
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Klaasen, W., 1996, ‘Vengeance in the Apocalypse of John’, The Catholic Biblical
Quarterly 28, 300–3011.
Kramer, S.N., 1981, History begins at Sumer: Thirty-nine firsts in man’s recorded
history, Philadelphia University Press, Philadelphia, PA.
Data availability Kraybill, J.N., 1996, Imperial cult and commerce in John’s Apocalypse, Sheffield
Academic Press, Sheffield.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data
Kreider, A., 2016, The patient ferment of the early church: The improbable rise of
were created or analysed in this study. Christianity in the Roman empire, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI.
Lewis, C.S., 1950, The lion, the witch and the wardrobe, McMillan Company,
New York, NY.
Disclaimer Luciani, R., 2010, ‘La práctica histórica de Jesús como norma normans, non normata.
Criterios hermenéuticos para comprender la cristología de Jon Sobrino’, Iter:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Revista de Teología 51, 13–30.
the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or Matthews, S. & Gibson, E.L. (eds.), 2005, Violence in the New Testament, T&T Clark,
London.
position of any affiliated agency of the author.
Mayordomo, M., 2006, ‘Violencia y visiones de paz en el Nuevo Testamento’,
Cuadernos de Teología XXV, 61–75.

References Mayordomo, M., 2013, ‘Dios de paz, Dios violento. Ambivalencias teológicas desde el
Nuevo Testamento’, in C.B. Ubieta (ed.), Los rostros de Dios. Imágenes y
experiencias de lo divino en la Biblia, pp. 197–218, Editorial Verbo Divino, Estella.
Assmann, J., 1996, Ägypten: Eine Sinngeschichte, Carl GmbH & Co., Hanser.
Nogueira, P., 2020, ‘A linguagem do Apocalipse: Apotamentos para uma interpretação
Assmann, J., 2014, Violencia y monoteísmo, Fragmenta Editorial, Barcelona. conectiva e polissêmica’, Reflexus XIV(24), 637–656.
Barr, D.L., 1984, ‘The Apocalypse as a symbolic transformation of the world: A literary Pippin, T., 1992, Death and desire: The rhetoric of gender in the Apocalypse of John,
analysis’, Interpretation 38(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/​00209643​84038​ Wipf & Stock, Eugene, OR.
00105
Pritchard, J.B., 1969, Ancient near Eastern texts, 3rd edn., Princeton University Press,
Barr, D.L., 2006, ‘The Lamb who looks like a dragon? Characterizing Jesus in John’s Princeton, NJ.
Apocalypse’, in D.L. Barr (ed.), The reality of Apocalypse: Rhetoric and politics in
the Book of Revelation, pp. 205–200, Brill, Leiden. Roberts, A.J., Donaldson, A. & Coxe, C. (eds.), 1950, Ante Nicene fathers, Volume 1:
Apostolic fathers. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI.
Barreda Toscano, J.J. 2016, ‘“Come out of her, my people”: The hope of those who
suffer because of corruption (Revelation 18:1–19:10)’, Journal of Latin American Rosell, S., 2011, ‘John’s Apocalypse: Dynamic word-images for a new world’, HTS
Theology 12(2), 63–81. Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 67(1), a832. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.
v67i1.832
Bauckham, R., 1991, ‘The economic critique of Rome in Revelation 18’, in L. Alexander
(ed.), Images of empire, JSOT SS, p. 122, Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield. Rosell, S., 2021, ‘El Apocalipsis: Visión de un mundo nuevo’, in R. Aguirre (ed.), De
Jerusalén a Roma: La marginalidad del cristianismo de los orígenes, pp. 125–154,
Bauckham, R., 1998, The climax of prophecy: Studies in the Book of Revelation, T&T Verbo Divino, Estella.
Clark, London. Sarna, N.M., 1966, Understanding Genesis: The world of the Bible in the light of
Caird, G.B., 1984, The Revelation of St. John the divine (2nd edn.), A&C Black, London. history, Schoken Books, New York, NY.
Callahan, A.D., 2009, ‘Babylon boycott: The Book of Revelation’, Interpretation 63, Scott, J.C., 1990, Domination and the arts of resistance: Hidden transcripts, Yale
48–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/002096430906300105 University Press, New Haven, CT.
Carter, W., 2017, ‘Sanctioned violence in the New Testament’, Interpretation 71(3), Skaggs, R. & Doyle, T., 2007, ‘Violence in the Apocalypse of John’, Currents in Biblical
284–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020964317698764 Research 5(2), 220–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476993X06073809
Claiborne, S. & Haw, C., 2008, Jesus for president: Politics for ordinary radicals, Smith, K.A., 2013, Imagining the kingdom: How worship works, Baker Academic,
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. Grand Rapids, MI.
Collins, J.J., 1998, The apocalyptic imagination: An introduction to Jewish apocalyptic Thompson, L.L., 1990, The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and empire, Oxford
literature, 2nd edn., Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. University Press, Oxford.

Crossan, J.D., 2007, God and empire: Jesus against Rome, then and now, Harper One, Walker, M., 2002, ‘What kind of empire?’, The Wilson Quarterly 26(3), 36–49.
New York, NY. Weber, M., 2015, La domination, transl. I. Kalinowski, La Découverte, Paris.
Crossan, J.D., 2015, How to read the Bible and still be a Christian: Struggling with Wink, W., 1998, The powers that be: Theology for a new millennium, Doubleday,
divine violence from Genesis through Revelation, Harper One, New York, NY. New York, NY.
Crossan, J.D. & Borg, M.J., 2009, The first Paul: Reclaiming the radical visionary behind Yarbro Collins, A., 1984, Crisis and catharsis: The power of the Apocalypse, Westminster
the church’s conservative icon, Harper One, New York, NY. Press, Philadelphia, PA.

http://www.hts.org.za Open Access