Revelations in Times Square..and other things

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1: 1-3). With these words John of Patmos, John the “Revelator”, lays the ground for what might be considered one of the most entrancing Biblical mysteries of all time. For each generation of readers, the words “for the time is at hand” is a promise that the end of days surely approaches during their own lifetimes—validating any attempt at exegesis of this elusive text. A hotbed for religious fundamentalism, the text of the Revelation is unlike any other book of the bible: It introduces the notion foreign to Hebrew prophets of an “Antichrist” responsible for all the evil befalling man. Previous religious thought held that the Lord God was responsible for any and all fate which befell man; a distinct part of the Covenant that the Children of Israel held with God stated that “everything, good or bad, begins and ends with God”. (Kirsch, 33) The introduction of the antichrist, the number of the beast, and Armageddon are all either introduced, or expounded upon greatly in this last book of the Bible. It is for these reasons, and more besides, that an average pious believer will dismiss the Book of Revelation as offering none of the Spiritual enlightenment that categorizes the rest of the Bible. As such, in modern day, it is only those searching for clues toward a coming Armageddon (for their own purposes) who will dig into the Book of Revelation expecting literal meaning. The result? Religious Fundamentalists at Times Square claiming the world will end at such and such a date—and a different date each time you meet them, I might add—with such fervor as a priest claiming the Love of God for humanity.

Probably one of the more interesting aspects of the book of revelations (alas, I am an engineering student), is its obsession with numbers. From the ‘mark of the beast’ as 666, to the overtly repetitive theme of seven, it cannot be debated that these numbers have more than a simple literal meaning. According to my close reading, the most used numbers in the Book of Revelation include one, four, and seven. Why might this be? One god? 4 horsemen of the apocalypse? Seven…the holiest number in the bible? Let us not forget that the word apocalypse comes from the Greek word αποκαληψη meaning “revelation”—which of course implies something that was hidden, being uncovered. Perhaps the numbers are the key to unlocking that which John of Patmos hid within his mysterious book of lygophilia. This would certainly grant us understanding as to why those who preach of the apocalypse are constantly turning out exact dates of the end of days.

Lastly, I’d like to mention the notion of Hellenism as being a Pre-Apocalyptic force in antiquity. It is interesting that Kirsch mentions the effect of Alexander the Great in his conquered empire, regarding him as a “father of apocalyptic tradition” (Kirsch, 30). The claim is that by introducing a seductive and hedonistic new way of living to his vast conquered lands, he inspired within the strict fundamentalists of Judaism a belief that “the world was out of joint”, and that perhaps the end of days was not too far into the future. This also resulted in a kulturkampf between Judaism and Hellenism, a struggle between those Jews assimilating into Hellenistic tradition, and those who refused to follow this amoral and impious new culture—a culture war which no doubt had much to do with the early fermentation of apocalyptic tradition in the region (Asia Minor, Mediterranean, where we know John of Patmos to be from).