This book examines how the original audience of the Apocalypse would have heard themselves portrayed in the visions of Revelation 4-22, and in what directions it would have motivated them. The challenge is following Christ's example of faithful witness, even to the point of death, and resisting rival claimants to the allegiance of the faithful. Stephen Pattemore uses Relevance Theory, a development in the linguistic field of pragmatics, to help understand Revelation against the background of allusion to other, biblical and non-biblical texts.
Author(s): Stephen Pattemore
Series: Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
Publisher: Cambridge University PressUniversity
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 272
COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 3
SERIES-TITLE......Page 6
TITLE......Page 7
COPYRIGHT......Page 8
CONTENTS......Page 9
FIGURES AND TABLE......Page 10
PREFACE......Page 11
Periodicals, series and reference works......Page 13
Books of the Bible and Apocrypha......Page 16
Ancient Jewish and Christian literature and texts......Page 17
1.1 The relevance of the Apocalypse......Page 19
1.2 The people of the Apocalypse......Page 21
1.3 Aims and scope of this study......Page 27
2.1 Introduction......Page 31
Background......Page 32
Relevance......Page 34
Language usage......Page 36
Reactions and development......Page 38
Preliminary considerations......Page 40
RT as a tool of literary interpretation......Page 42
Ostensive communication and the question of intentionality......Page 46
2.4 Relevance Theory and the Bible......Page 49
RT and Speech Act Theory......Page 50
Relevance and translation......Page 52
Relevance, intertextuality, and the Apocalypse......Page 54
Relevance and the nature of John’s imagery......Page 61
The relevance perspective in the study of biblical text......Page 64
2 Elucidation of discourse structure......Page 66
5 Evaluation of the accessibility of cognitive environments......Page 67
6 Interpretation of text within prioritized contexts......Page 68
3.2 The text in its context......Page 69
A relevance approach to discourse structure......Page 78
The discourse structure of the Apocalypse......Page 80
(1) Addressees......Page 82
(3) Actors......Page 83
4.1 Introduction......Page 86
4.2 The context of the vision......Page 87
4.3 New features of the passage......Page 92
4.4 The focus of the passage – the souls of the slaughtered......Page 94
4.5 The cry of the martyrs......Page 100
4.6 The response to the martyrs......Page 104
4.7 The later significance of 6:9–11......Page 108
4.8 Four focal passages......Page 109
Rev. 12:10–12......Page 111
Rev. 16:5–7......Page 116
Rev. 19:1–2......Page 118
Rev. 20:4–6......Page 124
4.9 Conclusions......Page 131
5.1 Introduction......Page 135
5.2 Daniel 7 in the cognitive environment of Revelation......Page 136
Verse 1......Page 143
Verses 2–3......Page 146
Verses 4–8......Page 153
Intertextual inferences about the identity of the crowd......Page 158
First description of the crowd, Rev. 7:9b–10......Page 161
Identification of the crowd, Rev. 7:13–14......Page 164
Further (future-tense) description of the crowd, Rev. 7:15–17......Page 171
A ‘phony war’? Revelation 8–9......Page 177
The two witnesses, Revelation 11......Page 178
Conquering the beasts, Revelation 12–15......Page 182
The vision, Rev. 14:1......Page 197
The explanation, Rev. 14:4–5......Page 202
Companions in arms......Page 209
5.7 Conclusions......Page 211
6.1 Introduction......Page 215
6.2 The vindication of the martyrs......Page 216
6.3 The victory and reign of the saints......Page 222
6.4 The marriage of the Lamb......Page 225
6.5 Implications for John’s audience......Page 227
7.1 Review......Page 231
7.2 Relevance Theory as a hermeneutic tool......Page 232
7.3 ‘Who they are’: the identity of the people of God......Page 234
7.4 ‘What they are to do’: the task of the people of God......Page 235
APPENDIX ABBREVIATED DISCOURSE OUTLINE......Page 238
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 244
INDEX......Page 264
