While we usually consider the Book of Revelation as the only real “apocalyptic” text in the New Testament, the Synoptic Gospels–Matthew, Mark, and Luke–are full of apocalyptic themes for those who have eyes to see them. For much of the past century, there have been serious debates in the field of New Testament studies over the nature and origin of some of the more mysterious passages in the Gospels. The work of Johannes Weiss, Albert Schweitzer, and Rudolph Bultmann, among man others, helped establish the popular theory that the focus of Jesus’ teachings was largely eschatological–or that he was focused on clamactic events/changes that would happen in the end times. This perspective was very similar to that of the earlier Jewish apocalyptic texts. In fact, many events and teachings from the life of Jesus, as recorded in the synoptic Gospels, seem to follow very closely the same patterns and themes found in these texts. I believe that the apocalyptic genre has its roots in ancient temple beliefs/rituals and, therefore, any apocalyptic imagery we find in the New Testament is likely of great importance and interest to us.
As there are many, many examples, I will only be able to look at a few of them here in any detail. To begin with the general, the Gospels’ talk of the Parousia (Second Coming), Last Days, Judgment, destruction of the wicked, the feast in the eschatalogical Kingdom, the devil, demons, angels, the Son of Man, heaven and hell, and other transcendent imagery is all found in the apocalyptic literature of the Second Temple Period. Although we see the roots of most of these ideas in the Hebrew Scriptures, there is much more detail and clarity in the pseudepigraphal/apocryphal apocalyptic texts. I believe that these themes were there in ancient Old Testament times (as we can see in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel), but many were often edited out/excluded as the texts were passed down. These apocalyptic themes were preserved more fully by non-mainstream groups, such as the Qumran community. For instance, among the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were found more copies of 1 Enoch than of Genesis, and more copies of Jubilees than Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers. So, for some reason, they had a great interest in preserving texts with a more apocalyptic flavor. And these are texts that do not show up in our Old Testament, but whose themes appear quite clearly in the New Testament. Curious.
Mark 13 and the Second Coming
Mark 13 is often mentioned as one of the most clearly eschatalogical/apocalyptic sections in the Gospels. We recognize this chapter as Jesus speaking of the signs of his Second Coming. Jesus speaks of tribulations and afflictions, and of great signs on earth and in the heavens. It will be a great cosmic catastrophic event. There will be great destruction and the Son of Man will come in the clouds with great power and glory and with his angels and gather the elect to him. This chapter represents the hopes of many apocalyptic writers for centuries. The Qumran sectarians hoped for this type of great cataclysm that would end the age of wickedness and bring in the reign of righteousness–when light would triumph over darkness. Jesus as the Son of Man coming in the clouds has parallels with Daniel 7, which depicts “one like the Son of Man” coming with the clouds of heaven prior to the great judgment (Dan. 7:13–14, 22).
The Son of Man
One of Jesus’ preferred titles for himself, as noted above, is the Son of Man. But why did he call himself this? There has likely been as much debate about this topic as any other in recent New Testament scholarship1. Some have taken this title to be simply a form of self-reference–a way for Jesus to refer to himself in the first person. Similarly, “son of man” (ben-adam) can be applied to any son of Adam, or human being. So, for example, when Daniel says that he sees “one like the son of man,” he could be referring to a human-like being. However, as J.J. Collins notes2, in many passages where Jesus speaks of himself as Son of Man (e.g., Mark 13:24–26; Mark 14:61–62)3, Jesus is specifically using the term to refer to himself as the Messiah, with allusions to the figure in Daniel 74. This would have been a very appropriate title for the role Jesus filled in light of apocalyptic texts such as the Similitudes of Enoch and 4 Ezra.
But why son of man? Why not just Son of God? In a non-apocalyptic sense, calling Jesus “son of man” is understandable seeing that he was also son of Mary–an emphasis on his mortal nature. Also, ben ‘adam would emphasize his role as the second Adam, and as the representative of the children of Adam before the Father. Also, as latter-day revelation indicates (see Moses 6:57), a name of God is Man of Holiness (does that mean that God’s name is Adam?), and so Jesus Christ is the Son of Man ((see “Son of Man” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism)).
The Transfiguration
While the Transfiguration is one of those New Testament stories that can be puzzling to many, it is one of the most familiar to students of apocalyptic literature. For convenience, I will post the block of passages covering the Transfiguration, as told by Matthew.
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
There is really too much in this account to fully cover in this post. I will just take a few of the major themes that have parallels in Jewish apocalyptic literature.
- high mountain — this is a common feature in apocalyptic literature, especially the early texts like those that make up 1 Enoch–the high mountain is the point of contact with God. Whether it is God coming down or Man ascending to heaven, the meeting point is often the high mountain.
- transfiguration into shining being — also a very common feature; we see this image in Exodus where Moses comes down out of the mountain after having seen God–his face is so bright that he has to use a veil. This same theme comes up in the apocalyptic literature over and over again, 2 Enoch being a good example. In these texts, when the visionary is brought to stand before the throne of God, he must undergo a transformation–often he finds that he has become shining/fiery like the angels that he sees around the throne of God. Also, the visionary is generally washed, anointed, and clothed with shining white clothing. Often, these white robes are described as being reserved for the righteous dead, and are accompanied by thrones, crowns, and other regalia. Sometimes, as in the later Ascension of Isaiah, the visionary actually increases in glory as he moves up from one heaven to the next, matching the glory of the angels that are in each level of heaven.
- supporting angels– accompanying many theophanies are cherubim, seraphim, or other “supporting” angels. This idea comes up with great frequency. In the Jerusalem Temple, the ark/throne was flanked by two cherubim. When the Angel of the Lord visited Abraham at Mamre, he was joined by two angels. There are two angels at Jesus tomb and then at his ascension. In the Ascension of Isaiah, the two angels on either side of the Great Glory are Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Arvid Nybroten, a classmate, noted that at the Roman Mass and in the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, the pope or bishop is “supported” by two deacons. In the Gospel account of the Transfiguration of Jesus, Moses and Elijah seem to be serving the function of the supporting angels.
- tabernacles–the offer of Peter to build three tabernacles coincides with the fact that the Transfiguration took place at the time of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is a remnant of the ancient New Year festival that celebrated the creation of the world and the enthronement of Yahweh (and the king). Some scholars see the (re)enthronement of the earthly king as part of this festival–a ritual in which the king would “ascend” to the throne, after having been washed, anointed, and clothed with all the royal regalia. Thus, the transfiguration of Jesus was likely also to be his enthronement, and it occured at exactly the right time on the holy calendar.
- hidden God–while many of the apocalyptic texts describe the visionary as seeing God on his throne, oftentimes He is hidden in some way. It is sometimes with clouds, but usually with fire. Often the visionary interacts with the chief angel, the Angel of the Lord, or another angelic guide. In Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham is led by the chief angel, Yahoel (which is a form of Yahweh-El, the Divine Name). This angel is described as being the name of the Lord. Abraham is shown the throne of God, but is not able to see God himself. All he sees is fire surrounding the throne and a voice speaking from behind the fire. It is interesting when we look at this as Abraham speaking to Jehovah while the Father is obscured from view because of the brightness of God’s glory. Similarly, in Ascension of Isaiah, the “glory” of God is too bright for Isaiah to see God himself–until he is specifically given power to do so.
- the secrets–part of the purpose of the ascension/transfiguration experience is to learn secrets from God–these secrets often involve knowledge of the creation, astronomy, and similar topics. In the Gospel account, the three apostles that accompany Jesus are told not to reveal the details of the vision they saw. Presumably, there was knowledge revealed to Peter, James, and John that we would recognize as the “Endowment.” Perhaps this knowledge was not to be widely had in the Church until after Jesus’ resurrection, when he would use this knowledge in its proper context (just a little speculation there)
Some Final Notes
Again, these are just some brief notes on a very interesting topic. I hope it has been evident that there are some clear apocalyptic images in the synoptic Gospels. The Gospel writers evidently had a very similar worldview to that of the writers of the apocalyptic literature. More accurately, we could say that the person of Jesus Christ fulfilled the types that the ancient writers were looking forward to. The apocalyptic literature was based on very ancient themes and prophetic expectations and preserved them very well.
A few random thoughts picked up in class:
- Sacramental mysticism–Because not everyone could have this type of “ascension to heaven” experience, the secrets learned in this type of mystical experience were passed on to everyday believers in the form of symbols/sacraments. In our earthly realm, we must experience these things symbolically. This is, in fact, a safer version of the visionary experiences–For example, we eat the body of Christ symbolically just as visionary/angels feast on the vision of Divine Kavod–we have to have a version of visionary experience for the masses–we can enter heaven through symbols/sacraments (ordinances)
- It is intersting to note that Jesus’ transfiguration (endowment) happened on earth and not up in the heavenly temple. He was on a high mountain, which is a counterpart to the temple. Brigham Young performed some early endowments on Ensign Peak, after it had been dedicated for that purpose. Jesus performed washing of the feet, sacrament of Lord’s Supper, and perhaps other ordinances in an “upper room.”
- My classmate, Arvid, brought up a theory that the baptism, transfiguration, and passion/resurrection seem to form a chiasm within the Gospel accounts. All three events have similar themes, e.g. Jesus being identified as the Son of God in each. An important note that Arvid mentioned was that the descent of Jesus into the waters at baptism is parallel to his descent into Hades after his resurrection. He mentioned a tradition (gave no source) that either at the baptism or at his death, Jesus was supposed to have gone to baptize the righteous dead. Very interesting! According to this chiastic structure, the Transfiguration would be at the middle, seeming to indicate that it was the climax, the most important event.
- See, for example, P.M. Casey, Son of Man: The Interpretation and Influence of Daniel 7 (London: SPCK, 1979); A. Yarbro Collins, “The Origin of the Designation of Jesus as ‘Son of Man’” in Cosmology and Eschatology in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 139-58; idem, “The Influence of DAniel on the New Testament,” in J.J. Collins, Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 94-95; G. Vermes, Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s Readings of the Gospels (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973), 160-91 [↩]
- J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 261 [↩]
- cf. Ps. 110 [↩]
- see also Mark 2:10, 27–28 [↩]
3 Comments
Great post (and great blog). Thanks, and please continue! ..bruce..
Great post.
The reason for common apocalyptic themes or imagery throughout Christ’s teaching is that the Gospel in general shares the same imagery as prophecy. In fact, the language of the prophets is image-based or icon-based, apocalyptic themes included. It’s the same iconography we see in our temples. They are also the themes of Jewish apocalyptic literature. The “high mountain” is the same as “the mountain of the Lord’s house.” Transfiguration to a “god of light,” the “three tabernacles” and the “hidden or veiled god” are as well. These are the “secrets” or the “mysteries” we avoid.
These are very ancient themes … cosmologically-based, in fact, in hoary antiquity.
It is the very cosmological nature of this literature (mostly about planets, stars, suns, moons, etc.) that leads to its removal by the mainstream, who see it as a distraction from the spiritual elements of the gospel. The early Christian fathers saw it as pagan, as do modern, mainstream Christians. They cannot fathom why it would be part of Christ’s teachings, so they avoid it and deny it.
Thankfully, Joseph reinstated those elements in his restoration, particularly in the temple iconography and ritual. This only serves to strengthen his claim to revelation.
Sadly, the mainstream in our church is as intent on ignoring the apocalyptic nature of the gospel as those in every preceeding dispensaion, systematically suppressing those “mysterious” elements. Thus, our temple ritual (not the ordinances) is the deepest mystery of all to us.
Bruce and Anthony:
Thank you for your great comments.
Anthony, I totally agree with the points you make. I think apocalyptic is certainly an extension of the ancient prophetic traditions. What we see in Isaiah is what we get in Ezekiel and then what we read in apocalyptic literature. Good point. Sad that both mainstream Jews and Christians rejected this original religious tradition.
I really do think that we need to pay more attention to this type of literature. This is the type of imagery that comes at the beginning of each dispensation, then people want to distance themselves from it. How many people think the Pearl of Great Price, with its visionary imagery, is just kind of weird? And that is too bad, bc it really is a “pearl” of great price.
Thanks!