BIB525: The Revelation to
John: Course Syllabus
Course: BIB525—The Revelation to John—July 2002
Instructors:
Email: ljohns@ambs.edu and nkraybill@ambs.edu
Course
Description
A study of the Revelation to John. Emphasis will be placed on the text itself
with a two primary foci. First, what was the author’s original intent for his
readers in the first century c.e.?
Second, what can and does this book mean for the Christian church today? Themes
discussed will include:
(1) the nature and function of
apocalyptic literature in John’s day;
(2) the life setting of the seven
churches of Revelation;
(3) how interpreters today in
situations of oppression have found hope, encouragement, and empowerment in
Revelation;
(4) how Revelation speaks to the
issue of allegiance to church and state; and
(5) what Revelation has to say about the past, the
present world, and the future.
Goals
and Objectives
1. Gain first-hand knowledge of and
familiarity with the text of Revelation.
2. Learn about the life situation of the
people living in
3. Learn and practice several interrelated
skills:
(a) the skill of critical thinking
(the ability to articulate and evaluate alternative solutions to a problem, assessing
the statements and opinions of others, and articulating the reasons for the
preferred solution);
(b) the skill of inductive Bible
study (including the joy and excitement of self-directed study with minimal
secondary guidance); and
(c) the skill of theological hermeneutics: how to
articulate the meaning of an ancient writing for people of faith today.
Strategy:
Course Requirements
Required
Bauckham, Richard. The
Theology of Revelation. New Testament Theology
Series.
Boring, M.
Howard-Brook, Wes, and
Anthony Gwyther. Unveiling
Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now.
[Three-hour students
must also read the introduction to Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza’s Proclamation
commentary; her article on Revelation in The New Testament and Its Modern
Interpreters; Tales of the End, by David Barr; Comfort and Protest,
by Allan Boesak; and Engaging the Powers, by Walter Wink. (Those
students who have already read Engaging the Powers may substitute Triumph
of the Lamb, by Ted Grimsrud; and The Choice Between
Two Cities, by Barbara Rossing.) Students will be asked to report at the
end of the class how much of the reading they have done.]
Recommended
Barr, David. Tales of the End: A
Narrative Commentary on the Book of Revelation. Polebridge Press, 1998.
Beale, G. K. The
Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New
International Greek Testament Commentary.
Grimsrud, Ted. Triumph of the Lamb: A
Self-Study Guide to the Book of Revelation.
Rossing, Barbara. The Choice Between Two Cities: Whore, Bride, and Empire in the
Apocalypse. Harvard Theological Studies 48.
Research,
Writing, and Presentation
1. An exegetical and theological notebook.
This notebook will form the heart of your work for this class and will count
for 50% of your grade (40% for three-hour students). It will consist of your
thoughts and reflections on your reading, on the text of Revelation, sermons,
and especially your answers to the assigned questions for that day. The
notebook (or at least the relevant section) will be handed in daily. All
entries should be dated. Portions handed in late will be subject to a one-grade
reduction for every day late.
2. A five- to eight-page research paper
(20-page research paper for three-hour students) on one of the images of
Revelation (i.e., lamb, lion, angel, stone, two witnesses, keys, beast, etc.),
analyzing the origins of that image in the cultural and religious traditions of
John’s day, as well as the force of that image as it is used in Revelation.
Topics for this paper will be negotiated between the students and the
professors. This paper is due Aug. 2.
3. Student presentation. Two students will cooperate
in doing a ten-minute introduction to the exegetical discussion the second hour
of class each day.
Attendance and
Participation
Essential to the success of this class will
be regular attendance and participation in class. Students should come prepared
to discuss the readings assigned for each day as well as the passage assigned
in Revelation. Students should come ready to share with the rest of the persons
in the class their insights, questions, surprises, excitement, and even
confusion about what is going on in the text, even when they are not on the
schedule to present. Class participation will be a factor in the final grade.
Plagiarism
Be careful not to copy anyone else’s work
without documentation or to represent anyone else’s work as your own. This
applies not only to published sources, whether printed or electronic (such as
works on cd–rom or on the
Internet), but also to the work of your colleagues. For further explanation
about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, see Rules for Writers: A Brief Handbook, by Diana Hacker, 4th ed. (
A Note about Work
Load
The nominal work load for courses at
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary is that the average student should
figure on three hours of work outside of class for every hour in class in order
to get an average passing grade for the course. Although some time can be spent
before the first day of class in reading as well as after the class in reading
and writing, you should consider this class a fulltime job. If you know now
that your summer is too full to invest this sort of time in this course, you
might consider whether you would get more out of the course if you were to
take it at a later time.
Evaluation
Approximate Grade
Weighting
The Revelation to John: Class
Schedule
Date
Before July 15 Revelation,
by Boring, 1–62 [Interview church members about Revelation]
Unveiling
Empire, by Howard-Brook
and Gwyther (300 pp.)
July
15 Introduction
to Class [LLJ walks thru syllabus]
Introductory
Lecture [JNK]
Jewish
& Christian Apocalyptic Literature [LLJ]
Discuss
interviews (The Book of Revelation in the Church) and Unveiling Empire
[JNK]
July
16 Boring,
63–85 Revelation
1 [LLJ]
Revelation
[in one sitting] The “Imminent End”
as a Theological Problem [LLJ]
The
Purpose of the Apocalypse [LLJ]
July
17 Boring,
85–101 Revelation
2–3 [LLJ]
Revelation
2–3 in Literary Perspective [LLJ]
The
Seven Churches in Historical Perspective [JNK]
July
18 Boring,
101–119 Presentation
by Greg Buchner and Jared Jennette
Revelation
4–5 [LLJ]
The
Lamb Christology of Revelation [LLJ]
July
19 Boring,
119–149 Presentation
by Penny Sharky and Todd Lehman
Revelation
6–11 [JNK]
Worship
in the Book of Revelation [JNK]
July
22 Boring,
149–172 Presentation
by Jay Conn and Matt Flinner
Revelation
12–14 [JNK]
Revelation
and the Emperor Cult [JNK]
July
23 Boring,
172–189 Presentation
by Jeremy Garber and Karen Weldy Kaufman
Revelation
15–18 [JNK]
Spiritual
and Scriptural Resources in Times of Persecution [TK]
Revelation
and Empire: The Spirituality of Consumerism [JNK]
July
24 Boring,
191–231 Presentation
by Mike Dixon and Donna Goings
Revelation
19–22 [LLJ]
Revelation
and Hope: What Are We Waiting For? [LLJ]
July
25 Bauckham (164 pages) Presentation by Ezra Tice
Wrap-up
[JNK]
Dealing
with Revelation’s violent imagery [LLJ]
The
Theology of Revelation
July
26 “666 and All That,” by Revelation and Popular Eschatology
(all-day event) Paul
Boyer (in Apocalypticism
and Millennialism,
ed. L.L. Johns)
Post-Class Due Dates
Aug.
2 Papers
and notebooks due [two-hour students]
Aug.
9 Papers
and notebooks due [three-hour students]