The Encyclopedia of World Religions

apocalyptic literature S 23

misery will be transformed or obliterated and a new world of joy and bliss will take its place. From such apocalyptic expectations, Jewish people in the late Second Temple period (200 B . C . E .–70 C . E .) began to hope for a MESSIAH . Gnostic apocalypses are somewhat different. That is because of the way Gnostics think of the world and SALVATION . Like Christians, Gnostics envision a liberation from the present existence. But they do not connect that liberation with the course of history. They envision it as a freeing of elements of light and goodness that are mixed up with darkness and evil. Gnostic apocalypses, then, tend to talk not about history but about metaphys ics. They describe the hidden world beyond the world in which we live, and they describe what happens to the liberated soul. Almost all apocalypses are “pseudonymous.” That means that, although they claim to be writ ten by famous people in the past, they are not so. The book of Daniel is one example. Although Dan iel claims to live during the Babylonian exile, his book’s content makes it clear that it was actually written about the time of the Maccabean revolt (167–164 B . C . E .). Many apocalypses outside the Bible claim to be written by such famous figures as A DAM , Enoch, N OAH , A BRAHAM , M OSES , or, among the Gnostics, P ETER , P AUL , and James. The New Testament book of Revelation is an exception. Its author actually identifies himself as John. Scholars debate whether this John had any relation to the apostle John. The prophecies that apocalypses contain are very helpful in showing when they were writ ten. Apocalypses often describe in very figurative language the recent history of the people among whom the writer of the apocalypse lived. The book of Daniel provides a good example. The ram in Daniel 8 is probably the Persian Empire, made up of Persians and Medes (the two horns). The goat is probably Alexander the Great. Alexander’s empire split into four parts (the four horns). From one of the horns, the Seleucids, came Antiochus IV. In 167 B . C . E . Antiochus outlawed traditional Jewish sacrifices and built an ALTAR to Z EUS in the Temple (“the abomination that desolates” of Daniel 9.27).

Aphrodite See V ENUS .

apocalyptic literature A kind of literature in J UDAISM , C HRISTIANITY , and G NOSTICISM . An apoca lyptic book is called an apocalypse. The best known apocalypse is the N EW T ESTAMENT book of R EVELATION . The word “apocalyptic” comes from a Greek word that means “to uncover,” thus “to reveal something that is hidden.” The second meaning is a good indication of what apocalyptic literature does. Apocalyptic literature provides knowledge to which people otherwise would not have access. It generally claims that its knowledge comes from one—or both—of two sources. One source is a vision that a person on Earth has of the spiritual realm. A good example is the second half of the book of D ANIEL in the Hebrew B IBLE (Daniel 7–12). A second source for apocalyptic knowledge is a journey into HEAVEN . Beginning in chapter four, the author of the New Testament book of Revelation is basically tak ing a guided tour of the spiritual realm. Whether they see visions or journey to heaven, those who are privileged to have these experiences need help in understanding what they encounter. That is because what they encounter combines natural features in unusual and obscure ways. For example, Daniel sees a ram with horns of different sizes and a goat with one horn. The goat defeats the ram, loses its horn, and gains four more horns. A little horn grows out of one of the four horns. Then it disrupts the SACRIFICES to “the prince of the host” (Daniel 8.1–14). Daniel says that the ANGEL Gabriel helped him understand this vision (Dan iel 8.15–17). Indeed, the authors of apocalyptic literature often claim that spiritual intermediaries, such as angels, helped them understand what they encountered. Many Jewish and Christian apocalypses pro vide a special look at the course of world history. They often talk about periods of history, and they associate these periods with fantastic symbols, such as the horns in Daniel 8. They also envision a time when the present world of suffering and