Cosmology and ecclesiology in the Book of Revelation

1 online resource (x, 132 leaves)

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-132)

Thesis (Th. M.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2023

Abstract

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Abstract

The book of Revelation is a highly liturgical book. Hymns appear at important hinges in the narrative, and most every character in the book — including John himself — either participates in worship or receives worship. The three-tiered cosmic setting of the book is sketched with cultic imagery that makes its symbolic world a rich setting for worship. Within this setting, a worship war rages. Heaven and its citizens worship the one who sits upon the throne and the Lamb who has the seven Spirits of God. The earth dwellers — citizens of Babylon — worship the trinitarian parody. Caught between both is the church militant, represented by the seven congregations of Asia, who are called to navigate the treacherous blood-soaked ground of the earth by following the Lamb wherever he goes and participating proleptically, through worship, in the consummate victory of heaven. In summary, this study subjects the people of God, as they are depicted in the cosmic setting of Revelation, to a literary-rhetorical inquiry that aims to link in important ways the victory of the church with the worship of the saints.

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