The renewed discussion of apocalypticism that began in the early 1970s has produced some important results; in some cases they have found wide consensus. It is useful to distinguish between three terms: the literary genre “apocalypse”; the “apocalyptic eschatology” found in such documents and, according to some scholars, in texts antecedent to the apocalypses; and “apocalypticism,” “the symbolic universe in which an apocalyptic movement codifies its identity and interpretation of reality.”
In order to be semantically meaningful, the terms “apocalyptic” and “apocalypticism” should designate entities for which revelation is a significant component. In this respect, it makes a great deal of sense to begin a study of apocalypticism with an analysis of texts that are widely agreed to be apocalypses, such as 1 Enoch, Daniel, the Apocalypse of Abraham, 4 Ezra, 2 and 3 Baruch, and the book of Revelation.7 While all of these texts contain, in part or as a whole, revelations of a hidden past or future and/or of hidden parts of the cosmos mediated through a revealer figure, they vary widely in their specific content and emphases. For example:
✦ 1 Enoch is a complex text attributed to a pre-Mosaic sage, which contains mythic narratives about the primordial past, a prophetic call based on a heavenly ascent, guided tours of the cosmos interpreted by angels, detailed torah about the movement of the heavenly bodies, dream visions about the future of human history, and discourses composed of ethical admonitions and prophetic exhortations. ✦ In the book of Daniel, the narrative section consists of a cycle of legends about the wisdom and faithful conduct of Jewish sages in exile. Revelation comes through dream visions and their interpretation, through inspired sages. ✦ The Apocalypse of Abraham combines legend (Abraham’s rejection of idolatry), an ascent to the divine throne, and visions about the shape of the cosmos and (mainly) the future of Israel. ✦ The contemporary apocalypses 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch claim to base their information on auditions and visions about the future of Israel, mediated or interpreted by angels. 4 Ezra in particular eschews the notion that one can know the kind of cosmic secrets revealed in 1 Enoch,9 and both 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch understand wisdom in terms of the Mosaic Torah and its post-prophetic interpretation by scribes and sages.
In short, even when we tie the notion of apocalypticism to texts that are formally apocalypses, we find wide diversity in the content of what is revealed and the form through which it is mediated. We must use the generic terms with caution and the recognition that we do not know exactly what we are talking about.
Apocalypticism in Torah: Old Testament and Future Hopes
