Apocalypse Then and Now

Apocalypse Then and Now

One of the most overlooked and misunderstood beliefs of the Christian religion stems from its rudimentary stages of construction; this is the view of an apocalyptic Jesus. The acceptance of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet is one that is disregarded in modern day Christianity. It is neither preached through scriptures in church nor believed by its followers. Contrary to the contemporary view, this was not the belief held by followers during Jesus' lifetime and for hundreds of years after his death. The belief in this apocalyptic end and beginning of time is termed "apocalypticism". This term refers to the general belief that the world was set up in the accordance of two powers; good and evil, or more specifically God versus the Devil. These powers have competed throughout history and in the current age are considered to be controlled by evil. The belief is that this period of evil will soon end only after some sort of catastrophic event where God defeats the forces of evil. All of earth's beings will soon after be judged by their commitment to god, which will determine their acceptance into the kingdom of heaven (Ehrman 494). The specific ways in which these apocalyptic events play out is portrayed differently throughout several religious scriptures, but the general framework remains the same. The most important apocalyptic writings we have seen are The Revelation of John, The Shepherd of Hermas, and The Apocalypse of Peter. Again, each of these stories preaches the same general outcome although their specific storylines differ significantly. Overall, each of these stories help us understand a substantial amount about the time they were written and help us determine the truth behind the belief in an apocalyptic end of time.

When considering the oppression and suffering most Jews experienced under the scrutiny of the Roman Empire, it is not surprising that the idea of an imposing apocalypse and new beginning was embraced by many. What is surprising about this mentality is that even after Jesus had been crucified and resurrected, the support of this apocalyptic belief held strong for hundreds of years and still does in some Christian sub-groups today (Allison, 1996). This raises the obvious question of why early followers of the Christian faith have held onto some of these apocalyptic ideals for so long. This apocalyptic following is most likely a result of a combination between fear and intense devotion. Fear would have played a factor, because no followers want to go against what was once the word of Jesus Christ. In doing so, they would be aligning themselves with evil and ultimately risk exclusion from the kingdom of heaven on their day of judgment. Religious devotion also plays a factor in the continuation of this belief; this is simply because people believe it. The earliest gospels such as Mark, the Q-gospel, Matthew, Luke, and even parts of John all portray Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet. If these are the types of teachings a devout Christian came to know and follow, it is ultimately the view they will hold true for the future of the world. For example, once Jesus had died the hope of an apocalyptic end and new beginning was obviously in jeopardy. The most devout followers then tried to use the evidence of resurrection to show that Jesus' death was actually a fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus' resurrection compelled earliest followers to make sense of the situation. The thought process was simply that because god had resurrected Jesus, he must have been who he said he was. Either earliest Jesus followers would have believed, at his death, that the new beginning has begun or that his resurrection was proof of this fulfillment and the new age is imminent (Ehrman 299). Another important characteristic of apocalyptic view to consider is the influence of the concept of duality. The apocalyptic view brings about a sense of duality which divides good from evil or god from Satan. This fear of being excluded from the kingdom of heaven did more to garner and keep Christian followership than any other Christian notion. It was an invitation to a heaven on earth, but only if one followed Jesus' teachings and the rules of the faith. Without the concept of an apocalyptic beginning of the kingdom of heaven, this theory of duality would not be able to exist. Over time, it was evident that the faith in Jesus' return would begin to wane. In response to this decline in belief, the gospels became less apocalyptic over time in order for followers to align with their faith. The Christian faith has no longer promoted this view, but stopped doing so in a way which preserved their duality. They gradually neglected the apocalyptic idea in their gospels, and began promoting a spiritual heaven which was able to preserve the concept of duality (Levine, 2012). This concept, either through fear or devotion, influenced followers to act in accordance with Jesus' teachings as well as the commandments. For hundreds of years, this included the belief in Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet.

According to the apocalyptic belief, its generalized main purpose was to eventually rid the world of its evil forces and maintain God's control of earth. The first question that most would ask when hearing this is what determines acceptance by god? We see many of the guidelines preached throughout the gospels. On a broad scale one could argue that this acceptance remains consistent throughout the gospels and is solely based on whether or not god would view you as good or evil during the Day of Judgment. But after deeper analysis, one can see that the line which determines "good" has not always remained consistent throughout time. Throughout Christianity, the gospels have gauged "goodness" or devotion to god in two separate ways. One argument presented is that your devotion is determined by living a lifestyle in accordance to the Jewish scriptural laws. The other believes "goodness" should be determined by how much faith you have in Jesus and his teachings. Both appear to be accurate determinants of devotion, but different gospels vouched for different lifestyles. For example, in both the gospel of John and Paul we see the importance of faith stressed over following the Jewish laws. In John, the author states that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life... and this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ." (John 3:16-3:23). He later states that "Truly, truly, I say to you he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24). Quotes as such clearly show a strong relation between belief in Jesus and acceptance