This is some information taken from Etienne Charpentier’s 1981 book ‘How to Read the Old Testament.’ Born in 1930 near Chartres, Charpentier studied at the Biblical Institute in Rome and the École biblique et archéologique of Jerusalem. Until his death in 1981, he was responsible to the French Catholic Episcopate for developing publications aimed at encouraging Bible study.
The Apocalypses
All through our lives, we come up against happy and sad events. We try to get the better of them, to make the best of them, to make sense of them. And we ourselves change when we realize that we are going in the wrong direction.
This is what the prophets did: they interpreted events and discovered a word of God in them: they called on people to change, to be converted.
Sometimes, however, it happens that evil is so great, that a situation is so hopeless, that there is no way out. One cannot hope for better days. And if anyone could then tell us how things would turn out, we would see the light at the end of the tunnel and be given courage to hold on.
The apocalypses are more this kind of material. They generally came into being at a time of crisis. The authors of them had a pessimistic view of the world, believing that it was entirely under the sway of the 'prince of this world' (or a devil). To offer hope, they proclaimed that in the end God would come and create all things new. Until then, people would simply 'cross their arms' and pray. We can see the ambiguity in this trend, which was both pessimistic and optimistic, evoking faith and running the risk of not being involved.
In modern language, apocalypse has become a synonym for catastrophe. It's a pity that only this aspect has been retained, since apocalypse also signifies light and hope.
The Greek verb apokalyptein can be translated into Latin as re-velare, remove the veil, hence our 'reveal'. History is thought to unfold in a straight line, the end of which is hidden in God's secret. To uphold his people's hope in dramatic times, God lifts the veil which hides the end, revealing the happy outcome to history as a result of God's victory.
The long-jumper
But how does the author of an apocalypse have such a revelation? His technique is rather like that of a long-jumper. The long-jumper wants to jump forward as far as he can; to do that, he first goes back: then he runs as fast as he can for thirty or forty yards and when he arrives at the take-off, he jumps forward, carried by his impetus.
The author of an apocalypse is like us. He does not know the future. But he is sure of one thing. God is faithful. To discover how he will bring history to an end, it is enough to see how he has guided it in the past. So the author goes back: he pretends to be writing three or four centuries before the time in which he is living, runs rapidly through history and then, when he comes to his own time, he leaps forward, projecting what he has discovered in his reading of history on to the end of time.
A very widespread trend
There are only two apocalypses in the Bible: Daniel and Revelation. However, many texts in the latest of the prophets already belong within this trend (Isa.24-27; 34-35; Zech. 1-8).
Between 150 sc and AD 70, this trend produced numerous books. It made a deep mark on the minds of believers, making them live in hope and expectation of the end.
Some characteristics of apocalypses
The author uses a pseudonym. He attributes his book to a holy man of the past. This gives him two advantages. This holy man is near to God, so he can reveal God's secrets. And he is a man from the past, so he can proclaim the future!
Composed in times of crisis, apocalypses are pessimistic about a world doomed to perdition because it is wholly in the hands of the devil, 'the prince of this world'. In the end they are optimistic: God will create a new world.
Their vision of God is somewhat deterministic: everything has been foreseen in advance, and has been written in the heavenly books.
They call forth a total faith in God, but they risk encouraging a lack of involvement: nothing can be done except to wait for God to act.
They are concerned above all to maintain hope.
Restricted to the initiated, they use a special code, expressed in both words and images.
A theology in images.
The apocalypses use a system of images which have to be deciphered. Here are the main ones.
Colours
White means victory, purity.
Red means killing, violence, the blood of the martyrs.
Black means death and impiety.
Figures
Seven is the perfect figure, and signifies fullness.
Six (seven minus one) is imperfection.
Three and a half (half seven) is imperfection, suffering, the time of trial and persecution. Be careful! Three and a half can appear in various forms, but its symbolic value remains the same: thus three and a half, or a time, times and a half a time (perhaps I + 2 + 1/2), or three years and half a year all have the same significance as three and half days or forty-two months or 1,260 days!
Twelve means Israel (because of the twelve tribes). Four signifies the world (the four points of the compass).
A thousand is an incalculable quantity.
Other images
A horn signifies power.
White hair signifies eternity (and not old age: the 'ancient of days' in Dan. 7 is not old, but eternally young!).
A long robe often signifies priestly dignity.
A golden girdle signifies royal power.
The goats are the wicked.
The sheep are the people.
So there you have it! From the church that actually wrote the Bible comes the explanation of Daniel and Revelation- in one easy lesson. I’m sure you will all sleep easier tonight…