When we pass from Jewish literature to that of the New Testament, we
enter into a new and larger atmosphere at once recalling and
transcending what had been best in the prophetic periods of the past.
Again the heavens had opened and the divine teaching come to mankind, no
longer merely in books bearing the names of ancient patriarchs, but on
the lips of living men, who had taken courage to appear in person as
God's messengers before His people. But though Christianity was in
spirit the descendant of ancient Jewish prophecy, it was no less truly
the child of that Judaism which had expressed its highest aspirations
and ideals in pseudepigraphic and apocalyptic literature. Hence we shall
not be surprised to find that the two tendencies are fully represented
in primitive Christianity, and, still more strange as it may appear,
that New Testament apocalyptic found a more ready hearing amid the
stress and storm of the 1st century than the prophetic side of
Christianity, and that the type of the forerunner on the side of its
declared asceticism appealed more readily to primitive Christianity than
that of Him who came "eating and drinking," declaring both worlds good
and both God's.
Early Christianity had thus naturally a special fondness for this class
of literature. It was Christianity that preserved Jewish apocalyptic,
when it was abandoned by Judaism as it sank into Rabbinism, and gave it
a Christian character either by a forcible exegesis or by a systematic
process of interpolation. Moreover, it cultivated this form of
literature and made it the vehicle of its own ideas. Though apocalyptic
served its purpose in the opening centuries of the Christian era, it
must be confessed that in _many_ of its aspects its office is
transitory, as they belong not to the essence of Christian thought. When
once it had taught men that the next world was God's world, though it
did so at the cost of relinquishing the present to Satan, it had
achieved its real task, and the time had come for it to quit the stage
of history, when Christianity appeared as the heir of this true
spiritual achievement. But Christianity was no less assuredly the heir
of ancient prophecy, and thus as spiritual representative of what was
true in prophecy and apocalyptic; its essential teaching was as that of
its Founder that both worlds were of God and that both should be made
God's.
(i.) Canonical:--
Apocalypse in Mark xiii. (Matthew xxiv., Luke xxi.).
2 Thessalonians ii.
Revelation.
(ii.) Extra-Canonical:--
Apocalypse of Peter.
Testament of Hezekiah.
Testament of Abraham.
Oracles of Hystaspes.
Vision of Isaiah.
Shepherd of Hermas.
5 Ezra.
6 Ezra.
Christian Sibyllines.
Apocalypses of Paul, Thomas and Stephen.
Apocalypses of Esdras, Paul, John, Peter, The Virgin, Sedrach, Daniel.
Revelations of Bartholomew.
Questions of Bartholomew.
_Apocalypse in Mark xiii._--According to the teaching of the Gospels the
second advent was to take the world by surprise. Only one passage (Mark
xiii. = Matt. xxiv. = Luke xxi.) conflicts with this view, and is
therefore suspicious. This represents the second advent as heralded by a
succession of signs which are unmistakable precursors of its appearance,
such as wars, earthquakes, famines, the destruction of Jerusalem and the
like. Our suspicion is justified by a further examination of Mark xiii.
For the words "let him that _readeth_ understand" (ver. 14) indicate
that the prediction referred to appeared first not in a spoken address
but in a written form, as was characteristic of apocalypses. Again, in
ver. 30, it is declared that this generation shall not pass away until
all these things be fulfilled, whereas in 32 we have an undoubted
declaration of Christ "Of that day or of that hour knoweth no one, not
even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." On these
and other grounds verses 7, 8, 14-20, 24-27, 30, 31 should be removed
from their present context. Taken together they constitute a Christian
adaptation of an originally Jewish work, written A.D. 67-68, during the
troubles preceding the fall of Jerusalem. The apocalypse consists of
three Acts: Act i. consisting of verses 7, 8, enumerating the woes
heralding the parusia, Act ii. describing the actual tribulation, and
Act iii. the parusia itself. (See Wendt, _Lehre Jesu_, i. 12-21;
Charles, _Eschatology_, 325 sqq.; H.S. Holtzmann, _N. T. Theol._ 1-325
sqq. with literature there given.)
_2 Thessalonians ii._--The earliest form of Pauline eschatology is
essentially Jewish. He starts from the fundamental thought of Jewish
apocalyptic that the end of the world will be brought about by the
direct intervention of God when evil has reached its climax. The
manifestation of evil culminates in the Antichrist whose parusia (2
Thess. ii. 9) is the Satanic counterfeit of that of the true Messiah.
But the climax of evil is the immediate herald of its destruction; for
thereupon Christ will descend from heaven and destroy the Antichrist
(ii. 8). Nowhere in his later epistles does this forecast of the future
reappear. Rather under the influence of the great formative Christian
conceptions he parted gradually with the eschatology he had inherited
from Judaism, and entered on a progressive development, in the course of
which the heterogeneous elements were for the most part silently
dropped.
_Revelation._--Since this book is discussed separately we shall content
ourselves here with indicating a few of the conclusions now generally
accepted. The apocalypse was written about A.D. 96. Its object, like
other Jewish apocalypses, was to encourage faith under persecution; its
burden is not a call to repentance but a promise of deliverance. It is
derived from one author, who has made free use of a variety of elements,
some of which are Jewish and consort but ill with their new context. The
question of the pseudonymity of the book is still an open one.
_Apocalypse of Peter._--Till 1892 only some five or more fragments of
this book were known to exist. These are preserved in Clem. Alex. and in
Macarius Magnes (see Hilgenfeld, _N. T. extra Can._ iv. 74 sqq.; Zahn,
_Gesch. Kanons_ ii. 818-819). It is mentioned in the Muratorian Canon,
and according to Eusebius (_H.E._ vi. 14. i) was commented on by Clement
of Alexandria. In the fragment found at Akhmim there is a prediction of
the last things, and a vision of the abode and blessedness of the
righteous, and of the abode and torments of the wicked.
_Testament of Hezekiah._--This writing is fragmentary, and has been
preserved merely as a constituent of the Ascension of Isaiah. To it
belongs iii. 13b-iv. 18 of that book. It is found under the above name,
[Greek: Diatheke Ezekion], only in Cedrenus i. 120-121, who quotes
partially iv. 12. 14 and refers to iv. 15-18. For a full account see
ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF.
_Testament of Abraham._--This work in two recensions was first published
by James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 2. Its editor is of opinion that it
was written by a Jewish Christian in Egypt in the 2nd century A.D., but
that it embodies legends of an earlier date, and that it received its
present form in the 9th or 10th century. It treats of Michael being sent
to announce to Abraham his death: of the tree speaking with a human
voice (iii.), Michael's sojourn with Abraham (iv.-v.) and Sarah's
recognition of him as one of the three angels, Abraham's refusal to die
(vii.), and the vision of judgment (x.-xx.).
_Oracles of Hystaspes._--This eschatological work ([Greek: Chreseis
Hystaspon]: so named by the anonymous 5th-century writer in Buresch,
_Klaros_, 1889, p. 95) is mentioned in conjunction with the Sibyllines
by Justin (_Apol._ i. 20), Clement of Alexandria (_Strom._ vi. 5), and
Lactantius (_Inst._ VII. xv. 19; xviii. 2-3). According to Lactantius,
it prophesied the overthrow of Rome and the advent of Zeus to help the
godly and destroy the wicked, but omitted all reference to the sending
of the Son of God. According to Justin, it prophesied the destruction of
the world by fire. According to the _Apocryph of Paul_, cited by
Clement, Hystaspes foretold the conflict of the Messiah with many kings
and His advent. Finally, an unknown 5th-century writer (see Buresch,
_Klaros_, 1889, pp. 87-126) says that the _Oracles of Hystaspes_ dealt
with the incarnation of the Saviour. The work referred to in the last
two writers has Christian elements, which were absent from it in
Lactantius's copy. The lost oracles were therefore in all probability
originally Jewish, and subsequently re-edited by a Christian.
_Vision of Isaiah._--This writing has been preserved in its entirety in
the _Ascension of Isaiah_, of which it constitutes chaps, vi.-xi. Before
its incorporation in the latter work it circulated independently in
Greek. There are independent versions of these chapters in Latin and
Slavonic. (See ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF.)
_Shepherd of Hermas._--In the latter half of the 2nd century this book
enjoyed a respect bordering on that paid to the writings of the New
Testament. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Origen quote it as
Scripture, though in Africa it was not held in such high consideration,
as Tertullian speaks slightingly of it. The writer belongs really to the
prophetic and not to the apocalyptic school. His book is divided into
three parts containing visions, commands, similitudes. In incidental
allusions he lets us know that he had been engaged in trade, that his
wife was a termagant, and that his children were ill brought up. Various
views have been held as to the identity of the author. Thus some have
made him out to be the Hermas to whom salutation is sent at the end of
the Epistle to the Romans, others that he was the brother of Pius,
bishop of Rome in the middle of the 2nd century, and others that he was
a contemporary of Clement, bishop of Rome at the close of the ist
century. Zahn fixes the date at 97, Salmon a few years later, Lipsius
142. The literature of this book (see HERMAS, SHEPHERD OF) is very
extensive. Among the chief editions are those of Zahn, _Der Hirt des
Hermas_ (1868); Gebhardt and Harnack, _Patres Apostolici_ (1877, with
full bibliographical material); Funk, _Patres Apost._ (1878). Further
see Harnack, _Gesch. d. altchristl. Literatur_, i. 49-58; II. i.
257-267, 437 f.
_5 Ezra._--This book, which constitutes in the later MSS. the first two
chapters to 4 Ezra, falls obviously into two parts. The first (i. 5-ii.
9) contains a strong attack on the Jews whom it regards as the people of
God; the second (ii. 10-47) addresses itself to the Christians as God's
people and promises them the heavenly kingdom. It is not improbable that
these chapters are based on an earlier Jewish writing. In its present
form it may have been written before A.D. 200, though James and other
scholars assign it to the 3rd century. Its tone is strongly anti-Jewish.
The style is very vigorous and the materials of a strongly apocalyptic
character. See Hilgenfeld, _Messias Judaeorum_ (1869); James in Bensly's
edition of 4 Ezra, pp. xxxviii.-lxxx.; Weinel in Hennecke's _N.T.
Apokryphen_, 331-336.
_6 Ezra._--This work consists of chapters xv.-xvi. of 4 Ezra. It may
have been written as an appendix to 4 Ezra, as it has no proper
introduction. Its contents relate to the destruction of the world
through war and natural catastrophes--for the heathen a source of menace
and fear, but for the persecuted people of God one of admonition and
comfort. There is nothing specifically Christian in the book, which
represents a persecution which extends over the whole eastern part of
the Empire. Moreover, the idiom is particularly Semitic. Thus we have
xv. 8 _nec sustinebo in his quae inique exercent_, that is [Hebrew:
nasa be]: in 9 _vindicans vindicabo_: in 22 _non parcet dextera mea
super peccatores_ = [Greek: pheisetai] ... [Greek: epi] = [Hebrew: al]
... [Hebrew: yahmol]. In verses 9, 19 the manifest corruptions may be
explicable from a Semitic background. There are other Hebraisms in the
text. It is true that these might have been due to the writer's
borrowings from earlier Greek works ultimately of Hebrew origin. The
date of the book is also quite uncertain, though several scholars have
ascribed it to the 3rd century.
_Christian Sibyllines._--Critics are still at variance as to the extent
of the Christian Sibyllines. It is practically agreed that vi.-viii. are
of Christian origin. As for i.-ii., xi.-xiv. most writers are in favour
of Christian authorship; but not so Geffcken (ed. _Sibyll._, 1902), who
strongly insists on the Jewish origin of large sections of these books.
_Apocalypses of Paul, Thomas and Stephen._--These are mentioned in the
Gelasian decree. The first may possibly be the [Greek: Anabagikon
Paulou] mentioned by Epiphanius (_Haer_. xxxviii. 2) as current among
the Cainites. It is not to be confounded with the apocalypse mentioned
two sections later.
_Apocalypse of Esdras._--This Greek production resembles the more
ancient fourth book of Esdras in some respects. The prophet is perplexed
about the mysteries of life, and questions God respecting them. The
punishment of the wicked especially occupies his thoughts. Since they
have sinned in consequence of Adam's fall, their fate is considered
worse than that of the irrational creation. The description of the
tortures suffered in the infernal regions is tolerably minute. At last
the prophet consents to give up his spirit to God, who has prepared for
him a crown of immortality. The book is a poor imitation of the ancient
Jewish one. It may belong, however, to the 2nd or 3rd centuries of the
Christian era. See Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocryphae_, pp. 24-33.
_Apocalypse of Paul._--This work (referred to by Augustine, _Tractat. in
Joan._ 98) contains a description of the things which the apostle saw in
heaven and hell. The text, as first published in the original Greek by
Tischendorf (_Apocalypses Apocr._ 34-69), consists of fifty-one
chapters, but is imperfect. Internal evidence assigns it to the time of
Theodosius, i.e. about A.D. 388. Where the author lived is uncertain. Dr
Perkins found a Syriac MS. of this apocalypse, which he translated into
English, and printed in the _Journal of the American Oriental Society_,
1864, vol. viii. This was republished by Tischendorf below the Greek
version in the above work. In 1893 the Latin version from one MS. was
edited by M.R. James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 1-42, who shows that the
Latin version is the completest of the three, and that the Greek in its
present form is abbreviated.
_Apocalypse of John_ (Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocr._ 70 sqq.)
contains a description of the future state, the general resurrection and
judgment, with an account of the punishment of the wicked, as well as
the bliss of the righteous. It appears to be the work of a Jewish
Christian. The date is late, for the writer speaks of the "venerable and
holy images," as well as "the glorious and precious crosses and the
sacred things of the churches" (xiv.), which points to the 5th century,
when such things were first introduced into churches. It is a feeble
imitation of the canonical apocalypse.
_Arabic Apocalypse of Peter_ contains a narrative of events from the
foundation of the world till the second advent of Christ. The book is
said to have been written by Clement, Peter's disciple. This Arabic work
has not been printed, but a summary of the contents is given by Nicoll
in his catalogue of the Oriental MSS. belonging to the Bodleian (p. 49,
xlviii.). There are eighty-eight chapters. It is a late production; for
Ishmaelites are spoken of, the Crusades, and the taking of Jerusalem.
See Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocr._ pp. xx.-xxiv.
_The Apocalypse of the Virgin_, containing her descent into hell, is not
published entire, but only several portions of it from Greek MSS. in
different libraries, by Tischendorf in his _Apocalypses Apocryphae_, pp.
95 sqq.; James, _Texts and Studies_, ii. 3. 109-126.
_Apocalypse of Sedrach._--This late apocalypse, which M.R. James assigns
to the 10th or 11th century, deals with the subject of intercession for
sinners and Sedrach's unwillingness to die. See James, _Texts and
Studies_, ii. 3. 127-137.
_Apocalypse of Daniel._--See Vassiliev's _Anecdota Graeco-Byzantina_
(Moscow, 1893), pp. 38-44; _Uncanonical Books of the Old Testament_
(Venice, 1901), pp. 237 sqq., 387 sqq.
_The Revelations of Bartholomew._--Dulaurier published from a Parisian
Sahidic MS., subjoining a French translation, what is termed a fragment
of the apocryphal revelations of St Bartholomew (_Fragment des
revelations apocryphes de Saint Barthelemy, &c._, Paris, 1835), and of
the history of the religious communities founded by St Pachomius. After
narrating the pardon obtained by Adam, it is said that the Son ascending
from Olivet prays the Father on behalf of His apostles; who consequently
receive consecration from the Father, together with the Son and Holy
Spirit--Peter being made archbishop of the universe. The late date of
the production is obvious.
_Questions of St Bartholomew._--See Vassiliev, _Anec. Graeco-Byzantina_
(1893), pp. 10-22. The introduction, which is wanting in the Greek MS.,
has been supplied by a Latin translation from the Slavonic version (see
pp. vii.-ix.). The book contains disclosures by Christ, the Virgin and
Beliar and much of the subject-matter is ancient. (R. H. C.)