--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The heavenly revelation he receives…" description: "\"“The heavenly revelation he receives concerns God’s activity in history to achieve his eschatological purpose for the world. In other words, John’s con..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/richard-bauckham-18561_history_the-heavenly-revelation-he-receives-conc_1208090.jpg" --- # The heavenly revelation he receives concerns God’s… ![“The heavenly revelation he receives concerns God’s activity in history to achieve his eschatological purpose for the world. In other words, John’s concerns are exclusively prophetic. He uses the apocalyptic genre as a vehicle of prophecy, as not all Jewish apocalyptists did consistently. So it…” quote by Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/richard-bauckham-18561_history_the-heavenly-revelation-he-receives-conc_1208090.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/richard-bauckham-18561_history_the-heavenly-revelation-he-receives-conc_1208090.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/richard-bauckham-18561_history_the-heavenly-revelation-he-receives-conc_1208090.jpg) > ““The heavenly revelation he receives concerns God’s activity in history to achieve his eschatological purpose for the world. In other words, John’s concerns are exclusively prophetic. He uses the apocalyptic genre as a vehicle of prophecy, as not all Jewish apocalyptists did consistently. So it would be best to call John’s work a prophetic apocalypse or apocalyptic prophecy. With that qualification, it obviously fits the definition of the genre apocalypse quoted above, and there should be no difficulty in recognizing its generic relationship to the Jewish apocalypses, while at the same time acknowledging its continuity with Old Testament prophecy.”” [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. John’s writings are prophetic apocalyptic, linking God’s historical activity to ultimate purpose. **In simple terms:** John’s text is a prophetic vision of history. Key Takeaway Study apocalyptic literature for divine purpose. Themes prophecy apocalypse history Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type theological literary When to use this quote - biblical studies - sermon preparation - academic research - personal faith exploration Key Concepts theology eschatology literary genre Questions to Reflect On - How does prophetic apocalypse differ from other apocalyptic writings? - What implications does this have for modern faith? A Different Perspective Apocalyptic language can be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apocalyptic Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalyptic-prophecy-1546074/) [Eschatological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eschatological-927628/) [Eschatological Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eschatological-purpose-915457/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [Prophetic Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophetic-apocalypse-3650904/) [Testament Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament-prophecy-2240514/) ## Related quotes > [“His task is to proclaim the fulfilment of what God had revealed to the prophets of the past. The whole book is saturated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/his-task-is-to-proclaim-the-fulfilment-of-what-god-had-revealed-to/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“It is clear that John saw himself, not only as one of the Christian prophets, but also as standing in the tradition of Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/it-is-clear-that-john-saw-himself-not-only-as-one-of-the-christian/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“In the first place, John’s work is a prophetic apocalypse in that it communicates a disclosure of a transcendent perspective on this world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/in-the-first-place-john-s-work-is-a-prophetic-apocalypse-in-that-it/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“Thus Revelation seems to be an apocalyptic prophecy in the form of a circular letter to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/thus-revelation-seems-to-be-an-apocalyptic-prophecy-in-the-form-of-a/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“The device of the seven messages enables John to engage appropriately with seven different contexts in which his book would be read and also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/the-device-of-the-seven-messages-enables-john-to-engage-appropriately/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“Even the aspect of New Covenant consummation that Jeremiah does deal with he views from the limited eschatological perspective of an Old Testament prophet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-kline/even-the-aspect-of-new-covenant-consummation-that-jeremiah-does-deal/) [Meredith Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-kline/) > [“way.” It is an unfinished eschatological conversation; initiated by God,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-schnasa-jacobsen/way-it-is-an-unfinished-eschatological-conversation-initiated-by-god/) [David Schnasa Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-schnasa-jacobsen/) > [Apart from the resurrection of Jesus, the eschatological orientation of the church appears as the spoke of a wheel without a hub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-richard-niebuhr/apart-from-the-resurrection-of-jesus-the-eschatological-orientation/) [H. Richard Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-richard-niebuhr/) > [“The issue of Israel’s eschatological suffering is the issue of Israel’s eschatological salvation and deliverance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-lifsey/the-issue-of-israel-s-eschatological-suffering-is-the-issue-of-israel/) [Dalton Lifsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-lifsey/) > [“the primary goal of salvation: an eschatological people, who together live the life of the future in the present age as they await the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-d-fee/the-primary-goal-of-salvation-an-eschatological-people-who-together/) [Gordon D. Fee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-d-fee/) > [“Hence the vocation of the Church of Christ in the world, in political conflict and social strife, is inherently eschatological. The Church is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stringfellow/hence-the-vocation-of-the-church-of-christ-in-the-world-in-political/) [William Stringfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stringfellow/) > [The church is constituted as a new people who have been gathered from the nations to remind the world that we are in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/the-church-is-constituted-as-a-new-people-who-have-been-gathered-from/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [... the world of nature is by no means absent from the eschatological program set out in the NT. While rarely rising to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-j-moo/the-world-of-nature-is-by-no-means-absent-from-the-eschatological/) [Douglas J. Moo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-j-moo/) > [“Playing the imminence game can be exciting—for a while. But it can also lead to burn-out—eschatological burn-out. There”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-g-johnsson/playing-the-imminence-game-can-be-exciting-for-a-while-but-it-can/) [William G. Johnsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-g-johnsson/) > [Eschatological fears are an ancient human concern. The Romans expected the world to end in 634 B.C. owing to a prophecy involving twelve eagles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-rees-mogg/eschatological-fears-are-an-ancient-human-concern-the-romans-expected/) [Jacob Rees-Mogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-rees-mogg/) ## More by Richard Bauckham > [“Theological meaning is thus written into the detail of John’s meticulous literary composition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/theological-meaning-is-thus-written-into-the-detail-of-john-s/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“Thus Revelation seems to be an apocalyptic prophecy in the form of a circular letter to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/thus-revelation-seems-to-be-an-apocalyptic-prophecy-in-the-form-of-a/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“A second important sense in which Revelation stands in the tradition of the Jewish apocalypses is that it shares the question which concerned so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/a-second-important-sense-in-which-revelation-stands-in-the-tradition/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“Misinterpretations of Revelation often begin by misconceiving the kind of book it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/misinterpretations-of-revelation-often-begin-by-misconceiving-the/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“Perhaps enough has been said to indicate that the imagery of Revelation requires close and appropriate study if modern readers are to grasp much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/perhaps-enough-has-been-said-to-indicate-that-the-imagery-of/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“The Old Testament allusions frequently presuppose their Old Testament context and a range of connexions between Old Testament texts which are not made explicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/the-old-testament-allusions-frequently-presuppose-their-old-testament/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“The range of different situations in these seven churches is sufficient for any Christian church in the late first century to find analogies to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/the-range-of-different-situations-in-these-seven-churches-is/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [ “\[Jesus'\] resurrection is therefore God's promise of new creation for the whole of the godforsaken reality which the crucified Jesus represents. It is therefore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/jesus-resurrection-is-therefore-god-s-promise-of-new-creation-for-the/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“It seems that John not only writes in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets, but understands himself to be writing at the climax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/it-seems-that-john-not-only-writes-in-the-tradition-of-the-old/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“False worship, such as John portrays in the worship of the beast, is false precisely because its object is not the transcendent mystery, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/false-worship-such-as-john-portrays-in-the-worship-of-the-beast-is/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“The point is not to predict a sequence of events. The point is to evoke and to explore the meaning of the divine judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/the-point-is-not-to-predict-a-sequence-of-events-the-point-is-to/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“The whole of Revelation could be regarded as a vision of the fulfilment of the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Your name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/the-whole-of-revelation-could-be-regarded-as-a-vision-of-the/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“The method and conceptuality of the theology of Revelation are relatively different from the rest of the New Testament, but once they are appreciated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/the-method-and-conceptuality-of-the-theology-of-revelation-are/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“It is clear that John saw himself, not only as one of the Christian prophets, but also as standing in the tradition of Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/it-is-clear-that-john-saw-himself-not-only-as-one-of-the-christian/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) > [“Secondly, as we have already noticed, Revelation is saturated with verbal allusions to the Old Testament. These are not incidental but essential to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bauckham/secondly-as-we-have-already-noticed-revelation-is-saturated-with/) [Richard Bauckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) [Explore all 34 Richard Bauckham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bauckham/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The heavenly revelation he receives concerns God’s activity in history to achieve his eschatological purpose for the world. In other words, John’s concerns are exclusively prophetic. He uses the apocalyptic genre as a vehicle of prophecy, as not all Jewish apocalyptists did consistently. So it would be best to call John’s work a prophetic apocalypse or apocalyptic prophecy. 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