Revelation:
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Introduction:

        Cast in the form of a vision of things that must "soon take place,"
the book of Revelation is full of bizarre, psychedelic imagery that allows many
interpretations.  The imagery would have been slightly more understandable to
first-century readers, but even the ancients regarded the book as highly
ambiguous and difficult.  In part because of its obscure character, several
branches of the ancient church were slow to accept the work as authoritative
scripture.

        Some of the book's most important symbols use feminine imagery. The
new Jerusalem is envisioned as  "coming down out of heaven from God, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband" (21:2).  At the opposite extreme, the city
 "Babylon" (a symbolic name for Rome) is portrayed as a whore, "holding in her
hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her
fornication"(17:4).  As a third example a women who is "clothed with the
sun" and who gives birth to the Messiah plays a role in the pivotal twelfth
chapter of the work.  Each of these symbols reflects the male-centered culture
of the first century: women are caricatured as virgins, whores, or mothers.
 The author's narrow view of women has also shaped the other uses of feminine
imagery in Revelation.  In 2:20-23, John labels a rival prophet "Jezebel"
claiming that she "refuses to repent of her fornication"; and in 14:4 the seer
envisions 144,000 men  "who have not defiled themselves with women, for they
are virgins."  The stereotyped feminine images in the book do not represent
the full spectrum of authentic womanhood, either in John's day or in our own.
 The images grow out of the patriarchal culture of the first century, which
valued the control or management of women's sexuality by men.  In such a
culture, the virgin (who remains subject to male control)  and the whore (who
does not) can come to represent diametrically opposite realities:  purity and
obedience verses corruption and evil.  Exploring the cultural roots of John's
metaphoric language about women will enable us to understand what he was trying
to say at those points, but the dehumanizing way in which he phrased his message
will remain deeply troubling.

Contents:

         The book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse (Greek for "revelation"),
belongs to an ancient type of literature in which a seer describes symbolic
visions of the heavens and secrets about the end of the age.  This particular
revelation came to the seer  "John" while he was on the island Patmos, and it
is set in the framework of a letter from the exalted Christ to seven churches
in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey; 1:11; 22:16).  Each of the churches is
either encouraged for its obedience or rebuked for its disobedience to the
gospel in the face of persecutions and temptations (2:1-3:22).  In the
following panoramic vision, those who faithfully confess allegiance to Christ
are vindicated (7:13-17).  Meanwhile those who persecute the righteous or who
practice idolatry and lawlessness are judged (9:20-21; 14:9-11).  God's acts
of judgment are described in cycles of seven (seven seals, 6:1-8:1, seven
trumpets, 8:6-11:19; seven bowls, 15:1-16:21), though these cycles are broken
by long and important digressions (7:1-17; 10:1-11; 11:1-14; 11:19-12:17;
13:1-18; 14:1-20).  The visions climax in an account of the binding of the
devil (20:1-3), resurrection and judgment (20:11-15), and inauguration of a
"new heaven and a new earth"(21:1-22:5).  The book concludes with admonitions,
greeting, and Jesus' final assurance that he is coming soon (22:20).

Authorship:

        From an early date it was believed that John who wrote Revelation was
the apostle John, but the author himself does not make the claim.  His
reference in 21:14 to the "twelve apostles" suggests that he viewed them as
figures of the past.  Though some scholars have suggested that the author was
a certain elder from Asia Minor named John, he is probably a figure unmentioned
elsewhere in the extant early Christian literature.  He appears to have known
the Hebrew, not the Greek, version of the Jewish scriptures.  Moreover, he is
quite hostile toward Rome ("Babylon").  These traits indicate that the author
may have been a Palestinian Jew who had come to Asia Minor in the Aftermath of
Jewish defeat in the first revolt against Rome (66-73 C.E.). WBC.

Social Setting and Function:

        For centuries it was assumed that John and his readers were being
persecuted by the emperor Domitian (who reigned from 81 to 96 C.E.) for failure
to worship him in the imperial cult.  More recently it has been shown that the
historical evidence for that persecution itself depends on the book of
Revelations.  Thus, the argument is circular and the conclusions are
unreliable.  Excluding the reference in 2:13 to the recent execution of
Antipas, the book's descriptions of martyrdom probably reflect not the reality
of John's day but rather past persecutions (especially under Nero in 64 C.E.)
together with the author's vision of what "must soon take place."  If there was
no systematic persecution, then what was the reason for the terrifying scenario
John feared for the salvation of the churches, whose members were becoming
morally lax and conforming too readily to the standards of the larger culture
(see 2:14-15, 20-23; 3:1-3, 15-17).  Believers were giving in to the
temptations of idolatry, perhaps even worshipping the emperor.  By describing
the rewards of the faithful and the punishment of the wicked, John may have
been trying to encourage the faithful to persevere (14:12) and also to
persuade more complacent Christians that even trivial ways of going along
with their society's idolatry would be judged by God.

Use of Sexual Imagery:

        Several of the feminine images in Revolutions presuppose a traditional
symbolic use of the image of  "adultery" or "fornication" to represent idolatry.
 The eighth-century prophet Hosea was among the earliest to use the word 
"fornication"  (in Hebrew the meaning of this word is broader than but
inclusive of "adultery")  as such a metaphor.  Hosea depicted God's
relationship to Israel as that of a faithful husband to a "fornication" wife,
 with the wife's  "lovers" corresponding to gods other than Yahweh.  "To
fornicate" or  "to play the whore," then became virtually synonymous with
engagement in idolatry (see, e.g., Hos. 1:2; 2:1-13; 3:1; 4:12-14; Ex. 34:16;
Lev. 17:7; 20:5; Deut. 31:16; Judg. 8:27; 2 Kings 9:22; Isa. 57:7-13; 
Jer.  3:1-10; Ezek. 16:15-58; 23:1-49).  John is borrowing this scriptural
pattern when he portrays Jezebel and the city of Rome ("Babylon") as "whores"
(symbolizing their alleged involvement in idolatrous activities)  and also
when he dispicts the "heavenly Jerusalem" as a pure virgin (suggesting
abstinence from any form of idolatry as well as total commitment to God;
 cf.  2 Cor. 11:2). 

Jezebel (2:20-23)

        In 2:18-29 John opposes a prophetic figure active in the church at
Yhyatira - the women he calls "Jezebel" (most likely not her real name).  
John's references to his book as "prophet" (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18, 19; cf. 22:9)
imply that he regarded himself as a prophet; probably the women was a rival. 
John uses two devices to discredit her as a false prophet.  First he calls
her "Jezebel" and thus associates her with the notorious women who opposed
Elijah and supported the prophets of Baal (1 kings 16:31; 19:1-3).  Second
John has the exalted Christ use traditional language for a charge of false
prophecy when Christ accuses Jezebel of "teaching and beguiling my servants
to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols"(2:20).

        In earliest Christianity, there was a fierce debate about whether or
not Christians could eat the meat that was left over when sacrifices were made
to idols. Much of the meat available for consumption (in the marketplace, at
public festivals, and at private gatherings) would have been such
"sacrificial" meat. The book of Acts reports that the Christian authorities
in Jerusalem had decided that Gentile converts must follow rules designed to
ensure that they avoid several very serious sins, including idolatry and
illicit sexual activity.  The rules, which corresponded to those placed by
Torah on "aliens residing in the house of Israel" (Lev. 17:8, 10, 13; 18:26),
forbade the eating of meat sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:19; 21:25).  By
contrast, in Paul's opinion Christians could eat sacrificial meat, provided
that neither the conscience of the one eating the meat not that of any
Christian observer was offended by the action (1 Cor. 8:1-13; 10:25-30). 
The seer John adhered to the stricter view, attacking those churches from
among the seven that tolerated a group know as "the Nicolaitans" (with whom
"Jezebel" may have been connected).   The Nicolaitans were said to advocate
eating sacrificial meat and practicing "fornication."  On the subject of
eating sacrificial meat, they may merely have been following the more tolerant
policy of Paul, who founded many of the churches in that region.

        It is hard to know how to interpret the accusations of fornication and
adultery made against the Nicolaitans. Some scholars take them literally,
arguing that the Nicolaitans were a libertine Gnostic sect.  But it is just as
likely that these charges were unfounded, designed to vilify "Jezebel" and
the Nicolaitans by underscoring their "promiscuous" attitude toward idol
worship.  So also the first Jezebel's idolatry was referred to as her "many
whoredoms and sorceries"(2 kings 9:22).  In any case, John's use of the sexual
imagery undermines  "Jezebel's" authority and incriminates any who follow her
teachings:  they are not passive victims, but  "adulterers" (2:22).

The Women Clothed with the Sun (12:1-6, 13-17):

        The vision of the  "women clothed with the Sun"in chapter 12 is very
difficult to interpret.  John's symbolism fuses images from the Hebrew
Scriptures together with images from ancient myths about the births of certain
gods and about divine combat with monsters of chaos.  Moreover, in composing
the vision, John probably employed literary sources, whose original
significance may have been different from John's use of them.  

        The women's celestial garb (the sun, moon, and stars) associates her
with a high goddess, a  "queen of heaven."  Several pagan goddesses, including
the Ephesian Artemis, the Syrian Atargatis, and the Egyptian Isis, could have
laid claim to this title.  All three were linked with stars and planets in
ancient art.  John has combined this pagan imagery with allusions to Jewish
traditions.  The notice that the women's child  is to rule all the nations
with a rod of iron" echoes Ps. 2:9, understood as a prophecy about the
Messiah, the women should be identified with Mary, the mother of Jesus.  On
the other hand because it is said that the dragon will  "make war on the rest
of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of
Jesus" (Rev. 12:17),  some interpreters argue that she stands symbolically for
the church.  Neither theory quite fits the scenario:  How could the church be
regarded as the mother of the Messiah?  Or what would it mean to say that Mary
was persecuted?  A third theory seems most plausible:  the women represents the
 people of Israel,  which gave birth to the Messiah and to the church (compare
the portrait of Zion as a mother who gives birth to a nation is Isa. 66:7-13;
 of Zion as grieving mother in 2 Esd. 9:38-10:60; and of Sarah/Jerusalem as
  our mother" in Gal. 4:26).  John's use of goddess imagery serves to portray
 Israel in the most exalted terms possible: the twelve stars of the zodiac
  (Rev. 12:1)  have become, as it were, the twelve tribes of Israel (cf.
 Gen. 37:9). 

        In antiquity various stories were told about a divine mother whose 
child was attacked by a monster of chaos.  John's depiction of such events in 
12:4-6 resembles both the Egyptian myth of the birth to Isis or Horus (who is 
then threatened by Seth-Tyohon) and the Greek myth of Leto's delivery of Apollo 
(who is then pursued by the dragon Python).  In both myths, the motive for the 
attack seems to have been to prevent the child from gaining authority over the 
attacker; and in both, mother and child were given divine assistance in
escaping from the adversary.  Moreover, both Horus and Apollo were said to have
gone on to conquer their erstwhile assailants.  These stories would have been
well know to a first-century audience in Asia Minor.  John seems to have taken
over the basic plot of the myths, reinterpreting the women as people of Israel
and the newborn child as  the Messiah.  The description of the women's flight
to the "wilderness"  on "two wings of the great eagle"  (12:14) recalls not
only the miraculous rescue of Leto by the north wind but also (and more
pointedly)  God's rescue of the Hebrew children from Egypt and Pharaoh on
eagle's wings"(Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:11; cf. Isa. 40:31).

        The depiction of war in heaven (12:7-9) has its roots in the so-called 
holy war traditions of the Hebrew Scriptures.  In these traditions Yahweh the 
"divine warrior"  waged battles on behalf of the Israelites.  The holy war 
traditions sometimes portrayed Israel's enemies symbolically as dragon-like 
monsters (see e.g., Isa. 27:1; 51:9).  The  "dragon" in Revelations 12 
represents both political and cosmic enemies of the church.  On the other hand, 
it symbolizes the powers of the Roman Empire, which promoted idolatry through 
social and political means (Revelations 13).  On the other hand, the dragon 
symbolizes Satan, who is the spiritual force behind all worship Of idols (see 
esp. 13:2, 4).  John's symbolism suggests that God will defeat the church's 
earthly adversaries, just as God's servant Michael had defeated the heavenly 
adversaries.

        Revelation 12 must have helped first-century believers to interpret
their own social and historical situation:  they would have perceived that they
were the rest of the woman's  "offspring," and so still under siege by the
dragon.  They would have realized that the dragon had been defeated in heaven
but also that a period of suffering still separated those on earth from final
victory (12"17).  Perhaps John further intended for his vision to instill a
new sense of urgency in those Christians who were, in his opinion, to willing
to compromise with pagan culture.  The children of  "Jezebel" might fare better
in the short run, but it was the heavenly women's children who would eventually
triumph!

The 144,000 Who "Have Not Defiled Themselves with Women" (14:1-5):

        In chap. 14, John depicts 144,000 followers of the Lamb,  "who had his
name and his father's name written on their foreheads"  (14:1).  These persons
are meant to contrast with those who worship the diabolical beast from the land
and who were earlier described as  "marked on the right hand or on the forehead"
(13:16).  John depicts the 144,000 as engaged not in the polluted worship of the
beast but in the pure worship of God.  Probably John regards the 144,000 as a
special, exclusive group of the elect, who die rather than worship the beast or
receive its mark (cf. 7:4-17; 14:1; 20:4).  These willing martyrs for Christ are
the  "first fruits for God and the Lamb"(14:4)  and as such will participate in
the privilege of the first resurrection (20:4), with the  "whole harvest" to 
follow at the second resurrection (20:13).  John's portrayal of the 144,000 as 
ones who  "have not defiled themselves with women" may have been influenced by 
the notion that those who fight alongside Yahweh in holy war must temporarily 
refrain from sexual intercourse (as well as certain other actions) so as to be 
ritually pure (see, e.g., Duet. 23:9-14; Josh. 3:5; 7:13; 1 Sam. 21:5;
 2 Sam. 11:11).  Likewise, the Essenes at Qumran appear to have kept themselves
 ritually pure in preparation for the eschatological battle.  By describing the 
144,000 as not merely refraining from sexual intercourse but as virgins , John 
implies that the men not only meet but exceed the standard of purity necessary 
for participating in holy war.

The Whore, "Babylon"(14:8; 16:19; 17:1-19:5)

        After the third cycle of numbered visions, that of the  "seven bowls"
(15:1-16:21), John reports that one of the seven angels of the bowls showed him
  "the judgment of the great whore who us seated on many waters, with whom the 
kings of the earth have committed fornication" (17:1-2a).  She is decked out 
with purple, scarlet and jewels, and wears her name,  "a mystery," on her 
forehead:  "Babylon the great mother of whores and of earth abominations" 
(17:5).  The women is seated on  ˛ scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous 
names," with seven heads and ten horns (17:3)- in other words, on the beast 
from the land, introduced already in 13:1-10.   The heads of the beast are now 
identified as  "seven mountains on which the women is seated" and also as  
"seven kings" (17:10).  The details of John's description indicate that the 
beast symbolizes the Roman Empire as a whole, while the women represents the 
city of Rome (17:18). John's portrayal of the women recalls the depiction of 
the goddess Roma on some ancient coins:  she is seated on Rome's seven hills, 
with the river Tiber running below. Any Jew or Christian living in the last 
decades of the first century would have recognized that her  "mysterious 
name" was a symbolic designation for Rome, which-like ancient Babylon, 
centuries before-had conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.

        As seen above, the Hebrew Scriptures frequently used the image of an 
adulterous women or a prostitute to represent idolatrous people.  Typically, 
Yahweh was portrayed as the loyal husband, and the people of Israel were 
equated with the adulterous wife (see especially Hosea, Ezek. 16:8-58).  
Sometimes, however, the metaphor was extended even to people that did not 
have a covenant relationship with Yahweh.  In Isa. 23:15-18 the city of Tyre 
is described as a prostitute because of its corruption by commerce, and in 
Nahum 3:4 Nineveh is called a prostitute because of its  "debaucheries"  and 
its  "sorcery" (regularly linked to idolatry in the Hebrew Scriptures).  
In John's earlier depiction of the beasts from the land and sea, symbolizing 
the Roman Empire and the imperial cult, he had made it clear that the 
idolatrous worship of the emperor was really worship of Satan (Revelation 13). 
 Now, in 17:1-19:4, John portrays Rome as a  "whore" so as to elaborate on the 
idolatry and other sins associated with the empire's leading city.  The 
metaphor also serves as a foil for John's portrayal of the new Jerusalem as 
the pure bride of Christ (19:6-8; 21:2; 22:17).  

        John brings at least three types of charges against the city of Rome.  
First is associated with idolatry and sorcery.  This association is made 
explicit in 18:23 and is implicitly suggested both by depiction of the city 
as a whore and by this figure's proximity to the beast with  "blasphemous 
names" (17:3; cf. 13:1, 5-6 [probably an allusion to the titles of honor given 
to emperors]).  Second, the city is charged with violence:  Babylon is  "drunk 
with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus" (17:6; 
cf. 18:24).  If John was a refugee from Palestine, then he had experienced 
firsthand the violent wrath of Rome as unleashed against the Jews in 66-73 C.E.
He seems to have been deeply affected also by Nero's persecution of the 
Christians in Rome (64 C.E.): he alludes to a myth that the deceased Nero 
ould return to life and rule again (13:3; 17:8,  11).  John proclaims that in 
exchange for her making all nations drink  "the wine of the wrath of her 
fornication" (14:8;  18:3, with wrath probably referring to the empire's 
violent aggression),  Babylon will be made drunk  "the wine-cup of the 
fury" of God's wrath (16:19; cf. 17:16, 18:6; Jer. 51:6, 49).  Third Babylon 
is condemned for excessive wealth (18:3, 7, 9, 11-19, 23).  This wealth is 
tainted by the city's  "fornication" (idolatry), and its acquisition has led 
to an arrogance that verges on blasphemy (18:7; cf. Isa 47:8).

        The rehearsal of Babylon's destruction in chap. 18 stands as an 
important reminder that God is not infinitely tolerant and will indeed 
judge against the perpetrators of evil:  individuals, cities, and entire 
nations will one day be called to account for their deeds.  It is a message 
that all persons need to hear!  And yet one can only regret the misogynist 
imagery that the author has used to convey this important message.  To be 
sure, the book's imagery is violent from beginning to end;  both the people 
of God and the enemies of God suffer harsh fates.  But the author seems 
especially to delight in describing the gory destruction of the women Babylon 
(see e.g., 17:16).  The objection that  "Babylon"  is only a metaphor, or 
symbol, does not eliminate the problem that the text creates for women readers.
  The author's exultation over the mutilation, burning, and eating of a women, 
even a figurative one,  tragically implies that women are sometimes deserving 
of such violence. 

The New Jerusalem (19:7; 21:1-22:5; 22:17)

The announcement of Babylon's fall and the vindication of the saints causes 
rejoicing in heaven (19:1-5);  this heavenly song quickly moves into one of 
celebration for the imminent marriage of the Lamb and  "the bride" (19:6-8).  
Babylon was the "mother of whores and of earth's abominations" (17"5), but the 
bride of the Lamb is clothed  "with fine linen, bright and pure" (19:8).  After 
this brief anticipation of the appearance of the  "bride" follow successive 
visions of the warrior messiah, the capture of the beats, the resurrection and 
millennial reign of those martyred for Jesus, the release and the defeat of 
Satan, the second resurrection, and the  judgment (19:9-20:15).  Then, at last, 
the new Jerusalem appears,  "coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a 
bride adorned for her husband" (21:2; cf. V ().  Here John has blended the 
conventional motif of a new Jerusalem, kept in heaven until the last days 
(cf. 2 Esd. 7:26: 8:52; 9:38-10:60; 13:36),  with the metaphor of the church, 
the people of God - as the bride of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:23-24).  
Indeed the  "new Jerusalem" envisioned by John is itself a metaphor for the 
people of God:  the bride's "fine linen, bright and pure" is said to be 
 "the righteous deeds of the saints" (19:8).

        The bride metaphor (like its opposite, the prostitute metaphor)  
functioned especially well in the patriarchal culture of the first century, 
which placed a high premium on the strict management of women's sexuality.  
In this culture, the ideal bride was a  "pure" virgin who had no interests 
or liaisons that would compromise her loyalty to her husband  
(see 2 Cor. 11:2!).  In Revelation,  "purity" is the central point of the 
metaphor of the  "bride of the Lamb"  as is clear from John's continuing 
focus on this theme even after he drops the metaphor in 21:9 (see 
especially  21:27; cf. 22:15).  Christ had promised that those who remain 
faithful  "will walk with me, dresses in white, for they are worthy" (3:4-5)
.  Such persons, indeed, are to fill the city of God (17:8).

Conclusion

        The author of the book of Revelation mentions only the flesh-and -blood 
of women. Who is hidden behind the incriminating name "Jezebel."  All other 
references to females are in the context of metaphoric or symbolic speech.  
Studying the cultural background of this symbolism enables one to understand 
that John uses such language to represent certain basic concepts or realities: 
the worship of idols versus single-minded devotion to God;  the people of 
Israel,  "mother" of the Messiah and the church;  the pollution and sin of 
the Roman Empire versus the purity of the heavenly city God.  But even when 
one understands the  "point" of Revelation's various references to women,  
John's language remains disturbing and dangerous.  He categorizes women into 
wholly good  (the women clothed with the sun and the new Jerusalem)  and the 
wholly bad  ("Jezebel" and  "Babylon").  The wholly good are those whose 
sexuality is effectively controlled;  the wholly bad are those whose sexuality
escapes male management and manipulation.  The women reader is thus divided:  
she wants to identify with the good but is reluctant to do so because the 
images deny female self-determination;  she hesitates to identify with the bad
 but may endorse the defiance of the  "whores"  against those who would control 
or destroy them.  John's feminine imagery is dangerous because  (whether 
intentionally or not) it promotes an ethos in which women are not allowed to 
control their own bodies and their own destinies and in which violence 
against women is at some cases condoned.

        John saught to convince readers of the need for their unswerving 
commitment to God in the face of omnipresent temptations to apostasy, 
idolatry, and arrogance.  He hoped to inspire them to hold fast to their 
beliefs, even if such singleminedness meant that they, like soldiers, 
should have to die for their loyalty to Jesus.  It was a message designed 
to sustain those undergoing temptation and affliction and to stir the 
apathetic to repentance and reform.  This central message of the book is 
an urgent one for Christians to hear today, especially where they have 
become complacent toward the passive idolatry of our culture.  Revelation 
conveys a radical message for desperate times, but this radical message 
calls for radical critique.  Revelation's approval of violence and implicit 
disparagement of women threaten to undermine the book's central truth.  
Modern readers must boldly decry those aspects of Revelation that celebrate 
bloody retribution rather than mercy and justice and that compromise the 
full humanity of women.  One may protest in this way even while 
acknowledging the truth of John's claim that one day God will call all 
persons to account for their deeds on earth.

Bibliography

Aune,  David  E "Revelation." In Harper's Bible Commentary, edited by 
James L. Mays,  pp. 

        1300-1319. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.

Bird,  Phyllis.  "To Play The Harlot': An Inquiry Into an Old Testament 
Metaphor." In Gender and        Difference in Ancient Israel,  edited by 
Peggy L. Day, pp. 75-94. Minneapolis: Fortress         Press, 1989.

Collins,  Adela  Yarbro.  Crisis and Catharsis:  The Power of the 
Apocalypse.  Philadelphia:    Westminster Press, 1984.

Fiorenza,  Elisabeth  Sch¸ssler.  The Book of Revelation:  Justice and 
Judgment.  Philadelphia:         Fortress Press, 1984.

 ???-.  Revelation:  Vision of a Just World.  Proclamation Commentaries.  
Minneapolis:  Fortress        Press,  1991.
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