Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John: Reading Revelation in the Ruins

by Steven J. Friesen

Overview

After more than a century of debate about the significance of imperial cults for the interpretation of Revelation, this is the first study to examine both the archaeological evidence and the Biblical text in depth. Friesen argues that a detailed analysis of imperial cults as they were practiced in the first century CE in the region where John was active allows us to understand John's criticism of his society's dominant values. He demonstrates the importance of imperial cults for society at the time when Revelation was written, and shows the ways in which John refuted imperial cosmology through his use of vision, myth, and eschatological expectation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195131536
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/25/2001
Edition description:	2001
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.38(h) x 0.97(d)

About the Author

University of Texas, Austin

Editorial Reviews

"This book will benefit students of early Christianity as well as students of Greco-Roman history. Certainly anyone seriously interested in the study of Revelation should not pass it by."—The Journal of Religion

From the Publisher