The Walls of Babylon : An Alternative Reading of the Revelation to John: An Alternative Reading of the Revelation to John

By Arthur, David

Book Id: WPLBN0100750634
Format Type: PDF (eBook)
File Size: 2.04 MB.
Reproduction Date: 4/7/2025

Title:	The Walls of Babylon : An Alternative Reading of the Revelation to John: An Alternative Reading of the Revelation to John
Author:	Arthur, David
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Religion, The Book of Revelation
Collections:	Authors Community, Religion
Historic Publication Date:	2025
Publisher:	Fortress Academic

Member Page:	David Arthur
Citation APA MLA Chicago Arthur, D. (2025). The Walls of Babylon : An Alternative Reading of the Revelation to John. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
This book is an exploration of the historical and cultural influence of the Book of Revelation, examining its impact on Western thought, art, and political ideologies.

Summary
The Walls of Babylon is a radically revisionist reading of the Revelation to John, offering startling insights into the historical roots of Gnosticism, the social dynamics of early Christianity, and the shattering impact of apocalyptic eschatology. Based on a careful analysis of the text, the book argues that the motivating circumstance for Revelation was provided not by external Roman oppression but by a fierce internal dispute between gnostic and proto-orthodox factions within the early church. In the ensuing controversy, John did not side with ecclesiastical officials, as might be expected, but instead took up the cause of the persecuted outcasts. The book he has left us presents a fiery rebuke of proto-orthodox Christianity, and by extension, challenges normative religious paradigms at every level of belief and praxis.

Excerpt
Long a fount of our collective dreams and nightmares, the book of Revelation holds a central place within the Western imagination. As much or more than any other single source, this short document has furnished the basic materials from which our symbolic universe is constructed. The stereotypical image of heaven, for example—streets paved with gold, angels strumming harps, saints garbed in white robes, God sitting on his throne—is derived, in large part, from its word pictures. Within the religious life of the church, themes and phrases from Revelation provide a recurrent thread woven deeply into the fabric of liturgy and hymnody.

Table of Contents
PART I: ORIGINS 1 The Clash and Fusion of Empires 2 Diversity and Conflict in the Early Church 3 Schism and Heresy 4 The Immediate Historical Context PART II: A PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM 5 In the Throne Room of the Great King 6 The Seven Seals 7 The Seven Trumpets 8 The Rise of the Beast 9 The Seven Bowls 10 The New Jerusalem 11 The Great City Babylon 12 The Celestial Woman