UP FROM SEA AND EARTH: REVELATION 13:1, 11 IN CONTEXT by Hugo Antonio Cotro Adviser: Ranko Stefanovic ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHOF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH

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Up from Sea and Earth: Revelation 13:1, 11 in Context

Understanding the cultural dimensions of climate change requires understanding its religious aspects Insofar as climate change is entangled with humans, it is also entangled with all the ways in w

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-environ-102017-025855

Religion and Climate Change

This dissertation explores the use and meaning of the doxa motif in undisputed Pauline literature. While doxa and its derivatives occur 72 times in undisputed letters and 96 times altogether in Pauline literature, the doxa motif has not received sufficient attention in Pauline studies. By examining Pauline doxa passages, the purpose of this research is to answer the following five questions: (1) What are the most significant characters and events that are attached to the doxa motif in the Jewish Scriptures? Consequently, what kind of narrative substructure, if any, do they form? (2) What are the characters and the events that are linked with doxa, and how do they relate to one another in Paul’s undisputed letters? (3) How do the characters and the substructure of the Jewish Scriptures shape the logic of argumentation in passages where Paul mentions doxa? (4) How does Paul develop and redefine the narrative doxa motif in light of the Christ-event and the contemporary context, namely in the midst of the imperial cult that he is facing? (5) How does Paul want his audience, Jews and Gentiles alike, to identify with the narrative characters in the story? While the first question provides a necessary background for my study, the last four questions guide my research. The purpose of this methodology is to strive for us to comprehend the use of doxa in Pauline thought in light of the larger sub-narrative and the characters in the narrative. Using a narrative methodology, this study suggests that Paul inherited a meaning and a doxa narrative with characters from the Jewish Scriptures. While the Hebrew word that is most commonly translated doxa is kabod, twenty-nine other Hebrew words are also translated as doxa. Thus, the semantic range of doxa is not limited to honor, but also includes the following connotations: aesthetic beauty, riches and wealth, either figurative or literal majestic strength and weight, a visible manifestation, separateness and holiness, and a form and likeness. The major character attached to doxa is the intrinsic character of the doxa of the Lord, referring to his moral character of holiness, superiority over other gods, and visible manifestation. Additionally, the Lord grants, gives and crowns doxa to Adam (i.e. humanity), to Israel, to royal kings, and to the eschatological Servant. Moreover, there was an eschatological expectation of the vindication of the doxa of the Lord through the eschatological Servant.

The Doxa Motif in Paul : A Narrative Approach to the Vindication of the Glory of God through Christ

................................................................................................................................. xiii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... xv Preface ................................................................................................................ 1

Faithful advocates: faith communities and environmental activism in Scotland

Christian mission is shaped by many things not least of which are perceptions of the created order and eschatology The nature of the transition from earth to new earth has profound consequences in that it determines understanding of how the creation fits within the purposes of God Some argue for annihilation or massive dissolution of the created order at the Parousia thereby devaluing all perceived to be doomed This earth-centred theological question of transition, and its implications for holistic mission, has not been adequately researched in its own right A comprehensive examination of the whole Canon is required: one which brings together all the relevant texts into a coherent theology of the earth that clarifies the degree to which the earthiness of the earth is integral to the new creation This original research develops such a theology in a narrative framework that projects forward to the presence of this earth in the new creation Throughout the Biblical narrative, the research identifies a triangular relationship from creation to new creation in which God, humankind and non-human creation are all inextricably linked, and in which the earth’s future is consistently presented as integral to the ultimate purposes of God The earth was subjected to corruption due to the sin of humankind but as humankind finds liberation in Christ so will the creation find freedom from all consequences of the sin of humankind The research establishes a trajectory throughout the narrative that consistently projects forward towards a full restoration of these relationships and that therefore the new heaven and new earth will be the result of a resurrection-like transformation and reconciliation of the present created order The Biblical texts normally utilized to justify annihilation or dissolution are examined carefully and found to be wanting for such claims The missio Dei includes the renewal of the whole earth as the Kingdom of God reaches fulfilment in the Parousia even as the Gospel calls persons and nations to faith Consequently, the mission of God’s people needs to be likewise holistic and conducted in such ways as to reveal and anticipate the future hope of the uniting of heaven and earth in the already begun new creation

The Earth’s Future: Narrative, Gospel, Mission. A Theological Projection through the Canon of the Christian Scriptures.

The use of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic narratives to interpret the risk of environmental degradation and climate change has been criticized for (1) too often making erroneous predictions on the basis of too little evidence, (2) being ineffective to motivate change, (3) leading to a discounting of present needs in the face of an exaggerated threat of impending catastrophe, and (4) relying on a pre-modern, Judeo-Christian mode of constructing reality. Nevertheless, “Apocalypse,” whether understood in its technical sense as “revelation” or in its popular sense as “end of the world as we know it,” remains a powerful way of creatively reimagining the world and of introducing questions of value and significance into discussions of climate change.

Climate change and the apocalyptic imagination: Science, faith, and ecological responsibility

There are striking thematic and verbal parallels between Isaiah 24–27 and Rom 8.18–30 that suggest that Isaiah 24–27 provides the primary source for Paul's description of the ruin and groaning of creation in Rom 8.19–22, a possibility that is strengthened by the fact that Paul elsewhere explicitly cites Isa 25.8. If Paul has used Isaiah 24–27 in this way, it helps to explain the emergence in Romans 8 of a cosmic theme in the context of resurrection hope; it also implies that a historic ‘fall of nature’ in the traditional sense is not strictly in view, but that Paul rather considers creation to be enslaved to the effects of ongoing human sin and divine judgment. This slavery itself can be considered the result of God's decision to link the fate of the natural world and humankind through what Isa 24.5 calls an ‘eternal covenant’.

Romans 8.19–22 and Isaiah's Cosmic Covenant

The enigmatic phrase in Rev 21:1, “the sea is no more”, has yet to be adequately explained or related cogently to the rest of the book. In this article I categorise the multiple roles in which αλασσα appears in Rev 4-20 and address the potential implications of each use of sea imagery for explaining its absence from John's vision of the new heaven and earth. Along the way, the various theories that have been proposed by other interpreters are assessed; this is followed by a brief consideration of the potential relevance of several parallels that have been suggested. On the basis of these investigations and an analysis of the context of Rev 21-22, it is proposed that the difficult phrase in 21:1c is best explained in terms of the use of a new-creation typology that serves to highlight the way in which this new creation differs from that described in Gen 1.

The Sea That is No More Rev 21:1 and the Function of Sea Imagery in the Apocalypse of John

Let Creation Rejoice: Biblical Hope and Ecological Crisis

The mysterious figure who appears in 4 Ezra 5:6-7 (‘one shall reign whom those who inhabit the earth do not expect’; ‘one whom the many do not know shall make his voice heard by night, and all shall hear his voice’), usually understood to be the Antichrist, is better interpreted as a reference to the Messiah. It is argued that the description in 5:6-7 comports well with the way the Messiah is portrayed elsewhere in 4 Ezra, that there are strong links between this ‘eschatological signs’ passage and the visions of chapters 11-13, and that there is little evidence that an Antichrist figure plays any role in the author's eschatological schema. The results of this study suggest that there is greater coherence between the dialogues and visions of 4 Ezra than has sometimes been recognized and that the Messiah of the book is not only an agent of judgement who brings in the end of the age but is also a king.

Jonathan Moo

Papers

Climate change and the apocalyptic imagination: Science, faith, and ecological responsibility

Romans 8.19–22 and Isaiah's Cosmic Covenant

The Sea That is No More Rev 21:1 and the Function of Sea Imagery in the Apocalypse of John

Let Creation Rejoice: Biblical Hope and Ecological Crisis

A Messiah whom ‘The Many Do Not Know’? Rereading 4 Ezra 5:6-7