요한계시록 6장의 인 재앙과 요세푸스의 '유대 전쟁사'의 간본문적 해석

An Intertextual Interpretation of the Seals in Revelation 6 and The Jewish War by Josephus

Exegetes have to avoid the impression that the primary literary background of the Book of Revelation is pagan or non canonical writings, which the apostle John seldom cite. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that John's non-canonical intertexts including The Jewish War by Josephus are very helpful for a more proper understanding of the Book of Revelation. Revelation must be understood in the context of the cultural and intellectual forces that were affecting the churches of first-century western Asia Minor: religious institutions, political structures, military conflicts, natural disasters and even, perhaps, the symbolic vocabulary of Jewish apocalyptic literature. God is so much the sovereign of history that He can use every dimension of his people's experience to communicate his word. Popular treatments of early Christianity and early Judaism have focused so one-sidedly on Palestine and especially on the failed revolts of 66-70 and 132-135 that exegetes tend to think of Rome as the implacable enemy of the Jews. However, the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans during the Jewish-Roman War should be understood in terms of the vengeance of God towards his apostate covenant people. The environment for Jews in Asia Minor during AD 66-70 was significantly affected by the related events in Judea and Rome. Therefore, the destruction of the temple was an event of severe shock to the unbelieving Diaspora in Asia Minor but the decisive victory to the 7 churches of Asia Minor.