Apocalypse: Revelation

I’ve always strayed away from Revelation because the book just sounded a little ridiculous to me, and all of the end of the world imagery seemed a little frightening and hard to understand. Now that I can get a more objective view of this book, I’m a little more open to investing my time into understanding the apocalypse narrative in the Bible. First of all, I never thought of ancient writers using apocalypse language and narrative to compel believers to have unwavering faith in times of hardship and oppression. That’s very interesting to me, which leads me to believe that Revelation was a book meant to comfort those in persecution. I also never knew that many of these apocalypses had distinct patterns about them, I don’t really know what to make of them but it’s interesting Cosby pointed this out. Something that was very interesting to me was the fact that Cosby conjectures that many of the apocalypse writers recounted history in the language of prophecy to make it seem like they were accurate, and when they started to move into trying to predict the future, they were often wrong. Another reoccurring theme throughout these narratives is the assertion that God wins. Personally, I like this theme because it certainly does aspire hope and I could see how it could help people have unwavering faith, even if the books do contain some inaccuracies. Cosby’s take on Revelation is certainly a controversial one, but there is merit to his observations and certainly ones to consider when the topic of the apocalypse comes up in conversation.