Solomon's Writings and Apocalypse part 1

Overview and goals

Solomon’s writing (brief touch)

identify which writings are attributed to Solomon

Aim to understand the basic principles behind Solomon’s writings and how they fit into how we read the Bible.

Talk about apocalyptic literature

Identify what an apocalypse is

Identify the literature associated with apocalypse

Identify techniques to aid understanding

Practice reading a representative example

Solomon’s Writings

There are three books associated with Solomon, what are they?

Proverbs

Song of Solomon (Song of Songs)

Ecclesiastes

Each of these books has a different purpose and way of reading.

(Watch Video)

Most of what we have learned about Hebrew Poetry aids us in meditating on Proverbs and Song of Solomon in particular.

What are some of the techniques of the Hebrew Poets and how do they aid us in understanding the content and message?

Paralellism - two ideas joined together that either say the same thing in different language, contrast in meaning, or have a cause and effect relationship. A creative way to help the reader imagine on a deeper level than mere information transfer

Juxtaposition - pairing unexpected images to express complex thoughts

Poetic Ambiguity

Ecclesiastes 10:1-4 “Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.”

Proverbs 13:3 “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”

Song of Solomon 1:5-7 “I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept! Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?”

Proverbs is a book of general wisdom. Sayings that are generally true but are not promises. The reason they are generally true and not always true is the message of Ecclesiastes. Evil impacts our experience of living out wisdom such that the righteous receive evil and the evil receive what the righteous ought to have in their lifetime. The main message of Ecclesiastes is to enjoy the life that God has given you, the work that has been placed in front of you and entrust him with the rest because doing the right thing doesn’t promise the “right” results.

To be frank, I haven’t spent enough time reading scholarship on Song of Solomon, but what I do know is the range of interpretation is wide. For a basic overview, I would commend the Bible Project book video to give a basic understanding of what it is.

???Questions???

As we consider the wisdom of Solomon, how should that inform our reading of Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiates as part of a unified story that leads to Jesus?

Jesus is Wisdom lived out

The passionate love that He has for She is what led Jesus to come on our behalf, that he might have a bride of his own.

Jesus experienced that living a righteous life does not always lead to what we expect, but may lead us into suffering. Everything has it’s purpose and time and God is sovereign over all of it.

Apocalyptic Literature

What comes to mind when you hear the word apocalypse or apocalyptic?

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase apocalyptic literature?

Apocalypse is a word that means “to uncover” or “reveal.” In the Bible, an apocalypse is when God pulls back the curtain to show the true nature of the world from a divine perspective. We see these apocalypses all throughout the Bible, like the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God’s throne room or Paul’s vision on the road to Damascus.

There are also whole sections of biblical books where a prophet describes extended apocalyptic dreams and visions, referred to as apocalyptic literature. Reading apocalyptic literature can be difficult. These passages are filled with strange images, poetic language, and symbolism. The key to understanding biblical apocalyptic literature is to look at the literary design that’s introduced in the book of Genesis and developed throughout the rest of Scripture.

(Watch Video)

The dictionary definition of the English word describes it as, “the complete and final destruction of the world, as described in the biblical book of Revelation,” or “an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale.” (Dictionary.com)

How does a definition like that impact how we understand and interpret apocalyptic literature?

In the Hebrew Bible, the word for apocalypse is galah (הלג) meaning, “to expose, reveal or uncover.” Let’s look at this word in a few passages.

Apocalypse in the OT

Galah as uncovering

Genesis 9:20-21 “Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.”

Galah as uncovering God’s perspective

Read Genesis 28:10-17, then Genesis 35:6-7 “And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.”

The purpose of Jacob’s apocalypse is to reveal to him that his life has not gone off the rails but that his painful exile somehow fits within the purpose of God.

Galah given to the prophets

Prophetic role???

Accuse

Admonish

Announce

1 Samuel 3:19-21 “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”

Divine appearances are often called visions like in Genesis 12 and 15 where God appears to Abraham.

The opposite of being revealed is being hidden.

Deuteronomy 29:29 ““The secret (hidden) things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Looking at Genesis 15:12 and Genesis 28:10-17 Notice also that the revelation to Jacob takes place through an altered state of consciousness in a dream. This is typical of apocalyptic moments in the Bible. Through dreams and visions, consciousness is expanded and heightened, so that the dreamer can become aware of ultimate reality in a way that seems normally inaccessible to humans. In this story Jacob becomes aware that his surroundings are a place where heaven and earth overlap, where God’s presence and purpose are active and at work.

Apocalypse in the NT

In the New Testament Greek, apokalupto (ἀποκαλυπτω) means to uncover or reveal. This is a compound word meaning “to remove a cover from” (apo = “from” + kalupto = “to cover”).

This is played out in Matthew 11:25-27 “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Paul’s Apocalypse

In the letter to the Galatians, Paul describes his meeting with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. He calls the meeting an apocalypse.

Galatians 1:11-17 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation (apocalypse) of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal (apocalypse) his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”

In the book of Acts, both Luke and Paul describe Paul’s apocalypse in narrative form. Notice that the narrative does not call it an apocalypse but describes the vision in detail.

Acts 9:1-9 “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

Acts 26:12-19 ““In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,”

In the Bible, an apocalypse is a moment in someone’s life where God reveals himself in such a way that the observer is overtaken by a divine vantage point on their life or human history. These moments almost always involve altered states of consciousness (dreams, visions) as a result of ascetic practices (fasting, meditating, prayer, isolation). In these moments of heightened awareness, the person comes to realize that their current situation or environment is actually permeated with divine presence and power. In an apocalyptic moment, heaven joins earth in the mind and heart of the visionary, and they are able to see reality in a way that others cannot.

???Questions???

Apocalyptic Stories in the Bible

The Bible is full of stories of people having apocalypses. Below is a list of stories found in the Bible and in post-biblical Jewish literature. These texts were generated out of a tradition of Jewish practices of prayer, fasting, and meditation that resulted in altered states of consciousness. In these moments, the biblical prophets experienced dreams and visionary states where they saw the real meaning of history and their lives. These passages are literary works that recount visions in a highly stylized form

Adam in Genesis 2 Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 22

Abimelech in Genesis 20

Jacob in Genesis 28

Moses in Exodus 3 and 19-24, 25-31, and Deuteronomy 32-33

Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 •

David in 2 Samuel 7 •

Solomon in 1 Kings 3

Micaiah in 1 Kings 22 •

Isaiah in Isaiah 6 •

eremiah in Jeremiah 1 •

Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1, 8-11, 40-48 •

Amos in Amos 8-9 •

Zechariah in Zechariah 1-6 •

Daniel in Daniel 1-7.

There is also a line of apocalyptic literature that comes out of the Second Temple period that uses very similar imagery and techniques. Some of them are:

1 Enoch (consists of five distinct works): 3rd-1st century B.C.

• The Revelation to John: 1st century A.D. •

2 Baruch: 1st-2nd century A.D. (after A.D. 70) •

3 Baruch: 1st-2nd century A.D. (after A.D. 70)

4 Ezra: 1st-2nd century A.D. (after A.D. 70) •

Apocalypse of Abraham: 1st-2nd century A.D. •

Apocalypse of Zephaniah: 1st-3rd century A.D. •

2 Enoch: 3rd-6th century A.D. •

3 Enoch: 5th-9th century A.D.

The Biblical Cosmos and the Apocalyptic Imagination

Apocalyptic dreams and visions in the Bible can be hard to understand because we are entering into a personal dream or vision of an ancient Israelite. It’s important to note that apocalyptic literature in the Bible is built on two fundamental ideas that influenced the biblical authors. The first is their understanding of the order of the cosmos, and the second is their understanding of humans as God’s image.

The Apocalyptic Image of the Divine Throne Room

The biblical cosmos consists of three tiers: the heavens (above), the land (where we live), and the sea (the unordered and chaotic part of the cosmos). The primary realms of the biblical drama are the heavens and the land. In Genesis 1, heaven and land are two distinct yet overlapping realms. The heavenly/higher realm is transcendent and the place where life, meaning, and order originate.

God rules from his throne in Heaven

Psalm 103:19 “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

also in Isaiah 66 and Psalm 11 among other places

God Rules from Heaven with Other Spiritual Beings

The heavenly realm is thought of as a divine throne room from which God rules. Other spiritual beings have access to God’s throne room, and they are often referred to as “the hosts of heaven.”

Psalm 103:19-21 “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!”

Psalm 89:5-7 calls these heavenly beings the “sons of god”

1 Kings 22 talks about God taking counsel with the hosts of heaven

Some examples:

Isaiah 6:1–8 ESV

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Ezekiel 1 ESV

In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there. As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning. Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body. And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings. And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

1 Kings 22:19–23 ESV

And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”

What do you notice about the revelations?

Throne room scene

spiritual beings

Fire

Recognition of unworthiness

Language that stretches limits of the imagination.

Garden imagery (fire, cherubim/angels, divine creatures, God’s glory, God as ruler)

God’s Rule is Good

It is from that divine throne room that God issues his decisions, which are based on his heavenly vantage point, wisdom, justice, and righteousness.

Psalm 33:4-15 “For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.”

The Apocalyptic Image of the Divine Human King

The second foundational idea in the Hebrew Bible that helps us understand apocalyptic dreams and visions is that God created humanity in his image. While humanity failed to fulfill this role in the garden, God relentlessly works to restore humanity to their divine purpose outlined in Genesis 1.

The Image of God = Humanity as God’s Royal Image

Humanity is created as God’s image-idol and filled with divine wisdom in order to mediate God’s rule over creation. The purpose of humanity’s appointment as the divine image is royal rule over creation on God’s behalf. This is a priestly role. Humanity in the garden is an incarnation of God’s heavenly presence and rule on earth. We are all meant to rule like priests, kings, and queens over God’s creation.

Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

It is clear from Genesis 1 that God alone has the unique mastery and power over the chaotic nothingness and can speak reality into an ordered existence. But now humanity is appointed as God’s delegated ruler, as an embodied physical image of the divine rule.

The Image of God = God’s Idol Statue in his Cosmic Temple

The words “image” (Hebrew: tselem / םלצ) and “likeness” (Hebrew: demut / תומד) are most commonly used to refer to physical statues of stone or wood, and these words are usually translated to “idol” or “statue” in such contexts.

“To appreciate the full force of this image-of-God-in-humanity theology, we must have in mind the role of idols in ancient Near Eastern religion…where an idol is set up to be the real presence of the god. Because the god is really believed to inhabit the image, the image is the god, and its proper care and veneration guarantees the god’s benefits and protection for the worshipping community… With this understanding of divine images assumed, [Genesis 1] has a sharply focused theological anthropology: humanity is the eyes, ears, mouth, being, and action of the creator God within his creation… This point gives the biblical prohibition of idolatry its strongest possible rationale: for humans to make an idol is foolish because it fails to appreciate that according to the original order of creation, it is humanity that functions in relation to God as do the idols in relation to their gods.” CRISPIN FLETCHER-LOUIS, “GOD’S IMAGE, HIS COSMIC TEMPLE, AND THE HIGH PRIEST,” HEAVEN ON EARTH: THE TEMPLE IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY, PP. 83-84.