Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation by Elaine Pagels

Apr 02, 2012 William rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 21-ce, christianity, us, religion, history, nonfiction

Author Elaine Pagels includes here discussion of not only John of Patmos's Book of Revelations, so well-known from the New Testament, but also discussion of the numerous revelation texts found at Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt in 1945. These are the so-called gnostic or apocryphal texts expunged by order of Egyptian bishop Athanasius in the 4th century C.E. Because of the range of her sources she's able to give us a picture of Christian revelatory thinking and mindsets through the ages.

For instance...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Mark Russell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy-religion

I gave Revelations five stars, not only because it is a good book, but because it is an important book. No other book in the Bible has as much impact on our way of life as the Book of Revelation. It influences our nation's religion, worldview and foreign policy in a way that the gospels do not, and perhaps never have. So you'll be interested to know that we've been getting it wrong this whole time.

The Book of Revelation is not, as Pagels points out, and as scholars have known for centuries, a pr...more I gave Revelations five stars, not only because it is a good book, but because it is an important book. No other book in the Bible has as much impact on our way of life as the Book of Revelation. It influences our nation's religion, worldview and foreign policy in a way that the gospels do not, and perhaps never have. So you'll be interested to know that we've been getting it wrong this whole time.

The Book of Revelation is not, as Pagels points out, and as scholars have known for centuries, a prediction of events thousands of years in the future, but rather, the prayer of a man who had witnessed the destruction of everything he believed in and could only conclude that this meant the end of the world was at hand.

Written by John of Patmos between 70-90 CE, the Book of Revelation is a fever dream of dragons, earthquakes and whores and reads more like a Conan the Barbarian book than the Holy Bible. It's difficult to decipher until you learn a few things about John and the world he lived in. John was a Jewish follower of Jesus Christ, writing in the aftermath of the Roman destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the failure of the Jewish rebellion, which resulted in the slaughter of tens of thousands of his fellow Jews, and Nero's horrific persecution of Christians. As a man who believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and would return to liberate Israel from the Romans and rule the world with his followers, he thought that this would happen in the very near future for the simple reason that if he waited much longer there would be nothing left to come back to.

And this is the message John sought to impart to his fellow believers, only he had to be cagey in how he presented it, as the Romans didn't really care for predictions of their impending annihilation. So he encoded his message by writing about "Babylon" which his fellow Jews and Christians would recognize as a symbolic reference to Rome, a "pregnant woman" they would acknowledge as Israel, and a Beast which just happened to have a number "666," which those who knew Hebrew could easily figure out was the numeric equivalent to the full name of the Emperor Nero.

John was writing for his time and his alone. And this was understood, even back when they were first compiling the texts which would become the Bible. When the Emperor Constantine ordered the bishops to put together a unified canon of accepted scriptures, each bishop made a list of books they thought were divinely inspired, a list of books they thought were a little iffy and books they considered totally illegitimate. The Book of Revelation was the only book that appeared on their "illegitimate" list to make it into the finished Bible. Besides which, it was only one of dozens of similar "Revelations." So how did this book make the cut? Well, some argued for its inclusion based on the idea that it was written by the same John who wrote the Gospel of John. But most of the bishops realized this was BS right from the start. The Gospel of John was powerfully written and beautifully crafted, whereas the Book of Revelation was so haphazard and lacking in anything that might be considered literary chops that it was a little like arguing that War and Peace and the Da Vinci Code were written by the same author.

But the Book of Revelation had a wild card working in its favor. While they were trying to put together a canon of books for this new-fangled Bible, the church happened to be embroiled in the Arian Controversy: a knock-down, winner-takes-all fight to the death between bishops who believed that Jesus Christ was made of exactly-the-same stuff as God, and those who believed that Jesus Christ was comprised of sort-of-the-same stuff as God. The exactly-the-same crowd won the day, and though the doctrinal difference between the groups was minor at best, the winning bishops felt that if they included the Book of Revelation in the Bible, that all its rants against heretics and threats of eternal damnation would spook anyone from bringing the issue up ever again. Plus, it ends with a really nice curse on anyone who might try to change it later. So what better way to end your new definitive collection of holy scriptures?

The bishops still had their misgivings, but the vote was taken, and the Book of Revelation got into the Bible by the skin of its teeth, despite the fact that it was basically a collection of predictions that had already turned out wrong. The secret to Revelation's longevity, though, is not its accuracy, but its abstraction. The reason why Revelation continues to capture people's imaginations and insinuate itself into every great social upheaval is because, unlike the rest of the New Testament, which refers to righteousness as specific actions (you know, helping widows, telling the truth, that sort of thing), the Book of Revelation merely talks about the "righteous" and the "faithful" without ever defining who they are. So absolutely anyone can read the Book of Revelation and cast themselves as the good guys, prophetically destined to give their enemies a good ass-kicking for all eternity. This is why the Book of Revelation has proven so useful to people over the centuries. During the Cold War, believers believed it foretold an epic confrontation in which the United States, with the help of Jesus, would vanquish the Soviet Union. The Puritans interpreted the Battle of Armageddon as a French invasion of England. During the Reformation, the Lutherans accused the pope of being the Anti-Christ, and the pope accused Martin Luther of being the Beast. There was nothing in the book with which to define who the faithful and the damned actually were, so it was fun for the whole family.

The fact that Revelation's plot is that of a generic battle between good and evil allows anyone to believe they are on the right side, its ending in the absolute victory of good over evil gives them confidence in their cause and the abstractness of the disasters and the weird fantasy imagery allows them to fit just about any recent event into the prophecy as a sign. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure book for demagogues. Quite an accomplishment for a guy writing in a cave two thousand years ago.

I realize this is more of a synopsis than a review, but understanding the Book of Revelation from this historically and theologically nuanced perspective is so important, I felt the best thing I could do was to share what I learned from the book, which is perhaps the best review I could possibly give it.(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Clif Hostetler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: religion

Whenever I refer to the Book of Revelations in the presence of my wife, she corrects me by reminding me that it's a singular revelation, not plural. As usual she is correct. But I don't appreciate being corrected, so I was glad to see, at first glance, what appeared to be Elaine Pagels agreeing with my use of the plural form of the word. As it turns out, Pagles is writing about multiple revelations. The book describes the literary (as well as political and social) contexts within which the canon...more Whenever I refer to the Book of Revelations in the presence of my wife, she corrects me by reminding me that it's a singular revelation, not plural. As usual she is correct. But I don't appreciate being corrected, so I was glad to see, at first glance, what appeared to be Elaine Pagels agreeing with my use of the plural form of the word. As it turns out, Pagles is writing about multiple revelations. The book describes the literary (as well as political and social) contexts within which the canonical book Revelation (Apocalypse of John) was written and preserved. This includes discussion of other ancient narratives of visions and prophecy, both canonical and non-canonical. Pagles is a scholar who was very much involved in the translation of the Nag Hammadi texts which were discovered in 1948, and is thus knowledgeable of the variety of religious texts available during the first three centuries of the Christian era.

Pagels agrees with other biblical scholars that the intent of John of Patmos, author of Revelation, was to write an anti-Roman propaganda treatise.

"What John did in the Book of Revelation, among other things, was create anti-Roman propaganda that drew its imagery from Israel’s prophetic traditions--above all, the writing of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel." (p.16)

However, Pagels' understanding of to whom the book is addressed is different from my previous understanding. According to Pagels, the warnings contained in the messages to the seven churches in Asia Minor (modern western Turkey) were aimed against second generation descendants of the gentile converts of the Apostle Paul (i.e. those who "say they are Jews and are not"). John of Patmos was a messianic Jew who believed in strict observance of Jewish laws and did not approve of the relatively loose standards of Paul's gentile converts. The irony is that he used words of such obscure meanings that few people (Pagels excepted) in subsequent generations understood toward whom his barbs were directed. If John of Patmos were brought back to life today he would be shocked to learn that his book was combined with the letters written by Paul and titled The New Testament to served as sacred Christian scriptures.

Prior to Constantine it was quite clear to early readers, especially those familiar with Hebrew scriptures, that the Revelation of John of Patmos was intended to be anti-Roman. The last thing John would have expected happened when Constantine came to power and made Christianity a protected and preferred religion. It was obvious at that point that the "Whore of Babylon" had to be something other than the Roman Empire. It didn't take long to figure out who it did refer to--anybody who didn't sign on to the Nicene Creed.

Pagels provides interesting speculations about what it would have been like to be present in the monasteries near Nag Hammadi during the third century. She describes how the various writings found at Nag Hammadi could have been used and studied. She also describes the long battle of Athanasius of Alexandria to limit Christian literature to his list of acceptable books which matches today's New Testament canon. It's interesting to note that most of the contemporaries of Athanasius agreed with his list of books except that they did not include the book of Revelation. As it turned out the book of Revelation was found to be a convenient tool with which to attack one's enemies. Just about every internal church controversy since that time has resulted in the opposing sides calling each other the "Whore of Babylon."

A couple of additional items I learned from this book about "The Revelation of John" are the following:

1. It is the only book in the New Testament where the writer claims divine inspiration of his writing.
2. It's the only book in the NT where the writer warns copyist not to make any changes and not to add anything to his writing.

That second item is what makes it the ideal book to place at the end of the list books for the New Testament canon.(less)

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Apr 26, 2013 Jon Stout rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: scholars and skeptics

Shelves: religion

I read Elaine Pagel’s latest book in preparation for hearing her speak under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. As with her earlier books The Gnostic Gospels and Beyond Belief: The Gospel of Thomas, my main impression was of the early Christian church in chaotic struggle in which religious insight and theological reasoning were often trumped by political power plays.

Revelations is about the last book of the New Testament, with its apocalyptic vision of a final judgment, and the genre of simil...more I read Elaine Pagel’s latest book in preparation for hearing her speak under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. As with her earlier books The Gnostic Gospels and Beyond Belief: The Gospel of Thomas, my main impression was of the early Christian church in chaotic struggle in which religious insight and theological reasoning were often trumped by political power plays.

Revelations is about the last book of the New Testament, with its apocalyptic vision of a final judgment, and the genre of similar documents which also reveal personal visions. On the face of it, the New Testament book of Revelation seems like a vindictive fantasy, complete with monsters and dragons, which one might expect from people facing destruction and degradation. Pagels argues that it was originally directed by John of Patmos at the Roman forces which destroyed the Jewish Temple in the first century CE and oppressed both Jews and Christians. But since then it has been interpreted to apply to every convenient oppressor, sometimes to both sides of a conflict, like a “reversible coat.”

I was startled to realize that John of Patmos, in the book of Revelation, is at odds with Paul the Apostle. While Paul argued that non-Jews should be accepted as members of the early Christian church, without becoming Jews, John of Patmos inveighs against the non-Jewish Christians who became influential in the early church. So right from the beginning, the early church did not present a unified front, but was rife with disagreements.

Revelation was not unanimously included in the canon of the New Testament. When it was included, it was as a result of a political move to consolidate the power of the early church. The book of Revelation was originally directed at Roman power, but when the Roman emperor Constantine became Christian in the fourth century, Revelation was reinterpreted to apply to heretics and to those at odds with the Roman bureaucratization of the early church. So there was a complete flip-flop in interpretation.

Another interesting fact: The Romans often identified both Jews and Christians as “Atheists” because they did not believe in the familiar and traditional gods, but rather in some more remote and ephemeral deity. That makes me wonder if “Atheist” doesn’t have a shifting meaning throughout history.

Finally, some of the most interesting “Revelations” (personal visions in the same genre as the Biblical Revelation) came from early Christian monastic communities in Egypt and elsewhere, which were suppressed by the bureaucratized church. These “Revelations” often resulted in a feeling of harmony with all humankind, and were said to include Buddhist meditative practices as well as elements from Greek and Egyptian mystical traditions. As Elaine Pagels says, “Living in an increasingly interconnected world, we need such universal visions more than ever.”
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Mar 09, 2013 Dharma rated it 5 of 5 stars

What Elaine Pagels does so well, in this book as in her previous, is to understand, explain, and evoke the context and writings of the period of formation of the Christian religion and the catholic church. In close and careful readings of the many conflicting texts available to present day scholars, she is able to untie the knots of ancient intrigue and conflict from the early days of Christianity. She traces the development of Christian writing through successive generations of apostles, prophe...more What Elaine Pagels does so well, in this book as in her previous, is to understand, explain, and evoke the context and writings of the period of formation of the Christian religion and the catholic church. In close and careful readings of the many conflicting texts available to present day scholars, she is able to untie the knots of ancient intrigue and conflict from the early days of Christianity. She traces the development of Christian writing through successive generations of apostles, prophets, and bishops to see how and why the core texts of the religion, specifically the Book of Revelation, were chosen to be included in the New Testament.

Pagels shows how the cult of Jesus worship began as a revolutionary movement on the fringes of Roman society, appealing to the lower classes, and offering a vision of equality before God, if not in everyday life. She finds in the words of Tertullian an early formulation of the desire for freedom of religious practice, freedom from the requirements to worship Roman gods and emperors. With careful argument, Pagels shows how the "eternal enemy", identified as the Beast in Revelations, is transformed in meaning over time. Initially the number of the beast - "666" - is a code for the emperor Nero who ordered the persecution of early followers of Jesus. Over three centuries, for a variety of political purposes, Revelations is transmuted into a condemnation of Christian splinter groups called "heretic" because of their failure to obey nascent church authority

Although Pagels does not delve deeply into the vision and drama of the text of Revelations, she is is able to convey how the apocalyptic imagery of the book served to inspire physical and mental resistance to Roman persecution. It is this inspiration which resulted in the book becoming a tool of the early church: Initially supporting resistance to Rome, subsequently in the recruitment of non-Jews to the cause, and ultimately for banning and suppression of other variations of Christian revelation. Early church leaders found the text to be "irrational and incomprehensible" but effective because it incorporates messages of spiritual elitism, great sacrifice, climactic and certain victory, and ultimately a promise of resurrection in the city of God.

For many readers, the works of Elaine Pagels have become the main entry point into the early Christian texts discovered at Nag Hammadi and generally known at "the Gnostic Gospels." In the current work, Pagels continues to explore these texts, specifically works of revelation similar to the one currently known as "The Revelation of John." Several of these works are quoted and characterized. The strong emphasis on personal revelation, direct connection with Jesus, and the communitarian context of these early groups of followers of Jesus is contrasted with the military structure and material greed of the early Catholic church.

It is a measure of Pagel's brilliance and sensitivity that she is able to explore and illuminate all of these issues in a slim volume of only 180 pages. The reader will enjoy the historical irony as one apocalyptic movement after another succeeds in overcoming persecution, only to become the perceived evil as it consolidates its power. This is a never-ending story on the highway of human history. (less)

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Feb 17, 2013 Douglas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christianity, religion-and-spirituality

The author, Elaine Pagels, explains the confounding, overwhelming Book of Revelations of the New Testament from both spiritual and historical perspectives. One cannot read the various books of the Bible without knowing events occurring when each was written. One cannot read the Bible without knowledge of how the Biblical canon was composed and ultimately selected. Dr. Pagels does an excellent job providing all such information to the inquisitive reader concerning Revelations. With her extensive...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I work with schizophrenics who can get quite religious minded. Much of their thought content seems to have been inspired by the imagery and overall thrust of the Book of Revelations. I've always thought it kooky and not as well written as much of the rest of the New Testament, but I could understand why people who suffer from paranoia and hallucinations would find some congruency with its vision. I wanted to learn more about it so that I might be able to find some common ground with my patients....more

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Dec 14, 2012 James (JD) Dittes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, working-man-s-ma-theology

Finally a book about The Revelation of John that puts the book in its historical and political context!

Just like bad dreams are inexplicable the morning after one awakes, John's dream seems to become more and more contorted the more people try to spin it for the present day (or near future). When one realizes that this book has been read with such fearful, breathless expectations ever since it's writing in 90 AD, the book loses much of its ardor.

Pagels points out many key events leading up to th...more Finally a book about The Revelation of John that puts the book in its historical and political context!

Just like bad dreams are inexplicable the morning after one awakes, John's dream seems to become more and more contorted the more people try to spin it for the present day (or near future). When one realizes that this book has been read with such fearful, breathless expectations ever since it's writing in 90 AD, the book loses much of its ardor.

Pagels points out many key events leading up to the writing of the book, and those that coincided with its inclusion into the Christian cannon 250 years later. Revelations is written to a Messianic-Jewish community in one of the most turbulent eras in world history. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. Vesuvius erupted just nine years later, bringing visions of poisoned waters and fiery mountains very much to life. In the decade that followed, persecution against Christians increased primarily, Pagels writes, because emperor-worship was an act of patriotism as much as idolatry. Christians who refused to worship, were suspect and in many cases they were persecuted.

Into this milieu strode John of Patmos with his tales of Babylon (Rome) and the Beast (Emperor). But there were other political factors at work. Pagels reads into John's book the simmering battles between Judaizing Christians and gentiles who felt immune from "the commandments of God" by the antidote of grace granted them through Paul's writings. In the letter to Ephesus, for example, John praises the believers who have "tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false," an allusion, Pagels claims, to Paul whose apostleship dated to an event that happened some time after Jesus' death.

Most striking in Pagels's account is the way that Babylon was twisted into becoming other Christian sects once Constantine unified the church following his conversion. The Beast has been used ever since to brand heretics with the same name and number that John had intended for the Roman emperor. Athanaseus becomes the main villain here, and as he ushured in an era of creeds and canons, his endorsement of the book of Revelation surpasses those of Christian scholars like Eusebius who argued vehemently against its inclusion in the canon of scripture.

One annoying aspect of the book was the way Pagels kept trying to shoehorn the Nag Hammadi texts (her primary focus as a scholar) into the tale of the book. If anything, the Christian canon should have been shorter, not longer, but that is for another essay and/or review.(less)

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Aug 07, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

I suspect a hardcore "everything in the Bible is literally true and divinely related" Christian would consider pretty much everything in this book to be heresy. If you've got a somewhat more open mindset regarding the political jostling that created the modern Bible, this is a fascinating read.

Pagels goes into depth on what we know about the historical period in which Revelations was written, and points out the parallels that make a lot of the bizarre imagery from the book make a great deal mor...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Serious Bible Studiers

Don't know much about the Book of Revelation? Convinced that we'll never figure out all of its mysteries? I recommend first reading the Book of Revelation and as you read, try to cleanse your mind of all the futuristic implications you learned from films, video games, literature, and your wide-eyed, biblically illiterate uncles. Then, read the first chapter of Pagels's REVELATIONS. In this chapter she summarizes the occasion, devices, and purpose of John of Patmos' work. After that, you'll be go...more Don't know much about the Book of Revelation? Convinced that we'll never figure out all of its mysteries? I recommend first reading the Book of Revelation and as you read, try to cleanse your mind of all the futuristic implications you learned from films, video games, literature, and your wide-eyed, biblically illiterate uncles. Then, read the first chapter of Pagels's REVELATIONS. In this chapter she summarizes the occasion, devices, and purpose of John of Patmos' work. After that, you'll be good to go, and you'll have enough raised questions to explore for awhile. After chapter one, Pagels explores how various church fathers and figures used and interpreted Revelation and other "revelation" texts written during the first few centuries but later deemed heretical. Finally, she discusses the influences that led to the canonization of Revelation. I liked this part. I'm accustomed to apologists citing early canon lists to prove that the current canon has been settled and closed for centuries. But I've never read any discussions of what motivated certain councils, bishops, and others to include or exclude books from their canon. Pagels sets the historical scene and details the controversies of the early church, the catalysts that led to canons. I found her treatment of Athanasius' role intriguing. It seems he is most responsible for establishing the biblical canon; using his authority and influence, Athanasius was one of the first to successfully define any book outside of his canon as heretical and all books within as orthodox. Also, it seems his influence is responsible for the strain of thought that connects salvation to right beliefs (beliefs in line with his canon and the Nicene Creed) instead of right actions (actions in line with Christ's teachings). Much to chew on and discuss. I'm looking forward to hearing her critics' voices, so if you find a trustworthy critic (not the guy online who thinks Stanford University is "Standford" University and forgot to read most of the places where Pagels actually addressed his "rebuttals"), send me the link!(less)

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May 19, 2012 Chungsoo Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Prof. Pagels at Princeton University convincingly assesses the remarkable role the Book of Revelation played in the time of Roman persecution of Christians and during the time of Roman conversion to Christianity thereafter. What a fine study of the Book! Pagels makes it clear what John of Patmos (who is not to be equated with John of Zebedee, the beloved disciple) meant and referred to by his symbolic figures in his Revelation such as by "666" which stands for Nero and by other symbols referring...more Prof. Pagels at Princeton University convincingly assesses the remarkable role the Book of Revelation played in the time of Roman persecution of Christians and during the time of Roman conversion to Christianity thereafter. What a fine study of the Book! Pagels makes it clear what John of Patmos (who is not to be equated with John of Zebedee, the beloved disciple) meant and referred to by his symbolic figures in his Revelation such as by "666" which stands for Nero and by other symbols referring to the persecuting Roman Emperors. The Book of Revelation, which was written in response to the catastrophic fall of Jerusalem in CE 70, gave the dying Christians (who were put at the stake or at the lion's mouth) courage and hope of the Divine vengeance and eventual triumph in glory--a vivid illustration of what Nietzsche calls by the French word 'ressentiment.' Another remarkable aspect of the Book Pagels points out is the Book's condemnation toward other fellow Jewish Christians who, like Paul, were assimilating into the Hellenistic culture and were laxing Jewish ritualistic laws and regulations on the basis of 'the Gospel of freedom.' That is, John of Patmos repudiates Paul and upholds Peter and James. He condemns the Jewish Christians who ate meat that was sacrificed to Roman gods and who did not see the point of circumcision. Pagels establishes that the strong language of judgment use in the Book against the Rome as well as against the wayward Jewish Christians at the time of John's writing during the persecution era is revived again later to be used again toward fellow Christians in doctrinal disputes during the time of Constantine and his son, Constantius, and thereafter throughout the ages, even to the present. The Book is used by Christians against fellow Christians: Athanasius against Arius followers, Athanasious against Coptic Christians in Egypt, Athanasious against the secret books (used by Gnostic monks in Egypt), as well as Protestants against the Catholics (and vice versa), the northern Unionists against the southern Confederates in America, etc. What is specially noteworthy is Pagels persuasive argument (in the last chapter of her book) regarding the Revelation's role in determining the New Testament canon and asserting the finality of revelations. The Book is used to close the era of revelations as well as to exclude other existing revelations and Scriptures (i.e., the so called Gnostic books and many others that did not survive Athanasius' censorship). Not that the Book itself refers to the others books (so as to exclude them) but the language in it was used effectively by Athanasius and his followers to exclude the other books with the vehemence of condemnation found in the Book of Revelation. And the very judgment the Book lays upon both Roman persecutors and the wayward Jewish Christians is conveniently invoked (during the time of Christianized Roman empire where there no longer existed the external threat to Christianity) against anyone who disagrees with Athanasius and his followers in the doctrinal disputes and as well as disputes over authenticity of various Scriptures. How true could the Nicene Creed be (and the language of 'homoousia') when the Emperor Constantine himself presided over the conference and prescribed a resolution and sanctioned the meeting summary (written by Athanasius, which is now known as the Nicene Creed? How about Constantine's son, Constantius, who exiled Athanasius after rejecting the Nicere Creed and upholding Arius's view? Athanasius' authority and in fact the authority of early Christianity (i.e., the entire ecclesiastic authority) almost entirely rests on Constantine, not on apostolic tradition or on the Scripture (that excludes non-Pauline view of the role of Christ and the Resurrection). Another point: If Paul has transformed the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection (from physical reality to spiritual reality--"I have died with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me"), why not the Gnostic or feminists'interpretations which are equally distanced from the physical reality of Christ's death and resurrection in their interpretation and transformation. Why must Paul's theology dominate Christianity?

Pagels book does not and did not intend to address the rise and dominance of Pauline interpretation of Christ in the development of Christianity (despite, as Pagels points out, the condemnation and opposition the author of the Book of Revelation asserts toward such interpretation). Why were Paul's letters and his interpretation of Christ held so high an esteem (so as not only to make it into the New Testament canon but to dominate and determine the canonicity of the New Testament) despite such books like the Book of Revelation that oppose Pauline interpretation? Pagels does not ask this vital question in her book.

Another noteworthy point is that the word "Anti-Christ" never appears in the Book of Revelation.

Pagels also explains persuasively the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the so called Gnostic books found in the Codex 1.

Pagels book leaves me with a strong impression as follows: What a remarkable place Egypt was soon after Christianity was able to develop, having been freed from the jaws of the persecuting Roman emperors, as the movement of Christian asceticism and the experience oriented salvation (obtainable apart from the substitutional atonement of Christ) were bubbling up all over the dessert along the Niles corridor! How exciting a time it must have been, on one hand, and what a tragic loss it was when bubbles were almost completely suppressed by ecclesiastical power and control. Indeed, Athanasius during the 45 years of his career as a bishop (17 of which was spent in exile) almost single-handedly determined the fate of the West irreparably and decisively--more than perhaps did Paul or Augustine. (less)

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Apr 25, 2012 Jerry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, religion

An interesting history of the Book of Revelation. It tells how the book has been interpreted in different ways throughout history. It starts with a likely interpretation of John of Patmos in the context of war between the Jews and Rome and the conflict between Jewish and gentile followers of Jesus during the first century.

With the persecution and slaughter of Christians between 160 and 165 Justin believed he was seeing the end times as foretold by John's revelation. In the late 160's the “new p...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Steven Peterson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have read Elaine Pagels' work before (Gnostic Gospels) and have admired her work. I am not an expert in this aspect of history, but her works read well and she shows much knowledge of the material. She also places the issues addressed in an historical context.

Here, she explores the Book of Revelation, written, she says, by John of Patmos (an island off the coast of Turkey). She asks a number of questions in this book and strives to answer each (Page 3): "Who wrote this book? Why--and how--do s...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Jud Barry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pagels provides a revealing biography of Revelations from its birth through its adolescence. The essential behavioral patterns of the rest of its life--indeed, we may predict, all the way until whatever point in time it finds its peaceful end--are well established by this account.

From the very beginning one of the essential purposes of its scary visions was to warn against the influence of the "wrong kind" of Christian. To John of Patmos (even Christians of the second century had figured out its...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Lee Harmon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Look. If Pagels writes a book, go buy it. You don't need a review, you just need a reminder that it's ready for purchase. But then I'd feel like I wasn't doing my job, so ...

I’ve been looking forward to Pagel's new book, hoping I would read her views on how to interpret Revelation, but this wasn't her focus. Pagels begins by discussing the apocalyptic writings of the early Christian period. The title, Revelations, is not a misspelling of the final book in our Bible; she really does mean "revelat...more Look. If Pagels writes a book, go buy it. You don't need a review, you just need a reminder that it's ready for purchase. But then I'd feel like I wasn't doing my job, so ...

I’ve been looking forward to Pagel's new book, hoping I would read her views on how to interpret Revelation, but this wasn't her focus. Pagels begins by discussing the apocalyptic writings of the early Christian period. The title, Revelations, is not a misspelling of the final book in our Bible; she really does mean "revelations" in the plural. She highlights several other visionary writings, including The Revelation of Peter, The Secret Revelation of James, and The Secret Revelation of John. It turns out the unexpected focus didn't disappoint me.

Pagels then progresses through the next few hundred years of Christianity, detailing how Revelation was received (or not!) by the Church, the argument over its authorship, and how its prophecies were used to bolster or condemn. Irenaeus and Justin the Philosopher strongly championed John’s Apocalypse, both of them certain that its promise of tribulation could be seen plainly in the Christian persecution they were already witnessing. Tertullian praised John for the courage to portray Rome as Babylon, "proud of her power, and victorious over the saints," but damned and doomed. Even Constantine got in on the act, claiming that his rival, Licinius, was represented in Revelation by the dragon. Constantine wrote in a letter to Eusebius that he had restored "liberty to the human race" after he drove “that dragon out of public administration." Still, the vengeful book of Revelation barely squeaked into the Christian canon.

In the few instances where Pagels does attempt an interpretation of the original meaning of Revelation, her perspective is strongly influenced by her exhaustive studies in the Gnostic Gospels—the Nag Hammadi findings—and this emphasis shines a different light on the topic. For example, she compares Revelation to 4 Ezra (the Revelation of Ezra), a Jewish book somewhat contemporary with Revelation. Revelation is Christian, Ezra is not. But because she dates them concurrently (early 90's) and notes their similarities, she lets one aid in the interpretation of the other.

I loved the book, but I can’t help contributing my two cents. I disagree with her approach to interpretation, believing that we can date Revelation to perhaps fifteen years earlier, so its teachings should stand more firmly on their own. History and Christian thought were changing rapidly during this period, and even fifteen years makes a major difference. One example: In a discussion of the hated "Babylon" in Revelation, I believe its original meaning referred not to Rome, but to Jerusalem. Only later, when Revelation's dreams failed to quickly materialize, did Christians lose interest in Jerusalem and shift to interpreting Babylon as Rome. Far more clues point to Jerusalem as the original intended meaning, and I think I'll run a blog series shortly with the arguments for Jerusalem. Keep an eye on my blog at www.dubiousdisciple.com.(less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Aektare rated it 4 of 5 stars

Of all the Books of Revelation that have been written since the time of Christ (and apparently, there were many, some discovered in Egypt in the 40s), Elaine Pagels suggests that the version which endured did so likely because it was the one most easily exploited for political gain and centralization of power. Instead of other revelations with more mystical bents or those perhaps more pantheistic in their vision, this version was canonized precisely because of its take-no-prisoners and us.vs. th...more Of all the Books of Revelation that have been written since the time of Christ (and apparently, there were many, some discovered in Egypt in the 40s), Elaine Pagels suggests that the version which endured did so likely because it was the one most easily exploited for political gain and centralization of power. Instead of other revelations with more mystical bents or those perhaps more pantheistic in their vision, this version was canonized precisely because of its take-no-prisoners and us.vs. them war cry. Despite whatever John of Patmos' original intentions were, it was under Constantine's blessings that Athanasius was able to successfully use its visions into necessitating an ecclesiastically-ordained clergy to moderate communion with god for all christians.

Also, originally, it turns out that the prophet John was more than a little miffed at fellow jews who were allowing unclean gentiles into the club of christ-followers without the prerequisites of dietary/sexual restrictions. According to this book, when he railed against heretics, he meant all those new converts who were 'stealing' the mantle of God's Chosen People from actual jews and not those who had yet to accept Christ as their savior. As someone who admittedly knows little about Christianity, I don't know if this is a new idea but it sounds like quite a radical interpretation. Or at least an interesting point.

If it's a plausible one, then it's a little ironic that today's ardent evangelicals who now stand firmly in their beliefs of its vision- those who fill Tim Laheye's coffers or pay for the incredibly silly apocalyptic billboards I had to read when driving across the country- are exactly the kind of christians that John was raising a big fat elitist middle finger to in his Who's Who of the coming thousand year reign.

Calling it a mash-up of thinly-disguised plagiarism of imagery found in earlier jewish prophetic traditions seasoned with thinly-disguised anti-Roman propaganda, Pagels asserts that John wrote an impassioned creed just vague enough for every generation of persecuted christians since to read into it their own era's specific social, political and religious disasters. (less)

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Mar 10, 2012 Scott Smithson rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: History buffs

If you're looking for an analysis of symbols and a revelation about Revelations, you will be reading the wrong book. It is a fairly brief history of the time surrounding the writing of the last book of New Testament and how it got into the canon.

'Revelations' lacks a clarity of purpose and point that I usually expect from Elaine Pagels. It reads a little bit more like an academic article than a work intended for general consumption. Like many academics, Pagels falls into the trap of not taking...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Elmwoodblues rated it 3 of 5 stars

As a 1960's-raised Catholic from the Northeast, and now burgeoning atheist, I have gone from Christoper Hitchens to 'Jesus Interrupted' to try and figure out the whole 'bible as literal truth' thing. Given the influence of evangelicalism, a movement well off my radar until middle-age, I still am mystified at the whole dark-ages vibe to it all.
Elaine Pagels is more a specialist, however, than what I might have been looking for. In this richly researched book, she is true to her sub-title: she f...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Nena rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: unfinished

Audiobook Version:

I have never heard of this author before but I just did a quick search to find that she apparently likes to write about this subject as well as other aspects of the Bible, some of her titles I am now curious to read.

As far as this book, I find the author has a habit of repeating herself over and over again. It gets old. This thing reads like someone's college thesis. It appears she did alot of research but she is holding to her own arguments and viewpoints which I find lack cla...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 17, 2012 Esmeralda rated it 4 of 5 stars

In her newest book, Pagels explores the history of John of Patmos' Book of Revelation. She outlines what we know about John of Patmos, what he was trying to say with his preaching, and how contemporaries may have responded. The second half of the book covers the history of Christianity in the first two centuries C.E., with emphasis on Pagels' favorite topic of disparate beliefs among early groups. She completes the book with a description of how the Bible Cannon was chosen, with some suggestions...more

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May 01, 2012 don grant rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a hard book to rate, debating between four and three stars. Pagels has written a good explanation of what the book of revelations represents but as some reviewers have said does not go as deep as she could have. At the same time I am not sure she has explained in language plain enough for the layman to fully grasp her ideas. Her discussion of church history is well done and reminded me of how little we think of the context in which early Christianity developed. Anyone who has read the a...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a student of Revelation who has translated it from Greek to English, diagrammed it out literally hundreds of ways this book though good was not what I thought it was. However, Revelation is a book that is difficult to write on and nearly impossible for a mere 200 pages. This gets even more complicated in the unique history of the affect that the Book of Revelation has upon believers throughout history.

Pagel's book emphasizes the dynamics of the Book of Revelation being accepted into the Canon...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Drake rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’ve been a fan of Elaine Pagels ever since reading The Gnostic Gospels some years back. She approaches Christianity from a historical perspective and I appreciate her dedication to non-ordained texts, specifically the Gnostic Gospels discovered at Nag Hammadi. And with pop-culture now dominated with apocalyptic themes, it seemed perfect timing for a book dissecting John’s Book of Revelation. At least, that’s how the marketing people obviously saw it. However, unlike as the title suggests, Revel...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Elaine Pagels is a preeminent biblical scholar. Here she studies the book of Revelations and shows how it was written by John of Patmos after the fall of Jerusalem and was a plea for the destruction of Rome in consequence but has been used by subsequent generations during other calamities. She points out that Babylon was a code name for Rome also used that way by the many other writers of the times since they were under the reign of Rome and that the Anti-Christ referred to other Christians whom...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Justin Morgan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Solid and compelling Pagels. More than just an examination of the last book of the New Testament, this book examines the origin and background of first century Jewish apocalyptic literature in general and how the Revelation of John of Patmos fits into this history. The history of the book's controversial and much contested inclusion into the traditional canon of Christian scripture is covered in depth, as well as a general summation of early church history up through the 4th century. Anyone not...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Keith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Elaine Pagel’s Revelations provides an excellent historical setting for the New Testament’s Book of Revelations, plus a very good history of the early Christian church. Per Pagel’s telling -- and the consensus of modern scholars -- Revelations was written around the end of the first century. From differences in style and knowledge of Greek, it ‘s clear it was not written by the writer of the Gospel of John but rather by a Jewish follower of Jesus living -- possibly in exile -- on the island of P...more Elaine Pagel’s Revelations provides an excellent historical setting for the New Testament’s Book of Revelations, plus a very good history of the early Christian church. Per Pagel’s telling -- and the consensus of modern scholars -- Revelations was written around the end of the first century. From differences in style and knowledge of Greek, it ‘s clear it was not written by the writer of the Gospel of John but rather by a Jewish follower of Jesus living -- possibly in exile -- on the island of Patmos.

Though the book has fostered a wide range of interpretations, it’s clearly a veiled indictment of the persecution Rome was inflicting on the followers of Jesus (the word Christian was not yet known) and the influence of Paul who was bringing non-Jews into the faith.

At the time, it is important to remember, what we call Christianity was still perceived to be Jewish sect, and its adherents would have called themselves Jews. They simply found the promised Messiah. It wasn’t until a few decades later -- as a result of Paul proselytizing Gentiles -- that Christianity diverged and split from Judaism.

Thus John of Patmos was at a crossroads of the religion. At the time it was being violently persecuted by Roman officials, and its very nature was changing as it lost its distinctive Jewishness. John of Patmos was bitterly opposed to both trends and vents his displeasure in a highly allegorical style. (For example, his references to Babylon refer to Rome.)

It’s actually quite surprising that John of Patmos’ book was made part of the canon. As the Christian faith and its gospels started taking on a more pro-Roman and anti-Jewish stance, John of Patmos’ book is certainly an outlier. But due to the masking allegory of his tale, and the unusual beauty of the book, it was fortunate to survive and be made part of the canon around 400 AD.

Quite a few other revelatory books did not survive the early Christian period. In fact, Pagels notes that the 4th and 5th century Catholic church did not tolerate revelation or people saying they had direct access to the voice of Jesus. Direct revelation from Jesus was once quite common, but due to the efforts of the Catholic church the books related to this were eventually erased from the history of Christianity. The early Catholic church wanted to create a consistent, universal (thus catholic) church and impose a narrow, consistent theology on all followers of Jesus.

The Book of Revelations was eventually made part of the official canon primarily due to the efforts of one person (Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria) -- fortunately he was the person in power whose opinion mattered. There were many people who felt the book was the illegitimate and possibly the work of the devil.

Pagels seems oddly vague about when she thinks the book was written. Most scholars believe it was written between 68 and 95 AD -- about 40 to 65 years after Jesus’ death. This seems like a critical issue if you think that Revelations refers to happenings in the Roman state.

As I mentioned, Pagels brief book (less than 200 pages) provides very good history of the early Christian church through the lens of the Book of Revelations. Since the book is so short, I would have liked a translation of Revelations. (less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Donia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As someone who works in academia - and as an early Christian historian, of sorts - I admire Elaine Pagels and how she has managed to create a mainstream religious niche for herself. She has become the face of biblical scholarship to anyone who doesn't do religious scholarship. And she sells books - something of which makes me particularly jealous.

Revelations is not the first book of Pagels' that I've read. But it is the first that left me very frustrated and unfulfilled. Her audience becomes cl...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Richelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

A leading Biblical scholar and expert on the Gnostic gospels, Pagels narrates a brief and compelling look at the process by which the book of Revelations came to be in today's New Testament. Citing writings of contemporaries of the Nicene Creed and following a trail of Scriptural texts from early in the first century CE, she recreates a setting alarmingly unfamiliar to the everyday Christian. Whether a believer, a historian, or both, this book will fascinate you, and cause you to question what w...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Ishmael Seaward rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elaine Pagels covers a fascinating topic in a scholarly and accessible manner. (Full disclosure: I have several of her books on my bookshelf.) Virtually all of her professional life has been the study of early Christianity. In this latest book, she tackles the book of revelation and shows how it was written for the contempories of John, who by the way, is John of Patmos, not John the gospel author. For example, 666 refers to Nero, and the "beast" refers to Rome. And most if not all of the book c...more Elaine Pagels covers a fascinating topic in a scholarly and accessible manner. (Full disclosure: I have several of her books on my bookshelf.) Virtually all of her professional life has been the study of early Christianity. In this latest book, she tackles the book of revelation and shows how it was written for the contempories of John, who by the way, is John of Patmos, not John the gospel author. For example, 666 refers to Nero, and the "beast" refers to Rome. And most if not all of the book can be understood if interpreted in this manner. This is not a new kind of interpretation by the way; most biblical scholars now agree with her. In other words, John of Patmos was writting for his contemporaries, not theists of the 20th century. David Koresh had no clue what he was talking about.

John was also writing for Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah. The phrase "Christian" hadn't even been used yet, and early believers thought all sorts of things about Jesus. So he wasn't writing for "Christians" but he was writing for fellow Jews to provide them with a particular interpretation of the teachings of Jesus.

There are also many other "Books of Revelation", and Dr Pagels takes the reader on a tour of them, touching on gnosticism and the Gospel of Phillip, for example. She also answers the obvious question of how and why did John's Book of Revelations come to be included in the Bible but other similar books weren't. John's book was writen like a speech, meant to be preached in the public square, to groups of believers. The other revelatory books are written more like one-to-one dialog, and require significant knowledge and investment in prayer and meditation. They also urge the reader to seek god directly, without the intervention of clergy. Consequently the clergy who were trying to give structure and organization to the early church omitted any such book from the approved canon.

There were also 3 wars that the Jews fought against Rome: 66-70, 115-117, & 131. So the Roman empire did not look kindly on any organization, cult, religion, what-have-you, that had anything to do with the Jews or the followers of Christ. And all the turmoil certainly made it seem to the clerics of the early church as though the end times prophecied by John were drawing nigh.

But then of course, everything changed: Constantine converted, Rome was suddenly no longer the beast, and the Book of Revelation had to take on a whole new meaning.

Fortunately for Athanasius (on again, off again Archbishop of Alexandria), the book was short on specifics and therefore could be re-interpreted as a cosmic war between good and evil. Athanasius refined this interpretation as being a war between the followers of his (the catholic) church interpretation and other Christians' interpretations. Athanasius won out.

One of the key take-away points here is the close relationship between religion, power and politics in the early church. One only has to look at the ties between religious fundamentalists and the right wing in this country to realize that not much has changed.(less)

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