The target of Revelation’s prophetic critique is imperial idolatry (civil religion) and injustice (military, economic, political, and religious oppression), and specifically Rome’s imperial idolatry and injustice. But since Revelation is almost certainly not a response to a systematic, state-imposed persecution or widespread mistreatment of Christians by the masses, it is better read as a response to “ordinary empire,”4 to the everyday evils, injustices, and misguided allegiances that are daily with us. Revelation is a powerful wake-up call to those who have taken for granted beliefs,
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