Apocalyptic Concepts in the Middle Ages

In the 20th century, after World War I, Expressionist artists captured the mutilated inner world of their contemporaries on canvas, while German Expressionist cinema brought to the screen a host of monsters, interpreted by Siegfried Kracauer as a premonition of Hitler's rise to power and the coming tragedies provoked by the Moloch of Nazism. After World War II, European cultural figures identified with the devastated heroes of the existential prose of Sartre and Camus.

The artistic image of a universal disaster has a cathartic, therapeutic quality. It can be terrifying, horrifying, or distorting of reality, but it can also take on reactionary forms, becoming an image of hope and salvation. For example, in the 1930s, a new hero emerged in America —Superman. These were times of the Great Depression and lawlessness, and the utopian aspirations of the masses found their deliverer, savior—a new Christ—in the guardian of law and order.

For European culture, the artistic meta- and proto-formula of any total catastrophe—presupposing the restoration of justice, the coming of the Savior, the Last Judgment, and the reward of each according to his deeds—is most vividly and fully represented by the biblical Book of Revelation. However, this paradigmatic Apocalypse also has deep roots in the Jewish tradition.

As a result of historical catastrophes, a series of destructions, deaths, and violence, a genre of unique consolation and retribution gradually emerged, figuratively offering hope for liberation from the oppression of earthly circumstances in an apocalyptic future. Historical reality offered no consolation or contentment to the Jewish people, usurped by foreign states, religions, and traditions—Egypt, Babylon, Rome.

The utopian project of the apocalypse provided answers to the most important questions regarding the future of the Jews and the world as a whole, and also provided the most important imperatives in connection with the fatal future: the culminating passages of apocalyptic writings paint pictures not only of the punishment of sinners who have not overcome their sin, but also of the forgiveness and consolation of the righteous.

What kind of apocalyptic works are we talking about?

Early Abrahamic eschatology, which served as a source of inspiration for future monotheistic religions, is found in the books of the prophets, created during the reign of the First Temple and before the creation of the Second Temple ( 10th – 6th centuries BC).

As political and religious figures who fought against archaic beliefs and pagan cults, miracle workers and intercessors, prophets and their sons constantly appear in the biblical books. From the 8th century BCE, these functions were supplemented by preaching: seers foretell impending disasters, call for abstinence, and promise deliverance and reward in the afterlife. Furthermore, the prophets themselves—Amos, Hosea, Isaiah—began to create large-scale works predicting global events of cosmic proportions—a doctrine of the ultimate fate of the world.

The Book of Isaiah became the most striking prophecy of the First Temple era, linking historical events and eschatological images: the Assyrian invasion for the sins of the Jews is the central focus of the narrative (Isaiah 7:17, 23-24). Isaiah foretells the punishment of the proud and powerful (Isaiah 2:11-15, 19), thus creating a picture of the judgment of entire nations in cultural history (Isaiah 2:2-4). Following the extermination of sinners, an era of total annihilation of evil will follow, culminating in messianic prosperity and the conversion of all people to the true God, with peace and harmony reigning.

Isaiah also first introduces the image of the messiah as an ideal king, fulfilling an eschatological mission on earth, bringing about a wise kingdom of justice: "... he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked" (Isaiah 11:1-6). In the so-called "Apocalypse of Isaiah" ( chapters 24-27), 7an allegory of evil appears in the form of a chthonic monster—the sea leviathan, " the straight-running serpent, and leviathan, the twisting serpent " (Isaiah 27:1), and a prophecy of the resurrection of the dead (Isaiah 26:19).

The last prophetic book, standing in a row of early monuments and replete with new eschatological images, is the Book of Joel, probably written between the two campaigns of Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem, in 600 BC. 8The book begins with a description of a natural disaster, albeit spontaneous, but widespread - a plague of locusts, but as the narrative progresses, the drama intensifies, unfolding into a tragedy of eschatological proportions: " Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm on My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness: a nation spreading as the dawn upon the mountains, a great and mighty people, such as was not since the beginning, nor shall be again throughout all generations. The fire shall devour before it, and the flame shall scorch after it: "Before him the land will be like the Garden of Eden, but behind him will be a desolate wilderness, and no one will be able to escape from it… " (Joel 2:1–32). Joel prophesies of the Lord's judgment: " And I will show signs in heaven and on the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes ." Joel's reasoning continues to develop the image of the judgment of the nations that oppressed Israel (Joel 3:2) and the testimony of the potential salvation of all who believe in the Lord (Joel 2:32)—an idea later embodied in Christian preaching.

By the sixth century BC, the main motifs of Abrahamic eschatologies had taken shape: ideas of sin and redemption, images of universal catastrophes and disasters, a premonition of the day of God's wrath, the coming of the Messiah, the Last Judgment, and a future earthly paradise.

Apocalyptic sentiments peaked during the tragic period of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the captivity of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah's prophecies foreshadowed the future deliverance of the Jewish people and the judgment of enemy nations, and the promise of a new covenant subsequently played a fundamental role in the development of Christianity (Jeremiah 31–34).

The period of the Babylonian captivity also includes the prophecy of a captive priest who, at the end of the sixth century BCE, wrote one of the most mysterious images of Scripture—the book of Ezekiel. The eschatological scenes he described are distinguished by impressive imagery and mystical details, such as a vision of the resurrection of the dead: " And he said to me, 'Prophesy upon these bones and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!"' Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 'Behold, I will put breath into you, and you will live. I will lay sinews on you, and bring forth flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath into you, and you will live. And you will know that I am the Lord...' And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, there was a movement, and the bones came together, bone to bone. And I looked, and, behold, there were sinews upon them, and flesh had grown up, and skin had covered them above, but there was no breath in them… Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live… Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves, and will bring you up, O my people, from your graves, and will bring you into the land of Israel ” (Ezek. 37:4–13).

Ezekiel develops the theme of eschatological war through the invasion of Gog and Magog—the forces of evil embodied in a universal catastrophe (Ezekiel 38). In European culture, Gog and Magog became bywords for discord and disaster, influencing the visual art of the Middle Ages. In the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, the legend of the enemy people takes on a visual equivalent, and in Russian icons, the depiction of the dog-headed peoples testifies to an apocalyptic war, the ideas of which were embodied in Ivan the Terrible's Oprichnina.

After the sixth century BCE, the themes developed by the preceding prophets were echoed and developed in the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The latter added a new detail: God sent the prophet Elijah to earth with the mission of preparing the people for the Last Judgment (Malachi 4:5–6).

Eschatological imagery multiplied and was enriched in preaching. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the influence of Greek culture extended far beyond the borders of the ancient city-states: the Hellenistic era introduced new literary forms for Jewish prophecies. A book written in the pseudepigraphic genre, attributed to the legendary ancient sage mentioned in Ezekiel, is the Book of Daniel ( second century BC, during the persecution of Antiochus ). Its classical influence is clearly evident: historical figures are encoded in symbolic images. For example, the nations that harmed Israel are described as apocalyptic beasts: the last beast (the Macedonian empire) has 10 horns, signifying the kingdoms of Alexander the Great's successors (10 being the number of the most important Diadochi—commanders and rulers after Alexander). The "Son of Man" is allegorically depicted as the Jewish people, and the Archangel Michael assumes the role of a formidable messiah. The resurrection of the dead itself becomes possible after the final battle between good and evil—during which evil will be fully revealed, a necessary condition for the ultimate victory of good. Furthermore, during the Hellenistic period, apocrypha were written that were not canonized by either Jewish or Christian tradition. They were read and copied, understood and interpreted: “The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs” ( 1st century BC), “The Ascension of Moses” (presumably 1st century AD), “The Books of the Sibyls” (2nd century BC – 4th century AD), the most important of the apocrypha – “The Book of Enoch” (influenced early Christian literature, its vivid imagery describes the Last Judgment, at which the angels who rebelled and fell away from God will also be judged and punished – an idea subsequently developed in medieval literature ; presumably 3rd – 1st centuries BC).

The rapid development of apocalyptic literature in Jewish circles is linked to a number of cultural and historical events: the persecution of Jews by the Seleucids, Roman expansion, the Maccabean revolt, the Bar Kokhba revolt, and, most importantly, the destruction of the most sacred site—the Temple in Jerusalem. This era brought to the forefront of global attention not just new images and disasters, but also new heroes and the Christian religion.

The Apocalypse of Christ

The messianic preaching of Jesus of Nazareth dates back to the 20th–30th centuries CE, in which eschatology occupied a crucial place. Jesus is undoubtedly presented as an apocalyptic prophet, proclaiming the end of the world, repentance before the apocalyptic battle, and salvation by faith.

Christ's eschatological preaching, initially transmitted as an oral tradition, was recorded in the Gospels by the end of the first century. It's likely that many of Christ's sayings in the first century were perceived as prophecies about the end of the world: " And he said to them, 'Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power '" (Mark 9:1). Subsequently, these meanings faded, giving way to new interpretations.

In the words of Christ on the eve of his arrest, inspired by the books of the prophets Zechariah, Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, an apocalyptic scenario emerges. This speech is presented in the Gospel of Mark and with variations in Matthew and Luke: “ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? All these will be thrown down, so that not one stone will be left here upon another ’” (Mark 13:2). And further: “ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am he”; and they will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled: for these things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in divers places, and there will be famines and disturbances. These are the beginning of sorrows.’” But take heed to yourselves: for they will deliver you up to councils, and scourge you in the synagogues: and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony before them.... Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child: and children will rise up against parents and put them to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake: but he who endures to the end, the same shall be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one who is on the housetop go down into the house, nor go in to take anything out of his house; and let no one who is in the field turn back to take his cloak. Woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck, in those days! Pray ye that your flight be not in winter. For in those days shall there be such tribulation as was not since the beginning of the creation which God made, until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened those days. Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or, “Look, there!” believe it not. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, so that, if possible, they may deceive even the elect. But take heed. Behold, I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and glory. And then He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Learn a parable from the fig tree: When its branch is already tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near, right at the doors. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But about that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch, and pray, for you do not know when the time will come (Mark 13:5–33).

After the execution of Christ and His Resurrection, the general mood of the apostles expresses the extreme degree of expectation of Christ's imminent return: "Therefore they (the apostles) came together and asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?' But He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put by His own authority...' And when He had spoken these things, while they looked on, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men in white apparel stood by them, saying, 'Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven'" (Acts 1:6-11).

The coming of the "Son of Man" is also described by the apostles (Mark 13:26-27, Matthew 13:41-42, Mark 14:61-62). The Gospel of John already directly speaks of Jesus' participation in the Last Judgment: it is he who will resurrect the dead (John 6:54).

The end of the world is conceived of as a sudden and total event, anticipated by the apostles. Thus, the Apostle Paul writes that " the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord " (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The Apostle Peter testifies: " But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up " (2 Peter 3:10). In this context, the Revelation of John the Theologian, which inspired the creators of medieval visual imagery, becomes the logical conclusion of the entire preceding centuries of eschatological tradition.

Prophecies about the End of the World are found in various places in the New Testament, so a distinction is made between the “little Apocalypse” (an episode in the synoptic Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, where Jesus speaks of the “end of the age” in abomination and desolation and of the signs of the imminent coming of the Son of Man) and the “Revelation” of John itself 9. There are also apocalyptic texts that have been the subject of constant debate, which is why they were not included in the New Testament canon, becoming apocrypha, including the Apocalypse of Peter ( 2nd century AD) and the Apocalypse of Paul ( 3rd century AD), the Apocalypse of Thomas ( 2nd – 4th centuries AD), the Revelation of Bartholomew (a medieval compilation), the Apocalypse of Zephaniah ( 1st century AD), and the Revelation of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The ideas, images, and symbols of the Book of Revelation remain enduringly relevant in culture. However, what do we know about the text of the Apocalypse—the most famous and significant eschatological work—other than the fact that the Revelation received by John the Evangelist on the Greek (but then Roman) island of Patmos influenced the minds, hearts, and collective imagination of Christian culture?

In the manuscript tradition, there are no less than sixty variants of the name of this text, and the text of the Apocalypse itself, which we read today, has gone through a long path of development: corrections and editions.

Although Christian tradition holds that Revelation was given to John the Theologian, who wrote it down, its authorship remains unknown. Tradition has assigned it to "John"—possibly a pseudonym for an author or authors belonging to the "Johnite circle" or "school," which the apostle himself may have founded. "John" preached in Asia Minor and was a scholar, an expert on the Old Testament and apocalyptic literature. Apparently, he was a Palestinian Jew: a textual analysis of the Apocalypse has shown that it contains numerous deviations from classical Greek, a fact noted as early as the third century AD by the Alexandrian bishop St. Dionysius the Great , who noted that the author of Revelation “ writes Greek incorrectly… and makes mistakes in the language , ” 10and that the text itself contains Semitic linguistic constructions 11.

How the Book of Revelation of John the Theologian is structured

The text of Revelation has a clearly defined structure: an introduction (chapters 1: 1–20 ), seven epistles (chapters 2–3 ) , the main body of visions (chapters 4–21 : 9), and a conclusion (chapters 21: 10–22 ). The division can be narrowed down to the introduction, which recounts John's exile, his ascension by an angel "in the spirit," and his epistles to the churches. Then follows the main section, in which John becomes a "seer" of the end times and the Last Judgment. In the final section, John is given a revelation of the New Jerusalem, a command to record the truth of Revelation, and a premonition of the imminent arrival of the fateful day.

The narrative in Revelation is told in the first person — by John, who bore witness to the message given to him by God. While in a special ecstatic state (in the spirit), John heard a loud trumpet voice saying to him, “ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last ” (1:10). Turning around, John saw seven candlesticks, in the midst of which stood One like the Son of Man: “ clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire. And His feet were like fine brass (a precious stone), as if burning in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars, and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shining in its strength ” (1:13–16).

This fragment became part of a stable iconography, represented in both the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic) traditions. The Son of Man, holding a double-edged sword, is depicted as white-haired and menacing. His specific representation alludes to the idea of the indepictable God the Father. In less dogmatically strict visualizations, one can encounter the image of the Ancient of Days 12. The composition and structure of the icon are subject to fairly strict canons associated with the rite of sacred subject matter, but in frescoes and book miniatures, not consecrated as icons, the artist could allow himself a certain freedom, consistent with his purposes.

Here the introductory part ends and the central part of Revelation begins: finding himself “in the Spirit,” John saw a throne over which a rainbow spread, and on it was One seated, surrounded by twenty-four elders in white robes with golden crowns. “ And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. And seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

And before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal. And in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a face as a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And each of the four living creatures had six wings around it, and they were full of eyes within. And they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come ” (4: 5–9 ).

John saw a book sealed with seven seals, but no one could open it, which plunged the seer into grief, but one of the elders consoled him, pointing to the Lamb (the image of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice), who was able to open the book: “ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as if it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth ” (5:6).

The Lamb begins to open the seals of the book, and after each of the first four seals is opened, the tetramorphs exclaim to John, " Come and see ," signifying the successive appearance of the apocalyptic horsemen. After opening the first seal, the Lamb releases a rider with a bow on a white horse. After opening the second seal, another horse, a red one, appears. And power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth, so that people would kill one another. And he was given a great sword. After the opening of the third seal, a black horse follows, and its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. After opening the fourth seal, a pale horse appeared, and its rider's name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with pestilence, and by the beasts of the earth. The opening of the fifth seal reveals under the altar the souls of those slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held (6:2–9).

The appearance of the apocalyptic host is perhaps the most widespread episode of Revelation. The European Middle Ages produced numerous terrifying, extraordinary, and poignant interpretations and images of horsemen, which migrate from the pages of manuscripts and frescoes into the art of subsequent centuries, right up to the present day. The symbolism of these apocalyptic warriors remains a mystery, increasingly captivating the imagination. What do their colors and attributes indicate, what is their purpose?