Book of Revelation's vision of the apocalypse inspired by pagan curses, researcher claims [View all]

By Tom Metcalfe
published 1 day ago

The cryptic Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible deliberately uses the language and verbal elements seen in Roman curse tablets, probably in an effort to reinforce its message, one researcher says.


The curse on this lead tablet is written in Greek against someone called Kardelos. It dates from the fourth century A.D. and was found in a room in ancient Rome that held funerary urns.
The curse on this lead tablet is written in Greek against someone called Kardelos. It dates from the fourth century A.D. and was found in a room in ancient Rome that held funerary urns. (Image credit: Public Domain)

The cryptic language of the Book of Revelation — famous for its exotic imagery, including a red beast with seven heads and a symbolic female figure likened to the evils of Babylon — is deliberately similar to language used in ancient Roman "curse tablets," according to new research.

The ongoing work suggests that the Book of Revelation — a section of the Christian Bible that scholars think was written in the late first century A.D. — attempted to distinguish the budding religion from the paganism of the Roman Empire at that time by phrasing its message in a familiar form that would have reinforced its ominous message.

"My research compiles the evidence of where the curse tablets explain striking features in the Revelation text better than other pre-texts," Michael Hölscher(opens in new tab), a researcher in the biblical studies department at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, told Live Science in an email.

Hölscher is conducting a research project into the similarities between the Book of Revelation and Roman curse tablets(opens in new tab) for Germany's national research agency (DFG).

More:
https://www.livescience.com/book-of-revelations-vision-of-the-apocalypse-inspired-by-pagan-curses-researcher-claims