The Fellowship of the Throne in John’s Apocalypse

Fabián Santiago

Description

What relevance does the book of Revelation hold for our lived reality within secular societies? In this book, Dr Fabián Santiago explores concepts of authority, society, and political power against the backdrop of the Apocalypse and in conversation with Oliver O’Donovan’s political theology. Santiago offers a reading of Revelation that does not bypass its exegetical complexities, but instead allows for new possibilities of engagement. He investigates the conception of authority presented in Revelation – a conception centered on the throne of God and transformed by the exalted Jesus – and argues that this divine authority ultimately correlates with the Fellowship of the Throne, a liturgical community mediated by the risen Christ. An excellent resource for students of political theory and theology, Christology, and biblical narrative, this book offers a powerful theo-political critique of secular discourse on the nature of political authority.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 05 août 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783688449
• Langue: English

Extrait

In this fascinating close reading of the biblical text of the book of Revelation, with Oliver O’Donovan’s political theology as his exegetical guide, Dr Santiago proposes from his Mexican context a new way forward for an avowedly secular state where over 90 percent of the population are active Christian believers with a rich religious heritage. Bringing together his upbringing and education in Mexico and his theological and biblical studies in London, he argues that the Apocalypse brings to a climax the biblical account of God’s kingly rule in which the throne of God, the basis of divine power, is supremely fulfilled through the exalted Christ in a liturgical sociality of the Fellowship of the Throne, which becomes the ultimate horizon for political power. This provides a welcome theo-political challenge to the secular public discourse of not only Mexico but much of the Western world, and a much-needed call to the church to embody the authority of the risen and exalted Christ in today’s society.
Rev Richard A. Burridge, PhD
Former Dean and Professor of Biblical Interpretation,
King’s College London, UK
This arresting book is theological interpretation of Scripture at work, or as the author would phrase it, theo-political engagement with Scripture at work. Santiago weaves deftly through Oliver O’Donovan, John Milbank and William Cavanaugh, and the wider intellectual tradition in which these voices are located, while being resolutely focused on hearing anew the Apocalypse of John as Scripture. The author’s contextual location is an added powerful presence throughout, lending extra impact to the reading.
Angus Paddison, PhD
Dean of Faculty,
Department of Theology, Religion, and Philosophy,
University of Winchester, UK
One of the most encouraging developments in theology over the last few decades has been the widening of the perspective by major contributions from the Majority World. Fabian Santiago’s detailed and perceptive study of the throne in the book of Revelation contributes immensely to the study of this particular book but also widens the discussion over the importance of the fusion between religion and politics and how the Bible can help us fill out our understanding.
The importance of emphasizing a christological centre for this study on the divine throne highlights the essential nature of biblically directed worship as a starting point for a legitimate political understanding of what the book of Revelation teaches. It turns out that the first political activity is worship and this is what equips the liturgical community for their social, economic and political activities.
Christopher Wigram, PhD
Visiting Lecturer,
London School of Theology
All Nations Christian College
Former International Director, European Christian Mission

The Fellowship of the Throne in John’s Apocalypse
A Theo-Political Inquiry into Authority and Society and Their Christological Bond
Fabián Santiago

© 2020 Fabián Santiago
Published 2020 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-763-3 Print
978-1-78368-844-9 ePub
978-1-78368-845-6 Mobi
978-1-78368-846-3 PDF
Fabián Santiago has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
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All Scripture translations in this work are the author’s own, unless otherwise stated.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-763-3
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Contents

Cover


Abstract


Acknowledgments


Abbreviations


Chapter 1 Introduction


1.1 O’Donovan’s Political Theology


1.2 The Apocalypse’s Political Theology


1.3 Thesis


1.4 Mode of Inquiry


1.5 Structure


Part I


Method


Chapter 2 O’Donovan’s Theo-Political Hermeneutics


2.1 Principles for Engaging O’Donovan


2.2 Hermeneutical Framework


2.3 Theo-Political Implications


2.4 Conclusion


Chapter 3 The Apocalypse’s Narrative


3.1 How To Navigate the Narrative


3.2 Narrative Unit 1: The Authorized Son of God Dictates Messages for Seven Congregations


3.3 Narrative Unit 2: The Throne, the Exalted Lamb and the Scroll


3.4 Dis/continuity?


3.5 Negotiating a Way Forward


3.6 Narrative Unit 3: Authority, Liturgy and Sociality in the Aftermath of Political Conspiracy


3.7 Narrative Unit 4: The Advent of the Holy City and the Materialization of the Fellowship of the Throne


3.8 The Apocalypse’s Plot


3.9 Critique from our Reading


3.10 Conclusion


Part II


Authority


Chapter 4 The Exalted Jesus


4.1 The First and the Last as the Son of God


4.2 The Divine Throne Is Also the Lamb’s


4.3 The Woman’s Child Becomes God’s Son


4.4 The Divine King Speaks Justice


4.5 Conclusion


Chapter 5 Models of Authority


5.1 Contemplative Authority: The King Becomes a Philosopher


5.2 Coercive Authority: The Return of the “King”


5.3 Authority as Judgment


5.4 Critique from Divine Authority


5.5 Conclusion


Part III


Society


Chapter 6 The Liturgical Sociality


6.1 Archeology and Enactment of Liturgy


6.2 Sacred Space


6.3 Holy City


6.4 Liturgical Space as Theo-Political Category


6.5 Mexican Liturgical Space


6.6 Conclusion


Chapter 7 Models of Society


7.1 Ancient Society


7.2 The Church as Society


7.3 Critique from Liturgical Sociality


7.4 Conclusion


Chapter 8 Conclusions


8.1 “I, John . . . Was in the Isle Called Patmos . . . Was in (the) Spirit”


8.2 “The Marriage of the Lamb Has Come”


8.3 “Who Bore Witness . . . as Far as He Perceived”


8.4 “This Calls for Discernment”


8.5 “If Anyone Has an Ear”


Bibliography


A. Primary Sources


B. Secondary Literature


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes

Index
Abstract
From among modern inquiries into what constitutes the political, and within the current environment of hostility towards what the field of theology can offer to its study, Oliver O’Donovan emerges with his unique brand of political theology. His method of inquiry, resourced by Scripture and Christian tradition, and predicated on Christology, offers a construal of authority distilled from the Bible’s own account of God’s kingly rule as understood within the biblical narrative of salvation history, with momentous implications for the realm of the political, in particular as relates to the categories of authority and society and their interplay. Given O’Donovan’s manifest interest in the book of Revelation and the centrality within the book’s narrative of themes intrinsic to O’Donovan’s political theology, the Apocalypse, we argue, offers the ultimate ground for a discussion about the political in the terms suggested by