A Beginner’s Guide to Apocalyptic Literature

We explore apocalyptic literature, one of the most misunderstood genres in the Bible that reminds us there's more happening than what we see, and God remains in charge even when life looks chaotic. This episode serves as preparation for our upcoming Daniel series, where starting in chapter seven, the book transitions from royal courts into wild visions.

• Apocalypse means revelation or unveiling, not disaster or end of the world
• Found primarily in Revelation and Daniel, with elements in Ezekiel 1-3 and Zechariah 1-6
• Written during times of exile, persecution, and uncertainty
• Characterized by striking symbols, beasts, and otherworldly imagery
• Numbers carry symbolic meaning rather than literal calendar dates
• Visions of heaven reveal God's throne and cosmic battles behind earthly events
• Contains messages of hope that God will ultimately defeat evil
• Offers comfort by showing that evil has limits and God's kingdom will outlast every empire

Thanks for listening to the Bible Basics podcast and if this helped you understand the Bible a little more, share it with a friend who's just getting started too. Until next time, keep reading, keep seeking, and keep growing in your faith.

SOURCES:

• Anyabwile, K. (n.d.). Literarily: How understanding Bible genres transforms Bible study (p. 133). Function. Kindle Edition.
• Barton, J. (2019). A history of the Bible: The story of the world’s most influential book. Viking.
• Brown, J. K. (2015). BI131 Introducing literary interpretation. Logos Mobile Education. Lexham Press.
• Collins, J. J. (2016). The apocalyptic imagination: An introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature (3rd ed.). Eerdmans.
• Dillard, R. B., & Longman III, T. (2006). An introduction to the Old Testament. Zondervan.
• Longman III, T. (2012). An introduction to the Old Testament: Second edition (p. 375). Function. Kindle Edition.
• Matheny, J. M. (2018). What they don’t tell you in church: Strange visions—Apocalyptic imagery in Daniel 7–12 points to God’s triumph. Bible Study Magazine, 10(6), 28. Lexham Press.
• Osborne, G. R. (2006). The hermeneutical spiral: A comprehensive introduction to biblical interpretation (2nd ed.). IVP Academic.
• Ryken, L. (n.d.). Literary introductions to the books of the Bible. Function. Kindle Edition.
• Zuck, R. B. (1991). Basic Bible interpretation: A practical guide to discovering biblical truth (p. 243). David C. Cook.

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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.

Chapters

• 0:12 Welcome to Apocalyptic Literature
• 1:22 What Is Apocalyptic Literature?
• 2:58 Origins During Times of Crisis
• 4:31 Four Key Features Explained
• 10:14 Hope Behind the Cosmic Chaos
• 11:30 Preview of Daniel's Wild Visions

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:12

Greetings listeners. Quick question have you ever opened your Bible and thought what did I just read? Maybe you saw strange beasts, horns on heads, numbers that repeat and thought okay, what's going on here? You're not alone. Welcome to apocalyptic literature. It's one of the most misunderstood genres in the Bible and today we're going to break it down simply and clearly. Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, jackie Adewale, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where, weekly, we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks bite-sized chunks. This episode is a bonus to help us prepare for part two of our Daniel series, because, starting in chapter seven, the book takes a sharp turn out of the royal courts and into wild visions.

Speaker 1: 1:22

So what exactly is apocalyptic literature? Well, the word apocalypse might make you think of disaster movies, the end of the world or zombies, but in the Bible, apocalypse simply means revelation, an unveiling of things not normally seen, and that's where the book of Revelation gets its name. So, contrary to how it sounds, it's not about hiding things or creating confusion. It's about pulling back the curtain to show what's really going on, especially when the world feels out of control. This style of writing reminds us of something we all need to hear, there's more happening than what we see, and God is still in charge, even when life looks chaotic. So where do we see this in the Bible? Well, we see apocalyptic writing most clearly in Revelation and in the second half of Daniel. Those are the two primary apocalyptic books in the Bible, but we also find elements of this style in Ezekiel, chapters 1 through 3, and Zechariah, chapters 1 through 6. These passages often emerge during times of crisis, when God's people were facing persecution, exile or deep uncertainty about the future. This style developed during times of oppression and violence, especially around the time of the Babylonian exile and after. Ezekiel and Daniel were both in Babylon, writing when Israel was under foreign rule, and though Zechariah was back in Jerusalem, he too wrote during a time when Israel was still living under Gentile control.

Speaker 1: 3:25

The book of Revelation was written under Roman rule, likely during or just after the reign of Emperor Domitian, a time of growing pressure to worship the emperor and growing hostility towards Christians. The author of Revelation, john, received the vision while exiled on the island of Patmos. That's in Revelation 1.9. So this literature spoke directly to people's pain and fear. It's met them in their confusion, suffering and doubt, and offered hope. Suffering and doubt and offered hope. You can imagine the kind of questions they were asking. Where is God in all of this? Has he forgotten us? Will justice ever come? And apocalyptic literature answered God sees, god knows and God will win. So what makes apocalyptic literature so unique? Well, besides being written during times of exile or when God's people were under foreign oppression, these books use a very different style to deliver God's message, especially messages about hope, judgment and the future.

Speaker 1: 4:47

Let me walk you through four key features that show up again and again. First, there are striking symbols and imagery. Apocalyptic books love their symbols. We're talking beasts, horns, stars falling from the sky and strange living creatures that look like a mashup of humans, birds, lions and more. These images aren't always meant to be taken literally. They often stand in for kingdoms, rulers or deeper spiritual truths. These images aren't always meant to be taken literally. They often stand in for kingdoms, rulers or deeper spiritual truths. Now, if you ever want to dig deeper into what these symbols might mean, you can check out your Bible commentaries or dictionaries. But, fair warning, scholars don't always agree on the details, and that's okay, because the goal isn't to crack every code. It's to grasp the message behind the mystery and, honestly, some of these images are just wild. Like in Daniel, we meet a winged lion, a four-headed leopard and a violent goat that knocks stars out of the sky. In Ezekiel, there's a spinning metal chariot with four-faced creatures, part man, part bird, part ox. It's intense part bird, part ox. It's intense and, yes, sometimes it borders on the bizarre.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Compared to the more grounded metaphors in books like Isaiah or Jeremiah, apocalyptic literature often uses imagery that feels more dramatic or otherworldly. These visions aren't the result of personal imagination, however. They are revealed by God using symbolic language that stirs the heart and challenges the mind, especially about how dark evil can get and how powerful God really is. Then number two there are numbers with meaning. In apocalyptic books, numbers are often used symbolically and intentionally. You often see certain numbers repeated, like seven, ten or three and a half, especially in books like Daniel and Revelation. These numbers often show up in visions or time frames that may sound mysterious Time times and half a time, or 70 weeks or 1,290 days. These time references aren't always meant to be read as literal calendar dates. They often carry theological meaning or signal something significant within the story, see Daniel, 9.24, 12.11, and 12. As New Testament scholar Grant R Osborne explains in the Hermeneutical Spiral. Apocalyptic symbols, including numbers, are not there to give us a schedule. They are there to point us toward God's purpose.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Another major theme visions of heaven. Apocalyptic writers are often taken into the spiritual realm, either shown a throne room scene or a cosmic battle behind the scenes. These glimpses into heaven remind us what we see on earth is not the whole story. Even when the world looks like it's falling apart, god is still seated on the throne, and often an angel shows up to help interpret the vision, because these messages are too big and too layered for us to figure out on our own See Daniel 8, 18 through 26. And we're just like Daniel, who needed help understanding what he saw, and we see that in chapter 8, verse 27, and chapter 12, verse 8. Then there are messages about God's future victory. At the heart of every apocalyptic vision is this message God will defeat evil.

Speaker 1: 9:25

Apocalyptic literature is less about predicting every event and more about anchoring us in the truth that God is moving history toward a good and final end. Or as one writer joked we all know that a sentence that goes like this the stars will fall from heaven, the sun will cease from shining and the moon will drip blood it's not going to end with, and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy with scattered showers. No, exactly. It's a dramatic, powerful language and it's meant to wake us up to what God is really doing. So what does all this mean for us today? Well, apocalyptic literature speaks into chaos and pushes back with comfort, encouragement and hope. It reminds us that evil has a limit and God's kingdom will outlast every empire.

Speaker 1: 10:34

In our next episode, we'll step into the second half of Daniel, where things get intense. There are, as I mentioned, bees, thorns, a ram, a goat. It's a wild ride, but now that you know the style, you won't be caught off guard. Apocalyptic writing isn't about decoding every detail. It's about seeing the big picture, god revealing his purposes, pulling back the curtain and saying trust me, I've got this. This is for people like us, people who need to remember God reigns, evil won't last and the faithful are not forgotten. Join me in the next episode as we explore the dramatic, hopeful and sometimes puzzling second half of Daniel. Thanks for listening to the Bible Basics podcast and if this helped you understand the Bible a little more, share it with a friend who's just getting started too. Until next time, keep reading, keep seeking and keep growing in your faith.