The Underworld in Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature*

By Brandon Wason

Contents

Introduction

The underworld is closely woven together with Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature. The word "apocalypse" comes from the Greek word ἀποκάλυψις which is literally a "revelation" or "disclosure."[1] And so the nature of apocalyptic literature is to describe the eschaton with symbolic imagery in a revelatory manner, often characterized by pseudonymity, the righteous persevering, the wicked suffering a terrible fate, and God establishing his kingdom in the final victory. With this in mind, there are many places where it is necessary for apocalyptic authors to discuss the realm of the dead. The underworld rears its head in two ways in Jewish and Christian apocalypses. Sheol, or Hades, is referred to simply as a resting place for those who have died, whether righteous or wicked. Then there is the underworld (often described in the sense of Gehenna) which functions as the place of the condemnation and punishment of the wicked.

The literature considered in this essay consists of works generally composed from about third century b.c. to the fourth century a.d., but the dates of most of these writings are not set in stone. Even though there might not have been hard and fast divisions between the various types of literature in their ancient context, they are here divided into four categories for convenience sake: the Canonical Apocalypses, Old and New Testament Pseudepigraphal Apocalypses, Sectarian Apocalypses of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Gnostic Apocalypses.

Canonical Apocalypses

The canonical book of Daniel, which more or less became the exemplar for other apocalyptic works[2], does not describe the underworld in any great detail; however, the text makes a passing reference to it. Like many apocalyptic books, Daniel was composed during a time in which the Jews were being oppressed and forced to forsake their heritage and take in its stead the heritage of the foreign rulers (often referred to as the Kittim[3]). Daniel, describing the eschaton, stated that "many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (12:2). The phrase "dust of the earth" should be understood, according to DiLella, as the "underworld abode of the dead."[4] Upon consideration of those who have died and are resurrected, it should not be hard to relate this concept to two key narratives in Daniel. In the third chapter, Daniel's three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were forced to yield their Jewish standards, namely the first two commandments, and serve Nebuchadnezzar's image. Since they abstained from the impiety like the good Jews that they were, they were thrown into a great fiery furnace. As the story goes, they were accompanied by fourth man—a proctector—and suffered no harm. As it is common to think of fire as representing the underworld, a fiery furnace[5] would have surely triggered one's mind to think of more than simply persecution, but the end (Sheol) which it represented as well. Likewise, the account of Daniel being thrown into the lions den also seems to connect into this same idea. Daniel was thrown into the den for a purpose similar to that of the three which were thrown into the furnace—because of worship of/service to Yahweh. The word commonly translated as "den" (גֻּבָּא) literally means "pit." A related form (גּוב) is used in Isa 14:15 for the place of Sheol. Yet Daniel, like his friends in the fiery furnace, was delivered from the pit unscathed. It seems that the book of Daniel conveys to its readers that—should they be persecuted for the sake of Israel/Yahweh—they will not remain in Sheol forever, but would be resurrected. The concept of Daniel's resurrection hope is clearly picked up by writings such as 2 Maccabees.

The other canonical work considered here is the book of Revelation (also known as the Apocalypse of [Saint] John), which was written prior to the close of the first century a.d. Early in the book, John saw the son of man (a title used in Daniel of the Messiah) who told him the following:

Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (1:17b-18)

Christ, according to the book of Revelation, has fulfilled that hope of death, burial, and resurrection described in Daniel and so John uses this fulfillment as capital to exert the authority of Christ's message in his apocalypse.[6] More important to this discussion is the concept of Hades and that Christ holds the keys to it. This should be taken as his gained authority over the domain of the dead.[7]

Later in the book one finds the "bottomless pit," or "abyss" (ἄβυσσος). It is first introduced when smoke "like the smoke of a great furnace" rose from it and darkened the sun and air (9:1-2). Then an angel of this abyss is named by both his Hebrew (אֲבֵדּוֹן) and Greek (Ἀπολλύων) names (9:11). Eventually an angel holding the keys to the abyss and a chain binds the dragon, or Satan, in the abyss for a millennium so that he would be hindered from reeking havoc (20:1-3). At the close of the thousand years, the dragon is released from the abyss to meet certain doom, described below (20:7-10).

In addition to the abyss, Revelation points its readers to another destination associated with the netherworld. It becomes quite clear that those who are not eschatologically blessed end up in the lake of fire. This includes the beast and the false prophet, Satan himself, Death and Hades, and anyone whose name was not found in the book of life (19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; cf. Dan 7:11). The lake of fire is described as a place that burns with sulfur (19:20); its inhabitants are tormented day and night forever and ever[8] (20:10); it is called second death (20:14). A little more light is shed on it in what is often called the "mini-apocalypse" of Matthew's gospel. Jesus, in his Olivet discourse, stated that the eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels and not for man's sake (Matt 25:41).

Old and New Testament Pseudepigraphal Apocalypses

First (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch is the oldest pseudepigraphon bearing the name Enoch. The oldest section of this composite work was likely composed sometime during the pre-Maccabean period.[9] Many references to the underworld and judgment are found in 1 En., and so the most important are included here.

To the author(s) of 1 En. the destination of the wicked is best described as a valley. This was a common ideology at the time because of the role of the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom (later known simply as Gehenna, γέεννα) as the location of the final destruction. In sense, 1 En. seems to be describing Gehenna. The angel Uriel explains the valley to Enoch:

This accursed valley is for those accursed forever; here will gather together all (those) accursed ones, those who speak with their mouth unbecoming words against the Lord and utter hard words concerning his glory. Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be their judgment, in the last days. (27:2)

Later Enoch sees a deep valley which is presumably the same as described above (54:1). This time the valley was burning with fire and the kings and potentates were being thrown into it (54:1-2). In that place also imprisonment chains were being prepared for the armies of Azaz'el in order that they might take them and be cast into the abyss of complete condemnation (54:3-5). At last Michael and other angels would seize them and cast them into the furnace (of fire) that is burning that day (54:6; cf. 98:3 varia lectio). At that same burning valley, the angels who revealed oppression would be imprisoned (67:4). Then the author describes some topographical features of the valley:

This valley of the perversive angels shall (continue to) burn punitively underneath that ground; in respect to its troughs, they shall be filled with rivers of water by which those angels who perverted those who dwell upon the earth shall be punished. (67:7)

The concept of the abyss (mentioned above) is developed in 1 En. with more detail than Revelation's account allows. First Azaz'el was bound and cast into a dark pit, which Raphael created for that purpose in the desert (10:4-5). Then the angels of punishment cast their "elect and beloved ones" into the crevices of the abyss of the valley in order to stop them from leading others astray[10] (56:1-4). Finally, the abyss is described as being narrow and deep, empty and dark (88:1), full of fire and flame and full of the pillar of fire (90:24).

One last word about the place of judgment in 1 En. should be made. Just prior to the close of 1 En. in its present form, the book describes the inhabitants of the place of darkness as being able to see the righteous:

(The sinners) shall cry aloud, and they shall see the righteous ones being resplendent; they shall go to the place which was prescribed for them concerning the days and the seasons. (108:15)

This idea of the wicked being able to peer in on the righteous is something that is also seen in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:23) and 2 Esd 7:85, 93.

The depictions of the realm of the dead in 2 En. is very interesting.[11] Those that did not obey the Lord's commandments were prisoners under guard, "waiting for the measureless judgment" (7:1-3 [J]). There is a very frightful place which was prepared for those who "do not glorify God." This place has "all kinds of torture and torment," "cruel darkness and lightless gloom," "black fire" perpetually blazing up, "a river of fire," "fire here, freezing ice there," and "instruments of atrocities torturing without pity" (10:1-2 [J]). Enoch himself descended into hell and described what he saw:

From there I was brought down and I came to the place of condemnation, and I saw hell open, and I saw there a certain <plain>, like a prison, an unbounded judgment. And I descended and I wrote down all the judgments of the judged, and I knew all their accusations. And I sighed and I wept over the perdition of the impious. (40:12—41:1 [A])

He also saw the guardians of the keys of hell near very large doors with their faces like that of very large snakes (42:1 [A]). At the end of his experience in hell he concluded, "To what a small extent they have sinned in this life, but in the eternal life they will suffer forever" (42:3 [J]).

According to 3 En., two angels of destruction, Za'api'el and Samki'el, bring down the wicked souls into Sheol (44:2). There the souls are punished with fire in Gehinnom (cf. Gehenna), with rods of burning coal (44:3). Then the author describes the appearance of the inhabitants:

Moreover, the faces of the intermediate were a greenish color, on account of their deeds, for they are tainted until purified of their iniquity by fire. And the faces of the wicked souls were as black as the bottom of a pot, because of the multitude of their wicked deeds. (44:5-6)

One very important apocalyptic work is the Sibylline Oracles comprising of fourteen books. Sib. Or. interacts with the Graeco-Roman tradition more than most other Jewish apocalyptic works and so it makes sense that the Sibyl would refer to the underworld in terms understood by the Greeks, yet Sib. Or. is still a Jewish work and so you find both Greek and Jewish concepts of the underworld used. In the first book alone mention is made of Tartarus, Hades, Gehenna, the netherworld, Acheron, Hades of Nereus, and the house of Adonis.

The Sibyl, portrayed by different authors, conveys certain ideas about the underworld. Hades is depicted as the destination of the dead (1.80-6; 3.458; 4.43; 11.138; 12.77). Tartarus is described as dark, dank, broad, and murky (2.303; 4.186; 8.362). Gehenna's recesses are repulsive (4.186) and Hades' nether region is lawless (5.178). When God established the world, he draped it around Tartarus (1.10). The wicked are thrown under many terrible infernal beasts in Gehenna (2.290-2). Some were sacrificing to demons in Hades (Frag. 1.22). Christ's judgment will break the gates of the confines of Hades and release the innocent souls (8.225-8; 8.310). Those who are righteous are granted the Elysian plain (2.337), yet those who were wicked endured lasting punishment (7.127-8; Frag. 3.44).

Punishment and Hades is a prevalent theme in the short work Apoc. Zeph. Here, Zephaniah observed ugly angels—the servants of all creation—who bring the ungodly souls to their final destination: "They spend three days going around with them in the air before they bring them and cast them into their eternal punishment" (4:7). It is difficult to say what they were doing for the three days in the air before being thrown into destruction. It might be that the journey would have taken about three days to reach this pit of hell. Zephaniah also introduces his readers to Eremiel, who is the great angel over the abyss and Hades (6:15). There is no indication that he and the other angels are daimons opposed to Yahweh. Then, lastly, the righteous ones were those who have prevailed by escaping from the abyss and Hades (9:1).

In the Fourth book of Ezra, the angel Uriel asked Ezra a series of rhetorical questions in order to demonstrate the inscrutable ways of God (cf. Job 38). One of the questions he poses is, "which are the exits of hell?" (4:7), which seems to assume that hell does have exits. Later Uriel connects Hades with the womb:

In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the womb. For just as a woman who is in travail makes haste to escape the pangs of birth, so also do these places hasten to give back those things that were committed to them from the beginning. (4:41-2)

After one dies, according to 4 Ezra, their spirit departs the body to return to him who gave it if it is a spirit that obeyed God, if not, the spirit immediately wanders about in torments ever grieving and is sad in seven ways—ultimately left to utterly waste away in confusion and be consumed with shame. (7:[78-87]).

In the spirit of Virgil, the author of Gk. Apoc. Ezra (second to ninth century a.d.) records Ezra's descent into the lower parts of Tartarus (4:5). There he sees the punishment of Herod the Great (4:9-12), boiling fires (4:13), old men (eavesdroppers) with fiery axles revolving upon their ears (4:16-8), an unsleeping worm and consuming fire (4:20; cf. Isa 66:24 and Mark 9:48). He witnessed the foundation of Apoleia (Destruction) and the twelvefold blow of the abyss (4:21). He saw a man that was hanging from his eyelids because he had carried out a "small lust" (4:22-24). Lastly the Antichrist was found in Tartarus having been restrained behind iron bars (4:25).

In another account of Ezra's descent (Vis. Ezra, fourth to seventh century a.d.), he is accompanied by seven angels of hell who take him beyond the seventieth grade in the infernal regions where two fire-breathing lions were guarding the fiery gates (v. 2-3). The saints pass through the fire untouched (v. 4-7), but the unjust were consumed by fire and ripped apart by dogs (v. 8-10).

At the fiftieth grade there were men (adulterers) standing in torments that were having fire thrown at their faces, or were whipped with fiery scourges (v. 12-8). Down south he witnessed the matriphiles and their willing partners being hanged and whipped by angels with fiery clubs (v. 19).

Then deeper in the infernal regions there was a great cauldron with sulfur and bitumen roiling like the waves of a sea. The righteous were crossing over the waves sine casu yet when the wicked attempted to cross over the angels of hell submerged them in the fiery stream (v. 23-33).

Again, he saw the punishment of Herod the Great (v. 37-9), as well as the punishment of those who committed pre-marital sex, and doctors of the (Mosaic) Law who did not practice what they preached (v. 40-7). There were also different furnaces for kings and princes of this world, for disobedient children, and for women who had sons in adultery and killed them. After this, Ezra went on to brighter things by making an ascent into heaven (v. 48-55).

Questions of Ezra is the last work in the Ezra tradition addressing the underworld. Here Ezra learns that the "outer darkness" and "eternal fire" were prepared for the unrighteous. The route to the netherworld was a traverse one: to the east, through frost, snow, darkness, hail, ice, storm, hosts of Satan, streams, defiles, and high mountains (v. 16). Then the author of Ques. Ezra describes the seven steps to Divinity in a manner which brings to mind the Elysian Fields of Virgil.

The Apocalypse of Sedrach (second to fifth century a.d.), which contained a sermon on love, gives readers one interesting detail in relation to the underworld:

Through love all good things were revealed; death was trampled down, Hades was made captive, Adam was recalled (from Death), and through love one flock was made thereafter of angels and men. (1:21)

Baruch, the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah, is portrayed in 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch (early second century a.d.). Upon considering the imminent destruction of Jerusalem (587 b.c.), Baruch claimed that those in the realm of the dead were better off than those who lived and were witnessing this travesty (11:6-7). Though, 2 Bar. makes many references to Sheol, there are not many details regarding its specifications (21:22-4; 48:16; 56:6; 59:5-11). It is learned that the dead are preserved in Sheol (23:4-6), the wicked souls waste away in torment (30:4-5; 52:1-3; 85:13) with chains and fire (56:13; 44:15).

Less information about the netherworld is given in 3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch (first to third century a.d.). Here Baruch saw Hades, which appeared to be gloomy and unclean (4:3). He also witnessed a serpent whose stomach was Hades, but the Slavonic text states that the serpent's stomach was as great as Hades (5:3).

In the Apocalypse of Abraham (first to second century a.d.) the angel Iaoel was ordered to loosen Hades and destroy those who wondered at death (10:11). In the same work, Gehenna was enkindled and described as fiery (15:6). Abraham, like many apocalyptic characters, saw "the abyss and its torments, and its lower depths and (the) perdition in it" (21:3). Then the wicked were described as being food for the fire of Hades, or to be soaring in the air of the underworld with out end, or to be the contents of Azazel's wormy belly and burned by his tongue (31:3, 5).

The Apocalypse of Elijah (first to fourth century a.d.) contains a few bits of interesting nether data. The thrones of death will seize the sinners (1:11). Like 1 En. 108:15 (mentioned above), the sinners in torment will see the place of the righteous (5:28). Lastly, the Antichrist and his followers are cast into the abyss (5:35; cf. Rev 20:3).

The Shepherd of Hermas (early second century a.d.), a Christian apocalypse found in the corpus of the Apostolic Fathers, details the visions of Hermas who is visited by a woman (the church) and a shepherd (the angel of repentance). He is given messages in the form of visions which he is to share with the Christian community.[12] In the Shepherd of Hermas there are no clear references to the topography of the underworld, however, there are some correlating concepts and ideals: judgment by fire (Vis. iii. ii. 9; iii. vii. 2; Sim. iv. 4), a sort of purgatory (Vis. iii. vii. 6), an eternal destructive end (Mand. xii. ii. 3; Sim. vi. ii. 4), and double punishment (Sim. ix. xviii. 2).

The most interesting concept proposed in the Shepherd of Hermas is that "apostles and teachers (οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ διδάσκαλοι) preached to those who had fallen asleep before them." Here in the Shepherd of Hermas they assumed Christ's role by descending into Hades and preaching to the souls there (Sim. ix. xvi. 5-6; cf. 1 Pet 3:19, the Descensus ad inferos in the Acts of Pilate, and Apoc. Paul V 23 below).[13]

Sectarian Apocalypses of the Dead Sea Scrolls

In addition to holding many mss of aforementioned works (e.g., Dan, 1En. etc.), the caves around Qumran also yielded many pieces of sectarian literature. The Community Rule, though technically not an apocalyptic work, has many apocalyptic elements. In it, the wicked are cursed because of the "darkness of their deeds" and the author adds, "damned in the shadowy place of everlasting fire!" (1QS II, 8). The Damascus Document makes reference to the sons of the pit in a derogatory sense, id est, these sons of hell! More so, the War Scroll, states that Belial, the Angel of Malevolence, was created for the pit (1QM XIII). In a hymn contained in the War Scroll, the author writes:

Rise up, rise up, O God of gods,
     raise Thyself in mig{ht, King of Kings} (4Q49I)!
May all the sons of Darkness [scatter before Thee]!
The light of Thy greatness [shall shine forth]
     [on 'go]ds' and men.
[It shall be like a fire bur]ning
     in the dark places of perdition;
it shall burn the sinners in the perdition of hell,
in an eternal blaze
     ...in all the eternal seasons (1QM XIV)

The community at Qumran, whoever they might have been, clearly had been influenced by the apocalyptic literature floating around at the time, but they, to a greater extent than any other group, seemed to incorporate their apocalyptic doctrines into their everyday belief and practice as seen in their parenetic writings. They hated the Kittim with their supporters, and looked forward to seeing their day of destruction.

Gnostic Apocalypses

Unlike the writings considered above, Gnostic literature does not concern itself with the underworld at great lengths, yet with a large body of literature (as we have in the Nag Hammadi Library) one can find some interesting statements. The Gnostic apocalypses describe punishment and judgment of the wicked. Souls are held captive in some type of prison (Orig. World II 114). Evil souls are put in the places of the daimons, which are filled with pain, blood, slaughter, and their food is their weeping, mourning, and groaning (Asclepius VI 77). Those who do not share in the spirit of the light and Faith will dissolve in the darkness, where repentance is impossible (Paraph. Shem VII 35-36). Souls are destined for eternal destruction (Apoc. Pet. VII 75), cast into the outer darkness (Apoc. Pet. VII 78) or the abyss (Orig. World II 126), and tormented in darkness until the time of the consummation (Paraph. Shem VII 48). There are souls that are neither put on earth nor in heaven, but are left in the open sea of air where exists great fire, crystal water, furrows of fire, and great upheaval; here the bodies are tormented by being cast upon raging waters, or cast into the fire to be destroyed (Asclepius VI 77).

The Gnostics also seemed to have some sort of recycling concept (Orig. World II 127; Apoc. Paul V 23). Redemption for dead souls was offered as the Illuminator saves souls from the day of death (Apoc. Adam V 76), and angels bring a soul out of the land of the dead and place it at the gate of the fourth heaven (Apoc. Paul V 20). Paul even assumes Christ's role by descending and leading captivity captive (Apoc. Paul V 23; cf. Herm. Sim. ix. xvi. 5-6).

Mention is made of those who are under the earth (Melch. IX 4, 13). Others are called toll collectors who demand a toll (cf. Charon), but also snatch souls (1 Apoc. Jas. V 33; cf. the harpies in Greek mythology). Lastly some manifold animals came out of Hades searching for the light of the mind which took shape (Paraph. Shem. VII 19).

Conclusion

When considering what this survey of roughly forty ancient documents yields concerning the underworld, it is important not to simply conflate every piece of evidence and create one great composite account describing the underworld. It is likely that every one of the above works represents a composite view of the underworld in their own right. In the same way, if one were to survey a hundred people from the same general background today, it is likely that there will be a hundred different—though only slightly—accounts describing what the underworld is. From that one would have to find a consensus taking general observations in which the majority of people seem to agree. That too, is what must be done with these ancient apocalyptic beliefs.

With respect to the topography of the underworld, it seems that one of the predominant ideals is that the netherworld lies within a subterranean location of the earth. The notion of a valley is also very prevalent with respect to its locale. Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom, became one of the primary substitutes used to communicate the idea of the realm of the dead. Another term used to describe this place is the "pit" or the "abyss," both of which convey its subterranean aspect. Most every description of this most depraved place has two key factors: fire and darkness. Fire is everywhere. The symbolism behind fire is that it is hard for humans to control and very painful upon contact. What is one to do when there is a river or an entire lake made of fire? There is no way to combat it because the very thing used to put the fire out (i.e., water) is nowhere to be found (i.e., because the lake is fire). Darkness functions as another impalpable weapon against its victims because it not only impairs one vision but after awhile it makes them delirious and disoriented. Of course, there is conflict between these two entities because fire usually cancels out the darkness, but this is the glory of apocalyptic literature and why it should not be interpreted literally.[14]

The inhabitants of the underworld are of two natures: righteous and wicked. The righteous are depicted as either escaping the realm of the dead (i.e., resurrection) or simply going about their lives unscathed by their doomy surroundings. The wicked, on the other hand, never find escape from the torturous conditions. They are sometimes described as transferring from the general abode of the dead to the lake of fire or abyss. To the wicked, the flames hurt and the darkness is piercing. There are also specific recompensive actions being done to them depending upon the type of sin which they committed on the earth. That which determines whether one is considered righteous or wicked has nothing to do with their actions in the underworld, but their actions on the surface of the earth. "Man's destiny," writes D. S. Russell, "in Sheol is determined by the life which he has lived here upon the earth. The dead, good and bad alike, go to Sheol...but men determine their destiny in Sheol by the choice they make in this life."[15] It all comes down the simple fact that in order to be on the safe side, according to these apocalyptists, one must side with Yahweh because the torment and punishment is eternal and irrevocable. This was the price to pay to oppose Yahweh and many on the "right side" reveled in this fact—especially our ancient friends in Qumran.

* Bibliographic Information: Submitted to Karl Squitier at California State University, Long Beach, in Partial Fulfillment of Classics 490 by Brandon Wason, December 2, 2004

Notes

[1] BDAG, relating to this literature, states "of the disclosure of secrets belonging to the last days."

[2] Cf. Beale, Gregory K., The Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of St. John. Lanham: University Press of America, 1984.

[3] The Kittim are described by many different writers during Second Temple Judaism as the opposing foreign influence. It was originally used with respect to those invaders from Cypress, but later authors used it to refer to Greece, Rome, or any outside (usually western) influence.

[4] Hartman and DiLella, 307.

[5] Such is the use of the furnace (of fire) described in 1 En. 54:6. One also might think of the story of the hero twins in ancient Mesoamerican mythology. While in the underworld they saw a great stone oven and jumped into it to avoid danger.

[6] The idea of him "who died and came to life" occurs also in 2:8.

[7] Cf. Mounce, 61.

[8] Beale (969) notes that the participle, "while living," (ζῶντες) in 19:20 also suggests that this was a conscious, enduring punishment.

[9] 1 En. is generally broken up into several pieces composed at various times with a period of a few hundred years. Cf. Charlesworth, 7.

[10] This is the same reason that Satan was bound in the abyss for a millennium in Rev 20:1-3.

[11] [A] designates the shorter recension of 2 En. and [J] the longer.

[12] The concept that there are no stupid questions is not found in the Shepard of Hermas. Hermas was frequently rebuked for his foolishness of not being able to understand the visions (cf. Herm. Sim. vi. v. 2; Sim. ix. xiv. 4.).

[13] Lake (LCL), 263.

[14] One apocalyptist considered this dilemma and said "black fire blazes up perpetually" (2 En. 10:2).

[15] Russell, 360.

Bibliography

Bauer, W., F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3d ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press. 2000.

Beale, Gregory K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 1999.

Charlesworth, James H. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments. New York: Doubleday. 1983.

Cohn, Norman. Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of the Apocalyptic Faith. 2d ed. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2001.

Lake, Kirsopp. The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 2. LCL. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. 1913.

Mounce, Robert H. The Book of Revelation. Rev. ed. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 1998.

Packer, J. I., et al. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2001.

Robinson, James M. The Nag Hammadi Library. Rev. ed. New York: HarperCollins. 1990.

Russell, D. S. The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic. OTL. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. 1964.

Vermes, Geza. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. New York: Penguin. 1997.

List of Abbreviations

Acts Pil.Acts of Pilate
Apoc. Ab.Apocalypse of Abraham
Apoc. AdamApocalypse of Adam
Apoc. El.Apocalypse of Elijah
1 Apoc. Jas.(First) Apocalypse of James
2 Apoc. Jas.(Second) Apocalypse of James
Apoc. PaulApocalypse of Paul
Apoc. Pet.Apocalypse of Peter
Apoc. Sedr.Apocalypse of Sedrach
Apoc. Zeph.Apocalypse of Zephaniah
AsclepiusAsclepius 21—29
2 Bar.2 Baruch (Syriac Apocalypse)
3 Bar.3 Baruch (Greek Apocalypse)
BDAGBauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
BelBel and the Dragon
DanDaniel
Disc. 8—9Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
DSSDead Sea Scrolls
1 En.1 Enoch (Ethiopic Apocalypse)
2 En.2 Enoch (Slavonic Apocalypse)
3 En.3 Enoch (Hebrew Apocalypse)
2 Esd2 Esdras
4 Ezra4 Ezra
Gk. Apoc. EzraGreek Apocalypse of Ezra
Herm. Mand.Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate
Herm. Sim.Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude
Herm. Vis.Shepherd of Hermas, Vision.
LCLLoeb Classical Library
MattMatthew
Melch.Melchizedek
ms(s)manuscript(s)
NICNTNew International Commentary on the New Testament
NIGTCNew International Greek Testament Commentary
Orig. WorldOn the Origin of the World
OTLOld Testament Library
Paraph. ShemParaphrase of Shem
1 Pet1 Peter
Ques. EzraQuestions of Ezra
RevRevelation
Rev. EzraRevelation of Ezra
Sib. Or.Sibylline Oracles