chp2: rev is cognitive minority win

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 \[EXAMPLES OF APOCALYPTICISM IN RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS\]
 
+So if John's Apocalypse is not catastrophic, and cannot be reduced to the
+violence and destruction which it features, how does John use apocalyptic
+language to achieve his rhetorical goals? I will focus on three key features:
+revealed knowledge, tribulations, and the end times, as well as the use of
+mythological language throughout each of these.
+
+One is the use of revealed knowledge. For biblical scholars, this, along with a
+concern with the end times, is a key feature of ancient apocalyptic literature
+[@semeia-14-intro]. The book is framed as an epistle – likely a traditional form
+for Christians by the time John was writing, following the Pauline models – and
+is also presented as prophecy, which was a common feature of early Christian
+life [see e.g. @apocalyptic-imagination, chp. 9]. But within those framings,
+John recounts a vision. At first, he sees Jesus, who dictates an address to the
+seven churches in Asia, and after this, an angel shows him a series of visions
+of 'things which must be hereafter' (Rev 4:1). Visions are not a necessary
+component of early Christian prophecy, but they do follow the model of works
+such as 1 Enoch, Daniel, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and numerous other ancient Jewish and
+Christian works, which likewise contain fantastic visions related via a heavenly
+intermediary, and is thus regarded by scholars as a marker of the genre,
+'apocalypse.' [@apocalyptic-imagination, chp. 1].
+
+Why might John have used this genre? While it is perfectly plausible that John
+had a genuine visionary experience [@visions-in-apocalyptic-handbook, pp.
+115-116], this would still not explain why he chose to publish an account of his
+experience using the apocalyptic genre. One reason may be that John inhabited,
+as Leonard Thompson described it, a 'cognitive minority' [@thompson-revelation].
+
+Early Christian communities led distinctive lives on the basis of exclusive
+sources of knowledge: apostolic authority, prophecy, eyewitness testimony,
+interpretation of tongues, innovative interpretations of ancient Hebrew
+Scriptures. Meanwhile, mainstream Greek society had its own authorities. When
+the two came into conflict, Christians would have found themselves wedged
+between the pull of their community and the overwhelming weight of majority
+epistemic norms. As a result, early Christians would have needed to develop
+defensive strategies if their minority cognition were to survive.
+
+By adopting the form of an apocalyptic prophecy, and, no less, an apocalypse of
+Jesus Christ himself, John claims authority beyond any mainstream Greek
+authority. In the course of his apocalypse, he also subtly undermines majority
+epistemology. As already explored, he mocks top Greek gods such as Apollo and
+Artemis. He also highlights the material benefits on offer for the rich to
+collude with Babylon (Rev 18), and highlights the power of Satan to 'deceive'
+the nations (Rev 20:7). The cognitive majority might want to dismiss John as a
+crackpot. But John can defend himself: they have an interest in lies, their gods
+are lies, and they listen to the Devil's lies.
+
 John's apocalyptic imagination uses mythological language to reveal the world of
 appearances for what it really is. The ideology of Empire is a pretender God,
 and the suffering of the martyrs is in fact God's way of conquering evil. John