chp2: tribulations and end times

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@@ -489,9 +489,54 @@ 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.
 
-\[TODO: tribulations\]
-
-\[TODO: end times\]
+Thus, the apocalyptic motif of revealed knowledge helps John's rhetoric to
+convince his audience.
+
+A second apocalyptic motif in John's Apocalypse is the theme of tribulations.
+Humans, and in particular the saints, experience suffering in John's visions,
+but this suffering is not meaningless: it is a test of endurance. Those who
+endure, triumph. A crucial part of how this works is what Thompson calls
+'nesting contexts,' whereby John 'nests' his audiences' local contexts in Asian
+churches inside a bigger, cosmic context \[CITE\]. Their suffering at the hands
+of local elites is part of a wider resistance against an idolatrous imperial
+cult, and that in turn is just the human face of an eschatological battle
+between Jesus and Satan. John's call for his audience to persevere is made more
+compelling if he can convince his audience that their struggles are part of a
+much bigger fight, and one that, because they're on God's side, they cannot
+lose, even if they suffer death.
+
+Thirdly, like most ancient apocalypses, John's vision explores the end times,
+and this feature also works to strengthen his rhetoric. If the tribulations are
+to be worth enduring, his audience need to know what it's all for. Thus John
+concludes his account of his vision with a utopia in Rev 21-22.
+
+The New Jerusalem descends from heaven (21:2). It has twelve gates, one for each
+tribe of Israel (21:12), signifying that it is a place for all God's people. The
+sun and moon, those gods so cherished by the Greeks, are redundant, as are all
+temples, and the gates will never be shut, because the city is filled with the
+light of God's direct presence, and there is no more night and day (21:23-25).
+The nations and their kings, instead of usurping God's place and distorting
+God's world, bring their glory to God's city (21:24-26). The tree of life, from
+which Adam and Eve were cut off, is open for all to receive healing (22:2).
+Instead of the mark of the beast, God's servants will bear the name of God on
+their foreheads (22:4). Standing in unresolved tension with this total
+redemption, John warns that evildoers will remain outside the city (20:15,
+21:7-8,27, 22:14-15).
+
+Although John's vision is surely mythological, it is not merely fanciful. Given
+John's case, made throughout the book, that God is sovereign but the world is
+currently distorted by evil, it is natural to conclude that eventually, things
+will be transformed, to remove evil and reveal God's perfect plan for his
+creation, as he has promised. John's utopian vision, then, although it may not
+be an accurate prediction of the future, does function as a way of
+mythologically 'naming' the eschaton which God will surely bring about. Rather
+than being left with an abstract theological definition, we have a
+representative picture. Hope in this, John says, and your hope will not be
+disappointed, even if things don't turn out exactly in this way.
+
+Thus, the way John treats the end times gives his audience hope, a sure grasp of
+what it is they are suffering for, and thus encourages them to endure their
+tribulations.
 
 In summary, the apocalyptic form is crucial to the rhetorical force of John's
 Apocalypse. By adopting the form of an apocalyptic prophecy, he defends his