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@@ -10,16 +10,12 @@ University, has argued just this.
 
 Flannery emphasises that in popular imagination, 'apocalypse' signifies nothing
 more than the end of the world, ignoring the world-creating aspects of biblical
-apocalypses [@flannery-2024, p. 209]. This may be a legacy of Cold-War era
-nuclear rhetoric and science fiction, which re-purposed the symbol 'apocalypse'
-to describe the consequences of a nuclear war, while deliberately stripping the
-disaster of any redemptive afterward [@wojcik-end-of-the-world, p. 1]. Thus, she
-argues, the result of raising the threat of a 'climate apocalypse' is to 'create
-passivity rather than spur on quick and cooperative climate action' and to inspire
-mass climate anxiety. Such a fatalist narrative can also imply that human action
-is irrelevant, or encourage audiences to put their hope in 'savior figures such
-as inventors, scientists, or governments who might rescue humanity in the nick
-of time.' [@flannery-2024, p. 210]
+apocalypses. Thus, she argues, the result of raising the threat of a 'climate
+apocalypse' is to 'create passivity rather than spur on quick and cooperative
+climate action' and to inspire mass climate anxiety. Such a fatalist narrative
+can also imply that human action is irrelevant, or encourage audiences to put
+their hope in 'savior figures such as inventors, scientists, or governments who
+might rescue humanity in the nick of time.' [@flannery-2024, pp. 209-210]
 
 Flannery's critique would imply that green rhetors ought to avoid apocalyptic
 language. This conclusion rests on two key premises: one, that apocalyptic
@@ -28,31 +24,33 @@ and post-politics as described in the previous chapter; and two, that
 catastrophe is the dominant effective symbol associated with apocalyptic
 language.
 
-In what remains of this chapter, I will argue that were these criticisms to be
-levelled against the model of apocalyptic language in the West,
-namely, the Apocalypse of St John, the Apocalypse would resist the force of
-these criticisms. Reading from the perspective of John's original audiences,
-the Apocalypse does not promote fatalism, conservatism or post-politics, but
-works against these responses. Later in the chapter, I'll explore three
-further key apocalyptic features of the Apocalypse which John uses towards
-his rhetorical ends, demonstrating how apocalyptic rhetoric may have worked
-effectively in probably the most influential representative of the genre.
-Then, in chapter 4, I'll extend this argument to the case of contemporary
-green rhetoric, and show how these features of John's ancient rhetoric could
-be reproduced effectively in a contemporary context.
-
-So, what of the criticisms enumerated in the previous chapter, namely, that
-catastrophic language promotes fatalism, conservatism and post-politics? The
-first thing to observe here is that, whereas green rhetors typically position
-the catastrophe as an impending event over which the audience has some measure
-of control, St John, in contrast, discusses tribulations which have already
-begun, and are largely in the hands of cosmic forces far bigger than his
-audience. While John's tribulation discourse surely is catastrophic in some
-respects -- involving a definite period in time where cosmic-scale destruction
-renders former ways of life permanently unsustainable -- his exhortation is not
-to avert the catastrophe, but to endure it. As a result of this very different
-dialectic, John's catastrophism can be against fatalism and promote radical
-politics grounded in an analysis of power relations.
+In what remains of this chapter, I will argue that in the case of the Apocalypse
+of St John, by far the dominant model of apocalyptic literature in the
+post-Christendom West, these criticisms do not cut. For John and his historical
+audience, John's visions of catastrophe were essential to his critique of the
+Roman Empire. In contrast to the accusations of fatalism, conservatism and
+death-of-politics levelled against contemporary green catastrophism, John's
+catastrophism motivated his audience to action, undermined dominant ideologies,
+and exposed economic social structure as a basis for radical political critique.
+Further, catastrophism only scratches the surface of John's apocalypticism, and
+I'll show how three further aspects of his apocalyptic language add to his
+rhetorical strategy. Then, in chapter 4, I'll show how these features of John's
+ancient rhetoric can be reproduced effectively in a contemporary green context.
+
+In the previous chapter, we saw how some kinds of catastrophic language
+prominent in contemporary green rhetoric can elicit fatalism and conservatism
+and support the 'death of politics.' To understand why John's catastrophic
+language had a very different effect, it is important to first understand that
+John has a very different catastrophic dialectic.
+
+Whereas green rhetors typically position the catastrophe as an impending event
+over which the audience has some measure of control, John, in contrast,
+discusses a series of catastrophes which have already begun, and are largely in
+the hands of cosmic forces far bigger than his audience. While typical green
+catastrophism ends with an exhortation to to avert the catastrophe, John's
+exhortation is to endure it. As a result of this very different dialectic,
+John's catastrophism can be against fatalism and promote radical politics
+grounded in an analysis of power relations.
 
 John's alternative catastrophic dialectic is visible from the opening chapters
 of the Apocalypse, which makes explicit John's exhortation to endure. Rev 2-3
@@ -77,89 +75,46 @@ against the church in Pergamum:
 > children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit
 > fornication. (Rev 2:14)
 
-In contemporary Greek society, temple sacrifices were important civic events,
-and upstanding citizens were expected to show face and take the meat which had
-been sacrificed [@revelation-vision-of-a-just-world, p. 56]. Jews were exempted
-from eating the meat, but as early Christian communities sometimes had difficult
-relationships with local Jewish leaders, they may have struggled to benefit from
-the Jewish exemption, and therefore had to face a serious dilemma in whether or
-not to eat the meat [@revelation-vision-of-a-just-world, pp. 54-55]. John is not
-the only New Testament author to grapple with this issue. Paul seems to have
-taken an irenic approach in 1 Cor 8 and Rom 14, while the author of the Epistle
-to the Hebrews suggests a stricter approach in Heb 13:8-16. The reference to
-'fornication' in Rev 2:14 may be a literal reference to fornication, but it may
-also be a symbolic reference to idol worship [@hemer-letters, p. 91], echoing
-prophets such as Ezekiel (Ezek 16).
-
-So it seems that John is taking a hardline stance on the issue of eating food
-sacrificed to idols. Failing to fully participate in the imperial cult could be
-costly, particularly for rich Christians who had the most to benefit from
-fitting in to the trade guilds and other civic institutions and private dinners
-where meat sacrificed to idols might be offered to them
-[@revelation-vision-of-a-just-world, p. 56]. In this context, it makes sense
-that Jesus, as seen in John's vision, has the most praise for the poorest
-churches, such as Smyrna and Philadelphia, and the harshest condemnation for the
-richest, such as Pergamum and Thyatira [@revelation-vision-of-a-just-world, p.
-57].
-
-John's stance on food sacrificed to idols also makes sense of the vision of two
-beasts in Rev 13. The second beast instructs people to worship an image of the
-first, and to receive a mark of the beast on their right hand or forehead. If
-they refuse to take the mark, they aren't able to buy or sell. The number of the
-beast is 666. The number 666 is most likely a reference to the emperor Nero
-[@rowland-rev, p. 114], and the references to buying and selling suggest the
-difficulties a rich Christian might have had doing business unless they
-participated fully in the imperial cult [@roloff-rev, pp. 164-165].
+In contemporary Greek society, temple sacrifices were important civic events.
+Failing to show face could be embarassing, or even costly, particularly for rich
+Christians who had the most to benefit from fitting in to the trade guilds and
+other civic institutions and private dinners where meat sacrificed to idols
+might be offered to them. Jews were exempted from eating the meat, but as early
+Christian communities sometimes had difficult relationships with local Jewish
+leaders, they may have struggled to benefit from the Jewish exemption, and
+therefore had to face a serious dilemma in whether or not to eat the meat. In
+this context, it makes sense that Jesus, as seen in John's vision, has the most
+praise for the poorest churches, such as Smyrna and Philadelphia, and the
+harshest condemnation for the richest, such as Pergamum and Thyatira
+[@revelation-vision-of-a-just-world, pp. 54-57].
+
+Understanding John's central message this way, as one to endure the hardships of
+resisting the imperial cult, makes sense of his catastrophic visions, such as
+the one of the two beasts in Rev 13. The second beast instructs people to
+worship an image of the first, and to receive a mark of the beast on their right
+hand or forehead. If they refuse to take the mark, they aren't able to buy or
+sell. The number of the beast is 666. The number 666 is most likely a reference
+to the emperor Nero [@rowland-rev, p. 114], and the references to buying and
+selling suggest the difficulties a rich Christian might have had doing business
+unless they participated fully in the imperial cult [@roloff-rev, pp. 164-165].
 
 From this, it seems that the visions John relates are not, or at least not
 merely, about an impending catastrophe which he wants his audience to work to
 avoid, but about a catastrophe -- perhaps, as Leonard Thompson
 [@thompson-revelation, pp. 27-28] suggests, a catastrophe only visible as a
 catastrophe from John's apocalyptic perspective -- which is already unfolding,
-which he wants his audience to endure. Given this rhetorical drive, John's
-mythological language, among other things, may have functioned to situate the
-local, present contexts of John's audiences within a larger cosmic context,
-covering the whole of both space and time [@thompson-revelation, pp. 28-29],
-helping to motivate his audience to participate in John's self-sacrificial
-ethic. Thus, as Ben Witherington III puts it:
-
-> This material is not _just_ about the future, nor should we have expected it
-> to be since it is narrative forensic rhetoric meant to prepare and exhort
-> John's audience. \[…\] It is hard to escape the impression that John believed
-> he was living in the midst of the inauguration of these judgments or put
-> another way in the age when the seals were being unsealed. [@ncbc-rev, p. 131]
-
-What then, of the criticisms of apocalyptic language which followed on the basis
-of its supposed catastrophism, that it is fatalistic, neutralises radicalism,
-and flattens out power relationships?
-
-It is true that most of the events of John's vision unfold without much input
-from the saints. The saints aren't able to stop the seven seals from being
-unsealed, or the seven trumpets from being blown, or the seven goldens bowls of
-God's wrath from being poured out. The saints have no part in the fall of
-Babylon, and when Satan besieges them, they do not fight him in battle, but
-Satan and his army is overthrown by fire from heaven.
-
-However, it would be wrong to accuse St John of fatalism, and worse still to
-accuse him of neutralising radicalism and flattening out power relationships. At
-the core of his message is an exhortation to endure. John's promise is that
-those who endure will participate in God's final fulfilment of the creation. But
-what must be endured is a result of human powers distorting God's creation. This
-evil requires a radical subversion of actual power relationships, and John
-conceives of just such a subversion, and calls his audience to participate in
-that event.
+which he wants his audience to endure. Thus, as Ben Witherington III puts it:
 
-St John's rhetoric therefore is against fatalism: he motivates and calls his
-audience to political action. It is against conservatism: he asks his audience
-to subvert dominant power structures and build a radical alternative society
-and value system. It is ardently political: his rhetoric is rooted in a
-analysis of power structures within Greek society, and particularly between the
-rich and poor among Asian Christian churches.
+> It is hard to escape the impression that John believed he was living in the
+> midst of the inauguration of these judgments or put another way in the age
+> when the seals were being unsealed. [@ncbc-rev, p. 131]
 
-Andrew Chester [@chaos-new-creation] has explored John's radical subversion of
-the dominant Greek value-system in detail, beginning with the observation that
-in Rev 6:12-17, God's life-sustaining creative acts of Gen 1 are threatened
-with total annihilation:
+Using this alternative catastrophic dialectic, exhorting his audience to endure
+an ongoing disaster rather than avert a future one, is essential to John's
+radical politics. Andrew Chester [@chaos-new-creation] has explored in detail
+how John subverted the dominant Greek value-system, beginning with the
+observation that in Rev 6:12-17, God's life-sustaining creative acts of Gen 1
+are threatened with total annihilation:
 
 > And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
 > earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became
@@ -205,15 +160,21 @@ power, they tragically bring death and destruction on themselves and the world.
 > powerful, now hover on the edge of losing completely what distinguishes
 > them – the great lights and source of all life. [@chaos-new-creation, p. 346]
 
-Fatalistic? Conservative? Post-political? Far from it. The destructive events
-of John's vision are the result of human powers distorting God's creation for
-their own ends. We can be complicit and accept the mark of the beast, or we can
-resist. Those who resist will conquer, but not in the way of God's enemies, who
-raise up armies to fight battles: the saints will conquer through the blood of
-the Lamb, and win pride of place in God's new creation, while the nations of
-the earth flood in to worship and to receive life and healing. 'It is an ethic
-for martyrdom,' as John J. Collins, a leading scholar on biblical apocalyptic,
-puts it [@apocalyptic-imagination, chp. 9].
+The destructive events of John's vision are the result of human powers
+distorting God's creation for their own ends. We can be complicit and accept the
+mark of the beast, or we can resist. Those who resist will conquer, but not in
+the way of God's enemies, who raise up armies to fight battles: the saints will
+conquer through the blood of the Lamb, and win pride of place in God's new
+creation, while the nations of the earth flood in to worship and to receive life
+and healing. 'It is an ethic for martyrdom,' as John J. Collins, a leading
+scholar on biblical apocalyptic, puts it [@apocalyptic-imagination, chp. 9].
+
+St John's rhetoric therefore is against fatalism: he motivates and calls his
+audience to meaningful political action. It is against conservatism: he asks his
+audience to subvert dominant power structures and build a radical alternative
+society and value system. It is ardently political: his rhetoric is rooted in a
+analysis of power structures within Greek society, and particularly between the
+rich and poor among Asian Christian churches.
 
 As a result, apocalypticism has been a powerful force helping to mobilise
 radical social movements – for better and for worse – continually throughout
@@ -224,26 +185,22 @@ French, American and Haitian Revolutions, the numerous evangelical revivals, the
 environmental movement – all have been associated with apocalyptic forms of
 language.
 
-So if the catastrophism of John's Apocalypse works not for, but against
-fatalism, conservatism, and post-politics, how else 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.
+So if the catastrophism of John's Apocalypse is essential to the success of his
+rhetoric, how else does John use apocalyptic language to achieve his rhetorical
+goals? I will focus on three key features: revealed knowledge, tribulation
+discourse, and end-time speculation.
 
 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
+[@semeia-14-intro]. The Apocalypse is John's account of a vision he experienced.
+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). This literary structure follows 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].
+intermediary. Modern biblical scholars mostly agree that this is a key marker of
+an ancient literary genre, which, incidentally, they label '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.
@@ -265,17 +222,15 @@ 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, 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.
-
-Thus, the apocalyptic motif of revealed knowledge helps John's rhetoric to
-convince his audience.
+Jesus Christ, 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. 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,
@@ -288,7 +243,8 @@ 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.
+God's side, they cannot lose, even if they suffer death along with the 'Lamb who
+was slain.'
 
 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
@@ -304,20 +260,24 @@ 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,
+their foreheads (22:4). Unrepentant evildoers 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.
+creation as he has promised. Crucially, this eschaton is not only a remote,
+invisible future, but it is real and present in the Church: when the martyrs are
+willing to follow the Lamb to non-violent, self-sacrificial resistance against
+idolatrous, life-denying ideologies, the New Jerusalem is already visible.
+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 is visibly bringing about. Contemporary green rhetors often shy away from
+utopian visions for fear of being 'unrealistic.' While John does not have a
+scientistic prejudice about what a 'realistic' vision ought to look like, he is
+likewise rightly concerned that his vision be plausible: his utopia is possible,
+even inevitable, and visibly beginning to come about.
 
 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