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C7/46 (2011): 289-300
The Book of Revelation:A Latin American Interpretation
1
Juan Stam
For several decades, the book of Revelation has attracted an unusual
amount of attention among Latin American theologians, both Catholicand Protestant. However, about three decades ago, this last book of the
Bible began to occupy first place in the interests and concerns of biblical
scholars, as well as many lay believers. Spanish-language editions of the
vast library of apocalyptic writings were produced, along with many serious
commentaries on the book of Revelation. Important texts were translated
from French, German, and Englishamong them The Bible and the Future
by Anthony Hoekemaand several of the writings of George Eldon Ladd,
including his massive Theology ofthe New Testament.2
This remarkable awakening of interest in Revelation has nothing to do
with the sensationalism, or worse, apocalyptic terrorism, behind a parallel
surge of interest in the United States. Nor is it a resurgence of dispen-
sationalism, which has had a very strong hold among the laity of most
denominations. On the contrary, at the level of seminaries, professors, and
authors, there is a notable movement away from dispensationalism. Several
methods of interpretation are responsible for this renewal.
Contextual Interpretation
The first characteristic of this renewal in Revelation studies is typical of
general trends in Latin American theology, namely, a rigorously contextual
method of interpretation. We find ourselves in a situation that is in many
ways similar to the context faced by John of Patmos and his seven congre
gations. We also live on the outer perimeter of empire; our economies
depend on the vicissitudes of the superpowers and the whims of our own
oligarchies, more allied to foreign interests than to the masses of their own
people. In many of our countries, this unjust system is defended by violent
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repression with frequent assassinations, torture, and arbitrary arrest. It is
very natural, then, for us to read Revelation in the double context of then
and now, of yesterday's Asia Minor and today's Latin America. Reading
Revelation in the context of today's reality helps us situate the book in the
context of the Roman Empire.
The aphorism, "the text without its context is a pretext," is a familiar
slogan in many languages. Context includes the literary, historical,
sociopolitical, economic, and cultural situations. Partially inspired by
the sociology of knowledge and other modern disciplineslinguistics
and ideology analysesLatin American hermeneutics has insisted on
the careful, critical analysis of the double context for all interpretation
of ancient textsthat of the text itself and the existential context of the
modern interpreter. How Latin Americans understand the contemporary reality of our continent, for example, will inevitably affect, one way
or another, how they understand the book of Revelation. Interpreting an
ancient text is like cleaning a window: Both sides of the glass, the ancient
and the contemporary, must be clean and clear. Confused and obscure
interpretations of contemporary realities are very likely to affect negatively
the interpretation of a highly contextual ancient book such as Revelation.
Pastoral InterpretationA closely related hermeneutical key is the pastoral interpretation of
Revelation. Evidence from the book itself strongly suggests that John had a
pastoral as well as a prophetic relation to the seven congregations of Asia
Minor.3 He introduces himself as "I, John" (1:5), immediately expanded
into "I, John, your brother and companion" (1:9). Then come seven clearly
pastoral messages (Rev. 2-3) that prove that Jo hn knew his congregations
well and loved them deeply. As to its formal literary structure, the book is
in fact a very long pastoral letter between the typical salutation (1:4-8) andthe farewell (22:21). This pastoral tone is totally atypical of apocalyptic
literature.
As a pastor, John would talk clearly to his people, in language they
could understand about subjects and problems that concerned them.
For the original readers, Revelation must have been one of the clearest,
most easily understood books of the New Testament because it has fewer
abstract concepts and employed familiar symbols. The frequent calls to
obedience and radical commitment presuppose a prior understanding
of the message. The readers are expected to grasp the message without
difficulty: "Let those who have ears hear what the Spirit is saying to the
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churches." Only the so-called hearing impaired would fail to hear the
Spirit's prophetic voice in John's words (1:3).
This pastoral focus is of immense help in understanding Revelation.
Revelation was written to be read aloud, at least seven separate times, in
seven different congregations (1:4, 11). This oral nature is forgotten by
many interpreters, ensconced at their desks, surrounded by concordances
and commentaries, but forgetting those seven anxious, confused, and
threatened congregations who first heard the story read aloud to them.
John wrote to strengthen their faith and kindle their hope. Curiously,
when we look for this pastoral message rather than predictions per se
or eschatological schemes, the central message of almost every passage
begins to emerge clearly. There will always be details for which we lack
adequate hermeneutical clues, but those problems should not deprive us ofthe blessing and challenge the Spirit was communicating to the believers
then and can communicate to us today.
If we remember the condition of those threatened, anxious, and
confused faith communities, it becomes somewhat comical to imagine
John coming down hard on them with complicated prophetic schemes or
specific predictions of televisions and computers, which may be exciting
for us today but for them would be totally meaningless. The believers
would have left the meeting more confused and depressed than they hadentered. Read pastorally, however, Revelation is an inspiring message of
hope and joy in the coming of God's kingdom. Read pastorally, there can
be no doubt that after hearing this book read, the hearers left inspired by
a new confidence with courage to be faithful to the King of kings and Lord
of history.
A Prophetic Interpretation
This Latin American movement also seeks to be prophetic but with avery clear understanding of what that term means. For most laypersons
and even for most prophetic specialists, prophecy is seen essentially as a
prediction of future events.4 However, even the most cursory analysis of
the writings of the Hebrew prophets reveals that prediction is a secondary
element in the prophetic calling. In their classic How to Read the Bible for
All Its Worth,5 Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart affirm that only 5 percent of
the prophetic books relate to events that were future for the authors and
readers, only 2 percent can be considered Messianic, and only 1 percent
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should be seen as future for us today. On the contrary, it can be said that
all of prophecy, including the predictive passages, is an urgent, compell ing
word to God's people. It is not prophecy because it foretells the future or
fails to be prophecy when it is not predicting future events. We might say
that the essence of prophecy is not prediction but convictionthe firmassurance of bringing a living Word from God.
The definitive characteristic of prophecy is not that it foretells the future
but that it focuses the present in terms of the will of God. Even predictive
prophecy, which of course is present both in the Hebrew prophets and in
Revelation, is not introduced for its own sake simply to learn things about
the future but to illumine the present and show the readers how to obey
God here and now. It is significant that John calls his writing an apokalupsis
only once (1:1), but five times refers to it as a prophteia (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18,19).6 John did not write in order to teach his readers about the future but
to orient their obedience and discipleship in their immediate context and
thereby our obedience and discipleship in our modern context.
Precisely for this reason, the comparison of Revelation with other apoca
lyptic literature reveals both similarities and remarkable differences. While
John's Apokalupsis is obviously apocalyptic in form and style, it is prophetic
in its mentality and message. The two most common errors in the inter
pretation of Revelation are futurism and literalism. These twin fallacieswould have us prefer, almost exclusively, literal and futuristic interpreta
tions of the text as if these were somehow more spiritual and as if other
interpretations implied a lack of faith in God's Word. While it is true that
some (though relatively few) of the visions of Revelation should be inter
preted literally, within the apocalyptic genre the preference would usually
be toward symbolic interpretations.7 Likewise, John 's visions may refer to
future events but not necessarily so. It is significant that the verbs in his
vision accounts are in the past tense, corresponding to the past moment
when he saw the vision rather than future moments when predicted eventswould occur.8
Neither futurism {a prion preference for literal future interpretations)
nor an a priori preterist prejudice (relegate all of Revelation to the ancient
6 Curiously, the noun apokalupsis does not appear again in Revelation, and the verb
apokalupt never appears.
7 The return of Christ is described in 19:11 as coming out of the open heavens on horseback
with a sword in his mouth (both figurative). John was capable of mixing in one verse the literal
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past), neither a priori literalism nor a priori antiliteralism, should deter
mine our interpretation of this book. Our goal and duty as interpreters of
God's Word should be exegetical faithfulness to the text, interpreted by
the most careful methods possible.
Praxeological Interpretation
Typical of Latin American hermeneutics is the principle of praxeolog
ical interpretation that maintains an inseparable relation between thought
and action. Jo hn wrote to the believers not just to explain ideas to them
but primarily to change their conduct. It would probably surprise most
Christians to learn that they are expected to obey the book of Revelation.
Those who delight in interpreting its mysteries would naturally ask: "How
does one obey futuristic predictions?" For most readers, though, the chal
lenge is to unders tand Revelation and to know how history will end. Among
the hundreds of commentators on Revelation, most of whom understand
prophecy as essentially prediction, very few indeed have anything to say
about obedience. In their exclusive obsession with the future, they lose the
prophetic and ethical message for the present.
Revelation begins with a promise that is a key to the entire book: "Blessed
are those who hear and obey (trein) the words of this prophecy" (1:3). The
verb obey (tre, "guard, keep," like keeping the Ten Commandments) is
one of the most characteristic words of this book, and the very first para
graph pronounces blessing on those who obey what they have heard. The
blessing promised in this verse is not to those intelligent enough to under
stand this book with its supposedly complicated prophetic schemes and
sequences but to those obedient enough to carry into action its prophetic
message. All of Revelation is an extended call to obedience under very
hostile and difficult circumstances. No obedience, no blessing!
One proof that the book of Revelation was meant to be obeyed is thegreat number of imperative verbs and other expressions with imperative
or hortatory force. The call to obedience sounds throughout the entire
book (1:3; 2:26; 3:3, 8,10; 12:17; 14:12; 16:15; 19:10; 22:7,9). The definitive
command of the entire book is that of uncondit ional faithfulness to Jesus
Christ and the gospel ("Be faithful, even to the point of death," 2:10; cf.
12:11), but other imperatives exhort the readers: to fear and worship God
alone 14:7; 19:10; 22:9; to repent 2:6, 16; 3:3, 19; to remember 2:5; 3:3; to
prepare for the coming of the Lord 3:2; 16:15; to hope instead of fear 1:17;2:10 (cf. 5:5 weep not); to rejoice 12:12; 18:20; 19:1-8; to emigrate from
the imperial system 18:4; and to live prophetically in the midst of history
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a kind of civil disobedience or nonviolent protest. This was especially
bold because the price for this nonconformity came very high, including
the possibility of death. It was especially necessary because the churches
were weak and confused and the temptations to conform with the world
were nearly irresistible. A group within the congregations, known as theNicolaitans, advocated a pragmatic compromise with this idolatry in order
to maintain a more stable and tranquil lifestyle.
A Political Interpretation
The last and most controversial principle of Latin American herme-
neutics, that of political interpretationa consistently "sociohistorical
contextual" focus on the text. We can legitimately apply here the proverbial
refrain, "Everything is political, but politics is not everything."9 Here we
must steer between the twin temptations of over-politicizing the message
when not supported by sound exegesis, and of depoliticizing a message that
is, in fact, clearly political. Glib accusations of "politicizing the Gospel" are
usually themselves political, motivated by an ideology opposed to that of
those being criticized and to the message of Revelation.
Revelation may well be considered the most political book of the entire
New Testament. Probably written in the last decade of the first century,
under the emperor Domitian, it reveals John's deep political concernsand his impressive economic, social, and political understanding. All
this is seldom perceived, both because traditional misunderstandings of
the nature of this book keep us from seeing what is there and because a
general lack of historical sense, and of knowledge of the Roman Empire,
blind us to the clear references to the empire that abound in this book.
The last thing we expect to find here are political denunciations, but they
are there waiting to be discovered.
In Revelation, Jo hn vehemently denounces the political system of theRoman Empire . Although the emperor has John imprisoned on Patmos,
Jo hn begins by defying the emperor and declaring Jesus Christ as "the
ruler of the kings of the ear th" (1:5). John frequently takes titles of the
emperor, such as Pantkrator, or phrases from the imperial ritual such as
"thou art worthy," and transfers them to the Lamb. In chapter 4, John sees
a vision of the true throne, established in the heavens and under the sign
of divine grace, over against the fragile throne in Rome under the sign
of universal disgrace. The seventh trumpet announces and celebrates the
arrival of that new kingdom in its victory over the kingdoms of this world
(11:15-17).
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The second half of Revelation (12-22) is John's response to the renewal
of his prophetic commission with the call to "prophesy again about many
peoples, nations, languages and kings" (10:11). Although this basic four
fold formula is common in Revelation, only here does it mention kings. This
prophetic call is a special clue to the political dimension of the story of the
dragon and the beasts that follows. The identity of the beast as the Roman
Empire is shown by 17:9 (seven hills, seven kings) and 17:18 ("the great city
that is ruling over the kings of the earth" when John writes, which can only
be Rome).10
The entire story (chaps. 12-13, 17-20) is antiempire from start
to finish. To call the emperor a beast, inspired by a dragon, and the capital
city a brothel was language similar to that of the imperial opposition.
One detail is crucial to the story, especially in light of the Nicolaitan
heresy. The dragon, having failed in his attacks against the child and themother (chap. 12), desperately needs a new strategy. He concocts an evil
plan to attack Christians through the beast (Roman Empire) and the false
prophet (probably emperor worship). In telling this parable, John affirms
that it is the Devil who has established the empire (13:2) and that those
who worship the emperor are actually worshipping Satan (13:4). That
should be clear to the Nicolaitans.
John also denounces the military system of the empire. The second
horse, bloody red in color, carries the large sword of the Roman legionary,puts people to killing each other and dedicates itself to uproot peace wher
ever it might begin to surface. The harlot is drunk with the blood of saints
and martyrs (17:6).n
God will avenge the blood of all those assassinated
on earth (18:24). With a marvelous sense of ironical humor, John attri
butes the battle of Armageddon to the war-mongering of three obnoxious
frogs, vomited by the dragon and the two beasts, who travel as propaganda
agents to visit the royal palaces of the world and incite kings to mobilize
for battle (16:13-14). Earth's kings heeding frogs that whisper war in theirears ! These same frogs crawl over our TV screens today and sneak their vile
way into our centers of power.
Irony and a touch of humor appear again in a seemingly passing remark
in the account of the third bowl of wrath (16:3-4; cf. 8:8). The second
bowl turned ocean water into blood; the third bowl all fresh water into
blood. This recalls Moses' first miracle, turning the Nile into blood, which
some rabbis interpreted as a punishment for having shed the blood of
Hebrew children. After the third bowl, "the angel in charge of the waters"
interprets the meaning of these strange signs:
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You are just in these judgments,you who are and who were,the Holy One,because you have so judged;
for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets,and you have given them blood to drinkas they deserve. (16:4-6 NLT; NIV1984)
Those who shed innocent blood do not deserve to drink water. If they
like blood so much, let all of those killers, whoever their victims might be,
drink blood (18:24).
John's denunciations of the economic system of the Roman Empire is so
ample and detailed, it can only be summarized here.John had a passionate
concern for economic justice and a thorough knowledge of the economicrealities of the empire. Indeed, this keen-eyed prophet well deserves an
honorary doctorate in economy. Although this thread of John 's thought
is very impressive, few readers perceive it, both because no one expects to
find economic denunciation in this book and because most readers know
little or nothing about the economics of the Roman Empire.12
The third of the four horsemen sits mounted on a black horse (cf. black
market) and carries with him a pair of scales to sell certain agricultural
products (6:5-6). A mysterious voice, like those regularly heard on thestreets of any Third World city, shouts out the prices for grain and barley,
and adds "do not damage the oil and wine!" The fact that this merchant
sells wheat and barley by the pound is itself significant. Only in extreme
emergency were grains sold by bulk, and selling them by weight was seen
as divine punishment (Lev. 2:26; Ezek. 4:16 [Heb]). The voice announces
its prices, "a quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for
a day's wages" (6:6 NIV)prices of criminal speculation.13 Cicero tells us
that in his time a denano bought twelve quarts of wheat (versus one quart
in Rev. 6:7) and twenty-four quarts of barley {In Verrem. 3:81). Today theblack horse of the Apocalypse has been runn ing wild through the finan
cial centers of the world.
The exhortation to not damage the wine and the oil has led to as much
speculation as the wheat market in the preceding phrase, even identifying
the oil and wine with the Holy Spirit, supposedly damaged by the rapture
12
The economic strain of John's thought begins with the contrast between the wealthof the poor Smyrnians and the poverty of the rich Laodiceans (2:9; 3:17-18). In 5:12, an
innumerable multitude declares that all wealth belongs to the Lamb (cf. Ps. 24:1; Lev. 25:23).
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of the church. A minor detail from the economic legislation of the empire
provides the best explanation. In the year 92 Domitian, in order to protect
Italian wine-growers, emitted a decree order ing agro-exporters from the
provinces (in this case, Asia Minor) to destroy each year one half of their
vineyards (Suetonio, Domitian 7). The Asian exporters refused to respectthe edict ("We will not destroy the wine," our source of imperial currency)
and managed to persuade the emperor to rescind the edict, not only for
their financial benefit but also for the hunger of the farm workers and
their families. John, with his alert knowledge of the imperial economy,
knew that the other major agricultural export from Asia Minor was olives.
It is impressive to find an Asian prophet so well informed about economic
legislation from the capital of the empire.
Another evidence of the economic concern of the Apocalypse is themark of the beast (13:17-18).
14Far more important than speculations
about the mysterious number is the economic purpose of the action: All
those not bearing the required mark are forbidden to buy or sell. The goal
is the economic strangulation of dissenters from the imperial ideology.
Although the Roman Empire occasionally employed sieges as a military
tactic, I know of no evidence that the Roman Empire ever practiced this
type of discriminatory ideological boycott, nor does anything similar occur
in apocalyptic literature. The very originality of this detail shows again
John's profound commitment to economic justice and his sound under
standing of the workings of economic power.
The most impressive discussion of economic matters occurs in the
extended vision of the Harlot, also known as Babylon, the Roman capital
(17:1-19:10). Besides the condemnation of the empire's murderous
violence already mentioned, this passage denounces repeatedly Rome's
economic exploitation of the empire and its uncontrolled passion for
exaggerated luxuries (strnao; 18:3, 7, 9; cf. 18:14; today, conspicuous
consumption and consumerism). This becomes clear if the chapters are
read from an economic perspective, with fornication and drunkenness
understood as the orgiastic thirst for luxury that Rome not only practiced
but also fostered throughout the empire. Franz Delitzsch described the
prostitution of Isaiah 23:17-18 as "mercantile trading, which is only bent
on earthly advantage ... recognizing none of the limits imposed by God,
and making itself common to all the world [as] a prostitution of the soul."15
14It is striking that the only description of eternal torment of humans is not against sinners
in general but against those who accept the mark of the beast i e who accommodate to the
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An analysis of the lament of the merchants (18:11-19) leaves no doubt
about the economic interpretat ion of 17:1-19:10 and of John's detailed
knowledge of imperial commerce.16 In a sort of mock funeral, first the
import-export merchants and then the maritime transporters wail with
double "ay, ay" the demise of their lucrative market. The passage isextended and very specific. In 18:12-13, John offers a list of some thirty
products of imperial trade, mostly luxury items. Then, in more general
terms, John notes that "the fruit [varied luxuries] you longed for is gone
from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished" (18:14). It is obvi
ously a condemnation of the materialism and mercantilism of the Roman
economic system.
This dramatic passage in Revelation follows its basic model from Ezekiel
27. That prophet also gives a list of commercial productsfifty-one ofthembut they are strikingly different from those in the similar list of
Revelation 18. Both lists are also radically different from what a similar
list today might be: Mercedes Benz cars, Rolex watches, oversize refrigera
tors, and whiskey to stock the shelves. This is clearly not an end-time list.
On the contrary, it is reasonable to suppose that Jo hn must have visited
the wharves of Ephesus to learn from the sailors and the contents of their
vessels and has incorporated these so-called bills of lading into his text.
John was indeed a very impressive economist.
Finally, Joh n also denounces the ideological system of the Roman
Empire with its concepts of Roma aeterna, Pax romana, emperor worship,
and the invincible power of the empire. Jo hn unmasks this entire ideolog
ical apparatus with a spellbinding narrative, "the drama of the Dragon and
his allies." The story, which occupies chapters 12-13 and 17-20, revolves
around six dramatis personae: the dragon, the woman, the child, the
Beast, the false prophet, and the harlot. The entire story constitutes a vivid
"demonology of the empire." The dragon is explicitly defined as Satan
(12:9; 20:2), the ancient serpent, and the child is clearly the Messiah ofPsalm 2. The woman of chapter 12 seems to be a composite of Eve (Gen. 3);
Zion (giving birth to the Messiah, Isa. 54:1; 66:7); and, after the ascension
of her infant son, the persecuted church. From chapter 13 on, the drama
revolves around the two beasts and the harlot. The central teaching is that
behind all the political, military, economic, and ideological structures of
the empire is Satan himself. Over against the throne of God and the Lamb
stands the throne of Satan (2:13) and the Beast (13:2-4). In that concrete
context, history is seen as a conflict between the empire of the Beast and
that of Christ the Lord.
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In Chapter 12, the dragon wages war against a pregnant woman and her
soon-to-be-born child, but nothing goes well for him. When he is about to
seize the child and devour it, the child is snatched away from him to the
heavenly throneexactly what the Devil wanted to avoid. He then pursues
the child but is defeated by Michael and thrown violently down to earth.Having lost the battle for the child, he now seeks to persecute the woman,
but she sprouts a pair of wings and escapes from his clutches. Finally,
furious and frustrated, he vomits a river of poison, hoping to engulf the
woman, but the earth opens its mouth and swallows all the poison. Then,
though he has had nothing but embarrassing failures, the dragon adopts a
new strategy to attack the other children of the woman (12:17).17
This is when the Devil decides to create the Roman Empire (13:1-3)
and the imperial cult (13:4; 11-15) as his last, desperate assault againstthe church. Thus, John clearly demonizes the Roman Empire and informs
all those tempted to accommodate to the religion of the empire that if
they jo in in that worship, they will be involved in devil worship. Adoration
of the emperor is, for John, adoration of the dragon who "gave the Beast
his power and his throne and great authority" (13:2). As a result, "people
worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and
they worshipped the beast" (13:4). Emperor worship is devil worship. The
empire and its ideology are an invention of Satan. The message to the
Nicolaitans could not be clearer.
In our times, tolerance is the summum bonum among moral values and
to demonize or Satanize is considered an unpardonable lack of good taste,
or worse, a grave sin against social and political ethics. True, of course, it
is always dangerous to absolutize one political position as supreme good
and its rivals as ultimate evil. Nevertheless, John teaches us that Satan is
active in the political realm and he has no hesitation about demonizing the
Roman Empire. As serious as is the error of seeing the devil where he is not
active, the opposite error is to not see Satan's presence where his "principal
ities and powers" are all too busy. We should neither demonize what is not
demonic nor "undemonize" what is in fact demonic. A task for a Christian
political ethic, and for the church as a prophetic community today, is to
discern and denounce the satanic forces that are active in politics and in all
of society and of history.
John reassumes this narrative in chapter 17 with a new personality, the
Harlot, also known as Babylon the Great. John leaves no doubt that the
Harlot is a powerful contemporary city (17:18), the imperial capital that
intoxicates the entire world with its luxuries and teaches them, like itself,
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having been the last to enter the stage, is the first to depart, devoured
by her own allies (17:16-17). The two beasts, who had been second and
third to appear, are then captured and cast into the lake of fire (19:20).
The dragon, who was the first actor in this drama, is now alone, back to
where he was before he conjured up the imperial beasts (12:17). Somewhatsurprisingly, God does not also cast him into the lake of fire but assigns him
a very long sentence of preventive imprisonment (20:1-3). Upon release,
the dragon is totally unrepentant and with his new allies, Gog and Magog,
tries to provoke another war. He and his rebel army are consumed by fire
from heaven and consigned to eternal judgment . The world has seen its
last war and the forces of evil have been destroyed forever.
This whole story is intensely dramatic and charged with constant polit
ical overtones. Perhaps our endless debates about the millennium miss thereal point of the long story, which a more imaginative reading and a more
contextual interpretation could help us recover.
Conclusion
Latin American hermeneutics cannot claim a monopoly on the above
characteristics and is usually nourished by input from other regions and
cultures. Taken together in Latin America, all this results in a partic
ular perspective on Revelation, on eschatology, and on hermeneutics ingeneral. Exegetical methods that rigorously seek to clarify what the Spirit
said to the churches of yesterday must be supplemented by hermeneutical
methods that listen to hear what the Spirit is saying now to the churches
of today.
In the United States, a caricature of Latin American theology and
especially of liberation theology seems to have circulated as if it were an
impulsive, superficial Marxist movement with little concern for serious
biblical investigation. In my own experience the opposite has often beentrue. I have found great help from my Latin American colleagues, while I
have often been disillusioned by the paucity and poverty of serious biblical
answers from their conservative opponents.
In these times of shattering changes and historic challenges, may the
Spirit guide God's people, both north and south, into faithful and perti
nent interpretation of the Word as well as a courageous prophetic presence
to serve our generation in the name of our Lord.
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