How Revelation Uses Violent Images in an Anti-Violent Way

April 10, 2014

bible / greg boyd / nonviolence / revelation

Because Revelation is hard to interpret. I don’t think this is so much because it was hard when it was written, but because we’ve piled layers of violence on top of it over the centuries.

All the violent scenes in Revelation are symbols for the battle of truth and deception. They never involve literal violence. In fact, they symbolize ANTI-VIOLENCE. The ingenious way John helps us get free of deception of trust in violent power is by taking a standard violent symbol and juxtaposing it with a symbol that undermines its violence and reverses its violent meaning.