Suffering and Resistance in the Apocalypse: A Cultural Studies Approach to Apocalyptic Crisis

Abstract

The principal objective of this dissertation is to read the Apocalypse as resistance literature in the interest of suffering readers through the construction of a new hermeneutic of liberation. I suggest a cultural studies reading of the Apocalypse that foregrounds the theme of justice by reconstructing an apocalyptic vision of utopia inscribed in the text, in such a way as to highlight the contextual concerns of the suffering reader. In so doing, the present study undermines previous readings that may end up maintaining the status quo of injustice insofar as they foreground an ethic of peace at the expense of justice. In reading the Apocalypse as envisioning the resolution of apocalyptic crisis by means of human agency as well as divine intervention, this study highlights human resistance in terms of both thought and action in social as well as religious dimensions of human relations. The contribution of this work to Revelation Studies lies in reclaiming the Christian apocalypse as a helpful text that not only encourages suffering readers to endure in the hope of God¡¯s future salvation but also empowers them to actively resist against unwarranted suffering via a variety of resistance strategies that subsume more assertive ways than in previous scholarship.