Rudy-Froese, Allan

English

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The choice between two cities: whore, bride, and empire in the apocalypse

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 26Issue 2 Apocalyptic Article 1311-1-2000The choice between two cities: whore, bride, andempire in the apocalypseAllan Rudy-FroeseFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationRudy-Froese, Allan (2000) "The choice between two cities: whore, bride, and empire in the apocalypse," Consensus: Vol. 26 : Iss. 2 ,Article 13.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol26/iss2/13122 Consensusbook. Here we are treated to one the best explanations of how knowing God’spromise of the future might move the Christian church to live a life of love withGod’s many people today. Wolfhart Pannenberg is never quoted here butGonzalez explains the “ontological presupposition of the priority of the future” ina language we can all understand.Gonzalez hits the mark with this book. He is an excellent communicator whouses good illustrations, humour, and personal passion in getting his pointsacross to the reader. His brief sweeps of history are colourful, economical andrelevant. His grappling with biblical texts in the context of historical and culturalissues then and now are fresh and highly topical for a church today which findsitself in need of new life in the midst of cultural upheaval. His multiculturalreading of the book of Acts and Revelation is especially powerful as we struggleto form churches and communities with many peoples.While inspiring a re-reading of the biblical text and our own times with newmulticultural lenses, Gonzalez is not naive. He uses stories from his own life andfrom the early church to say that while there is something “sweet” about amulticultural vision of church or society, the “bitter” side is there too: Themulticultural church “involves much more than bringing a bit of colour andfolklore into our traditional worship services. It involves radical changes...” (92).This is an excellent short read which brings missiology, history and goodBible study to bear on current cultural conflicts in the church. This is a book forthe pastor and for students of the New Testament. What the work is ideal for,though, is adult Sunday School class. You get to hit two birds vdth this one stone.This easy to read book will gently introduce the church both to a newunderstanding of Revelation and inspire informed debate of a new vision of achurch which does not hide from cultural debates but thrives there where theHoly Spirit is tenaciously working.Allan Rudy-FroeseErb Street Mennonite ChurchWaterloo, OntarioThe Choice Between Two Cities: Whore, Bride and Empire in theApocalypseBarbara R. RossingHarrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1999180 pages, $25.25 SoftcoverThe thesis of Rossing’s work is simple. The two women of John’sBook Reviews 123Apocalypse, the whore and the bride, depict two choices for the ancient Christianaudience. The choice for the whore is Babylon (Rome), the choice for bride is thenew Jerusalem. The choice of following the “evil woman” or the “good woman”is an old device used rhetorically by the classic Greek moralists and then theHebrew wisdom writers. In chapter two Rossing examines this frequently used“two women” fable, placing the story of Hercules having to chose between thewomen. Virtue and Vice, as the “stock moral fable” which was popular inantiquity. What follows then is an examination of the ways in which the two-women topos was used rhetorically by the moralists to argue for a givenphilosophy, career, war action or political outcome. The two-woman topos findsits way to Revelation not directly from the moralists but via Hebrew wisdomliterature, namely Proverbs 1-9 and selected Qumran texts.Having established the “two-woman” motif, Rossing then moves in her nextchapters to a close study of the whore, the bride, Babylon and Rome in Revelationwith close attention to how the two-women device is used and modified. Chapterthree is a study of Revelation 17 and explores the personification of Babylon/Rome as the whore who rides the beast. In the next chapter, the Babylonlamented over and taunted in Revelation 18 is shown to be the oppressiveimperial city, Rome. Finally, having been introduced to the evil woman/city,John’s audience is then invited to follow the good woman of Revelation 19 intothe New Jerusalem of 21 and 22. This is a thorough, scholarly study of the finalchapters of the book of Revelation. Rossing is conversing with and adding to themost recent critical studies in apocalyptic literature. Her argument is highlyorganized and detailed, with concise summaries of other scholars’ arguments,fine introductions to ancient writings and exhaustive footnotes. This work firmlyplaces her in the list of scholars who are taking the wisdom tradition andrhetorical criticism seriously in the study of Revelation.Rossing’s book has some intriguing responses to various feminist critiques ofthe depiction of women, especially the whore of Babylon. While respecting thosescholars who see misogynous themes in John’s work, Rossing takes anotherroute. The two women are only there to introduce the two ways, the politicalchoices, for the Christian community. Once the audience sees the two-womentopos, the women fade to the background and the evil or good city comes to thefore. Further, as Rossing shows by looking at ancient siege texts, the violentdestruction of the whore of Babylon is not about personal violence directed to anindividual, but about a city in siege. This is but one example of what Rossing doeswell with these texts from Revelation. By showing us the moralists and theHebrew wisdom which is a backdrop to John’s writing the reader is able to seehow John has used and transformed those traditions to encourage entrance ofthe community into the new Jerusalem.This is a great read for those who are seriously interested in Revelation andother apocalyptic writings and the role of women in the Bible. This work is also124 Consensusfor those who want to see a prime example of how the classic moralist andHebrew wisdom traditions function in the New Testament. Certainly if you arepreaching from or studying the later part of Revelation, this is the commentary toread.Allan Rudy-FroeseErb Street Mennonite ChurchWaterloo, OntarioJesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and theEmergence of ChristianityPaula FredriksenNew York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999327 pages, $39.00 HardcoverAs a Jesus of History “Scholar wannabe” 1 looked forward to reading andreviewing Paula Fredriksen’s recent work on the historical Jesus. It came to mewith some strong recommendations. Unfortunately my overwhelming reactionto the book remains a profound disappointment. Not surprisingly, in the welterof widely divergent reconstructions of the historical Jesus, 1 find myself drawnpowerfully to some, such as John Dominic Crossan and William R. Herzog ll’s,and passionately at variance with others, including Marcus Borg and to a lesserextent, N. T. Wright’s. Yet in all these, 1 found myself comfortable with theresearchers’ careful scholarship. Even though 1 disagree, as well, with Dr.Fredriksen’s portrayal, it is not her reconstruction as such which troubles me.After all, scholarly debate stands as the lifeblood of academic work. Rather, whatdisturbs me in Dr. Fredriksen’s Jesus ofNazareth is the data she uses, the datashe doesn’t use and the ways she brings together her material. Sadly 1 find herreconstruction quite thin.Initially 1 was intrigued by her thesis that there are two indisputable facts -Jesus’ execution by Pilate and the non-execution of Jesus’ followers. She puts itthis way: “This is a crucial anomaly. Because it is established by two absolutelysecure historical facts, it will serve as the driving wheel for my effort here toreconstruct the Jesus of history” (9). With this introduction, 1 was eager to see herargument unfolding from these premises. 1 continued to be with her on thedanger of inserting anachronisms into our interpretations - all history of Jesusscholars strive mightily not to fall into this trap, at least without a clear recognitionthat this is happening or is, to some extent, inevitable. However, at this point inher discussion of sources, my alarms began to buzz. She spoke of our canonicaltexts, Philo, Josephus, as well she should. At the same time, she overwhelmingly

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The choice between two cities: whore, bride, and empire in the apocalypse

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