Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful: Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John

Full title
Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful: Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John
Updated By
Research notes

hw not checked 12/05/2013|reader checked 28/04/2014 SE

Reference type
Author(s)
Mathews, Mark D
Year
2010
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
Issue / Series Volume
154
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Place of Publication
Cambridge
Pages
276
Work type
Label
13/05/2013
Abstract

"In the book of Revelation, John appeals to the faithful to avoid the temptations of wealth, which he connects with evil and disobedience within secular society. New Testament scholars have traditionally viewed his somewhat radical stance as a reaction to the social injustices and idolatry of the imperial Roman cults of the day. Mark D. Mathews argues that John's rejection of affluence was instead shaped by ideas in the Jewish literature of the Second Temple period which associated the rich with the wicked and viewed the poor as the righteous. Mathews explores how traditions preserved in the Epistle of Enoch and later Enochic texts played a formative role in shaping John's theological perspective. This book will be of interest to those researching poverty and wealth in early Christian communities and the relationship between the traditions preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament