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The Theme of Deception in the Book of RevelationBringing Early Christian and Contemporary Thai Culture into Dialogue
This volume examines how the Book of Revelation depicts the Roman Empire and its agents as deceivers who cruelly manipulate the nations. The author, a Thai national, reflects upon the significance of that message for the contemporary world.
This important analysis of Revelation's portrait of the Roman Empire as a deceiver of the whole world deepens our understanding of how John of Patmos has structured the warning to the seven churches. Tipvarakankoon proposes that in the dragon figure of Revelation 12 John brilliantly combines both the deceptive serpent of Genesis with the political-enemy figure of the dragon from Jewish tradition, in order to unmask the dangerous and seductive power of Rome. Agents of the dragon—the two beasts and the harlot—represent the full reach of Rome's deceptive economic and military system, whose allegiance must be resisted. Tipvarakankoon's intertextual reading of Daniel and other Jewish texts, and his skill in interpreting Revelation's grounding in the liberating vision of apocalyptic tradition, make a valuable contribution to Apocalypse studies. |