Absent Presence: Authorship as Testimony in the Revelation of John
[Abwesende Anwesenheit. Autorschaft als Zeugenschaft in der Johannesoffenbarung]

“Whoever takes anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away their share in the Tree of Life and in the holy city…” (Rev 22:19). With the epilogue to Revelation, the author seems to want to control the reception and further use of their text in an authoritative manner. But how authoritative is the voice of an author? Who decides what a text means?

This lecture develops an understanding of authorship that is based in literary theory and is able to capture the author of Revelation’s ambivalent oscillation between authorial presence and absence within a network of testimonies.

Dr. Clarissa Breu is a research assistant under Prof. Dr. Susanne Luther in the New Testament Seminar of the Georg-August University of Göttingen. Her most recent publications include the essays “Female Seed as a Metaphor: Queer Kinship in Revelation 12, Ancient Medical and Literary Texts and the Septuagint” and “The Exposure of Violence: A Performative Reading of Sacrifice in Genesis 22 with Judith Butler and Giorgio Agamben.” Her 2020 dissertation is titled Autorenschaft in der Johannesoffenbarung: Eine postmoderne Lektüre.  

The Utopia of Holy Jerusalem in Rev: A Concept and Its Hermeneutical Dilemmas
[Die Utopie des heiligen Jerusalem in der Apk – ein Entwurf und seine hermeneutischen Dilemmata]

Revelation conceptualizes the utopia of the heavenly, holy Jerusalem (21:2) within a great skepticism against earthy life (see the dystopia in Rev 17–18). But is this utopia a “non-place” in the strictest sense (a “counter-place” to this world) or a “not-yet-place”? And how does the utopian relate to the earthly city of Jerusalem? The contrast (see 11:8) calls for discussion, as does the link to the name “Jerusalem.” The exegetical questions, including the punctuation of 21:2, have considerable relevance for today.

Martin Karrer was Professor of New Testament at the Theological University of Wuppertal. Alongside commentaries and editorial projects, his research foci include New Testament Christology as well as questions of aesthetics and everyday ethics. He is responsible for a new critical edition of Revelation appearing in 2024. 

Aspects of Perception in Apocalypses
[Aspekte der Wahrnehmung in Apokalypsen]

“Apocalypses” are, as even the word itself means, “revelatory texts.” As such, they thematize moments of contact between the worlds here and beyond and often claim to offer perspectives on this world and its questions in crisis situations that are new and understood to be “ultimate.” In so doing, they initiate “educational processes” and seek to encourage their audience to look at themselves, their situation, and the world in which they live in a new light. This, in turn, happens with the help of various techniques and with differing goals. This lecture illustrates this by using examples not only from Revelation but also from at least one other apocryphal apocalypse of ancient Christianity.

Prof. Dr. Tobias Nicklas holds the Chair of Exegesis and Hermeneutics of the New Testament at the University of Regensburg. He is the spokesperson for the DFG research group “Beyond the Canon.” Across over 200 publications, he deals with Christian apocrypha, Jewish-Christian dialogue, apocalyptic literature, and research on the gospels. 

Horizons of the Future and Past in Early Jewish Apocalypticism and Approaches to New Testament Theology
[Zukunft und Vergangenheitshorizonte der frühjüdischen Apokalyptik und Ansätze neutestamentlicher Theologie]

The special feature of early Christian apocalypticism is often differentiated from an ancient Jewish apocalypticism at a certain point: The latter is essentially oriented towards the future, so that God’s salvation remains distant from the present order of the world, while, e.g., the gospels (if not already a “historical Jesus”) and Paul, shaped by a Christological conviction, emphasize God’s nearness or imminent presence. This more general attitude can, upon closer examination of some early Jewish writings, be emphatically put to question. On this basis, the lecture suggests the theological benefits of a more balanced approach to apocalypticism.

Loren Stuckenbruck is Professor of New Testament at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. His research focus is ancient Judaism, and he is the author of the monograph The Myth of Rebellious Angels: Studies in Second Temple Judaism and in the New Testament as well as the article “The Dead Sea Scrolls: Insight into Traditioning Processes and the Growth of Gospel Traditions” in Dead Sea Discoveries.

Halakhah in the Kingdom of God: Jesus's Apocalyptic Teaching in Context 

Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who expected a coming kingdom of God that would inaugurate a new era. Jesus was also engaged in legal discussions concerning issues such as Sabbath observance and purity regulation. Yes, apocalyptic speculations and halakhah rarely appear together in Jewish documents from the Second Temple Period. The sectarian texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls make up an important exception since they dwell on both topics. In light of the Scrolls, I will examine how Jesus’s halakhic teaching relates to his overall apocalyptic message. 

Cecilia Wassen is Professor for Biblical Exegesis at Uppsala University. Her research areas include the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament, with a focus on apocalypticism, nourishment, gender discourse, and purity laws. In 2021, she published the monograph Jesus, the Apocalyptic Prophet with Tobias Hägerland. She is also the editor of the series “Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies.”