§ Debates · Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Did the apocalyptic literature of the Roman period counsel waiting or incite revolt?
2 positions · no single answer
Position A · held by Many scholars
Passive resistance
Apocalyptic texts would be a consoling fantasy that encouraged people to wait for divine rescue of Israel, without human action.
Rests on: p. 96
Reads the same page as : the same source, different readings.
Where the debate comes up
Statements tied to the debate
- For many scholars these texts were passive resistance: a dream that told people to wait for God. The authors point to another possible reading, as a spur to action. Certainty that the end was coming, with God and his angels joining the fight, may have driven uprisings, perhaps even the great revolt, and the War Scroll may have worked as a training manual.