180
K. Bangert
condition of chaos also begins to assert its sway. At last, as this cosmic era draws to a close,
this disorder comes to a head. The few good things it produces it corrupts with so gross a
taint of evil that it hovers on the very brink of destruction, both of itself and of the creatures
in it. – The God looks upon it again, He who first set it in order. Beholding it in its troubles,
and anxious for it lest it sink racked by storms and confusion. He takes control of the helm
once more. Its former sickness he heals; what was disrupted in its former revolution under
its own impulse He brings back into the way of regularity, and, so ordering and correcting it,
He achieves for it its agelessness and deathlessness. (Plato’s Statesman, 273c–273e, p. 152)
O-Leary sees parallels between Plato and Paul who, in light of the general deterioration of the world at his time (see, for instance, Rom 1:18–28) anticipates a restoration
of creation (Rom 8:18–22; 11:25–27). “The hope or expectation of God’s regaining
control over the helm of the universe that Saint Paul held in common with Plato
testifies to the enduring power of eschatological myth as a way of understanding
the problem of evil.” (p. 5) Apocalyptic myths offer a “temporal and teleological
framework” for understanding the outworkings of evil in this world by claiming that
evil must grow in power in order to reveal its full nature before an appointed time of
the end, when God will once again reinstate his own power and order.
Apocalypticism, then, is the attempt to make sense of the deteriorating development of evil in a once perfect world that is being corrupted to a point when only God
can put an end to it. Such a message seems to have been especially appealing to those
groups who suffered most under the weight of persecution, injustice and marginalization. “The early Christians who responded favorably to the book of Revelation were,
by most historical accounts, subject to intense persecution that included execution
and public torture.” (p. 11) Hence, they were most receptive to the promises and
predictions of the apocalyptics who appeared to offer a comforting time-line with
redemption close at hand.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), most of the apocalyptic predictions over the past
2000 years have failed. There exists a long list of apocalyptic predictions over the
centuries which did not come to pass. Whether it were the Millerites in the 19
th
century who proclaimed the end of the world in 1844, or the false prophets who
anticipated the coming of the Christ or the Antichrist in the year 2000, or even the
present-day soothsayers around the QAnon movement; they have all built their case
on the dissatisfaction of marginalized peoples in order to mobilize their followers
into an awakening for a better future. Take this modern case, for an example:
In the anonymous book QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening we read:
“The world collapsed into darkness … Destroyed factories, declining job numbers,
sicker people, opioids, destruction of Iraq, Syria and Yemen with pointless wars,
displacement of people into Europe, Isis, terrorism, collapsed governments, poverty
and genocide. TOTAL MISERY” (p. 6). But the QAnon fellowship offers a cure:
“Our job is to generate a future that reclaims the reins of power from the forces that
would abuse our children and enslave us. Our intention is to take them back and
restore power to ‘We the People’. We are committed to achieving that for all of us,
you included.” (p. 2) Those who sense a secret conspiracy of the powerful (“Deep
State”) have themselves created a conspiracy of which they want each of us to be a
part.
K. Bangert
condition of chaos also begins to assert its sway. At last, as this cosmic era draws to a close,
this disorder comes to a head. The few good things it produces it corrupts with so gross a
taint of evil that it hovers on the very brink of destruction, both of itself and of the creatures
in it. – The God looks upon it again, He who first set it in order. Beholding it in its troubles,
and anxious for it lest it sink racked by storms and confusion. He takes control of the helm
once more. Its former sickness he heals; what was disrupted in its former revolution under
its own impulse He brings back into the way of regularity, and, so ordering and correcting it,
He achieves for it its agelessness and deathlessness. (Plato’s Statesman, 273c–273e, p. 152)
O-Leary sees parallels between Plato and Paul who, in light of the general deterioration of the world at his time (see, for instance, Rom 1:18–28) anticipates a restoration
of creation (Rom 8:18–22; 11:25–27). “The hope or expectation of God’s regaining
control over the helm of the universe that Saint Paul held in common with Plato
testifies to the enduring power of eschatological myth as a way of understanding
the problem of evil.” (p. 5) Apocalyptic myths offer a “temporal and teleological
framework” for understanding the outworkings of evil in this world by claiming that
evil must grow in power in order to reveal its full nature before an appointed time of
the end, when God will once again reinstate his own power and order.
Apocalypticism, then, is the attempt to make sense of the deteriorating development of evil in a once perfect world that is being corrupted to a point when only God
can put an end to it. Such a message seems to have been especially appealing to those
groups who suffered most under the weight of persecution, injustice and marginalization. “The early Christians who responded favorably to the book of Revelation were,
by most historical accounts, subject to intense persecution that included execution
and public torture.” (p. 11) Hence, they were most receptive to the promises and
predictions of the apocalyptics who appeared to offer a comforting time-line with
redemption close at hand.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), most of the apocalyptic predictions over the past
2000 years have failed. There exists a long list of apocalyptic predictions over the
centuries which did not come to pass. Whether it were the Millerites in the 19
th
century who proclaimed the end of the world in 1844, or the false prophets who
anticipated the coming of the Christ or the Antichrist in the year 2000, or even the
present-day soothsayers around the QAnon movement; they have all built their case
on the dissatisfaction of marginalized peoples in order to mobilize their followers
into an awakening for a better future. Take this modern case, for an example:
In the anonymous book QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening we read:
“The world collapsed into darkness … Destroyed factories, declining job numbers,
sicker people, opioids, destruction of Iraq, Syria and Yemen with pointless wars,
displacement of people into Europe, Isis, terrorism, collapsed governments, poverty
and genocide. TOTAL MISERY” (p. 6). But the QAnon fellowship offers a cure:
“Our job is to generate a future that reclaims the reins of power from the forces that
would abuse our children and enslave us. Our intention is to take them back and
restore power to ‘We the People’. We are committed to achieving that for all of us,
you included.” (p. 2) Those who sense a secret conspiracy of the powerful (“Deep
State”) have themselves created a conspiracy of which they want each of us to be a
part.