Un studiu intratextual al primelor patru plăgi din Apocalipsa 15-16 – partea a II-a

An Intratextual Study of the First Four Plagues of Revelation 15-16 – Part II

Abstract

This is the second part of an intratextual analysis that explores the seven bowls within Revelation’s own symbolic tapestry. It uses Revelation’s own symbolic language in order to understand the meaning of the seven plagues. This part focuses on the description of the bowls and also on the pouring out of the wrath of God through the first four bowls. In the first bowl, the earth-dwellers are directly affected by the sore plague, which torments them. In the second bowl, the economic infrastructure of Babylon, represented by the sea, is destroyed. In the third bowl, the power infrastructure of Babylon and its source, represented by the rivers and the springs of waters, is destroyed. In the fourth bowl, the light of witness, which is attacked so virulently by the evil triad and their followers, turns against the people revealing their unwillingness to repent. As such, the elements judged in the first four bowls point to the human support given to the persecuting powers of Revelation 12–13.