The Common Tradition Behind Synoptic Sayings of Judgement and John's Apocalypse (Library Of New Testament Studies Series)

Publisher Description

Paul Penley advances our understanding of the sources used behind the composition of John's Apocalypse by performing a source-critical investigation of selected portions of the Synoptic Gospels and John's Apocalypse. Penley applies specific criteria for compositional influence (shared vocabulary, phrases, grammar, syntax, ideas, and contexts) to multiple portions of the Apocalypse and of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke demonstrating that interpretive traditions controlling the appropriation of OT prophetic material in the Synoptic accounts of Jesus' message of Jerusalem's destruction also gave shape to parts of the message of judgment in John's Apocalypse. ??To establish the plausibility of finding that common interpretive tradition behind the Synoptic Gospels and the Apocalypse, Penley first surveys recent research on tracing oral traditions behind the Synoptics and recent research on how John's OT allusions have been mediated through Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions. Penley then gives comparative analysis of Synoptic sayings of judgment and John's Apocalypse concluding finding many instances of shared tradition including Revelation 6, which Penley identifies as sharing a common sequence with Luke 21. The cumulative weight and character of the unique connections examined in this work expose a common oral tradition that framed Old Testament prophetic material in a recognizable but flexible manner.