An Expanded Role For The Spirit In The Book Of Revelation -- By: Michael Kuykendall
Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 64:3 (Sep 2021)
Article: An Expanded Role For The Spirit In The Book Of Revelation
Author: Michael Kuykendall
JETS 64:3 (September 2021) p. 527
An Expanded Role For The Spirit
In The Book Of Revelation
* Michael Kuykendall is Professor of NT Studies at Gateway Seminary (Pacific Northwest Campus), 9810 NE 76th Street, Vancouver, WA 98662. He may be contacted at [email protected].
Abstract: This study argues that the Spirit plays a more expansive role in John’s Apocalypse than scholars have typically recognized. This role is examined in four steps, with each building on the previous one. First, a discussion of John’s use of numerical symbolism in Revelation shows that the numbers two, four, seven, and their multiples often indicate references to the Spirit. Second, while most exegetes agree that πνεῦμα and its cognates refer to the Spirit anywhere from eleven to eighteen times in Revelation, a case is made that John uses the word group twenty times with the Spirit in view. Third, of the various possible metaphors used for the Spirit, five metaphors allude strongly to the Spirit’s presence in eleven total references. Given John’s use of the πνεῦμα word group and various metaphors, he refers to the Spirit a total of thirty-one times in Revelation. The study concludes by discussing how these references to the Spirit function theologically. Seven major themes are identified that unveil a stronger Trinitarian emphasis in Revelation than is normally recognized.
Key words: Spirit, Revelation, numerical symbolism, metaphors, Johannine theology, Trinity
Many scholars do not find a developed role of the Holy Spirit in the NT. This especially holds true with regard to John’s Apocalypse.1 Although the Spirit is referenced and imaged less than God and Christ, this study intends to show that the Spirit (πνεῦμα) plays a much larger role for John’s theology than previously thought.2 Four areas are addressed, and each builds on the previous one. First,
JETS 64:3 (September 2021) p. 528
John’s numerical symbolism primes readers to see how numbers are used to identify the Spirit. Second, all the references of πνεῦμα and its cognates to the Spirit in Revelation are briefly described. Third, several metaphors that allude to the Spirit are considered. Taken together, uses of the πνεῦμα word group and various metaphors make a total of thirty-one references to the Spirit. Finally, the way these references and metaphors function theologically in Revelation is discussed.
I. The Spirit And Nume...
You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribevisitor : : uid: ()
Click here to subscribe