RELIGIOLOGIQUES, 20, Fall 1999, 25-49 Biblical and Para-Biblical Origins of Millennarianism Håkan Ulfgard* From a biblical point of view, there is no significance whatsoever connected with the millennial change just ahead. Since Jesus, according to common scholarly opinion, was born during the last years of King Herod the Great, who died in 4 BCE, this means that we have in reality already passed the magic date, the year 2000 of the Common Era. However, focalization on the millennium has meant an actualization of the biblical predictions about the future and of the various chronological data contained in them. This has especially brought to attention the famous passage in the Book of Revelation about the 1000-year rule of the faithful with Christ (20 : 4-6). But Revelation is not alone among biblical and early Jewish and Christian writings to express the idea of a period of particular salvific existence and blessing for God’s chosen people (not necessarily exactly limited to 1000 years, though this round figure has given rise to the common appellation « millennarianism », or « millennialism »).1 The aim of this contribution to Religiologiques is to present an attempt at clarifying and tracing the biblical and early post-biblical roots of * Håkan Ulfgard is a Professor in the Faculty of Theology, University of Lund (Sweden). 1 General surveys of ancient millennarian passages, mainly in Christian literature, may be found in e. g. A. Wikenhauser, « Die Herkunft der Idee des tausendjährigen Reiches in der Johannes-Apokalypse », RQ 45, 1937, p. 1-24 and idem, « Weltwoche und tausendjähriges Reich », TQ 127, 1947, p. 399- 417 ; see also J. Daniélou, « La typologie millénariste de la semaine dans le christianisme primitif », VC 2, 1948, p. 1-16, as well as idem, Théologie du judéo-christianisme (Histoire des doctrines chrétiennes avant Nicée, 1), Paris, Desclée & Cie, p. 341-366. Focusing on Jewish texts, see, above all, P. Volz, Die Eschatologie der jüdischen Gemeinde im neutestamentlichen Zeitalter, Tübingen, J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1934, but also e. g. J. W. Bailey, « The Temporary Messianic Reign in the Literature of Early Judaism », JBL 53, 1934, p. 170-187. For shorter surveys of the topic, see, among others, O. Böcher, « Chiliasmus. I. Judentum und Neues Testament », TRE 7, 1981, p. 723-729, A. Gelin, « Millénarisme », DBSup 5, 1957, p. 1289-1294, and J. Massyngberde Ford, « Millennium », ABD 4, 1992, p. 832-834. 1 Håkan Ulfgard millennarianism as it appears in Jewish and Christian documents up until c. 100 CE.2 A word about definitions may be needed at the outset : In her article « Millennialism With and Without the Mayhem », in T. Roberts and S. J. Palmer (eds.), Millennium, Messiahs, and the Mayhem. Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements, Catherine Wessinger notes that « (m)illennialism in its most general definition refers to the expectation of an imminent and collective earthly salvation accomplished according to a divine or superhuman plan. »3 This broad formulation allows for the inclusion not only of biblical and biblically related phenomena, but also of concepts 2 I am very conscious of having omitted to take into account parallel phenomena in the extra-biblical world, which would have enriched — but prolonged beyond all bounds — this presentation. For comparison, the interested reader may find references to ancient Persian concepts found in Zoroastrian and (later) Zurvanite schematization of world history into thousand-year periods, cf. D. Winston, « The Iranian Component in the Bible, Apocrypha, and Qumran : A Review of the Evidence », History of Religions 5, 2, 1966, p. 197, 204 ; G. Widengren, « Leitende Ideen und Quellen der iranischen Apokalyptik », Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East. Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism Uppsala, August 12-17, 1979 ; D. Hellholm (ed.), Tübingen, J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1983, p. 77-162 ; S. Hartman, « Datierung der jungavestischen Apokalyptik », Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East, p. 61-75 ; A. Hultgård, « Bahman Yasht : A Persian Apocalypse », in J. J. Collins & J. H. Charlesworth (eds.), Mysteries and Revelations. Apocalyptic Studies since the Uppsala Colloquium, JSPSSup 9, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1991, p. 131-132 ; and, among earlier contributions, F. Cumont, « La fin du monde selon les mages occidentaux », RHR 103, 1931, p. 29-96. Other extra-biblical material concerning a millennial period of special blessing, such as the fragmentary Oracles of Hystaspes, and the mention of a 1000-year period for the cleansing of the souls after death in Plato and Vergil, is briefly discussed by Gelin, « Millénarisme », p. 1290. See also, commenting on the eschatology of the Qumranite « War Scroll » (1QM), J. J. Collins, Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls, London and New York, Routledge, 1997, p. 101-103, who draws attention to Plutarch’s reference (Isis and Osiris 47, quoting Theopompus [c. 300 BCE] as his source) to Persian periodization of history into alternating good and evil periods. 3 New York and London, Routledge, 1997, p. 47-59, quotation p. 48. Concerning frequently used terminology such as « premillennialism » and « postmillennialism » (whether Christ will come first and inaugurate the millennial era, or this will take place afterwards), Wessinger also gives some clarifying and critical remarks, suggesting that these words be exchanged for, respectively, « catastrophic millennialism » and « progressive millennialism » (p. 49-52). A useful survey of scholarly opinion on the concept of the millennium in general, and in the Book of Revelation in particular, is found in J. W. Mealy, After the Thousand Years. Resurrection and Judgment in Revelation 20, JSNTSup 70, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1992, p. 15- 58. 2 Biblical and Parabiblical Origins of Millennarianism and movements in many other cultures and religious traditions as well. Already in the biblical world of thought, however, and still more in subsequent Christian exegetical tradition, it is important to note that the distinction between heavenly and earthly scenery may sometimes be transcended and blurred. Thus, the earthly quality of the millennium is not always prominent or self-evident in early Jewish and Christian texts. By working backwards, starting with some roughly contemporary texts from late New Testament times that may serve to exemplify millennarian ideas current at the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity, I will try to trace the development of these ideas from their biblical and early post- biblical origin. In so doing, it will be possible to focus on some central concepts that seem to have been of special importance for the growth of this theological tradition. One such concept will be found in the notion of a periodization in world history, which is a typical feature of Jewish apocalyptic. When fused with heightened eschatological expectation resulting from an experience of political turmoil and deteriorating conditions for Jewish life, if not outright suffering, this creates an awareness of living close to the End Time. Other concepts, more or less connected with millennarianism, include messianism as well as the idea of a return to paradisiac conditions. Millennarian expectation of restoration of nature and of national sovereignty are signs of an earthly orientation, which represents an important phase in the history of biblical and post- biblical doctrines of salvation. Of particular significance is the observation that messianism, whether individual or collective (i. e. involving the whole of the chosen people, or the faithful remnant within it), does not always constitute a part of the millennarian scenario, just as there can be messianism without any millennarian framework.4 Millennarianism in the New Testament and contemporary Jewish literature 4 See also the valuable considerations on the issue of biblical and post-biblical millennarianism from a sociological point of view in S. R. Isenberg, « Millennarism in Greco-Roman Palestine », Religion 4, 1974, p. 26-46, and G. W. E. Nickelsburg, « Social Aspects of Palestinian Jewish Apocalypticism », Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East, p. 641-654. 3 Håkan Ulfgard For the study of early Jewish and Christian millennarian beliefs, it is appropriate to begin with the evidence from the Book of Revelation, 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, all of which were composed shortly before or around 100 CE. All three use apocalyptic language in response to crises experienced by the communities in which they came to existence. In the Book of Revelation the Christian confessors are exhorted to faithful endurance in the face of increasingly hostile Roman state authorities ; in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch it is the survival of Judaism after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE which is the main concern. The differences in style and narrative content must not be overlooked, though : while the two « purely » Jewish texts contain much theological and philosophical reflection and discussion, both on a personal and a collective level, in which apocalyptic imagery clearly plays a secondary role, and where the visionary message is constantly given a rationalistic explanation, the Jewish-Christian Book of Revelation, with its combined epistolary and dramatic character, is much more « impressionistic », leaving to its readers the tantalizing task of finding the (or a) meaning of its allusive and elusive imagery. To begin with the brief text on the millennium in Rev 20 : 4-6 (NRSV) : Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years. These verses belong to a context beginning with the appearance of the divine warrior together with the heavenly hosts in order to defeat all earthly enemies of God’s chosen people (19 : 11- 21). Parallel to this imagery, but on a « celestial level », the binding and imprisonment of Satan is depicted in 20 : 1-3, the duration of his imprisonment for 1000 years coinciding with the period of the rule of the faithful in vv. 4-6. After the 1000 years, Satan will be set free for a last futile battle with God, which will lead to his utter destruction (vv. 7-10), after which the great 4 Biblical and Parabiblical Origins of Millennarianism judgment scene is depicted (vv. 11-15). All this marks the end of the present era, with the ensuing visions of the heavenly Jerusalem descending to earth and of Paradise regained in 21 : 1—22 : 5 providing glimpses of the blessings expected for the age of salvation. Despite the mention of a « new heaven and earth » (21 : 1), however, the contrast between this section and the previous chs. 19-20 should not be overemphasized. There is more of a thematic progression in 21 : 1—22 : 5, as compared to the foregoing chapters, than there is a radical chronological separation between these sections of Rev.5 The author of Rev does not separate his view on the World to Come too strictly from what he has been saying about the period of messianic rule. In 4 Ezra, a comparable text and context is provided by 7 : 26-31 (all following quotations from pseudepigraphical texts are from OTP 1-2) : For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will come to pass ; the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which now is hidden shall be disclosed. And everyone who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders. For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years. And after these years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who draw human breath. And the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings ; so that no one shall be left. And after seven days the world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish. In the preceding passages it has been stressed that salvation is not an automatical gift to the whole of God’s chosen people Israel, but only to the just, whereas the following text gives a detailed description of the coming final judgment which will last for « a week of years » (7 : 43 ; a unique chronological reference within 4 Ezra, reminiscent of Dan 9 : 24-27). Later in 4 Ezra, this brief messianic passage is complemented in the interpretations of the « Eagle Vision » and the vision of « the Man from the Sea » 5 Cf. Mealy, After the Thousand Years, p. 59-65, especially refering to C. H. Giblin, « Structural and Thematic Correlations in the Theology of Revelation 16–22 », Bib 55, 1974, p. 487-504. 5 Håkan Ulfgard (chs. 11-13). The concrete messianic teaching is rather meagre, however ;6 cf. what is stated about the Messiah in 12 : 32-34 : […] this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David, and will come and speak to them ; he will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will cast up before them their contemptuous dealings. For first he will set them living before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them. But he will deliver in mercy the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning. The notion about a coming messianic period, but now combined in greater detail with ideas about a return to paradisiac conditions, is also found in 2 Bar 26-30 and 35-40. Having been informed about the division of the coming period of suffering into 12 periods, Baruch’s anxious question as to whether the whole world or only a part of it will be affected is answered in chs. 29- 30 : That which will happen at that time bears upon the whole earth. Therefore, all who live will notice it. For at that time I shall only protect those found in this land at that time. And it will happen that when all that which should come to pass in these parts has been accomplished, the Anointed One will begin to be revealed. And Behemot will reveal itself from its place, and Leviathan will come from the sea, the two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation and which I shall have kept until that time. And they will be nourishment for all who are left. The earth will also yield fruits ten thousandfold. And on one vine will be a thousand branches, and one branch will produce a thousand clusters, and one cluster will produce a thousand grapes, and one grape will produce a cor of wine. And those who are hungry will enjoy themselves and they will, moreover, see marvels every day. For winds will go out in front of me every morning to bring the fragrance of aromatic fruits and clouds at the end of the day to distill the dew of health. And it will happen 6 Cf. B. M. Metzger in his introduction to 4 Ezra in OTP 1, p. 521 (referring to M. E. Stone, « The Concept of the Messiah in IV Ezra », in J. Neusner [ed.], Religions in Antiquity. Essays in Memory of Erwin Ramsdell Goodenough, Studies in the History of Religions, NumenSup, 14, Leiden, Brill, 1968, p. 295- 312). Though the figure of the Messiah holds an important role within the eschatology of 4 Ezra, maybe « he was not the answer to the questions that Ezra was askin ». 6 Biblical and Parabiblical Origins of Millennarianism at that time that the treasury of manna will come down again from on high, and they will eat of it in those years because these are they who will have arrived at the consummation of time. And it will happen after these things when the time of the appearance of the Anointed One has been fulfilled and he returns with glory, that then all who sleep in hope of him will rise. And it will happen at that time that those treasuries will be opened in which the number of the souls of the righteous were kept, and they will go out and the multitudes of the souls will appear together, in one assemblage, of one mind. And the first ones will enjoy themselves and the last ones will not be sad. For they know that the time has come of which it is said that it is the end of times. But the souls of the wicked will the more waste away when they shall see all these things. For they know that their torment has come and that their perditions have arrived. Shortly afterwards, Baruch relates his vision of a forest, a vine, a fountain and a cedar, the interpretation of which concludes with the following statement on the coming messianic rule (39 : 7—40 : 4) : And it will happen when the time of its fulfillment is approaching in which it will fall, that at that time the dominion of my Anointed One which is like the fountain and the vine, will be revealed. And when it has revealed itself, it will uprott the multitude of its host. And that which you have seen, namely the tall cedar, which remained of that forest, and with regard to the words which the vine said to it which you heard, this is its meaning. The last ruler who is left alive at that time will be bound, whereas the entire host will be destroyed. And they will carry him on Mount Zion, and my Anointed One will convict him of all his wicked deeds and will assemble and set before him all the works of his hosts. And after these things he will kill him and protect the rest of my people who will be found in the place that I have chosen. And his dominion will last forever until the world of corruption has ended and until the times which have been mentioned before have been fulfilled. This is your vision, and this is its explanation. Towards the end of the book, yet a third text contains the idea of a coming messianic period of earthly blessing, as Baruch’s vision of a cloud pouring out a succession of alternatively bright and dark waters over the earth is interpreted for him. After 12 such waters, explained as referring to various phases of biblical history (the eleventh leading up to the calamity with the destruction of the temple in 586 BCE, i. e. the fictive situation to which 2 Bar is 7 Håkan Ulfgard addressed ; the twelfth representing post-exilic restoration), there are two final waters, blacker and brighter than all the previous ones, signifying the tribulation of the End Time, after which the militant Messiah ushers in an era of earthly blessings (72 : 1—74 : 1) : 8 Biblical and Parabiblical Origins of Millennarianism Now, hear also about the bright waters which come at the end after these black ones. This is the word. After the signs have come of which I have spoken to you before, when the nations are moved and the time of my Anointed One comes, he will call all nations, and some of them he will spare, and others he will kill. These things will befall the nations which will be spared by him. Every nation which has not known Israel and which has not trodden down the seed of Jacob will live. And this is because some from all the nations have been subjected to your people. All those, now, who have ruled over you or have known you, will be delivered up to the sword. And it will happen that after he has brought down everything which is in the world, and has sat down in eternal peace on the throne of the kingdom, the joy will be revealed and rest will appear. And then health will descend in dew, and illness will vanish, and fear and tribulation and lamentation will pass away from among men, and joy will encompass the earth. And nobody will again die untimely, nor will adversity take place suddenly. Judgment, condemnations, contentions, revenges, blood, passions, zeal, hate, and all such things will go into condemnation since they will be uprotted. For these are the things that have filled this earth with evils, and because of them life of men came in yet greater confusion. And the wild beasts will come from the wood and serve men, and the asps and dragons will come out of their holes to subject themselves to a child. And women will no longer have pain when they bear, nor will they be tormented when they yield the fruits of their womb. And it will happen in those days that the reapers will not become tired, and the farmers will not wear themselves out, because the products of themselves will shoot out speedily, during the time that they work on them in full tranquillity. For that time is the end of that which is corruptible and the beginning of that which is incorruptible. Therefore, the things which were said before will happen in it. Therefore, it is far away from the evil things and near to those which do not die. Those are the last bright waters which have come after the last dark waters. While there are some differences in emphasis concerning various aspects of the expected judgment and salvation between these texts from Rev, 4 Ezra and 2 Bar (and, especially in 2 Bar, within the book itself), they share the notion of a messianic figure appearing at the end of time to inaugurate a period of special blessing for the chosen faithful. The role of the Messiah varies between the texts, however. According to 4 Ezra 7 he will bring joy to the chosen, after which — rather extraordinarily — he (and all 9 Håkan Ulfgard those with him) will die and primeval silence will ensue for seven days, before the beginning of the new creation, whereas in 2 Bar 40 he is portrayed as militant and vengeful, with his rule — apparently limited in time, though not specified — described in greater detail than in the other two apocalypses. In comparison with the other two, what is said about the Messiah in Rev 20 : 4-6 apparently only amounts to very little, namely that the faithful confessors will rule with him. As was remarked above, this is a short-sighted conclusion, though, since this passage is part of a larger context which begins already in 19 : 11ff with the messianic character and activity of the horseman. But what is especially important to note — and I will return to this below — is that the millennarian teaching of Rev is set within a context which reflects Ezekiel’s prophecies about the future restoration of Israel, and which is not found at all in 4 Ezra / 2 Bar.7 The revival of the dry bones in Ezek 37 is matched by the (first) resurrection in Rev 20 : 4-6, after which comes the final attack from Gog and Magog (cf. Ezek 38 / Rev 20 : 7-9) and the vision of the new temple/temple city where God himself will dwell among his sanctified people (Ezek 40-48 / Rev 21 : 1—22 : 5). Building on this basic structure,8 the author of Rev has further emphasized the cultic context in his final chapters by stressing the priestly and royal dignity of the revived and redeemed, who may from now on serve God, share Christ’s rule, and partake of the paradisiac blessings of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. In 20 : 7-15 he has also enlarged on the subjects of resurrection and judgment, expanding from the resurrection only of the just to a vision of general resurrection, and from the judgment on Gog and Magog to final universal judgment, which enables him to let his visions end with the perfect and eternal communion between God and his elect in chs. 21-22. Common to Rev, 4 Ezra, and 2 Bar is that the millennial era also involves a messianic figure, whose rule is of a limited, temporary character. Especially in 2 Baruch, the vindication of the chosen faithful and their perfect and blissful communion with God in the World to Come are anticipated within an earthly, millennarian context. Later Jewish and Christian (and Jewish- 7 Cf. Böcher, « Chiliasmus », p. 723-729. 8 Cf. also the correspondence between the birds feeding on God’s slain enemies in Rev 19 : 21 and the proclamation in Ezek 39 : 4 and 17. 10