Book of Revelation: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Content added Content deleted
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
(Tidy, +pitch, +tropes)
 
Line 5: Line 5:
| image = Johannes op Patmos Saint John on Patmos Berlin, Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Gemaldegalerie HR.jpg
| image = Johannes op Patmos Saint John on Patmos Berlin, Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Gemaldegalerie HR.jpg
| caption = "Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos", by [[Hieronymus Bosch]]
| caption = "Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos", by [[Hieronymus Bosch]]
| author =
| author = John of Patmos
| central theme =
| central theme = Apocalypse
| elevator pitch =
| elevator pitch = A cataclysmic vision of the world's future.
| genre = Apocalyptic prophecy
| genre = Apocalyptic prophecy
| franchise = The Bible
| franchise = The Bible
Line 18: Line 18:


{{tropelist}}
{{tropelist}}
* [[Anti Christ]]: Not. There is no mention of the Antichrist. There are the First Beast and the Second Beast, but no Antichrist.
* [[The Antichrist]]: Not. There is no mention of the Antichrist. There are the First Beast and the Second Beast, but no Antichrist.
** Most reasons they are associated with this book anyway is due to prior Biblical passages referring to a man of perdition who will deceive the nations who matches up with the description of the Beast as mentioned in Revelation. Earlier Old and New Testament Books discussing this are often compared to the contents of Revelation and hence those earlier books are viewed as connected by way of doing a [[Call Forward]].
** Most reasons they are associated with this book anyway is due to prior Biblical passages referring to a man of perdition who will deceive the nations who matches up with the description of the Beast as mentioned in Revelation. Earlier Old and New Testament Books discussing this are often compared to the contents of Revelation and hence those earlier books are viewed as connected by way of doing a [[Call Forward]].
* [[Call Back]]: Many of the symbols have been already used by other prophets, especially Daniel.
* [[Call Back]]: Many of the symbols have been already used by other prophets, especially Daniel.
Line 29: Line 29:
* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: Yep. We'll get a new one, though.
* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: Yep. We'll get a new one, though.
* [[Extra Eyes]]: Lots of the spiritual beings have more than the usual number of eyes, including four creatures who are completely covered in them.
* [[Extra Eyes]]: Lots of the spiritual beings have more than the usual number of eyes, including four creatures who are completely covered in them.
⚫
* [[From Bad to Worse]]: Breaking the last seal signals the angels to blow trumpets that herald disasters. The last trumpet signals the angels to pour seven bowls of God's wrath on the world. And the bad stuff done by Satan have yet to come.
* [[Gainax Ending]]
* [[Gainax Ending]]
* [[Harsher in Hindsight]]: The book features a toxic meteorite named Wormwood, and as conspiracy nuts never tire of reminding us, [[Nuke'Em|Chernobyl]] is a type of Wormwood (rtemisia vulgaris).
* [[Harsher in Hindsight]]: The book features a toxic meteorite named Wormwood, and as conspiracy nuts never tire of reminding us, [[Nuke'Em|Chernobyl]] is a type of Wormwood (''Artemisia vulgaris'').
* [[Heaven]]: Where much of the action takes place, obviously.
* [[Heaven]]: Where much of the action takes place, obviously.
* [[Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]
* [[Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]
** [[Anti Christ]]: The first horseman, possibly.
** [[The Antichrist]]: The first horseman, possibly.
** [[The Archer]]: The first horseman has a bow.
** [[The Archer]]: The first horseman has a bow.
** [[Big Freaking Sword]]: The second horseman has one
** [[Blade of Fearsome Size]]: The second horseman has one
** [[Breakout Character|Breakout Characters]]: They show up in [[Works]] enough to get their own page.
** [[Breakout Character|Breakout Characters]]: They show up in [[Works]] enough to get their own page.
** [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: White (plague), Red (war), Black (famine) and Pale (death).
** [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]]: White (plague), Red (war), Black (famine) and Pale (death).
** [[Common Knowledge]]: In canon, the white horseman is actually Conquest, but popular culture knows him as Pestilence. Perhaps because Conquest's schtick is already kind of covered by War.
** [[Common Knowledge]]: In canon, the white horseman is actually Conquest, but popular culture knows him as Pestilence. Perhaps because Conquest's schtick is already kind of covered by War.
** [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: Possibly the last two, depending on your interpretation (as they were sent by Yahweh).
** [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: Possibly the last two, depending on your interpretation (as they were sent by Yahweh).
** [[Four Is Death]]: Literally.
** [[Four Is Death]]: Literally.
** [[Grim Reaper]]: The fourth horseman.
** [[The Grim Reaper]]: The fourth horseman.
** [[Hellish Horse|Hellish Horses]]
** [[Hellish Horse|Hellish Horses]]
** [[Light Is Not Good]]/[[Light Is Good]]: The first horseman, depending on who you think he is and whether you see the horsemen as evil or not.
** [[Light Is Not Good]]/[[Light Is Good]]: The first horseman, depending on who you think he is and whether you see the horsemen as evil or not.
Line 49: Line 50:
** [[Sickly Green Glow]]: Death's pale horse is actually a pale ''yellow-green'' horse. Presumably because it's [[Nausea Fuel|rotting]].
** [[Sickly Green Glow]]: Death's pale horse is actually a pale ''yellow-green'' horse. Presumably because it's [[Nausea Fuel|rotting]].
** [[White Stallion]]: The rider on the white horse is the first one mentioned, but whether he is the leader or not is not said.
** [[White Stallion]]: The rider on the white horse is the first one mentioned, but whether he is the leader or not is not said.
* [[I Have Many Names]]: The book is also known as "The (Book of the) Apocalypse", "Revelation to John", and "Apocalypse of St. John".
⚫
* [[It Gets Worse]]: Breaking the last seal signals the angels to blow trumpets that herald disasters. The last trumpet signals the angels to pour seven bowls of God's wrath on the world. And the bad stuff done by Satan have yet to come.
** The first few chapters include personal messages from [[Jesus Christ]], who introduces Himself with a variety of different titles/descriptions.
* [[Mad Oracle]]: The author, possibly.
* [[Mad Oracle]]: The author, possibly.
* [[Mind Screw]]
* [[Mind Screw]]: Pretty much the whole book.
* [[Mix and Match Critter]]
* [[Mix-and-Match Critters]]
* [[Name's the Same]]/[[One Steve Limit]]: It's never specified whether this was the same John the Apostle, John Mark, or John the Evangelist, or some other unknown John. He definitely isn't John the Baptizer. Probably. Most Bible scholars and commentators are of the view that John the Revelator (as this one is sometimes called) and John the disciple of Jesus are the same person.
* [[Name's the Same]]/[[One Steve Limit]]: It's never specified whether this was the same John the Apostle, John Mark, or John the Evangelist, or some other unknown John. He definitely isn't John the Baptizer. Probably. Most Bible scholars and commentators are of the view that John the Revelator (as this one is sometimes called) and John the disciple of Jesus are the same person.
* [[Numerological Motif]]: Boy, howdy! In case you missed it, one of the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Beasts]] is associated with the number 666. The number is only mentioned once in the book, but gets treated like an [[Arc Number]] in works that reference it.
* [[Numerological Motif]]: Boy, howdy!
* [[One World Order]]: What the Beast will set up on earth before Jesus defeats him (at least according to [[Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory|some interpretations]]).
* [[One World Order]]: What the Beast will set up on earth before Jesus defeats him (at least according to [[Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory|some interpretations]]).
* [[Out of Order]]: Revelation is traditionally placed at the end of the Bible, probably because of its content, but it is generally not thought to have been the last written.
* [[Religious Horror]]: The [[Ur Example]] of a ''lot'' of creepy religious tropes--[[Satan]] figures prominently, among other nasty demonic beings, and lots of people die.
* [[Religious Horror]]: The [[Ur Example]] of a ''lot'' of creepy religious tropes--[[Satan]] figures prominently, among other nasty demonic beings, and lots of people die.
* [[Rule of Seven]]: All over the place. The book begins with letters to seven churches, then we see seven stars, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues, a beast with seven heads...
* [[Rule of Seven]]: All over the place. The book begins with letters to seven churches, then we see seven stars, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues, a beast with seven heads...
Line 61: Line 64:
* [[Take That]]: Interpreters often tend to identify the villains of the story with their own preferred religious or political targets. For instance, during the Protestant Reformation the "whore of Babylon" was often identified with the [[Christianity Is Catholic|Catholic church]]. Then during the [[Cold War]], the various Beasts were widely interpreted as Soviet states. And so on, and so on...
* [[Take That]]: Interpreters often tend to identify the villains of the story with their own preferred religious or political targets. For instance, during the Protestant Reformation the "whore of Babylon" was often identified with the [[Christianity Is Catholic|Catholic church]]. Then during the [[Cold War]], the various Beasts were widely interpreted as Soviet states. And so on, and so on...
** One popular secularist interpretation of the book is that it was originally written as a political satire about the Roman Empire.
** One popular secularist interpretation of the book is that it was originally written as a political satire about the Roman Empire.
** Spelling the current Pope's name in ways that add up to 666 in Roman numerals (or some other system) has been a popular pastime for generations.
* [[The Stars Are Going Out]]: A third of them go out at once, to start with. Then [[It Gets Worse]].
* [[The Stars Are Going Out]]: A third of them go out at once, to start with. Then [[From Bad to Worse|it gets worse]].
* [[Signs of the End Times]]: One of the original [[Trope Maker|Trope Makers]].
* [[Signs of the End Times]]: One of the original [[Trope Maker|Trope Makers]].
* [[Villain with Good Publicity]]
* [[Villain with Good Publicity]]: The Beast gets a lot of support around the world.
* [[Watch the World Die]]: The saints and angels in heaven (and John himself) get front-row seats for the Apocalypse.
* [[Watch the World Die]]: The saints and angels in heaven (and John himself) get front-row seats for the Apocalypse.
* [[A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing]]: The lamb with the tongue of a dragon is probably meant to represent this.
* [[A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing]]: The lamb with the tongue of a dragon is probably meant to represent this.

Latest revision as of 11:39, 13 June 2024

Revelation
"Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos", by Hieronymus Bosch
Original Title: ἀποκάλυψις
Written by: John of Patmos
Central Theme: Apocalypse
Synopsis: A cataclysmic vision of the world's future.
Genre(s): Apocalyptic prophecy
Series: The Bible
Preceded by: Jude
First published: c. 95
v · d · e

"Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy... because the time is near."

The last book of The Bible and the New Testament. It depicts the vision of a man named John (probably not the same John who wrote the Gospel of John) who is imprisoned on the island of Patmos. Revelation is still considered the most confusing and controversial book of the Bible.

Tropes used in Book of Revelation include:
  • The Antichrist: Not. There is no mention of the Antichrist. There are the First Beast and the Second Beast, but no Antichrist.
    • Most reasons they are associated with this book anyway is due to prior Biblical passages referring to a man of perdition who will deceive the nations who matches up with the description of the Beast as mentioned in Revelation. Earlier Old and New Testament Books discussing this are often compared to the contents of Revelation and hence those earlier books are viewed as connected by way of doing a Call Forward.
  • Call Back: Many of the symbols have been already used by other prophets, especially Daniel.
  • Demon Lords and Archdevils: Quite a lot of these.
  • Distant Finale
  • Drugs Are Bad: While near universally translated as "sorceries" and "sorcerers", some will point to the original Greek words of "pharmakōn" and "pharmakois" as indication their mention refers to drug users (especially of hallucinogenics) rather than spellcasters.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Mankind's going to go through some crap before they can live Happily Ever After.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Both on the forces of good and evil.
  • Endless Daytime: It's mentioned that in heaven there is no night, since God is light.
  • The End of the World as We Know It: Yep. We'll get a new one, though.
  • Extra Eyes: Lots of the spiritual beings have more than the usual number of eyes, including four creatures who are completely covered in them.
  • From Bad to Worse: Breaking the last seal signals the angels to blow trumpets that herald disasters. The last trumpet signals the angels to pour seven bowls of God's wrath on the world. And the bad stuff done by Satan have yet to come.
  • Gainax Ending
  • Harsher in Hindsight: The book features a toxic meteorite named Wormwood, and as conspiracy nuts never tire of reminding us, Chernobyl is a type of Wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris).
  • Heaven: Where much of the action takes place, obviously.
  • Horsemen of the Apocalypse
  • I Have Many Names: The book is also known as "The (Book of the) Apocalypse", "Revelation to John", and "Apocalypse of St. John".
    • The first few chapters include personal messages from Jesus Christ, who introduces Himself with a variety of different titles/descriptions.
  • Mad Oracle: The author, possibly.
  • Mind Screw: Pretty much the whole book.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters
  • Name's the Same/One Steve Limit: It's never specified whether this was the same John the Apostle, John Mark, or John the Evangelist, or some other unknown John. He definitely isn't John the Baptizer. Probably. Most Bible scholars and commentators are of the view that John the Revelator (as this one is sometimes called) and John the disciple of Jesus are the same person.
  • Numerological Motif: Boy, howdy! In case you missed it, one of the Beasts is associated with the number 666. The number is only mentioned once in the book, but gets treated like an Arc Number in works that reference it.
  • One World Order: What the Beast will set up on earth before Jesus defeats him (at least according to some interpretations).
  • Out of Order: Revelation is traditionally placed at the end of the Bible, probably because of its content, but it is generally not thought to have been the last written.
  • Religious Horror: The Ur Example of a lot of creepy religious tropes--Satan figures prominently, among other nasty demonic beings, and lots of people die.
  • Rule of Seven: All over the place. The book begins with letters to seven churches, then we see seven stars, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues, a beast with seven heads...
  • Second Coming: Jesus comes back at the end to settle things once and for all.
  • Take That: Interpreters often tend to identify the villains of the story with their own preferred religious or political targets. For instance, during the Protestant Reformation the "whore of Babylon" was often identified with the Catholic church. Then during the Cold War, the various Beasts were widely interpreted as Soviet states. And so on, and so on...
    • One popular secularist interpretation of the book is that it was originally written as a political satire about the Roman Empire.
    • Spelling the current Pope's name in ways that add up to 666 in Roman numerals (or some other system) has been a popular pastime for generations.
  • The Stars Are Going Out: A third of them go out at once, to start with. Then it gets worse.
  • Signs of the End Times: One of the original Trope Makers.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: The Beast gets a lot of support around the world.
  • Watch the World Die: The saints and angels in heaven (and John himself) get front-row seats for the Apocalypse.
  • A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: The lamb with the tongue of a dragon is probably meant to represent this.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation?oldid=2060969"