Apocalipse 13 e sua natureza profética: testemunho contra as bestas de ontem e de hoje

Abstract

Bible study is a practice of many people who profess the Christian religion. However, the reading of this important book is not unambiguous, but gains different interpretations. In this context, the problem that arises is that the interpretations may not reflect the message that the sacred author proposed or even say what he did not want with his writing. This applies in large part to the book of Revelation, with its message encoded through symbols, images, numbers, colors, elements of nature, animals. When reading the book of Revelation, people end up reading the text literally, not discovering its message for the target communities and for the present moment. This work seeks to offer some tools that allow a contextualized access to the book of Revelation, understanding that it is part of the literature defined as apocalyptic, inserted in the context of the Roman Empire. The book was written for Christian communities in the Province of Asia at the end of the 1st century, when Domitian (AD 81-96) ruled the Empire. With the intention of maintaining the faith and testimony of Jesus, the immolated and risen Lamb, John, his brother and companion, sought to identify the Empire with a system that favored the death of those who did not follow its rules. This denunciation is described by the author in chapter 13, when comparing the Empire's death system with the beasts, one coming out of the sea and the other from the land. Facing the system of death of yesterday and today, denouncing the system that sacrifices lives, is one of the messages that the book of Revelation makes possible for us, offering a message of witness and hope.