Page Range
142-160
Keywords
Revelation, Grammar, Literature, Repetition, Three
Abstract
This study seeks to elucidate just one of the many literary/structural devices found in John’s Apocalypse—textual triads (groupings of three words or ideas that are either repeated or parallel to each other). In so doing, this paper will argue that not only do textual triads exist in Revelation, but they are present in various forms throughout this last canonical work and can be categorized/justified via grammatical/literary markers that help readers identify them within the text of Scripture. All this will prove that, among many other literary devices, the apostle utilizes this unique threefold repetition in pervasive ways to describe, reveal, and explain a wide variety of people, places, things, and ideas in his apocalyptic presentation. What will be yielded in this study ought to help future students more fully appreciate the compelling message and final climactic contribution of God’s grand metanarrative—a contribution that while containing chaos, confusion, and cosmic catastrophe, is underpinned by a sophisticated and divinely-ordered literary structure that grounds what is revealed in a compelling, organized, and beautiful way.
Recommended Citation
Dickson, Jeffrey R.. 2024. "Textual Triads: The Identification and Justification of an Apocalyptic Literary Form." Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal 8, (1). https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/eleu/vol8/iss1/11