Mormons, Jewish people, & the Apocalypse
For every main character in Millennium Approaches, their world is ending somehow. They each begin with a stasis that is intruded upon by a negative force that pushes for their failure.This is the same for the Earth, which is being beaten down by AIDS and a hole in the ozone. At this basic definition of the plot, the story of Millennium Approaches reflects apocalyptic stories of the Bible. Both Judaism and Mormonism have books that contain predictions for the end of days. In the Tanakh, the Jewish acronym for the Old Testament, there is the Book of Daniel. There is also another, the Book of Enoch, which is no longer considered as part of the Bible, but as it is a part of Jewish history, it will be considered here. As for the Church of the Latter-day Saints, they believe in the New Testament which contains the famous Book of Revelations, written by John.
Before these books are explored, it is important to clarify the actual meaning of the word “apocalypse”. The Book of Revelations is the first book that used the term “apocalypse” to describe its contents. In his essay, “Understanding Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic”, Aune explains the difference between the word as we know it and as John intended it: |
Even though John the apocalyptist used the term “apocalypse” to refer to the content of his book (what God had revealed to him), by the mid-nineteenth century, German scholars such as Friedrich Lücke (1832) used the term “apocalypse” as a designation for an ancient type or genre of early Jewish and early Christian literature similar to Daniel and the Revelation of John (234).
The actual origin of the word itself coincides with John’s usage of it. The word “apocalypse” is derived from the Greek noun “apokalypsis” meaning “unveiling, revelation” (Aude 234). Though the word is now used for other things, this was it’s original usage when the Bible was written. In the following essay, any use of the noun “apocalypse” will be referring to it’s original meaning.
The Book of Daniel consists of the apocalypse of Daniel, which he experienced while the Jewish people were under Babylonian rule. It is estimated that it was written around 604 B.C.E. (Swanson). Throughout the book Daniel receives messages from God through visions as well as through angels. The last part of the book, chapters 7-12, focus on prophecies of the end of days. Daniel experiences visions in his sleep, which are sometimes interpreted for him by the angel Gabriel. They entail kings fighting back and forth for many years. When the fighting finally ends, the angel Michael will arrive and deliver the deserving to eternal life. Those who are deserving have their names in a book. The others will be begotten with “shame and everlasting contempt” (“Daniel 12 NIV”). Daniel is then told to seal these prophecies in a scroll, then to wait 1,290 days for all of this to occur.
The Book of Enoch spans several long books, each with several details that are no longer accepted by either Jewish or Christian religions. This book wasn’t actually written by Enoch, but rather several different authors using his pseudonym. This is possibly because he was “the seventh from Adam,” but he did not have much impact in Biblical history. This gave people a blank slate of sorts (deSilva 102). It belongs a group called apocryphal writings. Apocrypha is derived from a Greek word meaning “hidden or secret”. One particular reason for Enoch to become hidden is it’s controversial messages about angels (“The Book of Enoch”). In the apocalyptic prophecies of this book, the downfall of the human race is directly tied to the sins of angels. Several angels break away from God’s will, and satisfy their own desires by having sex with human women. This results in children reminiscent of giants who are horribly violent. In the end of days these angels must be judged for their poor actions. In the section “The Admonition of Enoch”, the apocalypse is laid out in a specific timeline divided into ten periods referred to as “weeks”. As deSilva points out, this specification of time is typical of writings on the apocalypse:
The Book of Daniel consists of the apocalypse of Daniel, which he experienced while the Jewish people were under Babylonian rule. It is estimated that it was written around 604 B.C.E. (Swanson). Throughout the book Daniel receives messages from God through visions as well as through angels. The last part of the book, chapters 7-12, focus on prophecies of the end of days. Daniel experiences visions in his sleep, which are sometimes interpreted for him by the angel Gabriel. They entail kings fighting back and forth for many years. When the fighting finally ends, the angel Michael will arrive and deliver the deserving to eternal life. Those who are deserving have their names in a book. The others will be begotten with “shame and everlasting contempt” (“Daniel 12 NIV”). Daniel is then told to seal these prophecies in a scroll, then to wait 1,290 days for all of this to occur.
The Book of Enoch spans several long books, each with several details that are no longer accepted by either Jewish or Christian religions. This book wasn’t actually written by Enoch, but rather several different authors using his pseudonym. This is possibly because he was “the seventh from Adam,” but he did not have much impact in Biblical history. This gave people a blank slate of sorts (deSilva 102). It belongs a group called apocryphal writings. Apocrypha is derived from a Greek word meaning “hidden or secret”. One particular reason for Enoch to become hidden is it’s controversial messages about angels (“The Book of Enoch”). In the apocalyptic prophecies of this book, the downfall of the human race is directly tied to the sins of angels. Several angels break away from God’s will, and satisfy their own desires by having sex with human women. This results in children reminiscent of giants who are horribly violent. In the end of days these angels must be judged for their poor actions. In the section “The Admonition of Enoch”, the apocalypse is laid out in a specific timeline divided into ten periods referred to as “weeks”. As deSilva points out, this specification of time is typical of writings on the apocalypse:
Such schematizations of history are frequent in apocalyptic literature, reminding their audiences that when things seem most out of control, the course of history is never out of God’s control (120).
It is during the last few weeks that all will be judged, similar to what Daniel predicts. God will determine who has sinned and they will be severely punished. Usually sinners involve those who are rich and oppress the righteous.
The Book of Revelations also contains significant roles for angels, but in a different way than the other two books mentioned. It was written by John, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, who also wrote the Gospel of John (“John, Son of Zebedee”). It begins with John receiving a vision from an angel while in prison. He writes letters to seven churches about his visions. He describes seven books sealed with seven seals, each containing judgements for the Earth. The last one can only be opened by Jesus. With each judgement, plagues are delivered by angels, killing a majority of the population. With each plague, the remaining populace still does not repent for their sins. John also predicts the birth of the Antichrist and the false prophet. After many battles between angels and Satan’s army, the Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into eternal fire while Satan will be put in a prison. After a millennium of Jesus’ reign, Satan will be released and form an army against God. Once again he will be defeated and thrown into eternal fire (Smith).
Though these books were all written at vastly different times, they contain several similarities that are pertinent to Millennium Approaches. For instance, angels play a large role in each book. In Enoch, angels are one of the main causes of the world’s destruction. In Daniel they are mostly just messengers and interpreters. In Revelations they act primarily warriors for God, but they are interpreters as well. One other important detail is the specification of time. Revelations in particular describes a millennium of Christ’s reign. According to Aune, this inspires a religious behavior called "millennialism" which he describes as:
The Book of Revelations also contains significant roles for angels, but in a different way than the other two books mentioned. It was written by John, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, who also wrote the Gospel of John (“John, Son of Zebedee”). It begins with John receiving a vision from an angel while in prison. He writes letters to seven churches about his visions. He describes seven books sealed with seven seals, each containing judgements for the Earth. The last one can only be opened by Jesus. With each judgement, plagues are delivered by angels, killing a majority of the population. With each plague, the remaining populace still does not repent for their sins. John also predicts the birth of the Antichrist and the false prophet. After many battles between angels and Satan’s army, the Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into eternal fire while Satan will be put in a prison. After a millennium of Jesus’ reign, Satan will be released and form an army against God. Once again he will be defeated and thrown into eternal fire (Smith).
Though these books were all written at vastly different times, they contain several similarities that are pertinent to Millennium Approaches. For instance, angels play a large role in each book. In Enoch, angels are one of the main causes of the world’s destruction. In Daniel they are mostly just messengers and interpreters. In Revelations they act primarily warriors for God, but they are interpreters as well. One other important detail is the specification of time. Revelations in particular describes a millennium of Christ’s reign. According to Aune, this inspires a religious behavior called "millennialism" which he describes as:
The belief that the world as we know it is about to end and that drastic steps must be taken by an oppressed minority to prepare for an imminent catastrophe...Millenarian movements typically crystallize around a charismatic leader regarded as supernaturally endowed to lead his followers to accomplish group goals (237).
According to this definition, Angels In America is by all means millenarian. Prior is a charismatic man who represents an oppressed minority and becomes a prophet. The AIDS crisis is similar to the various plagues brought as punishment in apocalyptic books. There is one point where Millennium Approaches differs from these books: the presence of God. As previously mentioned, God is always in control in these stories of the apocalypse. In the case of this play, God does not seem to be intervening. Even the ozone layer, or “a pale blue halo” as Harper puts it (16), is falling apart. In all the apocalyptic books mentioned, God knows what to do and is in command. Whereas, in Millennium Approaches, the Lord is nowhere to be found.