In the Apocalypse, the term ‘witness’ is present five times, explicitly, three of which are qualified as ‘faithful witness’; but the motif reverberates implicitly throughout. Scholars have appreciated the ubiquitous nature of witness in the Apocalypse, whether explicit or implied, however that appreciation does not elevate the motif to a thorough engagement at the monograph level. Currently, what exists in scholarship is a pastiche of valuable insight and commentary, but still a great deal of ambiguity. The following thesis offers a narrative reading of the Apocalypse, in order to construct a theology of faithful witness. The reading employs a 21st Century, African American, Pentecostal reading strategy: a liberated and pneumatically imaginative triadic negotiation of Spirit, Word, and community.
The work begins by exploring contemporary literature in Apocalypse scholarship and examining the various ways in which witness is engaged. These sources are arranged by three major categories, in chronological (earliest to latest) order. The first is a comprehensive engagement – scholars who consider the motif in the whole of the Apocalypse. The second is a textual engagement – scholars who only engage specific texts in the Apocalypse. The third and final category contains the thematic engagements with the motif. The thematic engagements are listed in alphabetical order by theme: discernment; discipleship; Jesus; martyrdom; mission; non- violence; suffering; and worship.
After surveying contemporary literature, attention is given to methodology. A brief history of the emergence of the Pentecostal movement is provided, and the subsequent hermeneutic, a triadic negotiation of Spirit, Word, and community. After which, a historical examination of the African American engagement of Scripture is offered in order to set forth an integration of an African American hermeneutic (liberation and imagination) and a Pentecostal hermeneutic (Spirit, Word, community). Brief attention is also given to the significance of such a reading strategy employed in the 21st century.
In harmony with the reading strategy, the community of early Pentecostals is considered by way of Wirkungsgeschichte (reception history). First, brief attention is given to the growing interest and employment of reception history in NT scholarship in general, Pentecostal scholarship in the Apocalypse in particular. The periodicals of early Pentecostals are surveyed from the start of Pentecostalism in North America at Azusa (1906) through the Great War (1921). The periodicals are engaged across two streams: The Wesleyan Holiness stream and the Finished Work stream. These periodicals are examined in chronological order only. The survey considered how witness was understood by early Pentecostals in general, then focuses on how the Apocalypse informed their understanding.
By employing a 21st Century, African American, Pentecostal hermeneutic, a narrative analysis of the Apocalypse is offered, examining the explicit and implicit occurrences of witness. In providing such a reading, the qualifying term faithful witness is thus considered, in light of the whole apocalypse, making possible the construction of a theology of faithful witness.
Having examined the contemporary literature, hearing the voices of the early Pentecostal community, and tracing the motif throughout the Apocalypse, a theology of faithful witness is constructed by providing seven observations of faithful witness: its content and aim; its nature (4 parts); its forms; and its rewards. Overtures are made from these observations to implications for the African American Pentecostal church