The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

268 THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
I shall accept them and they shall be my people and I shall be for them forever.
I will dwell with them for ever and ever and will sanctify my [sa]nctuary
by my glory. I will cause my glory to rest on it until the day of creation
on which I shall create my sanctuary, establishing it for myself for all time
according to the covenant which I have made with Jacob in Bethel. 41
The symbolism of architecture seems to predominate in the scrolls.
We see this, for instance, in 1QS 8.4b–10a: “eternal planting…a holy
house…the foundation…the most holy dwelling [My#dwq #dwq rwsw]”
(cf. Jub. 16:26), temple, holy of holies, a “tested wall, the precious cornerstone”
(cf. Isa 28:16), foundation, fortress, a blameless and true
house in Israel (cf. Rule of the Community [4Q259 = 4QS e 2.11–16]; Isaiah
Pesher [4Q164 frag. 1]). This architectural theme is supplemented in both
literatures, probably in dependence upon Isa 54:11–12, showing an
interest in precious jewels (4Q164 frag. 1).
But inanimate life is not the only key symbol in the scrolls. We find
also many references to living water or to the river of life (Rev 22:1; 1QH
16 [= 8 Sukenik].4–11), which flows from the throne. The scrolls are
especially apt to envision paradise in terms of trees, lush vegetation, and
flowing water (cf. 1QH 16). The eschaton is characterized by a return to
the garden of Eden. In both literatures, the redemption of the eschaton is
portrayed in terms of the renewal of creation, even a re-creation.
The most important feature of the new Jerusalem in the scrolls symbolically
is the measuring of that city. Measuring serves as a symbol of God’s
order and protection, a symbol of God’s presence and the surety of
God’s future blessing (Rev 11:1–2; Temple Scroll; New Jerusalem). In
Revelation, three things are measured: the temple, the altar, and those
who worship there (11:1).
WORKS
Both literatures place great emphasis on “works.” 42 Some interpreters,
such as Otto Böcher, see in the Apocalypse’s equivalence of pi/stiv and
e1rgon a theological novelty, perhaps an anti-Pauline polemic. The word
e1rga appears in five of the seven letters to the churches in Rev 2–3. Both
Revelation and the scrolls exhibit a vivid concern for a real ethical
41. Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (5th rev. ed.; New York:
Penguin, 1997), 200.
42. For “works” in Revelation, see 2:2, 5, 6, 19, 22, 23, 26; 3:1, 2, 8, 15; 9:20;
14:13; 15:3 (God’s works); 16:11; 18:6; 20:12, 13; and 22:12.