La Porta Speaks on Millennialism During International Week

Armen Arikian
Staff Writer

When does the world truly end? This has been a question that scientists, philosophers, and citizens across the globe have attempted to answer since the beginning of time. This question was reviewed and discussed by a panel of five professors on Tuesday, November 16, as part of a panel on “Beginnings and Renewals: Millennialism, 2012 and Other Ends,” during the annual International Education Week at Fresno State.

Dr. Howard Hendrix (English), Dr. Lisa Weston (English), Dr. Sergio La Porta (Armenian Studies), and Dr. Keith Jordan (Art & Design) gave presentations that described their experiences studying notions of the end of the world and expressed their individual impressions of it. These examples varied from instances of pop culture, science, to religion, history and art. The speakers all gave a variety of examples to support or reject past theories of the world suddenly ending.

Dr. La Porta focused on a more religious and historical perspective on the reception of the Apocalypse of John and the development of apocalyptic literature in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. He began by confessing that he takes “great comfort in apocalyptic literature” because, despite all the theories calculating the end of the world, “we’re still here.” Dr. La Porta informed the audience of the origin of the term apocalypse — the word originated from the Greek meaning “to uncover.” The definition evolved, however, into meaning the “unveiling of a secret,” and eventually to discovering the end of our world.

Dr. La Porta noted that the Apocalypse of John, normally dated to around 90-95 CE, is the only biblical text to call itself an apocalypse. It is not, however, the earliest text of this genre; the book of 1 Enoch, for example, is dated to the 3rd century BCE. There are also other biblical examples of apocalyptic literature, such as chapters 7-12 of the book of Daniel, portions of the prophets, and the synoptic apocalypse of the Gospels (Mt. 24-25, Mk. 13, and Lk. 21). It was John’s vision, however, that is the most famous and gave the genre its name.

John’s Apocalypse was not always accepted in the Eastern Christian tradition. It may not have been included in the Armenian or Syriac Bibles, for example, until the seventh century or later; nor was it frequently commented upon in the Greek tradition. Dr. La Porta observed that the focus of end-time speculation in the Eastern Christian world generally looked more towards the figure and book of Daniel than to John. According to Dr. La Porta, after the Islamic invasions of the seventh century, a new vision attributed to the fourth-century bishop Methodius changed the apocalyptic tradition in both Eastern and Western Christianity. Originally written in Syriac, possibly in the environs of Jerusalem, the Revelation of Methodius was quickly translated into Greek and then Latin and Armenian. The work elaborates such themes as the rise and reign of the Antichrist, the coming of the forces of Gog and Magog, and the emergence of the Last Roman Emperor.

Dr. La Porta then turned his attention to the reasons that prompt people to write apocalyptic literature. He explained that such literature did not necessarily constitute merely a response to tragedies, whether natural or human; but a way to interpret perceived crises, to define communal boundaries, and to shape communal behavior. The end-time framework, Dr. La Porta noted, is what gives an apocalyptic text’s message its authority, its sense of urgency, and its power.