#bc i interpret it as him basically needing to be like... grounded to reality and syd is the one right there actually seeing it)

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

the running theme/repeating gag of people either thinking Carmy is the one who killed himself or comments being made along those lines, while at the same time everything he does is desperately, relentlessly fighting for life

[spenglersweetheart]

Helloooo! I was wondering you could do your own take on the following! Totally cool if you don’t feel comfortable doing a prompt I’ve already asked another (I really liked theirs I just love seeing people different interpretations of things 😅)

What about an AFAB! X Egon where reader is harassed on the street while waiting for the guys. They walk out and spot reader being harassed and are surprised at how nonchalant reader is about the whole experience, like reader just thanks them for getting the person away before continuing on with their plans and leaves the guys dumbfounded. The guys question reader later on and they explain that it’s pretty common for fem presenting people and that they’ve had to deal with it basically ever since they started developing. Maybe you could add that Egon pulls them aside and tries to fuss over them and stuff.

no you're honestly so real for that bc i do it too actually for the same reason !! i love different interpretations! i'll do it for you.

─────────────── ✦ ───────────────

You Shouldn't Have to Go Through That

Egon Spengler x Reader

WARNINGS : mentions of harassment / being harassed

─────────────── ✦ ───────────────

OF COURSE YOU WOULD ALWAYS RUN INTO MEN TRYING to harass you, to beg to try and date them when you weren't interested in doing so. It's happened for a long time, but it's become more persistent ever since you moved to New York. Though, you were pretty good at just ignoring it. You were good at ignoring them, even scaring them off if need be.

You were actually outside because the boss claimed they felt "uncomfortable" with how you presented yourself. Although you presented feminine, you didn't really like the feminine things, and getting messy when it came to ghosts was how you liked doing things. But, that was okay, though. You searched outside for any activity out there.

A group of guys walk up to you. You actually had been using the PKE meter. You were knelt down on the ground when they saw you. There was a guy, dark hair, probably the same height as you, if you stood up. He was flirting, or rather, making very inappropriate comments to you. That was bold.

You kept busy with the job you were handling. You acted like you didn't even hear them. And you could tell in the man's voice that the more you ignored him, the more impatient and angry he was with you.

You look at the meter, almost excited to tell the others and when you tried to leave, that same guy grabbed your wrist, pulling you back. You look at him with your eyes narrow. You're staring right into his evil eyes.

"I wasn't finished talkin' to you," he said, "and you have the audacity to ignore me when I'm trying to talk to you."

"Let me go," you growl.

"Oh? So you do talk," the man replied, "Then you should answer me when I'm talking to you."

"I don't have to do jack shit," you told him.

The guys had walked back outside to tell you their findings. They see the man that held onto your wrist, seemingly having a stare down with the guy. But you must've said something else because him and his friends started to walk off. Your friends had walked closer, so when Egon witnessed the guy spit in your face and call you a name, he intervened.

"Hey! Go! Leave her alone," he ordered.

He turned to you as you wiped the spit from your face, your nose scrunching up. You look up at Egon. "You find anything?"

"Did I── Y / N, you just got harassed by a group of guys and the first thing you think about is did we find a thing?" Egon asked.

"Well, yeah," you answer, "so did you?"

It was small, but you could see Egon's eyes soften up. Just a little bit. "Egon, when you look like me, you get used to people harassing you every day," you explained, it's normal. I'm not even fazed anymore."

"Yeah, but still ..." Egon trailed off, "You shouldn't have to go through that."

"Well, the harsh reality is that I do," you told him, "Now, did you find something or not?"

They all start walking to the Ecto-1. Egon looks down at you to answer your question. "Something is in there alright. It's hiding itself," he answers, "You?"

"Didn't find anything but the meter sensed a presence," you replied.

You look up at Egon. You can tell that he's still thinking about the whole ordeal. A sigh escapes your lips. "If it makes you feel better, Egon, you can stand out there with me next time," you told him.

"I think I'll do that," he says.

[shslstraws]

Hello! Hope your days going well, I’ve been looking around and see your ✨beautiful art✨, and I curious to see your ideas/headcanons of your dr ships? I always like to see people’s interpretations of them^.^ (also your valid for top Saihara cuz I’m a Power-bottom Ouma enthusiast and-)

Hello! My day(s) have being going wonderful, thank you for asking! I hope you are doing well too, thank you very much for this ?? Like I’ve always wanted to discuss my ideas and headcanons, so thanks for this,, a blessing,, 

I’m one hell of a multi-shipper but I’ll discuss my big damn ships. WHICH IS TWO, I REALIZED JUST WRITING ONE OF THESE, I WROTE SO MUCH THAT I CAN’T EVEN WRITE ABOUT MY TOP 5. SO HAVE TOP 2 

Oumota (my fav ship)

Reading some of golden-redhead’s fic; Nobody Said It Was Easy (one of my fav Oumota fics btw), I do like to confirm that Kokichi and Kaito moved into an apartment with each other. Basically, vr au, just started to live with each other due to the fact that they let each other see with their masks down at the end, and they seem to grow an understanding of each other. They eventually become friends then to lovers, I always love that trope. 

Kokichi bought a galaxy printed blanket for Kaito, on his birthday, and he thinks it’s an eyesore sometimes. But the look on Kaito’s face when Kokichi spots him snuggle up with it, Kokichi doesn’t ever regret buying it. (Kaito just really thinks of Kokichi when he snuggles up in the blanket btw, I drew them in the blanket actually!)

For a loooong while, Kokichi suffered from ptsd nightmares when they first moved in, Kaito just couldn’t leave him like that?? He invites Kokichi to like,, sleep with him in his bed, after a month of living together, and Kokichi just teases him. But he silently goes in that night, Kaito finds out in the morning, since he wakes up early, but says nothing of it for the both of them. (It just becomes a habit) 

Kaito is actually afraid of loud noises? Like, REALLY loud noises. Due to ptsd triggers to the loud slam of the press and the awful noises that was also with it. Thunderstorms are the worst. Kokcihi notices this and feels kinda lost, he doesn’t know what to do but wants to help. Kaito tries to keep it together during these times, but Kokichi can see right through him. At first, he’d try to joke around and tease at him, just to make Kaito feel normal and back to reality. It eventually doesn’t work and Kaito is stuck in that moment of time, so Kokichi silently starts forming circles on his hand to keep him grounded. Just like how Kokichi goes to Kaito’s bed after a nightmare, this becomes a habit and they say nothing of it. 

They don’t say anything to each other about these acts of kindness bc they don’t know how to react to it? Maybe still in the mindset that they HAVE to hate each other. But they get over it, and once in a relationship; Kokichi begins to make small talk as he rubs circles in Kaito’s hand. And, of course, they both decided to finally sleep in the same bed instead of separate beds in separate rooms. 

Of course, they tease each other and pick at each other everyday. But since they started dating, it’s just more in a loving matter?? Although Kokichi will be like, “ewww, Momota-chan is trying to flirt with me, disgusting” 

For my version of a VR AU,,, I kinda want to go a different route for Kokichi; career wise. I love seeing fitting jobs for him in fics like, actor and such. Excellent ideas and I love them! But I want to be different bc IDK I JUST DO BE LIKE THAT. And wanna make Kokichi a psychologist? Just once he recovers from his trauma, and helps Kaito deal with his, he just feels like he can be good at it? Which was laughable when he first told Kaito, but then he saw Kokichi was serious and was like, “oh shit, you’re dead set on this.” And Kaito becomes proud of him, so supports him through it. Kokichi is still a little shit but only to those that are not his patients, of course. 

I actually did concept art of Kokichi as a psychologist, since I got a request to have my take on older Oumota, I’ve been putting so much work into the concept so then I can make the perfect drawing, but here’s psychologist!Kokichi 

Yes, he gets glasses. He was so whiny about it when Kaito found out Kokichi’s sight wasn’t the best as it was before. So after FORCING him to go to an eye doctor, Kokichi pouted when he got his first pair. Kaito just found it cute. He normally wears contacts though, only wear glasses, “to look professional”, even then, he doesn’t wear them as much. HE REALLY DOESN’T WANT ANYONE ELSE KNOWING HE WEARS GLASSES. He hates them. Kaito gets very excited when he sees his boyfriend with them; he took a picture when Kokichi didn’t notice until the picture was taken, and the doof left the flash on, so Kokichi chased him around the apartment demanding him to delete it. And Kaito is laughing and having his phone in the air high so he can’t reach it. (But Kokichi eventually gets it off his phone, from a surprise kiss) 

Although Kaito HATES being what the game made him to be and what he thought everyone expected him to be, he was afraid to even consider to pursue being an astronaut for real. He was afraid that he fully lost himself if he were to “give in”. But he learns that he wants to be an astronaut, not because of the false memories given, but because he wants to in this life. His life. His decision. 

Both study hard in university when pursuing their chosen careers, both procrastinate a lot. But eventually one or the other will try and get them back to work. Or if Kaito is working too hard, Kokichi will try and lighten him up and get him to take a break. Very rarely, Kaito will have to do the the same with Kokichi. 

OH MY GOD OKAY, NOW ONTO THE OTHER SHIP 

Saioumota 

Shuichi basically had a crush on both of them, he didn’t know how to even confess. NONE OF THEM DID BC THEY’RE MESSES. 

So, going off VR AU again, afterwards Kaito just decides that they all are going to live together. And Shuichi was okay with that, Kokichi was like, “haha okay, since you can’t seem to get enough of me” but was honestly relieved inside that he had somewhere to go. 

Few months were awkward for Kokichi, especially since Shuichi and Kaito started dated. He just felt like “the third wheel” and wanted to move out, but he had no where to go. So he was in this cycle in his mind for awhile. 

Shuichi tries multiple of times to get Kokichi to join them on many occasions, but again, Kokichi didn’t want to be that third wheel. 

Kaito DOES have feelings for both Shuichi and Kokichi, but was most unsure,for the longest time, about how he felt with Kokichi. It took Shuichi’s talks to finally get him to understand and comes to terms, damn, he’s also in love with this rat. 

It was when Kokichi didn’t come home for about a week, that Kaito confessed when he just suddenly came back. Of course, he was shouted at  Kokichi and they got in an argument, and just everything that was buried blew up there and then. Shuichi just comforted them both after the argument with his gentleness. 

They ALL just started dated afterwards, although it was hard for Kaito and Kokichi to become closer. Kokichi easily warmed up to Shuichi first, since he just always felt closer to the detective? He was just on edge for awhile about if Kaito’s feelings were true. But he warmed up to him eventually. 

For a long while, Shuichi would be middle spoon (haha) since Kokichi’s and Kaito’s uncertainty. But once Kokichi warmed up to Momota, he just scooted himself between the two of them during one of their cuddling sessions. Kaito looked dumbfounded and then looked at Shuichi like he just earned the trust of a stray cat. Like, “LOOK, SHUICHI, HE’S TRUSTING ME” silently with a big dumb smile. 

After then, Kokichi loves being the centre of attention for both of them. He loves being middle spoon but also let’s Shuichi be middle too bc he loves cuddle him. 

Their usual dates are to a nearby park, mainly if they need a breather from any stress, one of them will suggest or just force them to go to the park. And they all know that it means that they just want to the best for each other. 

Shuichi is usually the one to come home and find a mess of the apartment from Kaito and Kokichi. And gives them a “really?” look as they point fingers at each other. 

Kaito eventually gets a job, Shuichi was the first to get a job to support them, but that left Kokichi alone. And he was so clingy when they got back, he demanded SO MUCH ATTENTION once they came home. And whined about being bored all day without them. 

When they all have their bad day, they just cuddle up together and take a nap and just relax. Although Kaito will be the one to try and cheer them up later in the night by stargazing. 

Shuichi loves talking about the novels he reads to his boyfriends even though they don’t know what he’s talking about most of the time or understand, Shuichi knows but really appreciate them just taking interest in something so small. It means so much to him. 

Kokichi is the last one to wake up in the morning, and Shuichi and Kaito always debate to wake him up before they go to work. He’ll whine if he doesn’t get a goodbye from them and he’ll whine just out of grouchiness of being woken up. So it’s always flip a coin and it’s always, “it’s your turn, Shuichi” “Kaito, it was my turn yesterday” 

SURPRISE THEY GET MARRIED AND MOVE INTO A NICE HOUSE LATER. And they also get a dog,, 

AND THAT’S THAT, IM SO SORRY BUT HERE’S ALL MY HEADCANONS, TAKE ‘EM 

[shadowtongued]

give us a grab bag of sliske headcannons. i bet you’re sitting on a mound of personal good ones.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) oh? ask and ye shall receive, my friend. ( i rly do have a mountain. i just haven’t …. written them out so this is helpful. ) note that this is just my interpretation and is not enforced on others interpretations on the mage aliens or snek man himself.

sliske, like all mahjarrat doesn’t need to eat and lacks any digestive tract / gastrointestinal system for it. but he does often eat and drink bc he’s a fuckin’ GLUTTON for taste and The Aesthetic. he’s an absolute fiend for chocolate and honey, as well as taking a liking to salty and bitter things. extra nibble: in my exiled to modern earth verse he’s really taken a shining to peanut butter. at this point reeses’ is a fucking holy grail.

he also doesn’t need sleep but will allow himself to nod off into a light REM state ( REM is p much the part of sleep where your brain repairs and relaxes ) when bored or having a lapse of platonic affection. otherwise, HARD SLEEP is reserved for periods of heavy injury or excessive stress. mahjarrat don’t sleep other than for self-preservation / energy suspension / slow healing of wounds and the like.

sliske has a rather long, black ( black bc his blood is an iridescent oily black; as are his gums and etc. ) bifurcated tongue…. like a snake, but it’s important to remember he’s not really a snake, there are no snakes on freneskae, it’s just a symbolism of physical and personality traits i love to compare him to. but !! his forked tongue and other bifurcated aspects ( and… uh… suggestively points down south, he is not human at all  (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)  whew…) is actually a mutation! i’ve hc’d that most mahjarrat have either pointed tongues or barely forked tips, but sliske is an EXTREME case of bifurcation due to a genetic mutation. yes, he’s aware of all the suggestive and lewd stuff that is to be said abt his tongue and it just entertains him further.

now for some heavy shit i have brainstormed for a year with help and research. purely non-canon and from my own development: sliske had a fairly physically and mentally abusive mother and has developed what we could call a reactive attachment disorder from it. tw for some minor physical abuse under the cut

mahjarrat parents are preeeetty authoritarian already and breed only for furthering their population from extinction and to further the eugenics of their race to make stronger individuals. but they do keep their children safe and a mother dying while gravid or a child dying is a tragedy in their culture because of their struggling population and harsh environment. but dyeosuthua, as i have come to call her, was extremely forceful towards her offspring and exuded unrealistic expectations that her children should be strong and skilled at all times. sliske as a child was HARDLY a comparison to what he is now and was a rather cute, quiet, shy, and observing child, and always strived to meet her expectations for praise, acceptance, and validation. dyeosuthua was never impressed and discouraged him, causing tiny sliske to compare himself to his older half-brother ( yes, i just made him the younger brother :3c ), others around himself, and forcing him to excel in shadow magic and being a fantastic tactician even as a child. she still failed to be impressed and several times would lift him by the scruff and shake him before dropping him back to the ground when she deemed him to be misbehaving. she also had a habit of destroying several of the treasures of stones and crystals he collected as a child by dropping them into lava and telling him they were ‘worthless material attachments’.because he never got proper attention and affection to bond with his mother in the basic way most mahjarrat children do (  way albeit lacking and radical to human relations ), sliske slipped into putting a faux air of confidence and showmanship to himself like a mask and exuded it well, like most individuals with a reactive attachment disorder do. he CRAVES attention, be it negative or positive. it doesn’t matter, as long as someone is paying attention to him; he thrives off it. most people with a RAD have trouble accepting genuine affections from others and thus, he shies away from the very affection he wants, unable to process correct empathy and emotion. anything he puts out that appears genuine may be faux layered in charming attitude ( in reality he tends to lock up if he holds some subtle attachment of feelings to someone ) he attempts to keep relationships and trust surface because of his development and it makes engaging in a ROMANTIC relationship so perturbing and confusing to him. people with RADs often also associate one night stands and sex with temporary acceptance and the direct attention they want with little attachment or fear of disapproval.

honestly, most of the hallmark traits and worldview of adult people with reactive attachment disorders from neglectful and abusive childhoods fit sliske to a t. i could divulge more on this but, maybe another time. 

[cccto-semi-pro]

The Remnant of God in the World: Daniel

RECAP & PREPARING FOR CG Daily Reading for Week

Esther 6-10, Psalm 54  

Daniel 1-3, Psalm 55

Daniel 4-6, Psalm 56  

Daniel 7-9, Psalm 57

Daniel 10-12, Psalm 58

Haggai 1-2, Psalm 59  

Zechariah 1-4, Psalm 60  

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Daniel

Read: Daniel 7

FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To participate in an intense study on how to begin reading Jewish apocalyptic literature and to practice these hermeneutic skills together by taking a careful look at Daniel 7.

GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Goal: Our goal this week is to practice intellectual humility by laying our ideas and presuppositions aside for a bit in order to explore truth in interdependent community. Participate in discussion with an intent to assist in the group’s shared exploration rather than either refusing to participate or trying to coerce the group to see things your way.

CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share your highs and lows from the week.

OPENING PRAYER

Sit silently for three minutes. As you do, listen for any thoughts or pictures or ideas that go through your mind that may be inspired by the Holy Spirit. After this silent prayer, take a couple minutes to invite one another to share anything they may have heard.

Then read this prayer aloud:

Lord, grant us pure hearts and clear minds; Direct us in discerning what is good and true and beautiful; Guide us along the path of wisdom and lead us in the way of humility; We are frail and fallible creatures; Be near to us, Lord; Amen.

INTRO TO DISCUSSION

This week’s material is an intense study on the hermeneutics of apocalyptic literature using Daniel 7 as our focus. It is perhaps the most rigorous study of the year. We chose to structure the material this way because we didn’t feel it would be faithful to the goal of YOBL or the book of Daniel to skip the hermeneutic work necessary to grow in our Bible-reading skills. Accordingly, there will be more content to digest than usual. Because of this, we’ve changed the normal structure to make the content more digestible. There will also be no structured small group time. Focus your energy on reading and understanding the ideas presented. Then, honestly process your emotional responses to your past and current interactions with apocalyptic literature and the variety of interpretations in the church.

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Basic Understanding

These questions are to help us interpret and understand the text as it was intended to be interpreted and understood.

Read:

The Book of Daniel in Context Last week, we began our final series on Old Testament books called “The Remnant of God in the World,” chronicling the final chapters in the Old Testament story about God’s plan to heal the world through His people Israel. In Ezra and Nehemiah, we read historical sketches of the first Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem to start over again by rebuilding the Temple, relearning the Torah, and reconstructing the city walls. We saw this exciting moment of liberation turn anticlimactic as division and turmoil broke out among those trying to be God’s renewed people in Jerusalem. Before long, the same evil and idolatry that led to the punishment of exile in the first place resurfaced, begging the questions: Is exile really over? Has this surviving remnant of the people of God truly been purged and purified of anything? Where do we go from here?

Interestingly, the book of Daniel serves as dual bookends to Ezra and Nehemiah, acting as both preface and conclusion to the return-to-Jerusalem story. In Daniel 5 and 6, we read how Daniel’s skilled and faithful work as a government official combined with his great spiritual wisdom and divine connection to the Jewish God earned him honor with the Babylonian rulers Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar as well as the other kings who eventually overthrew Babylon. Following the “writing on the wall” events of chapter 5, the Babylonian empire was conquered by what is called the Median-Persian Empire. King Darius the Mede, now ruling over the land, was so moved by Daniel’s divine vindication and protection in the lion’s den that he actually endorsed Judaism throughout the empire. Chapter 6 concludes with: “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” When Ezra 1:1 says that “The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm [releasing Jews to go home and build the Temple],” it is fair to say that Daniel was the primary vessel God used to do so. In other words, Daniel’s faithful witness within the Babylonian government was one of the central causes for the release of the Jews from exile. The great restart recorded in Ezra-Nehemiah was only possible because of him.

But also, the book of Daniel serves as a concluding synopsis to Ezra-Nehemiah that at least partially answers the questions raised about whether the exile was truly over and how then God’s people would live. Remember that in Jeremiah 29:10, Jeremiah recorded a promise from God to release Israel from exile after seventy years. The return to rebuild the Temple seemed to mark the end of this punishment and the beginning of the promised liberation. Daniel was hopeful for this too: “In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom — in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (Dan 9:1-2). Therefore, Daniel becomes hopeful that he may indeed live to see the end of exile and goes to bring about God’s promised action by confessing on behalf of Israel. This leads to a shocking and disheartening word from God:

“While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me… He instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:

“‘Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to restrain transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.’” (Daniel 9:21-24, abbreviated)

In other words, what Ezra-Nehemiah chronicled in story form, Daniel documents in a divine vision-message: The seventy years of exile haven’t accomplished their purpose — Israel hasn’t been purified of its sinful nature and is not yet ready to be the holy people of God who bring “everlasting righteousness” to the world. The seventy years of exile didn’t accomplish all that needs to be accomplished, and therefore exile will continue. Rather than just 70 years, Israel will experience various forms of oppression and persecution for seven times that, or roughly 490 years. This heartbreaking notion proves true over the next several hundred years of Israel’s history leading to Christ: First, as we saw, the Median-Persian Empire takes over, then Alexander the Great and the Greeks, then the Syrian/Seleucid Empire, and finally Rome. For five centuries following the return of the exiles to Jerusalem, life for the Old Testament people of God is a form of continued political punishment. Exile repeats itself over and over. This historical reality is, not coincidentally, both why Daniel was written and also why it was written the way that it was.

Note that the overall book was written about Daniel, but not by Daniel. Though it contains his writings, the writings are pieced together and narrated by someone who refers to Daniel in the third person. Many scholars think that the book was either written or newly annotated around 160 BC, several generations after the first remnant returned to Israel. During this time, the Jews suffered yet another horrendous persecution, this time under Antiochus and the Syrian (or Seleucid) Empire. It is likely that these circumstances of exile, similar to Daniel’s in Babylon, were the motivation for converting the old oral testimony of Daniel’s faithful obedience into the more artistic and formalized literary book we have today. This book, with its hopeful (though cryptic) visions of God’s eventual victory over the violent beasts of world empires and the heroic example of Daniel’s faithfulness, would have been a tremendously valuable resource for another generation of oppressed Jews. In this sense, the historical testimony of Daniel’s life and visions which occurred around 580-520 BC were able to speak powerfully to God’s people in later eras of violent oppression, both in the 2nd century BC under the Syrian Empire as well as in Jesus’ day under the brutal Roman regime. This is, in large part, what made the Book of Daniel one of the most popular literary texts in Jesus’ own day as well as one of the texts most widely referenced in the New Testament.

Ask:

How does hearing the context for Daniel help in your understanding of Ezra and Nehemiah?

Read:

The Book of Daniel as Apocalyptic Literature The literary context that inspired the book of Daniel was the social/political landscape of God’s people centuries after Daniel’s life in Babylon. The landscape of persecution under brutal Syrian rule was eerily similar to the earlier torment of Babylonian oppression. It is this similarity of situations, not the exact details of each historical period, that inspired the form and content of Daniel, especially the seemingly strange visions in chapters 7-12. This differentiation will be crucial as we dive into exploring these texts.

Before we do, however, we must introduce a term: Apocalyptic. We use the term apocalyptic to mean pertaining to the end of the world — an apocalypse (typically where everything somehow explodes). But apocalyptic, or apocalypticism, is also a noun labeling a literary genre that became quite common in the ancient and Biblical world. Examples of Biblical apocalyptic include Daniel 7-12, Revelation, parts of Isaiah, and Ezekiel’s visions of the flying, flaming chariot made of heavenly creatures depicting God’s glory.

These texts strike us as absurd, nonsensical, and even scary. However, the ancient readers to whom these words were written would have felt no such discomfort. They would have been familiar with the symbolism and imagery in a way that would be hard for us to believe. It’s worth it, therefore, to state a truism: We are utterly illiterate at reading apocalyptic literature and stand before these texts at a tremendous disadvantage. They require more homework and hermeneutic effort than perhaps any other books of the Bible. In terms of reading through the Bible in order to become more Biblically literate, the apocalyptic texts are like the big bad bosses at the end of a video game. Indeed, scholar Aaron Chalmers dubs apocalyptic “prophecy on steroids.” It is perhaps apt then that they are mostly found toward the end of the Old and New Testaments. In fact, throughout history, more corrosive ideas and evil actions have stemmed from misreadings of apocalyptic literature than from probably any other.

The term apocalyptic comes from the Greek word apokalypsis which means to reveal or unveil knowledge that was previously hidden. Apocalyptic is symbolic picture-language, almost like political cartoons, that serve to speak both to current realities and to universal types. Specifically, such language was often used to speak simultaneously to various details of real-life present circumstances as well as to elevate the meaning of such things above those particular details to illustrate what is typological or paradigmatic. In other words, apocalyptic isn’t mostly concerned with symbolically predicting specific future events but with illustrating paradigms that tend to repeat themselves throughout history. Typically written in the context of crisis, Biblical apocalyptic aims to encourage hope in its hearers by lifting their countenance above the daunting realities of their current struggle and to illustrate the ways in which God is sovereign and powerful over even the worst the world has to offer. Apocalyptic aims to visually depict to oppressed people the truth that even the worst oppression is not the end of the story.

Consider the following snippets from Aaron Chalmers’ Interpreting the Prophets to help orient us toward this unfamiliar genre:

“Whereas the prophets usually envisage God acting in salvation or judgment within history, these passages seem to anticipate a climactic and decisive intervention of God that brings history (at least as we know it) to a definitive culminating point… Apocalyptic entails the revelatory communication of heavenly secrets by an other-worldly being to a seer who presents the visions in a narrative framework; the visions guide readers into a transcendent reality that takes precedence over the current situation and encourages readers to persevere in the midst of their trials. The visions reverse normal experience by making the heavenly mysteries the real world and depicting the present crisis as a temporary, illusory situation. This is achieved via God’s transforming the world for the faithful…

In apocalyptic, God reveals his previously hidden future plans usually through dreams or visions. Unlike the visions we find in the prophets, however, these are full of elaborate and, at times, strange and mysterious symbolism and/or numbers. Many of the dominant images of apocalyptic belong to the realm of fantasy or myth, or we encounter surreal, unnatural combinations. For example, Daniel 7 contains a vision of four great beasts, including a bear with tusks in its mouth and a lion with eagle’s wings, coming out of the sea, while Daniel 8 describes a goat with a horn that grows as high as the host of heaven. The meaning and significance of these dreams and visions is thus often obscure; serious interpretive work is required…

It primarily served to encourage its readers in the midst of their trials. Apocalyptic literature, like prophecy, is highly situational — it was written in order to address and respond to a specific problem in the life of the community of faith. This situation was usually one of crisis, such as rapid, destabilizing change, a severe drought or plague, or persecution.

For example, critical scholars often associate the book of Daniel (or at least chapters 7-12) with the crisis precipitated by the persecution of the Jews undertaken by Antiochus IV Epiphanes during the early second century BC. The book can be read as a commentary on the dramatic and distressing events that occurred in Israel and the broader world during his reign, which included the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple, the outlawing of distinctive Jewish rites, and the execution of those who opposed him. Daniel 7:25 appears to allude to Antiochus with its reference to the little horn ‘speaking words against the Most High, wearing out the holy ones of the Most High, attempting to change the sacred seasons and the law.’

Apocalyptic seeks to encourage, comfort, and exhort the community to continued faithfulness, in spite of whatever opposition or problems its members may be facing. It affirms that such crises are only temporary — God remains in control and he will soon act to judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous.”

Ask:

How would you describe the way you were previously taught to think about apocalyptic literature? How does the idea that apocalyptic literature is not primarily concerned with end times prophecies but symbolism regarding contemporaneous political events alter this viewpoint?

Have you ever felt embarrassed or uncomfortable about Biblical texts like Daniel or Revelation or Christian ideologies concerning the “rapture” or “antichrist”? Share any stories or reflections.

Read:

Beginning to Interpret Apocalyptic Literature More from Chalmers: “Apocalyptic texts present unique challenges to the modern interpreter. ‘No other genre of the Bible has been so fervently read with such depressing results.’ Our problems are largely a result of the fact that the apocalyptic genre has no real modern equivalent…

Impressionistic art can serve as a helpful analogy for orienting our reading of apocalyptic texts. An impressionistic painting is best appreciated from a distance. These works are composed of fine lines, dabs of paint and brush strokes that ‘combine to depict scenes of unusual vividness and emotion’. If we stand too close, however, if we concentrate simply on the lines and dabs themselves, we are unlikely to grasp what the artist intended to convey - all we will end up seeing are lines, dabs, and strokes which look rather peculiar and random in their placement. Instead, we need to take a step back and consider the work in its entirety. When we do this, we are able to appreciate how those apparently random and disjointed paint strokes, dabs and lines in fact end up working together to produce a coherent and striking whole.

Likewise, apocalyptic texts needs to be appreciated from a distance. When reading apocalyptic texts, it is worth stepping back and trying to grasp the point of the vision as a whole. What is the overall effect? What is the big picture? What is the overarching sweep of the vision or narrative? Ultimately, we need to move beyond the details to determine the primary message(s) of the entire vision. The ever-present risk is that modern readers will get so bogged down in the details of the visions that they fail to grasp the bigger picture. Or, to draw another analogy, they will see the trees but miss the forest. Individual details may be important (after all, the only reason we have a bigger picture is because it is made up of smaller details), or they may not. What is always important, however, is the significance of the vision as a whole. And, of course, it is often when we have grasped the big picture that the details within this make more sense.

Once we have grasped the big picture of the vision, it is time to focus on the details. The further we move from the general (the ‘big picture’) to the specific (‘details’), the less certain our interpretations may become. In other words, while we may be confident that we have grasped the meaning of the vision as a whole, the significance of certain specific elements within this may elude us. ‘This is not unexpected, given the allusive nature of apocalyptic visions. For much of the vision is an earthly way to think about a heavenly reality, or a present way to think about a future reality. So given our earthly and present limitations, we cannot expect to understand the meaning of each detail.’”

Ask:

Describe a moment when you’ve experienced something like impressionistic art where choosing not to focus too much on specific details helped you to better see and appreciate the overall picture.

Read: Daniel 7. As you do, keep in mind the analogy of impressionist art and focus on the big picture being painted with these images and symbols.

Ask:

What big-picture impression stood out in your mind as you read Daniel 7? In other words, what point is it trying to make?

In your mind, how important is a text like Daniel 7 to your life as a Christ-follower?

How does it make you feel to meditate on the fact that our entire faith tradition is so heavily dependent on a book, and specifically an old book that most Christians and perhaps we ourselves struggle (and often fail) to read correctly?

9. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

There will be no small group discussion tonight.

10. CLOSING

Spend a minute in silence, discerning any invitations the Holy Spirit may have for you — whether to dive deeper into the study of Daniel and apocalyptic on your own, to take a break from YOBL, or to make some commitment based on what you heard in the text. Make any commitments to God in prayer before one another.