Volume 63: 4 October 1999 Table of Contents The Theological Symposia of Concordia Theological Seminary ............... 243 Demagoguery or Democracy? The Saxon Emigration and American Culture Lawrence R. Rast Jr. ..................... 247 A Critique of the Fouxfold Pattern David P. Scaer .......................... 269 Theology and the Great Tradition of English Bibles Cameron A. MacKenzie .................. 281 Theological Observer ......................... 301 L'osseroatore Romana Regensburg Redivivus? On Being "Catholic"- Nothing New ................................ Book Reviews 313 Jesus and the .4~zgeIs: Angziology arid thc Christology of the Apocalypse of John. By I'eter Carrel1 ..................... Charles A. Gieschen Martin Lut\zer: Exploring His Lifr and Times, 2483-1546. By Helmar Junghans .... Lawrence R. Rast Jr. Where in the World is God?. By Harold L. Senkbeil ........................ James G. Bushur Indices for Volume 63 ......................... 318 Book Reviews Jeslrs and the Angels: Angelology and the Christology of the Apocalypse of fohn. BY Peter R. Carrell. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 95. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.270 Pages. Cloth. One of the fruitful fields for the study of early Christology that has begun to be rediscovered and harvested by scholars is the use of angel traditions by early Christians in understanding and expressing the identity of Jesus. This is especially true in the study of the book of Revelation (for example, Robert Gundry, " Angelomorphic Christology in the Book of Revelation," Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers 33 [1994]: 662-678). Apart from the prominent Paschal Lamb Christology of chapters 4-7, Revelation contains several exalted depictions of Christ that evince a relationship to some of the varied theophanies and angel~~hanies of the Old Testament and other Jewish literature. Peter Carrell, ix~ this revision of his dissertation work under James Dunn at the University of Durham, tackles the central questions of which angel traditions influenced John's recording of these visions of Christ in Revelation and why he used these traditions. Before exploring the visions of Christ in Revelation that draw on angel traditions, Carrell devotes considerable space-almost half the book- to sampling from the vast array of Second Temple angel traditions. He examines the angelic figures in Zechariah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, as well as principal angels and angelomorphic figures found in later Second TempIe Jewish literature. This essential survey of important texts reveals some weaknesses in Carrell's research. First, he marginalizes the foundational Angel of YHWH traditions in the Pentateuch, Joshua, and rudges by briefly noting them on only one page. Although there are not significant verbal correspondences between these texts and the visions of Christ in Revelation, the basic ideology that YHWH can and does appear in the form of an "angel" who bears the Divine Name is very significant for later texts, including the angelomorphic depictions of Christ in Revelation. Second, in his effort to contrast his own research with that of Christopher Rowland (one may see especially The Open Heaven: A Study of Apocalyptic in Iudaism and Early Christianity), Carre11 fails to give ample attention to the significance of Ezekiel 1:26-28 for the Christophanies of Revelation. For example, he argues for the problematic position that the "manf1 of Ezekiel 8:2 is an angelic being distinct from the "man" on the throne in Ezekiel 1:26 who is the visible Glory of YHWH, and then asserts that Ezekiel 8:2 influenced ~ohn's recording of the visions of Christ more than the Ezekiel 1:26. Furthermore, in spite of the relationship between Ezekiel 1:26 and Daniel 7:9, Carrell argues that the "one like a son of man" in Daniel 7:13 is angelic and not divine. Third, he perpetuates the understanding that first century Jews held to a "strict monotheism" that did not acknowledge that an angelomorphic figure could share YHWH's status, authority, or nature. These perspectives lead him to draw this flawed conclusion: "the angelology which influenced the Christology of the Apocalypse was, in all likelihood, an angelology in which an angel was an angel and not a divine beingf' (76). Carrell's focus in the second half of the book is on three texts in Revelation: 1:13-16; 14:14; and 19:11-16. His discussion of the angel traditions John drew upon in recording his visions poses several interesting and enlightening possibilities (for example, the use of 1 Enoch 69 to understand the secret name in Revelation 19:12). He has the tendency, however, to emphasize angelophanic aspects of these visions of Christ without noting the substantial overlap of angelophanic and theophanic categories due to the many angelomorphic theophanies in the OId Testament. He goes much too far in this direction when he asserts that John may have been drawing on traditions about angelic humans with white hair, such as the one concerning Noah in 1 Enoch 106, when he depicted Christ with white hair in Revelation 1:14. His conclusion that John and his readers may not have specifically, nor primarily, matrixed the white hair of Christ with that of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7 is very tenuous. Carrell's emphasis on the angelic aspects of Christ in these visions does not mean that he thinks that John is presenting Christ as less than divine. He dearly recognizes the divinity of Christ in Revelation, but bases this conclusion primarily on the Lamb Christology and the worship of the Lamb alongside God. The only true theophany in Revelation, according to Carrell, is God on the throne in ReveIation 4. Therefore, he stresses that the temporary aspect of the angelomorphic visions of Christ limits the ontological assertions that can be made about the Christology these visions depict. These temporary visions, however, were recorded in order to continue to depict Christ for the church, including something about his ontology. A preferable approach is to see the angelomorphic Christ of Revelation as the visible manifestation of YHWH in continuity with OId Testament theophanies. John's use of some non-theophanic angel traditions to record these visions does not marginalize this basic understanding. In spite of his sensitivity to angelomophic Christology, Carrell takes a cautious approach in his identification of other "angels." For Book Reviews 315 example, he is hesitant to identify any other angelic figure in Revelation as Christ, including the mighty angeI of chapter 10. He, instead, identifies this xnighty angel with the revealing angel of Revelation 1:l. Although he discusses the revealing angel in some detad, he does not see that the revealing angeI can be identified as the angeIomorphic Spirit because "the seven spirits before the throne" (Revelation 1:4) are also "the seven angels who stand before God" (Revelation 8:2). Even with these criticisms, the basic approach of Carrel1 in understanding the Christophanies of Revelation in light of earlier angel traditions is commendable and significant. This monograph is an important piece that deserves to be read by those who want to further their understanding of these visions of Christ by examining the literary traditions John may have drawn upon as he recorded them. Charles A. Gieschen Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 1483-1546. By Helmar Junghans. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998. CD-Rom. $39.00. In 1997 Concordia Theological Seminary was invited by the Lilly Foundation, along with twenty-nine other theological schools from around the United States, to participate in a program called "I~rformation Technology for Theological Teaching." With the Wabash Center for Teaching Theology and Religion providing key leadership in the program, Lilly hoped to encourage seminaries of all traditions and situations to explore the ways that computer technology could favorably impact classroom teaching and learning at the Master of Divinity level. Lilly has since solicited grant proposals from forty other theological schools, the awards due to be made in the autumn of 1999. Once these awards are made, seventy of the approximately 210 theological schools in North America will be participating in this experiment. Now from Fortress comes a tool that will impact teaching and learning not onIy in the seminary classrooms, but in the. parishes as well. Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 1483-1546 is a CD-ROM designed for both the Intel and Macintosh platforms. Its content has been supplied by noted Luther scholar Helmar Junghans of the Theological Faculty at the University of Leipzig. Junghans organizes Luther's life under eight headings: Childhood and Education; Monk, Journey to Rome, Professor of Theology; Indulgences, Papal Bull, and Book Reviews 317 thenlselves. The world of graduate theological education will have to grapple with these issues in a meaningful way very soon. Overall, then, Murtin Lzither: E-xpioring His Li;fe and Times, 1463-1546, used judiciously and in tandem with other resources, could provide a helpful introduction to the life and thought of the Great Reformer- The excellent graphics and accessible music complement a passable text, though the films are not especially helpful. Lawrence R. Rast Jr. Where in the World Is God? By Harold L. Senkbeil. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1999. Preaching is unique to the church. In the preacher, the gospel becomes eminently practical as it enters into combat with sin, death, and hell. The living voice of the gospel is not finally prized for its loge or its reasoned explanations, but for its victory. For twenty-seven years, Pastor Senkbeil has engaged the enemy. W~IEYC in the World is God? is a crop of his sermons. The word of God has produced a bountiful harvest in the pulpit of Elm Grove Lutheran Church. This collection is the first fruits. Pastor Senkbeil's winsome words comfort the hurting heart and challenge the self-righteous soul. In a world where man can find no firm footing, these sermons proclaim the God who is once and for all located in the flesh of Jesus Christ. For those seeking devotional reading that breathes the comfort of the gospel, this collection will be a true treasure. James G. Bushur Trinity Lutheran Church Goodland, Indiana