Eskatologiese/apokaliptiese oorlog tussen goed en kwaad in die Zoroastrisme, die Judaismse (Qumran) en 'n vroeg-Christelike geskrif (Die apokalips)

[摘要] Since time immemorial and throughout the centuries up to the present, the struggle between Goodand Evil has played a cardinal role in the 'cultural web of mankind. In the various religions, thisdimension of life is linked to the theological issue of human suffering and need in the light ofDivine Omnipotence and Grace. Some of the earliest prophets/compilers/authors expressed theirown perspectives on this ongoing conflict and burning question.This comparative research stems from a statement by the well-known Iranologist, Mary Boyce. Shedescribed the origin of the Christian faith as a new religion that developed out of Judaism, enrichedby contact with the old Persian religion, Zoroastrianism. Other researchers also described variousaspects of the dualism, eschatology, angelology and demonology, as well as the cosmogony andpurity laws, as 'obvious similarities. However, researchers have not yet reached consensus on thepossible influence exercised by Zoroastrianism on Judaism and the early Christian writings.The aim of the study is to make a contribution to the ongoing debate from another perspective.Writings from the religions are juxtaposed in full, and analysed and compared according to the wartheme and components arising from the writings themselves. A holistic approach offers a morestructured starting -point for further research rather to opposing aspects randomly from a largevariety of texts. The holistic approach draws attention to similarities as well as differences.Keywords out of each analysis of a component have been placed in a framework to present thesummarising comparison more compactly.Historical and literary contexts play an important role in a comparative study. The writings of thethree religions originated in four major eras: the Bronze Age/the Sasanian Period, the HellenisticEra and the Roman Era. The characteristic dualism of Zoroastrianism is limited to theeschatological/apocalyptic war as it is found in the Gathas of Zarathustra. References are also madeto the 'later apocalyptic writing, the Bahman Yasht. The most relevant writing in the Judaism(Qumran) is the War Scroll. Richard Bauckham has described Revelations as the 'Christian WarScroll.The analysis of the various aspects shows that core principles in the religions underlie the warthemes. Some of the proper names contain defining elements in the determination of dualism andmonotheism. Planning and weapons are main components in the strategy of the war - the'revelation of the modus operandi. The eschatology is caught up in the ultimate end of the war.In the final chapter, the main corresponding elements are placed on a 'scale and 'weighed.Although no further 'lexical links – the weight-bearing criteria of García Martínez – have beenfound in this study, the amount of corresponding aspects in merely one text per religion issignificant. Differences and unique imagery/symbolism put each writing in its own time-slot andframework.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University