Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature

  Sponsors: Garrett Best and Ian Paul

The Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature Research Group invites proposals for papers that foreground material culture in the interpretation of the Book of Revelation or other relevant apocalyptic literature. We welcome submissions that offer new historical, exegetical, or hermeneutical insights into Revelation by engaging archaeological data, inscriptions, numismatic evidence, iconography, papyri, or other forms of material culture from the ancient world. Papers may focus on specific passages, motifs, or images within Revelation, but should demonstrate clearly how material-cultural evidence advances, nuances, or challenges traditional interpretations of the text. Please submit paper proposals to Garrett Best ([email protected]) and Ian Paul ([email protected]) by March 4, 2026.

Friday, November 20

1:00–3:00 PM

Presiding: Laurentiu Mot, Professor habil., Rector of Adventus University in Cernica, Romania 

Mark Wilson (Asia Minor Research Center, Antalya, Turkey): “Roman Tabellarii in the Province of Asia and the Angeloi to the Seven Churches” (20 minutes)

Discussion (10 minutes)

Gregory Stevenson (York University, York, NE): “‘The One who Is, Was, and Is to Come’: The Tripartite Temporal Formula in Revelation and in the Greco-Roman World” (20 minutes)

Discussion (10 minutes)

Murray Smith (Christ College, Sydney, Australia ): “Slaying Emperor and Slain Lamb: Victory and Violence in the Sebasteion of Aphrodisias and the Book of Revelation” (20 minutes)

Discussion (10 minutes)

Jeremiah Coogan (Santa Clara University, Berkeley, CA): “Roman Provincial Bureaucracy and John’s Apocalypse” (20 minutes)

Discussion (10 minutes)