Revelation as Divination: Divine Presence and Knowledge in Oracles, Mysteries, and the Apocalypse of John (Edinburgh Studies in Religion in Antiquity)

Leach, Nathan (Author)

ISBN 10: 1399564595 / ISBN 13: 9781399564595

Published by Edinburgh University Press, 2026

About this Item

336 pages. 6.14x2.00x9.21 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # __1399564595

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Revelation as Divination: Divine Presence and Knowledge in Oracles, Mysteries, and the Apocalypse of John (Edinburgh Studies in Religion in Antiquity)
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1399564595
• ISBN 13: 9781399564595
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 3 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

The Book of Revelation has been read as a literary prophecy, an allegorical divination narrative, or a piece of persuasive rhetoric. In this new approach to the apocalyptic text, Nathan Leach argues that Revelation’s oral performance to Christ-following assemblies in the ritual settings of the late 1st century CE formed an experience that resonated deeply with wider divinatory practices in Roman Asia.

Revelation as Divination uses an interdisciplinary theoretical repertoire including performance criticism, ritual studies, material culture and affect theory to show how Revelation created meaning through oral performance to its ancient participatory audience. Despite Revelation’s extreme social separatist polemic, it is through the performance’s experiential resonance with broader ancient Mediterranean divinatory practices that its production of divine presence and access to divine knowledge were socially readable, gained authenticity, and affected its participants.

About the Author

Nathan Leach is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Religious Studies at Texas State University at San Marcos