¹ G. BIGUZZI, I settenari nella struttura dell'Apocalisse. Analisi, storia della ricerca, interpretatione (Suppl. RivB 31; Bologna 1996). See, e.g., the recension by P. Prigent in Bib 78 (1997) 294-297.

² Cf. J. LAMBRECHT, "A Structuration of Revelation 4,1–22,5", in J. LAMBRECHT (ed.), L'Apocalypse johannique et l'Apocalyptique dans le Nouveau Testament (BETL 53; Leuven 1980) 77-104. This study tried to "visualize" a great many of the results found in U. VANNI, La Strutura letteraria dell'Apocalisse (Aloisiana 8; Rome 1971). For critical discussions of my proposal, see the second and enlarged edition of Vanni's book (Rome 1980) 274-280, and also F.D. MAZZAFERRI, The Genre of the Book of Revelation from a Source-critical Perspective (BZNW 54; Berlin 1989) 356-363.

³ See BIGUZZI, Settinari, 109: "All'attenzione del lettore ... si impone il ruolo di assoluto primo piano svolto dall'Agnello: egli è non solo soggetto unico nella formula d'introduzione di ogni sigillo, ma a quel ruolo è preconizzato con enfasi unica".

4 Not only the number but "si intravvede l'inferiorità dei sette angeli tribicini nei confronti del'Agnello, sia per dignità, che per autorità e ruolo" (BIGUZZI, Settinari, 113). For the trumpets, cf. 109-110 and 113; for the bowls, cf. 114-115.

⁵ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 121-130. Cf. also, e.g., M. BACHMANN, "Der erste apokalyptische Reiter und die Anlage des letzten Buches der Bibel", Bib 67 (1986) 240-275.

⁶ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 130; cf. 147: "L'Autore nei primi quattro sigilli pare dunque interessato a presentare una situazione o condizione continuata e permanente, caratterizzatta dalla non-episodicità. In altre parole sembra predisporre una scenografia sul cui sfondo proietterà la vicenda, essa sì fatta di eventi unici, che ha in programma di raccontare".

⁷ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 130-134; cf. the interesting study of J.P. HEIL, "The Fifth Seal (Rev 6,9-11) as a Key to the Book of Revelation", Bib 74 (1993) 220-243.

⁸ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 134: "Mentre l'Autore scrive, la persecuzione è già fatto del passato, e nello stesso tempo è temuta per un futuro imminente. Oltre quel supplemento di persecuzione, infine, si intravvedono giudizio e 'vendicazione', e quindi anche premio e ricompensa. Attraverso il tema della persecuzione dunque si innesca nella trama del libro tutto l'arco temporale che va dalla storia contemporanea all'escatologia". See also 148-149.

⁹ See the correspondences and differences which are graphically set out in BIGUZZI, Settinari, 213.

¹⁰ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 145-146: "... giudizio e vittoria sono da supporre tra la sigillazione dei 144.000 e la gloria della folla innumerevole" (146).

¹¹ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 217-220: "... estendendosi dall'interrogativo dell'Angelo Forte su chi sia degno d'aprire il rotolo fina alla sua più esauriente risposta, Ap 4–7 risulta esssere un ciclo narrativo completo, e una vera e propria 'apocalisse', in se stessa compiuta e autosufficiente" (220).

¹² Cf. BIGUZZI, Settinari, 221: because of the dialogue in 7,13-17 "... l'apertura del settimo sigillo (8,1) è sorprendentemente e incredibilmente fuori della rivelazione, nonostante che aprire un sigillo di per sé significhi rivelare".

¹³ Cf. BIGUZZI, Settinari, 221-222: the seventh seal "non parla più di visioni o di audizioni, ma di accadimenti. Dopo l'apertura del settimo sigillo dunque non vien detto che Giovanni 'vede' o 'ode' alchunché, come era dal primo al sesto sigillo, ma - solo al settimo - che qualcose 'accade'".

¹⁴ Cf. BIGUZZI, Settinari, 226: "... il silenzio di 8,1 non è solo un'indimenticabile invenzione letteraria di Giovanni, ma in Ap svolge il ruolo strutturale e strategico di chiave di volta. E vertice narrativo per il ciclo del rotolo, e segna il trapasso tra rivelazione dell'Agnello da una parte e azione di Dio dall'altra, tra promessa ed esaudimento della promessa, tra parola e storia".

¹⁵ BIGUZZI, Settinari, 215: "... gli stessi eventi sono narrati due volte ma accadono una volta soltanto...".

¹⁶ Cf. BIGUZZI, Settinari, 216: "... si tratta di una ricapitolazione in qualche modo anomala e non del tutto corrispondente alle definizione classica ... Qui ... c'è prima il racconto prolettico e poi la descrizione degli accadimenti".

¹⁷ See, e.g., BIGUZZI, Settinari, 260-261. The Italian term for "encompassing" is "inglobante"; cf. the noun "inglobamento".

¹⁸ Cf., recently, the remarks by C.R. SMITH, "The Structure of the Book of Revelation in Light of Apocalyptic Literary Conventions", NT 4 (1994) 373-393, 390.

¹⁹ Cf. LAMBRECHT, "Structuration", 99. For a thorough treatment of narrative terminology, see J.L. SKA, "Our Fathers Have Told Us". Introduction to the Analysis of Hebrew Narratives (Subsidia biblica 13; Rome 1990).

²⁰ Yet SMITH, "Structure", 382, agrees with D.E. AUNE, "The Apocalypse of John and the Problem of Genre", Semeia 36 (1986) 65-86, who emphasizes that an apoclayptic writer often somewhat conceals his message (also by muddying "structural indicators", Smith) so that the reader, by decoding it, may participate in the original revelatory experience. For lack of clarity, cf. also R.E. BROWN, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York 1997) 796-797.

²¹ The identity and function of the "little book" of chapters 10-11 (one more "book in the book"?) are not discussed in this article.

²² BIGUZZI, Settinari, 105-109,121-149, and M. BACHMANN, "Noch ein Blick auf den ersten apokalyptischen Reiter (von Apk 6.1-2)", NTS 44 (1998) 257-278, esp. 260-265, may be exaggerating the significance of these variations.

²³ Cf., e.g., recently, H. GIESEN, Die Offenbarung des Johannes (Regensburger NT; Regensburg 1997): "Die ersten vier Visionen weisen durch einen streng parallelen Aufbau und ihre Motivverwandtschaft eine grosse Geschlossenheit auf" (174); A. KERKESLAGER, "Apollo, Greco-Roman Prophecy, and the Rider on the white Horse in Rev 6:2", JBL 112 (1993) 116-121: "... the similarities of form in each of the first four seals imply that the seals must be viewed as a unity made up of parallel members" (116; cf. 117: "a unified group"). However, the identification of the first rider by Kerkeslager as the false messiah is hardly acceptable. See now the remarks by BACHMANN, "Noch ein Blick", 274-276. One may ask, however, whether Bachmann himself does not exaggerate the positive character of the first rider needlessly. What for the addressees of Revelation is positive consists in the avenging of the martyrs' blood "on the inhabitants of the earth" (6,10).

²⁴ Cf. U. VANNI, "Il terzo 'sigillo' dell'Apocalisse (Ap 6,5-6): simbolo dell'ingiustizia soziale?" in IDEM, L'Apocalisse. Ermeneutica, esegesi e teologia (Suppl. RivB 17; Bologna 1988) 193-213.

²⁵ Most likely the expression "they were given authority over a fourth of the earth" (6,8) applies to Death and Hades of the fourth seal alone, not to the whole quartet, as the ensuing specification "and to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth" could seem to suggest.

²⁶ R.H. GUNDRY, "Angelomorphic Christology in the Book of Revelation" (SBL 1994 Seminar Papers; Atlanta 1994) 662-678, 666, n. 15. Would it make much difference for our approach if one does not take each breaking of a seal as a progressive revelation (so Biguzzi) but sees the real opening of the scroll only after the breaking of the seventh seal? See Gundry, ibid.: "With the opening of each seal certain events take place, to be sure. But these events does not make up the contents of the scroll, for it is not open for reading of its contents till all seven seals are opened". Cf. R. BAUCKHAM, The Climax of Prophecy. Studies on the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh 1993) 250: "The progressive opening of the scroll is a literary device which John has created in order to narrate material which prepares us for and is presupposed by the content of the scroll itself".

²⁸ The "firstfruits" may be the martyrs. See now D.C. OLSON, "'Those Who Have Not Defiled Themselves with Women': Revelation 14:4 and the Book of Enoch", CBQ 59 (1997) 492-510. Olson sees in verse 4a a conscious literary allusion to the Book of Watchers in Enoch(chs. 9–19) which narrates the famous tale of the angelic "sons of God" who defile themselves with the "daughters of men" (cf. Gen 6,1-4). The redeemed 144,000 constitute the church as a "kingdom of priests" replacing the fallen angelic priesthood.

²⁹ Just as 10,1–11,13 does not belong to the sixth trumpet (9,13-21) and the second woe (cf. 9,12b and 11,14), so also chapter 7 is not part of the sixth seal.

³¹ See BIGUZZI, Settinari, 144. Five items are mentioned: (1) the verb latreuvw which occurs only in 7,15 and 22,3; (2) the theme of God's "sheltering" expressed by means of the verb skhnovw, present only in 7,15 and 21,3; (3) the removal of all evil expressed by ouj ... e[ti in 7,16 and 21,4; (4) the themes of "thirst" (7,16) and "water of life" (7,17) which recur together in 21,6 (cf. 21,1); and (5) "God who will wipe away every tear" in 7,17 and 21,4. I defended the non-eschatological character of the passage in "Structuration", 95, n. 48.

³² Cf., e.g., VANNI, Struttura, 123-125 and 222-223; BAUCKHAM, The Climax of Prophecy, 71: "At the climax of history, heaven is silent so that the prayers of the saints can be heard, and the final judgment occurs in response to them (v. 5)". See pp. 70-83, where a discussion of this idea in apocalyptic and rabbinic traditions is provided.

³³ According to BROWN, Introduction, 788, "the half-hour silence that begins the vision creates a contrast with the trumpet blasts to follow".

³⁴ Cf. BAUCKHAM, The Climax of Prophecy, 82: "To indicate that the prayers of the saints are answered by the eschatological judgment of God on the earth, the angel takes fire, symbolizing judgment, from the altar and throws it on the earth".

³⁵ Cf. LAMBRECHT, "Structuration", 87-88. Cf. VANNI, Struttura, e.g.., 125: the seventh seal "ha, come suo contenuto specifico, un altro settenario annunciato in 8,2: il settenario degli angeli con le trombe"; BAUCKHAM, The Climax of Prophecy, 70: "The seven angels with their trumpets are introduced in the midst of the account of the opening of the seventh seal in order to indicate that the account ... of the seven trumpet blasts is in some sense included in the events that follow the opening of the seventh seal"; cf. 250, be it in a less clear way.

³⁶ In comparison with 4,5 "earthquake" is added in 8,5d; and in 11,19c the formula is even more expanded by means of "heavy hail"; in 16,18-21 the formula will break: no longer accompanying phenomena but the destroying events themselves are depicted by terms taken from that formula. Cf. BAUCKHAM, The Climax of Prophecy, 199-209: "The Eschatological Earthquake" (the OT influences are studied); BIGUZZI, Settinari, 241-244.

³⁷ . For more details see LAMBRECHT, "Structuration", 93-95 (the earthquakes) and 100-103 (11,15-19 and 15,1–16,1).

³⁸ . For more details see LAMBRECHT, "Structuration", 93-95 (the earthquakes) and 100-103 (11,15-19 and 15,1–16,1).

³⁹ Cf. BIGUZZI, Settinari, 177, where he refers to commentators who "restando su di un piano generale e vago, definiscono i sigilli comme 'annuncio' o 'preparazione' differenziandoli da trombe e coppe che vengono invece definite 'realizzazione'", with reference in note to, "per tutti", E.-B. Allo, A. Feuillet and U.B. Müller. These commentators, however, may be right. C. GIBLIN, "Recapitulation and the Literary Coherence of John's Apocalypse", CBQ 56 (1994) 81-95, defines 4,1-8,6 as the "beginning", yet at the same time - less correctly, I think - as "an overview of what is now under way", "a suspenseful, oracle-like preface", and "a preview". Moreover, he does not consider 7,1-17 to be an interlude (85-86).

⁴⁰ THOMAS, Revelation 1-7, 43 and id., "Structure", 52-56, 58-63.

⁴¹ For BIGUZZI the sixth and the seventh bowls cannot strictly be called plagues: see the lengthy discussion in Settinari, 235-244.

⁴² SMITH, "Structure", 387, calls 17,1–19,10 the Babylon Vision and 21,9–22,9 the Jerusalem Vision: "Unlike the surrounding sections, they have no plot motion but are rather 'tableaus,' symbol-rich emblems whose meaning is expounded and meditated upon".

⁴³ For the intercalations, see THOMAS, "Structure", 63-65.

⁴⁴ Cf. LAMBRECHT, "Structuration", 89; see p. 104 for a possible explanation for the frequency of the punishments and their somewhat repetitive character: John "warns as it were his readers that future historical realization will not necessarily follow his artificial prophecy".

⁴⁵ The classic understanding of "recapitulation" is meant here, not the one modified by Biguzzi. See p. 205 and note 16 of this study.

⁴⁶ This is defended with great emphasis by BAUCKHAM, The Climax of Prophecy, in the lengthy chapter "The Conversion of the Nations", 238-337. See, e.g., 258: "Gods's kingdom will come, not simply by the deliverance of the church and the judgment of the nations, but primarily by the repentance of the nations as a result of the church's witness".