Rating: TV-14
Rather than contemplating what the end times may look like, this film considers where we get our description of it: the book of Revelation.
The Bible Collection dramatized various Bible stories, most focusing on one character (David, Jesus, Moses, etc.). The Apocalypse is the one entry not named for a person and alternates between two stories. The first concerns the apostle John (living on Patmos, having unexpected visions). The second involves Christians from the churches that John started (waiting for his letters, unsure how much persecution they can stand). The early church subplot involves Roman emperor Domitian cracking down on Christianity, with his officers (some Christians but hiding it, others treating Christianity with contempt) having a range of responses. As some of John’s followers look for him, his visions provide surprising answers to their questions.
The special effects of John’s visions haven’t always aged well, but they cleverly fit between several extremes. Sometimes the visions shift from Biblical imagery to future scenes (from seals being broken to skyscrapers being destroyed), implying John’s visions are about the final judgment. Other times, his visions parallel things that the early Christians are experiencing (a soldier on a charging horse slaughtering people), suggesting that the visions refer to what’s happening in the present. Or, the visions could be about both the present and the future. The Apocalypse sums up all the classic interpretations of Revelation, while showing how the book does fit into a larger story. It completes the story of the early church, while pointing the way forward.
A clever film about Revelation and end times teaching for people across the eschatology spectrum.
Photo Credit: Lux Vide-Lube /Rai Fiction/Kirchmedia/Quinta