The sixth seal in Revelation 6:12-17

Abstract

This article illustrates the relevance of a close reading of the text in the ongoing work of New Testament as a discipline by means of Revelation 6:12-17. In an introduction the nature and role of a close reading in Biblical Studies is briefly outlined. A second part analyses the form of the sixth seal and indicates what and how literary techniques were used to compose the text. These are then in turn investigated to explain the meaning and function of this seal within the communication setting in which it originated and for which it was composed.