Analyzing J. W. Colenso's Unpublished Comments on the Book of Revelation

Abstract

John W. Colenso was an Anglican missionary in South Africa in late 19th century who took a role as a philanthropic legal advocate for the uncivilized. He also contributed in pioneering linguistics of Zulu, one of the official languages used by many in South Africa. However, he is known for his destructive views on interpretation of the biblical texts, to be evaluated as one “smashing the Old Testament text,” and it caused him to be disgraced by his own church. His unpublished comments on the Book of Revelation, personally acquired to this researcher, are selectively presented and analyzed in this study, and his methodology of interpretation on the biblical texts examined. It was found that he invented words that are not in the text, transformed those which are in the text, and conflated some nouns as identical that are syntactically separated. He foregrounded interpretation with a preteristic model but backgrounded it now and then with a historicistic model. These findings confirm the existing evaluations on his theology. His calculated attempt to break down the inspiration of the Scripture is one of the biggest ironies regarding his philanthropic services as a missionary.