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Christian Judaizing in Asia Minor: Revelation, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr ‫ﱜ‬ That some Gentile Christians were attracted to Judaism and practised Jewish customs in Asia Minor is indicated clearly in letters by Ignatius of Antioch, Syria, during his travels through Asia Minor and in Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho. Justin provides one of the most explicit references to Christian judaizing in early church literature , proving that ecclesiastical leaders continued to grapple with the vitality of diaspora Judaism and its attraction for Christians in the middle of the second centuryce. The compelling evidence for the existence of the phenomenon in Asia Minor found in the writings of Ignatius and Justin Martyr helps to elucidate two anomalous statements made in the Book of Revelation—another Asia Minor document written approximately twenty years earlier than the date of Ignatius’s correspondence. These statements, which are usually understood to be polemics against Jews or Jewish Christian opponents, are better interpreted to be the author’s reaction to Christian judaizers. Since it is the earliest of the documents investigated in this chapter, it is with the Book of Revelation that I begin. The Book of Revelation In the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation are obscure accusations embedded in letters addressed to two churches in Asia Minor: Smyrna and Philadelphia. The author of Revelation accuses his opponents there of falsifying their identification as Jews, for which he calls them members of a “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9). Scholars typically understand these statements to be Christian slander of local Jews, and so have viewed them as evidence that the Christian community represented by the Apocalypse of John was engaged in vigorous conflict with Jews and Judaism toward the end of Emperor Domitian’s reign (c. 95 ce).1 In this chapter I demonstrate that Gentile Christians who were attracted to Judaism and became attached to the synagogue are the target of the accusations in Revelation (2:9 and 3:9) and that, instead of reflecting a 73 Notes to chapter 5 start on page 169 chapter 5 struggle between Jews and Christians, these verses reflect an internal Christian controversy. Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 The accusations found in two of the messages to the seven churches of Asia Minor that follow the introduction in the first chapter of the Book of Revelation come prior to the throne vision presented in chapters 4 and 5. The first accusation (Rev. 2:9) is taken from the letter to the church in Smyrna: I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander (blasfhmi /an) on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not (tÒn leg’ntwn >Ioudai /ouj ei >nai e k), but are a synagogue of Satan (sunagwg¬ to„ Satan≠). Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. The second (Rev. 3:9) is taken from the letter to the church in Philadelphia: I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those of the synagogue of Satan (sunagwg≈j to„ Satan≠) who say that they are Jews and are not, but are lying (tÒn leg’ntwn e Ioudai /ouj ei >nai, kai \ o‹k ei >si \n ¶ll™ ye›dontai )—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. In both letters, the author of Revelation accuses those who “say that they are Jews and are not” of committing “blasphemy” (blasfhmi /an) and lying, and identifies them as members of the “synagogue of Satan” (sunagwg≈j to„ Satan≠).2 This harsh reprimand conveys the author’s anger and sense of betrayal by the actions of these people. The identity of “those who say that they are Jews and are not” is believed by most scholars to be a reference to Jews in Smyrna and Philadelphia. Jewish Persecution of Christians? Many scholars view Revelation 2:9 as reflecting a situation in which Jews in Smyrna were delivering members of the Christian community into the hands of the Romans.3 Yarbro Collins (1986: 312–13...

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