“Another sign in heaven”: A “great red dragon”
A reading of Revelation 12:1-18 from the perspective of the monstrous theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24220/2447-6803v50a2025e15488Keywords:
Revelation, Culture, Monster, The Great Read DragonAbstract
Monsters constitute a key to understanding how people define themselves and explain their existence in relation to other people in a given context. Considering this and drawing on theories concerning the monstrous and exegetical literature concerning the book of Revelation, this article seeks to examine the figure of the “great red dragon” in Revelation 12:1-18 from the perspective of monster theory, as a means of reading the monster as a way of demarcating the boundaries in the theology and worldview of Revelation. After highlighting that, as a symbol, the “great red dragon” has a long history in the traditions of the ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world, the article presents the description of the monster’s body that figures prominently in the discourse on monstrosity. In its liminal movements through the apocalyptic landscape of the book, the “great red dragon” also moves from the periphery to the center. By establishing the map of the cosmos with visions of God’s throne at its center, Revelation delimits the boundaries between its audience and the prevailing power, reorienting their perspective not toward the prevailing power but to “the one seated on the throne” through its use of contested space.
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