Apocalyptic Writings, Jewish and Christian writings, most of them thought to have been composed between about 200 bc and ad 100, distinguished basically by a belief in two opposing cosmic powers and in two distinct ages (eons) of the world. Typically, the authors of apocalyptic literature believe that the present age of the world is irredeemably evil, ruled by a Satan figure who personifies evil. These authors reveal, however, that the evil age is soon to be ended, destroyed by God, who is good. The subsequent age, the kingdom of God, will be ruled by God, will be perfect and will last forever; and only the good, formerly oppressed, will enjoy it.

The Book of Revelation was the first work to be called an apocalypse, and it exhibits the features that characterize such writings: A revelation from God concerning future events is delivered to a seer through an angelic or divine intermediary (in the case of Revelation, the intermediary is Jesus Christ and the seer is Saint John). The book also uses elaborate animal and numerological symbolism. Variations on these features are found in other apocalyptic writings—for example, the writings may describe many visions instead of only one; they may include specimens of other genres within them (for example, the epistle or the hymn, as in Revelation); and they may describe the destined events literally rather than figuratively.

Several other frequently occurring secondary characteristics of apocalyptic literature are pseudonymity, the ascribing of an apocalyptic work to some earlier revered figure (for example, a prophet or a saint); contending hierarchies of angels and demons; a faith in God, who will fulfill the promises of the Bible; a belief in a heavenly city and a heavenly paradise reserved for the just in the age to come; and a belief in a messiah.

Several representatives of the apocalyptic genre survive, most of them classified with the pseudepigrapha. The outstanding exception is the collection of apocalypses in the canonical Book of Daniel, chapters 7 through 12 (see Canon). The first of these is a vision (chapter 7), the message of which is the impending overthrow of the oppressors and the vindication of God's people. Other elements that conform to the apocalyptic pattern are revelation (8:1-14); the presence of an intermediary (8:15-26); the seer (8:17-18, 27); and the description of future happenings (8:19, 26). The apocalypses in chapter 8 and chapters 10 through 12 contain similar elements. Among noncanonical works, the Book of I Enoch includes an apocalypse in chapters 14 and 15; here the revelation takes the form of a vision in which the seer is transported to the divine throne (see Enoch, Book of). Similarly, the group of apocalypses in IV Ezra is cast in the form of a dream and deals with divine judgment and salvation. II Baruch describes a vision of the 12 ages of the world; it culminates in a period of tribulation and the ultimate victory of the Messiah.

Most of the apocalypses appear to have been written during times of persecution. Their authors are attempting to provide the faithful with an image of triumph and vindication, and the trials of earthly life are described as the necessary prelude to the birth of the messianic order. In most cases, the authors lend dramatic force to their narratives through the literary technique of vaticinia ex eventu (prophecy after the fact). The detailed prophecies in the Book of Daniel, for example, are purported to date from around 600 bc but were actually written as a response to the persecutions of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV in the 2nd century bc.