“Lament in the Apocalypse of John”

Although it functions quite differently in the New Testament than the Old, the lament form has serious implications for the study of the New Testament, including the Apocalypse of John. In fact, according to Scott Ellington, this form is “fundamental to the shape and content of their [the New Testament writers’] message”1. In the Apocalypse, rarely if ever, is the lament form used in a complete or comprehensive way. John Christopher Thomas2 suggests that such forms exist as fragments, and even constitute an inclusio – a framework for the entire book.