Image Credits

Visions of the End

Every image on the course page, with its source, license, and the reason it was chosen. The artwork is public-domain Jewish and Christian apocalyptic art and Second Temple artifacts, sourced from Wikimedia Commons; a few photographs carry Creative Commons licenses, noted below.

Image Work & Attribution License Where it appears Why it’s included
The Ancient of Days (Europe a Prophecy, copy D) ancient-of-days.jpg The Ancient of Days (Europe a Prophecy, copy D) William Blake 1794 Source ↗ Public domain (British Museum) Hero background Blake’s hand-colored frontispiece — the creator-god leaning out of the sun to set a compass over the deep — is the most iconic image of cosmic order and the turning of the ages. It sets the apocalyptic tone the moment the page loads.
Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts four-beasts.jpg Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts Gustave Doré 1866 Source ↗ Public domain Origin section figure (“What The End Really Meant”) · Bonuses backdrop Daniel’s beasts rising from the sea are the seedbed of Jewish apocalyptic imagery and the two-ages framework the course is built around — the central figure for the section on what “the end” really meant.
Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon michael-dragon.jpg Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon Spanish (Catalan) school c. 1405 Source ↗ Public domain (LACMA) Hero ornament · “Prepare to Rethink” backdrop The cosmic battle of good against evil, in gold leaf. A vivid emblem of the war of light and darkness that runs through apocalyptic literature.
The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37) dry-bones.jpg The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37) Gustave Doré 1866 Source ↗ Public domain Hero ornament · “Resurrection & Divine Justice” theme Ezekiel’s dry bones coming back to life is the defining image of resurrection, the hope the course argues was born from a belief in the justice of God.
The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaᵃ) isaiah-scroll.jpg The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaᵃ) Qumran scribes (Israel Museum) c. 125 BCE Source ↗ Public domain Hero ornament · “Birth of Apocalyptic” theme · Highlights The most complete of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the course’s flagship primary source — the literature at the heart of the “Birth of Apocalyptic” theme.
Adam and Eve eden.jpg Adam and Eve Albrecht Dürer 1504 Source ↗ Public domain “A Story With an Ending” theme Eden is where the single, unfolding story begins. Dürer’s engraving introduces the garden-to-covenant arc the course traces toward the age to come.
Model of Second Temple-era Jerusalem (Holyland Model) temple.jpg Model of Second Temple-era Jerusalem (Holyland Model) Photo: Berthold Werner 2008 Source ↗ Public domain “Exile and Restoration” theme · FAQ backdrop A reconstruction of the Temple and city at the heart of Second Temple Judaism, the world in which the hope of Israel’s restoration took shape.
King David Playing the Harp messiah-david.jpg King David Playing the Harp Gerard van Honthorst 1622 Source ↗ Public domain “Many Messiahs” theme David, the royal/Davidic template for messianic hope, stands in for the strikingly diverse range of anointed figures the course works through.
The Heavenly Jerusalem new-jerusalem.jpg The Heavenly Jerusalem Unknown (11th-century fresco) 11th century Source ↗ Public domain “The End That Birthed Christianity” theme · Highlights The new Jerusalem and the kingdom of God: the age-to-come hope that early Judaism and early Christianity shared.
Khirbet Qumran and the Dead Sea qumran.jpg Khirbet Qumran and the Dead Sea Matson Photograph Collection (Library of Congress) c. 1950 Source ↗ Public domain Instructor backdrop · Highlights image card The site where the scrolls were found and copied. It grounds the course’s recurring trips into the world of Qumran.
Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum scroll-jars.jpg Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum Photo: Ian Scott 2009 Source ↗ CC BY-SA 2.0 At-a-Glance backdrop · Schedule backdrop The vessels and vault that preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls, a quiet nod to how this literature survived to be read at all.
Starry night sky starry-sky.jpg Starry night sky Mathias Krumbholz 2014 Source ↗ CC BY-SA 3.0 Stats backdrop The night sky behind the course stats. It echoes the promise to Abraham of descendants like the stars, and the idea that the righteous would shine like them.

Public-domain works are reproduced freely. CC BY / CC BY-SA images are credited to their photographers as required; follow each Source link for the full license text.