The Book of Revelation - An Introduction and Commentary

In an era of runaway speculation on the subject of Bible prophecy, this volume fills an urgent need - a commentary on the Book of Revelation that is both fascinating and sensible. With its whirl of mysterious signs, symbols, and visions, the Book of Revelation inevitably gives rise to a variety of interpretations. The author combines aspects of these views-futurist, continuous historical, philosophy of history, preterist, and historical background-but favors the latter. The Book has a concrete setting in a definite period of history and deals with very real problems faced by Christians of the period. Symbols indicate powerful moral and spiritual forces involved in a violent clash in which the forces of God are ultimately triumphant. The Saints of that day found encouragement and gained the crown of victory. But the message continues to instruct and encourage God's people today. It reveals the principles of victory through righteousness and truth and the ultimate failure of all that is false. Some of the prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, such as the passing of the current order, the resurrection, the judgment, and the final reward and punishment of the righteous and the wicked. Consequently, some futurist aspects of the book are to be recognized. The first section discusses the title, author, place of writing, symbolism, date, interpretations, theme and purpose of Revelation. The second section on the ROman Empire provides the historical background for the birth and early years of Christianity. The main section of the book offers a complete, passage-by-passage commentary. Although firmly anchored in sound scholarship, it is not heavily footnoted, giving it the broadest possible appeal to serious students of God's Word.