The First and the Last: The Comfort of the Triune God in Revelation

The words theology and apocalypse can often seem difficult and obscure. Theology may feel impersonal and distant, irrelevant to daily life. Apocalypse, on the other hand, conjures up images of doomsday scenarios, burning buildings and rising smoke. And when we turn to the Book of Revelation for answers, we are baffled by dream-like imagery, evocative symbols, and garish colours and quickly retreat to more familiar territory.

The First and the Last masterfully demystifies these two words – by introducing Revelation as a vision of the triune glory of God who holds everything together. Melvin Tinker places the book in its original context, enabling us to understand its images and connect it with our contemporary experience. Through a series of expositions which tease out the theological and pastoral aspects of the book of Revelation, we catch glimpses of God the Father, who was and is and is to come; God the Son, the Lion who is the Lamb; and God the Sevenfold Spirit.

Through The First and the Last you will discover Revelation anew, not as a doomsday book, but as an opening of windows to a reality more real than we can see; not as a confusing collection of images, but as a map to guide your way to greater delight in the triune God.

Melvin Tinker is the minister of St John's Newland in Hull, England. He is Chairman of Yorkshire Gospel Partnership, Co–director of Northern Training Course and is a leading member of the Anglican group 'REFORM'. He is the author of numerous books, including Mass Destruction: Is God Guilty of Genocide? and That Hideous Strength: How the West was Lost.