Can someone help me understand Revelation?
Posted on 28. Apr, 2009 by admin in Blog
During our recent series on Revelation I was really glad to receive some help from other commentaries and sermons:
I started with the following two commentaries which were both excellent in giving an overview:
Barnett, P. and Anglican Information Office (Sydney N.S.W.) (1989). Apocalypse now and then : reading Revelation today. Sydney Square, Anglican Information Office.
This is really excellent in its historical background and discussion of genre issues. Really helpful break-up of Revelation but tends to skate over the details of the text of Revelation.
Wilcock, M. (1975). The message of Revelation : I saw Heaven opened. Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press.
This was a helpful companion to Barnett but again left me frustrated that I didn’t have a commentary that helped me wrestle with exegetical details.
Then I discovered what I consider a top rate commentary:
Beale, G. K. (1998). The book of Revelation : a commentary on the Greek text. Grand Rapids, MI, W.B. Eerdmans.
It is brilliant but huge (over 1,200 pages). I would have loved to read the whole thing but I just didn’t have time. Beautiful detailed exegesis from an ammillennial perspective. The commentary is also peppered with really helpful excursuses on a whole range of topics. For instance in chapter 12 there are discussions on “The end-time exodus against the background of the first exodus”, “The desert as a place of both trial and protection”, “The background of the ‘three and a half year period’”. Awesome and thoroughly recommended. Only drawback is the cost. I managed to pick it up through www.bookdepository.co.uk for less than $80 (which is only half of what it retails for in Aus). Postage was free and it arrived within a week!
Other really helpful resources were some sermons online by Carson (www.theopedia.com/D._A._Carson) and Beale (www.theopedia.com/Gregory_Beale). The theopedia pages include links to their sermons on Revelation.
One Response to “Can someone help me understand Revelation?”
Leave a Reply
admin
29. Apr, 2009
I’ve enjoyed our recent series on Revelation at church.