I'm a huge fan of Revelation which tops my list of favorite books of the Bible. I recently retired after 47 years as a pastor in the United Church of Christ. How many times have I read Revelation and preached on this marvelous book? How many times have I read and heard interpretations, and misinterpretations? The answer, a lot! I finally decided I had to write my own book. I study Revelation like digging in a field for buried treasure. The more digging, the more riches I find! I am a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University where I majored in Bible, and a graduate of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, VA., with a Master of Divinity.
I wrote
Worthy Is the Lamb: The Book of Revelation as a Drama
I love Bowman’s book for its simplicity and its scholarship. Through it, I discovered Revelation tells the gospel story as a drama! Reading his book, I begin to see, as the curtain is raised on each scene, wonderous mysteries are revealed. I eagerly read each page of the book and read and reread every page of Revelation to find more of its treasures. Having been convinced that Revelation is intended to be a carefully composed and complex drama, I adopted a similar format for organizing my own book.
This little book presents a new translation in the modern idiom and a commentary on the book of Revelation particularly directed to the laymen. The Revelation is set forth both as a letter and as a drama; with the major part devoted to the dramatic form of the book. The dramatic arrangement of the Biblical text and concise interpretations of it appear on facing page of the book. There are seven acts, each act with seven scenes. In addition, like the dramatic literature of its own day, it has a prologue and an Epilogue. The Prologue contains only two short…
I was first attracted to this book because I discovered the author also reads Revelation as a drama. I found he interprets Revelation’s mysteries with sanctified imagination and contagious joy. This results for me in a happy combination of picture book and prayer book. And mindful of Jesus’ parable of the man who found a treasure hidden in a field, I discovered this book to be a little jewel of the good news. It also reinforces my own conviction that Revelation is best understood as a drama.
What is the book of Revelation? Does it describe in veiled language events of its writer's own day, or is it largely a prophecy of events still to come? Is it a chart of the whole of history from Christ's first coming to his second? Or does it deal chiefly with principles which are always valid in Christian experience?
And what is a twenty-first century reader to do with living creatures, locusts like horses, seven bowls of wrath, war in heaven, various beasts and a dragon?
Michael Wilcock maintains that when God's words, declarations, arguments and reasonings had all been…
As a long-time fan of Eugene Peterson, I intentionally sought out his book. I was attracted by the title, the praying imagination. I came hungry to Revelation for more understanding and he masterfully sets the table with a feast of Jesus’ last words each one to be continually savored and enjoyed. It’s as if I am ushered into the heart of Revelation to linger and pray and sing and reflect on the wonder and grace of the crucified and risen Lamb. And among all these riches, I found additional confirmation for my own dramatic interpretation of Revelation!
Peterson's eloquent meditation on the Revelation of St. John engages the imagination and awakens the intellect to the vitality and relevance of the last words on scripture, Christ, church, worship, evil, prayer, witness, politics, judgement, salvation, and heaven.
I am a long-time student of N. T. Weight and have read many of his books. I appreciate his scholarship and ability to communicate with “everyone.” I love Wright for his scholarly defense of Jesus' bodily resurrection. He leaves me in awe with his knowledge of Scripture and of the Roman world of the first century. He has influenced my Biblical worldview to the extent I can’t imagine writing a book apart from his influence. I admire his extensive knowledge of the historical context of the cities in which the seven churches are located. I love reading Wright for his contagious joy!
Enlarged print edition now available! In this final installment of the New Testament for Everyone series, Tom Wright explores the book of Revelation. With clear, accesible language, Wright offers us an entrance into the final book of the New Testament. While the book of Revelation has often been written off as a foretelling of doom, it is much more complex than this and has captured the imaginations of both lay and professional readers.
Tom Wright has undertaken a tremendous task: to provide guides to all the books of the New Testament, and to include in them his own translation of…
I was intrigued by Blount's comparison between the African American experience and the situation of the first-century church. I gained better understanding of Revelation’s purpose, which I state in my book: “To enable and empower the church’s resistance.” I want this book sung and accompanied by a marching band. I want to hear, “we shall overcome” and “nothing will turn us around.” I want to clap my hands and add my voice in witness to the good news of Jesus! That’s what this book does for me!
In this accessible and provocative study, Brian Blount reads the book of Revelation through the lens of African American culture, drawing correspondences between Revelation's context and the long-standing suffering of African Americans. Applying the African American social, political, and religious experience as an interpretive cipher for the book's complicated imagery, he contends that Revelation is essentially a story of suffering and struggle amid oppressive assimilation. He examines the language of "martyr" and the image of the lamb, and shows that the thread of resistance to oppressive power that runs through John's hymns resonates with a parallel theme in the music…
Worthy is the Lamb describes the book of Revelation as a carefully fashioned drama of seven acts, each with seven scenes. Using the Old Testament Scriptures and the circumstances of first-century Christians, this unfolding drama tells the good news of Jesus, the Lamb. It’s a message vital today as 2,000 years ago in the Roman Empire. This is a power-packed presentation of an age-old battle between good and evil, truth and falsehood. In a war of competing worlds, stands the Lamb, with his call to faithful resistance. Mere humans seek our worship but only the Lamb is worthy.
