Reading Revelation Responsibly

Author: Michael J. Gorman
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 162189262X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
Reading Revelation Responsibly is for those who are confused by, afraid of, and/or preoccupied with the book of Revelation. In rescuing the Apocalypse from those who either completely misinterpret it or completely ignore it, Michael Gorman has given us both a guide to reading Revelation in a responsible way and a theological engagement with the text itself. He takes interpreting the book as a serious and sacred responsibility, believing how one reads, teaches, and preaches Revelation can have a powerful impact on one's own--and other people's--well-being. Gorman pays careful attention to the book's original historical and literary contexts, its connections to the rest of Scripture, its relationship to Christian doctrine and practice, and its potential to help or harm people in their life of faith. Rather than a script for the end times, Gorman demonstrates how Revelation is a script for Christian worship, witness, and mission that runs counter to culturally embedded civil religion.

Follow the Lamb

Author: Rob Dalrymple
Publisher: Lexham Press
ISBN: 1683592050
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 171

Book Description
The book of Revelation is one of the most rewarding books to study in all Scripture. But the problem for many today is that they have no idea what the book means or how to determine what it means. Follow the Lamb goes a long way in helping the student of Revelation grasp its richness and heed its exhortations. Dalyrmple's guide provides key principles in reading Revelation responsibly. The first key is that the book is about Jesus—his supremacy and sovereignty. The second key is that the language and images used in the book of Revelation derive from the Old Testament. Though many readers get caught up in the mire of John's imagery and efforts to discern what the symbols mean, this principle simplifies the search for meaning. Each chapter in Follow the Lamb concludes with an important For Further Study section, making it an ideal resource for individual or group study. These questions and exercises and reflection guides make personal application of Revelation meaningful and rich. The book of Revelation contains an important message for the people of God, both then and now—namely, that the people of God must emulate Jesus and faithfully proclaim the kingdom of God, even to the point of death. This means they are called to "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4).

Apocalypse and Allegiance

Author: J. Nelson Kraybill
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 1441212558
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
In this lively introduction, J. Nelson Kraybill shows how the book of Revelation was understood by its original readers and what it means for Christians today. Kraybill places Revelation in its first-century context, opening a window into the political, economic, and social realities of the early church. His fresh interpretation highlights Revelation's liturgical structure and directs readers' attentions to twenty-first-century issues of empire, worship, and allegiance, showing how John's apocalypse is relevant to the spiritual life of believers today. The book includes maps, timelines, photos, a glossary, discussion questions, and stories of modern Christians who live out John's vision of a New Jerusalem.

Revelation's Rhapsody

Author: Robert Lowery
Publisher: College Press
ISBN: 9780899009469
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
This excellent resource is designed to help the Bible student study the book of Revelation. It is not a commentary, but guide to effective, accurate study of this very important book of the Bible.

Can I Get a Witness?

Author: Brian K. Blount
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664228699
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Book Description
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 of African America.

The Theology of the Book of Revelation

Author: Richard Bauckham
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107393086
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
The Book of Revelation is a work of profound theology. But its literary form makes it impenetrable to many modern readers and open to all kinds of misinterpretations. Richard Bauckham explains how the book's imagery conveyed meaning in its original context and how the book's theology is inseparable from its literary structure and composition. Revelation is seen to offer not an esoteric and encoded forecast of historical events but rather a theocentric vision of the coming of God's universal kingdom, contextualised in the late first-century world dominated by Roman power and ideology. It calls on Christians to confront the political idolatries of the time and to participate in God's purpose of gathering all the nations into his kingdom. Once Revelation is properly grounded in its original context it is seen to transcend that context and speak to the contemporary church. This study concludes by highlighting Revelation's continuing relevance for today.

Reading Revelation

Author: Joseph L. Trafton
Publisher: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 9781573122894
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Book Description
"Trafton has produced a clear, understandable, insightful reading of the book of Revelation - not an easy task for a book that has left many readers puzzled and confused. One of the particular strengths of Trafton's commentary is his close attention to the structure of John's work and the internal connections between various passages of the book. Readers will also benefit from Trafton's identification of John's extensive indebtedness to the Hebrew Bible for much of his imagery and ideas." - Mitchell G. Reddish O.L. Walker Professor of Christian Studies and Chair, Department of Religious Studies Stetson University

Revelation and the End of All Things

Author: Craig R. Koester
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 1467450529
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
Since its first publication in 2001, Revelation and the End of All Things has been a highly readable guide to one of the most challenging books in the Bible. Engaging the questions people most frequently ask about Revelation and sensationalistic scenarios about the end of the world, Craig Koester takes his readers through the entirety of Revelation, offering perspectives that are clear and compelling. In the second edition Koester provides new insights from recent scholarship and responses to the latest popular apocalyptic voices. Study questions make this new edition ideal for use in classrooms and study groups. Revelation and the End of All Things offers an accessible, engaging, and profoundly hopeful interpretation for students and general readers alike.

Seeing Things John's Way

Author: David A. deSilva
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664224493
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The emotionally evocative power of the book of Revelation has been often noted and experienced by interpreters, but until now it has never been systematically explored. The strange visions of the book of Revelation provide some of the most difficult passages of the New Testament, yet Christians have long been fascinated by its power and provocative pronouncements. David deSilva analyzes how the book argues and persuades us to see the world through the eyes of John, and suggests that the study of ancient rhetoric is particularly valuable in understanding the book of Revelation. deSilva interprets the book of Revelation as a rhetorical and communicative strategy to persuade a particular audience for specific goals. Throughout this analysis, he pursues John's construction of his own authority, John's use of emotion and logic, and his attempt to shape the formation of the reader. Despite the complexities of Revelation, deSilva has produced a remarkably clear text sure to cause readers to rethink their view of Revelation.

Abide and Go

Author: Michael J. Gorman
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532615469
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Book Description
The Gospel of John would seem to be both the "spiritual Gospel" and a Gospel that promotes Christian mission. Some interpreters, however, have found John to be the product of a sectarian community that promotes a very narrow view of Christian mission and advocates neither love of neighbor nor love of enemy. In this book for both the academy and the church, Michael Gorman argues that John has a profound spirituality that is robustly missional, and that it can be summarized in the paradoxical phrase "Abide and go," from John 15. Disciples participate in the divine love and life, and therefore in the life-giving mission of God manifested in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As God's children, disciples become more and more like this missional God as they become like his Son by the work of the Spirit. This spirituality, argues Gorman, can be called missional theosis.