An easy to read introduction to the book of Revelation by a respected biblical scholar.; Do you find Revelation hard to understand? Help is at hand! Dr Pieter J. Lalleman, Tutor of Biblical Studies at Spurgeon’s College, London, takes the reader step by step through the challenges of the Bible’s last and most difficult to understand book.
Details: The book of Revelation is first and foremost a letter addressed to seven churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Like any normal letter the book contains references to the situation of the readers. As later readers we look over the shoulders of the original readers into a correspondence which initially was not directed to us.
Yet Revelation is also a prophetic book. John himself makes this claim in 1:3 and 22:7, 10, 18 and 19; in 10:11 his work is called prophesying. But what is prophecy in the Bible? People such as Elijah, Isaiah and Jeremiah were messengers of God who spoke his word to their contemporaries. God gave them spiritual insight into their time so that they could shine God’s light on it. They knew God’s precepts and applied these to the situation. Prophets warned people if they were not living as God wanted, but on the other hand they encouraged positive developments. Prophets pointed people to the consequences of their behaviour and in that context they also spoke about the future.
Jewish and Christian prophecy is thus not primarily a form of prediction of the future. It was first and foremost relevant for those who were being addressed; it confronted them with God’s opinion of their situation, with his hopes, his promises, and sometimes also with his judgement in case they would not listen. But when they repented, God adapted his plans, as we see in the book of Jonah. We will approach Revelation in the same way in which we handle all prophecy: by asking what kind of situation is in view and what was expected of the first hearers. Subsequently we will raise the question how this might be relevant to us in the twenty-first century.
Revelation is a letter and a prophecy, but it is also an apocalyptic book. The Greek word for ‘revelation’ in 1:1 is ‘apocalypse’. We often use this word in such expressions as ‘an apocalyptic event’, but we must be careful that our modern language does not hinder our understanding of the Bible. Apocalyptic texts are books which claim to contain revelations about the heavenly world and/or about the future, but not necessarily about disasters. And they challenge us to check our behaviour.
The studies in this book discuss the more readily accessible parts of Revelation, with special attention to the connections of these passages with the Old Testament.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. Pieter J. Lalleman is Tutor in Biblical Studies at Spurgeon’s College, London. His previous works include: The Acts of John, A Critical Companion to the Bible: A Literary Reference, and 1, 2 en 3 Johannes (Commentary on the Johannine Epistles in Dutch).
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Chapter One: The Risen Lord
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
Verses 1-3 Preface
Verses 4-8 The Opening of the Letter
Verses 9-20 Appearance of Jesus
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Two: Seven Churches
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Three: Heavenly Worship
Introduction
Background Information
The Old Testament
Explanation of the Text
Verses 1-2a Beginning of the Vision
Verses 2b-3 God the Lord
Verse 4 The Elders
Verses 5-6a The Throne of God
Verses 6b-8 The Living Creatures
Verses 9-11: Praise
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Four: Lion and Lamb
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
Verses 1-4 No One Worthy
Verses 5-6 The Lion = The Lamb
Verse 7 The Book
Verses 8-14 Praise and Worship
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Five: Six Seals
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
Verses 1-8 The Four Seals
Verses 9-11 The Fifth Seal
Verses 12-17 The Sixth Seal
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Six: The Seventh Seal
Introduction and Background
Explanation of the Text
7:1-3 Calm Before the Storm
7:4-8 Sealing 144, 000 People
7:9-12 An Innumerable Multitude
7:13-17 Glory after Tribulation
8:1-5 The Seventh Seal
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Seven: The Two Beasts
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
Verses 1-4 The Beast from the Sea
Verses 5-10 Attack on the Faithful
Verses 11-13 The Beast from the Earth
Verses 14-18 Seduction
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Eight: Babylon
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
17:1-6 The First Vision
17:7-18 The Angel Explains the Vision
18:1-24 The Second Vision
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Nine: Victory
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
19:1-5 A Song of Praise
19:6-8 The Wedding Feast of the Lamb
19:9-10 Interlude
19:11-21 The Final Victory (1)
20:1-6 A Thousand Years
20:7-10 The Final Victory (2)
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Chapter Ten: The New Heaven and the New Earth
Introduction
Background Information
Explanation of the Text
21:1-8 The New Heaven and Earth
21:9-21 The New Jerusalem
21:22-27 The City of God
22:1-5 The New Paradise
22:6-21 Conclusion
Application
For Thought and Discussion
Bibliography
Über den Autor
Rev. Dr Pieter Johannes Lalleman (1960) is a New Testament scholar who has been living and working in London since 2000, where he teaches at the famous Spurgeon’s College. After his theological studies in Utrecht, he was a teacher in secondary education for seven years, while also teaching the New Testament on a part-time basis in several places. Prior to his coming to England, he was the part-time pastor of a Baptist church and a research assistant at the University of Groningen, which in 1998 resulted in a thesis on the Apocryphal Acts of John.
Pieter’s areas of interest include backgrounds to the Bible, the use of the Old Testament in the New, apocryphal books and biblical archaeology. He loves teaching Introduction to the Bible, John, Acts and Revelation, as well as teaching and preaching in local churches.
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