Revelation for Everyone: 20th Anniversary Edition with Study Guide

by N.T. Wright

A renowned Bible scholar opens up the message and meaning of the book of Revelation for today’s readers. The book of Revelation comes alive in N. T. Wright’s updated, reader-friendly translation and insightful commentary. He guides the reader through the world of the New Testament, explaining the ideas and events that shaped the writer’s account of the early church. Breaking down Revelation into brief, easy-to-study segments, Wright shows how the Christian hope for God’s new heaven and new earth speaks powerfully to the spiritual longings of contemporary readers. New Christians and longtime followers of Jesus alike will find inspiration and practical wisdom for their journey within these pages. This expanded edition contains Wright’s updated translation of the biblical text, a new introduction and a study guide designed for use in Bible study classes and individual reflection. Helpful summaries and insightful questions assist group leaders, group members and solo learners to encounter this mysterious ancient book in exciting and enriching new ways.

Genres: Religion, Theology

264 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2023

About the author

N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England (2003-2010) and one of the world's leading Bible scholars. He is now serving as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline NBC, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air, and he has taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford universities. Wright is the award-winning author of Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, The Last Word, The Challenge of Jesus, The Meaning of Jesus (coauthored with Marcus Borg), as well as the much heralded series Christian Origins and the Question of God.

He also publishes under Tom Wright.

Reviews

[Jake Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. An excellent commentary on Revelation that is accessible and consistently situates the book within the biblical story. Highly recommend.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fall'24-Winter'25 Buddy Coffey, at Mountain Christian Church (Joppa, MD) is leading a study of the book of Revelation with this as one if the three recomended books.

Notes I want to remember from this book:

Question p.34 "What is it that humans can do that computers can't do?
Answer p. 34" ...humans can weep and humans can forgive."

In reference to Revelation 4: 8b-11 and the many areas of Revelation where worship happens:
Question p. 34 "What can humans do that animals can't do?
Answer p. 35 "...the main difference is that humans can say the word BECAUSE."
p.36 "... worship with a because in it is what marks us out as genuine human beings."
p. 37 "All creation worships God; and we humans are called to worship Him with minds as well as heart, recognizing that He is worthy of all praise as the Creator of all things. "

In reference to Rev 6:16b-17:
Question p.47 "This objection is regularly held from people who have given up believing in God, or perhaps never believed in the first place. How can they believe, they ask, in a God who seems to do nothing when faced with the tears and torments of this world?"

Answer P.50 "They're wrong to imagine God as a capricious or revengeful tyrant. God is indeed angry at everything that has so horribly spoiled this wonderful world. His gaze from the throne is a deep, inexpressible mixture of sorrow and anger. But the Lamb's anger is the uttermost rejection, by Love incarnate, of all that is unloving. The only people who should be afraid of it are those who are determined to RESIST THE CALL OF LOVE."

p.56 " God is rightly angry with all those who deface his beautiful creation and make the lives of their fellow humans miserable and wretched. But the reason he's angry is because, at his very heart, he is so full of mercy that his most characteristic action is to come down from the throne and, in person, wipe away every tear from every eye. Learning to think of this God when we hear the word 'God', rather than instantly thinking of a faceless Heavenly bureaucrat or a violent celestial bully, is one of the most important ways in which we were able to wake up from the nightmare and embrace the reality of God's true day."

This may be the message of the last book of the Bible in a nutshell? Time will tell we're not even half way through this study and I am SO lifted by it's true message. Not as much about the horrible end-times movies I grew up watching🤔

This may be the message of the last book of the Bible in a nutshell? Time will tell we're not even half way through this study and I am SO lifted by it's true message. Not as much about the horrible end-times movies I grew up watching🤔

[Ronald Schoedel III · Rating 5 out of 5]

The target audience of this commentary is right in the title: everyone. It’s not super scholarly, or dense, and the size of the book is a good indicator as well, of what the reader is getting into.

So, based on its intended readership, it’s a good five star commentary. Wright obviously could’ve written a very scholarly and technical commentary four times as long, but I’m glad this is the version he chose to write.

Rather than getting bogged down in trying to interpret every symbol in the entire Revelation, Wright gets to the heart of each passage and illuminates the point in broad strokes, in light of the big picture not just of its author John the Revelator, but the Old Testament prophecies John was riffing on.

I got lots of out of this commentary, that I bought specifically because I was in the middle of reading Revelation again and needed someone to give me a few pointers along the way. Well worth it.

[Nich Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and accessible look at one of the most important books in the Bible. NT Wright manages to make Revelation accessible without robbing it of its poetry and symbolism. He clarifies the truth to which it points while remaining humble before its mystery

[Hannah Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ this book was so helpful for me.