Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches

Preaching the Word

by James M. Hamilton Jr., R. Kent Hughes (Series Editor)

In the book of Revelation, God unveils the world as it really is, identifying an unseen spiritual war and announcing a very real day of judgment. As the end approaches, we need to be convinced that Jesus is reigning as the risen King. We need to have him speak to the situation in our churches. We need to see how God will pulverize wickedness, answer those who oppose him, and establish his eternal kingdom. Revelation has exactly what we need.

Useful for personal study, as well as for preaching and teaching, the thirty-seven sermons in this volume have a clear structure and even include helpful charts and tables to highlight key themes and literary elements. In each sermon, professor and pastor James Hamilton grabs the reader’s attention, raises awareness of a real need, and states the main point of the biblical text. In addition to explaining the meaning of each passage, Hamilton connects the main ideas to applicable analogies and actionable points.

Revelation is a prophecy of epic proportions and Hamilton invites readers to love God and his people by expositing this revelation of Jesus, and to say along with the apostle John, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Genres: Christian, Theology, Nonfiction, New Testament

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

James M. Hamilton Jr. (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of biblical theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and preaching pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church. He is the author of God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment and the Revelation volume in the Preaching the Word commentary series.

Reviews

[Jonathan Sussex · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all the other books in this series I have read this in an excellent read. What made this unique and timely was reading it why witnessing the unfolding of the most serious world crisis in my lifetime, Covid 19. Cosmic events will unfold before the LORD returns, and references to plagues don't require any imagination at this time. A great encouragement to read Read Revelation at this time, but a sober reminder to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

[Emmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am grateful that our pastor let Jim borrow this commentary on the book of Revelation, as I love to study eschatology and learn more about hermeneutics. This was even more fun to read as Dr. James M. Hamilton Jr. was one of Jim's professors at seminary and it's always exciting to learn from great teachers.

On the whole I greatly enjoyed reading this book. I love the book of Revelation and discussing its implications on history and the world today. I love thinking about what God is going to do and the new age that is to come when Jesus returns and makes everything truly new and we can worship God perfectly forever. How I long for that day! And this book made me long for it all the more.

I absolutely appreciate Dr. Hamilton's candor in how he speaks of the book of Revelation and does not shy away from difficult implications and ideology that are found throughout the book of Revelation. He is clear about where he stands from his study of the Scripture and gives clear reasoning against some other positions in different places. The chapters are broken down into bite sized pieces making it easier to focus on one section at a time. While a strength, at times I struggled with this personally as even with an outline at the beginning of each chapter, I would get lost in the timeline.

Each chapter is laid out with an intro, showing the need God is revealing in that section, the main point, overview of the section and context of the passage before diving into the text. The consistency is extremely helpful as you know what to expect and know what to look for in each chapter. My one desire would have been to have the text printed in full before diving into the commentary. Dr. Hamilton does print out each verse as he discusses it, which is good, but it would have been nice to have the passage as a whole. Yes, I know you can go to your Bible, but if you have someone studying this who may not have a Bible it would be a nice addition. I also appreciate how Dr. Hamilton included references from Daniel and showed parallels from the end times prophecies found there next to that in Revelation.

While well written and quite thorough, I did struggle with some of the analogies used to explain things. Most of the time he explained the passage and points quite well, but I did find some areas that I would have considered holes that needed to be filled. I also struggled with when Dr. Hamilton used literal vs figurative translation. I am not saying that he is wrong in his interpretation, but I did find it strange in a few places that, to me, appeared to be in congruent with a previous point. I also found some of his explanations to lack proper full Scripture hermeneutical interpretation, but it would not keep me from recommending this book.

Personally, I was hoping it would help me pinpoint my own theological view of the end times, but sadly it made me more confused. But I'm OK with that because wrestling with Scripture is part of the walk with God. I also found some of his points against one of the other eschatological views confusing. Again, this would not keep me from recommending this book. In fact I'd love for others to read it so we can talk about it and help each other out!

I would give this commentary 4.5 stars for the reasons mentioned above, but still highly recommend it to anyone who wants to seek to better understand the book of Revelation, even if you do not agree with Dr. Hamilton's conclusions.

[Matt Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know you want to understand the book of Revelation. You know the end is coming and want to know what to expect. The symbolic images (beasts, a dragon, a harlot, a woman giving birth) and numbers (666, 42 months, 1,260 days) grip your imagination and often frustrate your best attempts at deciphering their meaning. So what are you to do?

I would encourage you to pick up a copy of James Hamilton’s book on Revelation. It is weighty (over 400 pages) but consider this: with 37 chapters you could read just one a week and even if you missed several weeks you could easily read it in a year. What if this time next year you had a much better grasp of the book of Revelation and had been gripped by its message and transformed by its vision? Wouldn’t that be worth the time it took to read just one chapter a week?

‘But what kind of book is this?’ you ask. It looks like a commentary and yet each chapter is a sermon. In fact it brings together the best of both of these. It will give you a more detailed explanation of each passage in Revelation than the average collection of sermons would and yet it is much easier to read than a commentary and is filled with stirring application as well. In short, it is a collection of sermons crafted by a man with the heart of a pastor and the mind of a Bible scholar.

So if you are preparing to teach through the book of Revelation, or preparing to preach through it, or just want to understand it better yourself, I encourage you to pick up a copy of this book (or buy it for your e-reader).


*By the way, if you are familiar with end times terminology, James Hamilton studied at a dispensationalist school (DTS) but his understanding of the book would be classified as historic premillennialism. If you don’t know what any of that means it won’t keep you from understanding the book.

[Nicole Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think any book of the Bible has filled me with as much hope as studying Revelation. This author was not my favorite in the R. Kent Hughes series, but still very explicit, and for the most part, easy to follow. (I didn't care for his charts. I found them a bit overwhelming.) I still get confused by the Daniel timeline. Hoping one day I understand it, but in the grand scheme of understanding Revelation, I don't think not having a full grasp on this concept of time interfered with my understanding of Revelation at all. As usual in this series, the authors do believe in predestination, and that the rapture will occur pre-tribulation (just as an fyi). This series continues to be my favorite commentaries to read alongside the Bible.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the commentaries I got to help me preach through Revelation. I have enjoyed every entry in this commentary series because they are expository sermons. Hamilton is a historical premillianist, but he has a unique perspective. He frequently will point out chaisms, typology, and narrative connections to the Old Testament. These sermons are also filled with plenty of exegetical work and weight. They are a great balance of application while dealing with the details and primary questions of the passage. This would be a good commentary for someone who wants to study Revelation seriously, but may not be ready for a heavy academic commentary.

[Joshua Reichard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revelation is a book that many find to be too difficult to read or too forward looking to read that they leave it in the back of their bible never to read. Jim Hamilton breaks open the book of Revelation so much so that it begins to look like any other NT book. Hamilton helps the average reader see the truth of Rev. see the power of Rev. and the importance of Rev. Jesus is coming back and when he comes back you will either be condemned to hell or saved to heaven. Seek your heart and know what will happen to you. there is no in between.

[Landon Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is helpful for those who are studying to teach and / or preach. These volumes are written by pastors, and essentially, each chapter is a sermon manuscript. In this volume, Hamilton walks through Revelation, offering a perspective that is in line with historic premillennialism. Some underlying questions about the actual text may go unanswered here, but the final product is helpful for thinking about textual divisions, main points, and communication strategies.

[Nathaniel Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best commentaries on Revelation. While not a verse by verse breakdown and more like written sermons, the Holy Spirit consistently stirred my heart through Dr. Hamilton’s joyful, challenging writing. While discernment and debate on Revelation are important, he consistently showed this book calls people to Christ, the Bridegroom, who is making radiant his bride, the church. Highly recommended.

[Greg Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Hamilton's work on Revelation. I wrestle at how we should interpret the book. Hamilton comes from a Historic Premillennial perspective. He outline and supported his position very well. I was especially encouraged by his use of the Old Testament, especially Daniel and Ezekiel. It's well worth your reading.

[Jacob Gaddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great work and introduction to a real dense and hard to understand book of the Bible. This is one to read and use as a study for someone who wants to go through Revelation and both learn and be challenged in their faith.

[Wassenario · Rating 4 out of 5]

First deep dive into Revelation. Lots of interesting stuff. Author did a good job of maintaining context of entire book as well as references back to Ezekiel and Daniel

[Craig Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no other book that has been the subject of the most fanciful interpretations than the book of Revelation. Various interpreters throughout the ages have wrestled with how to understand the many foreign and vivid images let alone present to the average Christian what it might mean for their lives. As such, the discussion of the book of Revelation has been dominated by proper interpretive method at the expense of practical and contemporary significance. Revelation was after all written to seven churches and it is for the church today.

With a desire to let the text speak for itself and a level headed approach, James Hamilton Jr. has written the newest commentary in the Preaching the Word series titled Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Hamilton is associate professor of biblical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of preaching at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.

The structure of the books is simple. Hamilton has preached through Revelation twice so this commentary is the fruit of experience and a desire to bring the truth and relevance of Revelation, amidst its hard to interpret sections, to the everyday life of the contemporary believer. Each chapter is written in the form of a sermon with introduction, main point, a preview of the chapter, the overall context of the section in the book of Revelation, the body of the commentary and then a conclusion to bring it all together.

Because Hamilton is concerned with the practical application of the book, he is not wrapped up in the academic discussion of the various views of Revelation though he does mention them by name at points. Hamilton’s position is historic premillennialism but he does not explicitly push this. He sees the 70th week of Daniel as the present church age and the future millennial kingdom as a period of time that does not necessarily have to be a literal 1,000 years. He sees overlap in the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments such that they are describing more different angels of the same thing over against a sequential description of different judgments. Hamilton touches on many of the points of tension in the various views of Revelation without handling it with a debate mentality. Perhaps the only debate point he does not mention is the idea expressed by pretribulationalists that the Rapture of the church happens before 4:1. Hamilton’s silence on this speaks to his disagreement with this (and I agree) but it would have been nice to see his argument for not agreeing with it.

At the heart of the book is the pastoral desire to bring the message of Revelation to bear on the life of the believer. Hamilton steers clear from newspaper interpretations of the book that seek to read into Scripture what is happening in current world events. Much of the referents in Revelation would have been referring to the seven churches historical situation because it was written to them and their situation. However, though Revelation was written to seven churches it is for the church today. Hamilton rightly contends that all of Revelation is for the New Testament believer and thus speaks to the churches situation throughout time until Christ returns. Throughout his explanation of the text Hamilton weaves practical application into each chapter and is constantly driving at the spiritual life of the believer. Hamilton expresses a deep desire for Revelation to speak to the heart and mind of the believer.

Though this commentary is focused on the practical aspect of Revelation, Hamilton shows he has done his homework and is up to date with current scholarship. Hamilton shows his grasp and knowledge of the Old Testament as he ably shows the OT roots to much of Revelation. Hamilton also shows his grasp of biblical theology as Revelation is the culmination of redemptive revelation within history and serves as the climax to it all.

At the end of the day, Revelation shows that Christ the King will ultimately triumph over sin and Satan and His inaugurated kingdom will overcome the world and rule for eternity. I highly recommend Hamilton’s Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches as it will be both informative and devotional.

[Brian Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those who embark on the odyssey of explaining the book of Revelation, do so with the warnings of G. K. Chesterton ringing in their ears, “Though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creatures so wild as one of his own commentators.”

Far from adding to the “strange monsters” of interpretations about which Chesterton warned, "Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches" becomes a friend to the book of Revelation.

Whereas the clutter of wild interpretations tends to render Revelation a closed book, Hamilton’s refreshing insights help to open its meaning to “he who has an ear.”

For the rest of my review, see my blog post: http://patebrian.wordpress.com/2014/1...

[Mark A Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hamilton unpacks the book of Revelation in a series of sermons that doesn’t shy away from the tougher parts of interpretation while managing to avoid dogmatism in areas where Scripture is not definitive. Hamilton favors a historical-premillennial view but does so in a tactful, seasoned manner. Like most commentaries, this will serve better as a reference than a straight-through read, however the format of this series is certainly conducive to either approach. A worthwhile, use-filled resource.

[Matt Maples · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very solid commentary of Revelation that is a good one for most people who are getting into studying this book. I like the commentary a lot and would recommend it to help begin your study of the book.

[Moses Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book till Revelation 20....took at historic Pre-Millennial twist that came out of nowhere from the recapitulation view that seemed to be used prior.

[Matt Maples · Rating 4 out of 5]

good commentary

Overall this is a very good and readable commentary on Revelation. I would recommend to anyone who wants to study this book.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pastoral commentary! Helpful for studying.