Revelation: Volume 12 (Volume 12)

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture #12

by William C. Weinrich (Editor), Thomas C. Oden (Editor)

The Revelation to John―with its vivid images and portraits of conflict leading up to the formation of a new heaven and a new earth―was widely read, even as it was variously interpreted in the early church. Approaches to its interpretation ranged from the millenarian approach of Victorinus of Petovium to the more symbolic interpretation of Tyconius, who read Revelation in the sense of the universal and unitary time of the church. Tyconius's Book of Rules , deeply admired by Augustine, strongly influenced not only ongoing interpretation of Revelation but the whole of medieval exegesis. From early on the book of Revelation was more widely accepted in the West than in the East. Indeed the earliest extant commentaries on Revelation in Greek date from Oecumenius's commentary in the sixth century, which was soon accompanied by that of Andrew of Caesarea. Earlier Eastern fathers did, however, make reference to Revelation in noncommentary works. This Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume draws heavily on the Greek commentaries from Oecumenius and Andrew of Caesarea to represent Eastern interpretation, while focusing on six other commentaries as primary witnesses to Western interpretation―those of Victorinus of Petovium, Tyconius, Primasius, Caesarius of Arles, Apringius of Beja, and Bede the Venerable. Every effort has been made to give adequate context so that the creative use of Scripture, the theological interest, and the pastoral intent can be discerned by readers today. Amid this treasure trove of early interpretation readers will find much that appears in English translation for the first time.

Genres: Reference, Theology, Biblical Studies

486 pages, Hardcover

First published December 9, 2005

Reviews

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ACCS edition of Revelation.

As with other volumes in the ACCS series, there is a helpful introduction and biographical sketches at the end. The book of Revelation is broken down into sections with an overview of patristic commentary on each and then selected comments for each verse.

Most of the frequently cited commentators are now available in full in the Ancient Christian Texts series: Victorinus of Petovium, Apringius of Beja, Caesarius of Arles, and Bede in one, and Oecumenius and Andrew of Caesarea in another. If those volumes are also consulted, the value of this work falls off a bit, but still proves useful with many comments from Primasius and Tyconius. Augustine, Origen, and Jerome are also cited consistently, as well as a few scattered quotations from Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, Fulgentius of Ruspe, and a few other patristic authors.

The comments reflect an overwhelmingly typological perspective, thanks to the influence of Tyconius, Augustine, and Primasius; therefore, the church and her battle with heretics features prominently, and as many Christological and ecclesiastical readings are made as can be found in the text. Therefore, this volume has great benefit in terms of the history of interpretation of Revelation, but the reader will be disappointed if he or she looks to it in order to find the magical key that will unlock the real meaning of Revelation.

[Frank Peters · Rating 1 out of 5]

My rating is very low, but this is not meant to reflect on the editor. I believe that the editor did an excellent job. My rating refers, rather to the book. The most ancient fathers apparently did not comment much on Revelation, and as a result, the book is filled with commentary written many hundreds of years after Revelation. These comments were almost all allegorical, in the style of Origen, and typically contradicted each other. The only thing I really learned from this volume is that the (later) early Christian fathers really didn’t have any idea what Revelation was about (possibly like today?). The reading experience was long, painful and not recommended.

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent commentaries ~ obviously opinions from the early Church Fathers

[Jonathan]

None