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New Testament Theology
The Theology of the Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is a work of profound theology. But its literary form makes it impenetrable to many modern listeners 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, contextualized 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.
Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.
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, contextualized 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.
Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.
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First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Richard Bauckham
93 books258 followersRichard Bauckham (PhD, University of Cambridge) is senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England, where he teaches for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. He is also a visiting professor at St. Mellitus College, London, and emeritus professor of New Testament at the University of St. Andrews. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the author of numerous books.
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July 26, 2024Incredible book on Revelation. He beautifully shows how John conveys a trinitarian understanding of God and centralizes the theme of worship. Bauckham convinced me that Revelation is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible, yet especially poignant for our cultural moment. Read this book
January 29, 2015
I was fortunate (?) enough to read this in less than 24 hours as I rested sick in bed (but could not sleep). So not much of the Bauckham's theological nuances slipped past me.
It's most noteworthy aspects are its 1) speculation about first-century interpretation 2) trinitarian threads of emphasis and 3) balanced theonomic (but non-reconstructionist) motifs in relation to holy warfare and Christocentric "witness" (i.e. martyrdom).
The only major disagreement I had with Bauckham is his repeated insistence that John's Apocalypse has absolutely nothing to do with the tumultuous Jewish wars (causing strife among christian Jews as well), the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and the end of the old covenant "creation." He places a lot of emphasis on the new covenant kingdom already being inaugurated, but he insists that the first century audience of John's Apocalypse would not have considered Jerusalem and Herod's Temple as a center of power or idolatry (and hence, could not have been mistaken for any "beastly" figure in Revelation). To Bauckham, all of the beastly images have to do with powers and idols of the early/ancient Roman Empire.
Even though that is a significant disagreement i have with the book, I would still highly recommend it for its clarity and exegetical balance. I think it steers much of contemporary speculation about John's Apocalypse in a healthier direction than all "futurist" (pre-millennial) views offered today. It also steers clear of the unhealthy "dominionist" abuses far too often emphasized among postmillennialists, as well as the cerebral pietism highlighted among amillenialists. I suspect that if Bauckham were asked what his own personal "millennial" position was, he would respond by pointing out how insignificant the theological implications of the millennium are when compared to the rest of the book's much clearer theological implications
It's most noteworthy aspects are its 1) speculation about first-century interpretation 2) trinitarian threads of emphasis and 3) balanced theonomic (but non-reconstructionist) motifs in relation to holy warfare and Christocentric "witness" (i.e. martyrdom).
The only major disagreement I had with Bauckham is his repeated insistence that John's Apocalypse has absolutely nothing to do with the tumultuous Jewish wars (causing strife among christian Jews as well), the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and the end of the old covenant "creation." He places a lot of emphasis on the new covenant kingdom already being inaugurated, but he insists that the first century audience of John's Apocalypse would not have considered Jerusalem and Herod's Temple as a center of power or idolatry (and hence, could not have been mistaken for any "beastly" figure in Revelation). To Bauckham, all of the beastly images have to do with powers and idols of the early/ancient Roman Empire.
Even though that is a significant disagreement i have with the book, I would still highly recommend it for its clarity and exegetical balance. I think it steers much of contemporary speculation about John's Apocalypse in a healthier direction than all "futurist" (pre-millennial) views offered today. It also steers clear of the unhealthy "dominionist" abuses far too often emphasized among postmillennialists, as well as the cerebral pietism highlighted among amillenialists. I suspect that if Bauckham were asked what his own personal "millennial" position was, he would respond by pointing out how insignificant the theological implications of the millennium are when compared to the rest of the book's much clearer theological implications
April 14, 2025
I last read this a few years ago when I was preaching through Revelation. Reading it again, it's embarrassing how many of my bright ideas about Revelation originated here! But this is so, so good - good for its presentation the argument presented elsewhere in Jesus and the God of Israel (but specific to Revelation), good for its ability to cut through the muddle we've often made of this great book, good for methodological clarity that would apply equally to Isaiah or Ezekiel, good for the sanity of its understanding of the New Testament's use of the old (an area of increasing muddle, it seems to me!), good especially for its wonderful fourth chapter, a chapter that effectively articulates what I consider to be the most persuasive account of the melodic line of Revelation. There are a few nits to pick: his use of the language of 'universalism' has proven a bit of a hostage to fortune (GK Beale for one seems to have misunderstood him on this); I'm not sure he's quite nailed the kings of the earth in Revelation 21; his soft spot for Moltmann shows through in a not entirely well-rounded description of freedom and sovereignty at the end. But those are nits - this is an outstanding book on Revelation and its theology, and nothing else I've read on Revelation or eschatology comes close. Thanks, Richard.
October 29, 2022
So glad I read this. A profound work on the theology of Revelation. What makes it so worthwhile is Bauckham's understanding of genre. He makes a case early on that this is a apocalyptic circular letter of prophecy. Reading Revelation as an apocalypse will the way you read this letter and it will change your life. A book I wish all my friends would read.
A couple favorite quotes:
"The beast will tolerate no dissent from his self-deification. Witness to the truth is inconsistent with any compromise with his lies. Therefore the alternative becomes the utterly stark one: worship the beast or face martyrdom...It is not a literal prediction that every faithful Christian will in fact be put to death. But it does require that every faithful Christian must be prepared to die. The call to conquer allows no middle ground where Christians may hope to avoid death by compromising with the beast."
"Where faith in God the Creator wanes, so inevitably does hope for resurrection, let alone the new creation of all things. It is the God who is the Alpha who will also be the Omega."
"The one who is worthy of the worship due only to God must somehow belong to the reality of the one God."
"the theological point of the millennium is solely to demonstrate the triumph of the martyrs: that those whom the beast put to death are those who will truly live – eschatologically, and that those who contested his right to rule and suffered for it are those who will in the end rule as universally as he – and for much longer: a thousand years! Finally, to demonstrate that their triumph in Christ’s kingdom is not one which evil can again reverse, that it is God’s last word for good against evil, the devil is given a last chance to deceive the nations again (20:7–8). But it is no re-run of the rule of the beast. The citadel of the saints proves impregnable (20:9)."
A couple favorite quotes:
"The beast will tolerate no dissent from his self-deification. Witness to the truth is inconsistent with any compromise with his lies. Therefore the alternative becomes the utterly stark one: worship the beast or face martyrdom...It is not a literal prediction that every faithful Christian will in fact be put to death. But it does require that every faithful Christian must be prepared to die. The call to conquer allows no middle ground where Christians may hope to avoid death by compromising with the beast."
"Where faith in God the Creator wanes, so inevitably does hope for resurrection, let alone the new creation of all things. It is the God who is the Alpha who will also be the Omega."
"The one who is worthy of the worship due only to God must somehow belong to the reality of the one God."
"the theological point of the millennium is solely to demonstrate the triumph of the martyrs: that those whom the beast put to death are those who will truly live – eschatologically, and that those who contested his right to rule and suffered for it are those who will in the end rule as universally as he – and for much longer: a thousand years! Finally, to demonstrate that their triumph in Christ’s kingdom is not one which evil can again reverse, that it is God’s last word for good against evil, the devil is given a last chance to deceive the nations again (20:7–8). But it is no re-run of the rule of the beast. The citadel of the saints proves impregnable (20:9)."
April 26, 2020
Few biblical books call for careful attention and disciplined study more than the book of Revelation. Careless interpretations abound, leaving many confused as to the meaning of this important letter. Building off of his earlier work "The Climax of Prophecy" (T&T Clark), in "The Theology of the Book of Revelation", Richard Bauckham unpacks the message of Revelation in seven short chapters.
Bauckham begins with a description of the genre of the book. Revelation is an “apocalyptic prophecy in the form of a circular letter” (2). Here he outlines the strategy of the book, “the visual power of the book effects a kind of purging of the Christian imagination, refurbishing it with alternative visions of how the world is and will be” (17). The Christian imagination is to be broadened, both “spatially (into heaven)” as well as “temporally (into the eschatological future)” (7).
As Bauckham demonstrates, in the book of Revelation, theology and Christology are closely intertwined. This is made clear in Bauckham’s perceptive unpacking of the twin self-designations of God and Christ at the beginning and end of the letter. Bauckham highlights how John records God’s declaration as being the “Alpha and Omega” (1:8), followed by Christ’s own designation as the “first and the last” (1:17). These designations are bookended at the end of the letter by twin declarations by both God “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (21:6) and Christ “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (22:13). There is an added devotional character to Bauckham’s work. Grounded in his careful discussion on Revelation’s theology and Christology which we have just noted, Bauckham can later say of Jesus, “Because He is Creation’s Alpha he will also be its Omega” (127). One is given here a great example of careful study leading to worshipful praise.
Bauckham carefully unpacks the historical context of the letter of Revelation. Indeed, he reveals Revelation as a document with much to say to oppressive power systems, such as Rome of John’s day. Yet this power is framed in terms of a much greater power, “In light of God’s righteousness Rome’s oppression and exploitation stand condemned, and in the light of God’s lordship over history, it becomes clear that Rome does not hold ultimate power and cannot continue her unjust rule indefinitely” (39). It is against this historical context that John introduces the heavenly city, offered as the divine alternative to corrupt Rome (127).
Given the book’s title, one may expect to find an overview of eschatology, which is not the case. There is very little discussion on the millennium, and no mention of pre, post, and a- millennial views. Those looking for a more systematic treatment of traditional theological loci will need to look elsewhere. Bauckham’s method is that of biblical theology. Central biblical theological themes which receive treatment are God, Redemption, the People of God, and New-Creation. These themes are explored through careful, close exegesis of Revelation.
One of the great strengths of Bauckham’s work is the level-headedness which it exhibits. He is able to both affirm the genuine prophetic ministry and message of John, and also unpack that message with patience and wisdom. In his section on applying the message of Revelation, Bauckham offers helpful comments on the nature of biblical prophecy in general. “Biblical prophecy always both addressed the prophet’s contemporaries about their own present and the future immediately impending for them and raised hopes which proved able to transcend their immediate relevance to the prophet’s contemporaries and to continue to direct later readers to God’s purpose for their future” (152). He further highlights the ongoing relevance of the book by noting that “prophetic promise frequently exceeded fulfillment” (153).
Bauckham does some interesting unpacking of some of the numeric significance of the book, writing that “[n]umerical patterns have theological significance in Revelation” (26). While we agree, his attention to numbers and patterns at times can seem a bit much. For example, speaking of the “sevenfold Spirit” he writes, “the fourfold references to the sevenfold Spirit correspond to the seven occurrences of the fourfold phrase which designates all the people of the earth” (109).
This book—while focused specifically on the theology of Revelation—demonstrates an extraordinary amount of thinking and work done on the letter by Bauckham—linguistic, literary, historical, and canonical. Bauckham exhibits both a deep awareness of the prophetic tradition and the great eschatological hope which it promotes, as well as a strong understanding of the first century world, with all its fears and terrors. "The Theology of the Book of Revelation" is a terrific guide for this crucial and often mis-aligned portion of Scripture. It serves to both clarify the message of Revelation in its original context and allow the book’s message to be heard with clarity and power today.
Bauckham begins with a description of the genre of the book. Revelation is an “apocalyptic prophecy in the form of a circular letter” (2). Here he outlines the strategy of the book, “the visual power of the book effects a kind of purging of the Christian imagination, refurbishing it with alternative visions of how the world is and will be” (17). The Christian imagination is to be broadened, both “spatially (into heaven)” as well as “temporally (into the eschatological future)” (7).
As Bauckham demonstrates, in the book of Revelation, theology and Christology are closely intertwined. This is made clear in Bauckham’s perceptive unpacking of the twin self-designations of God and Christ at the beginning and end of the letter. Bauckham highlights how John records God’s declaration as being the “Alpha and Omega” (1:8), followed by Christ’s own designation as the “first and the last” (1:17). These designations are bookended at the end of the letter by twin declarations by both God “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (21:6) and Christ “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (22:13). There is an added devotional character to Bauckham’s work. Grounded in his careful discussion on Revelation’s theology and Christology which we have just noted, Bauckham can later say of Jesus, “Because He is Creation’s Alpha he will also be its Omega” (127). One is given here a great example of careful study leading to worshipful praise.
Bauckham carefully unpacks the historical context of the letter of Revelation. Indeed, he reveals Revelation as a document with much to say to oppressive power systems, such as Rome of John’s day. Yet this power is framed in terms of a much greater power, “In light of God’s righteousness Rome’s oppression and exploitation stand condemned, and in the light of God’s lordship over history, it becomes clear that Rome does not hold ultimate power and cannot continue her unjust rule indefinitely” (39). It is against this historical context that John introduces the heavenly city, offered as the divine alternative to corrupt Rome (127).
Given the book’s title, one may expect to find an overview of eschatology, which is not the case. There is very little discussion on the millennium, and no mention of pre, post, and a- millennial views. Those looking for a more systematic treatment of traditional theological loci will need to look elsewhere. Bauckham’s method is that of biblical theology. Central biblical theological themes which receive treatment are God, Redemption, the People of God, and New-Creation. These themes are explored through careful, close exegesis of Revelation.
One of the great strengths of Bauckham’s work is the level-headedness which it exhibits. He is able to both affirm the genuine prophetic ministry and message of John, and also unpack that message with patience and wisdom. In his section on applying the message of Revelation, Bauckham offers helpful comments on the nature of biblical prophecy in general. “Biblical prophecy always both addressed the prophet’s contemporaries about their own present and the future immediately impending for them and raised hopes which proved able to transcend their immediate relevance to the prophet’s contemporaries and to continue to direct later readers to God’s purpose for their future” (152). He further highlights the ongoing relevance of the book by noting that “prophetic promise frequently exceeded fulfillment” (153).
Bauckham does some interesting unpacking of some of the numeric significance of the book, writing that “[n]umerical patterns have theological significance in Revelation” (26). While we agree, his attention to numbers and patterns at times can seem a bit much. For example, speaking of the “sevenfold Spirit” he writes, “the fourfold references to the sevenfold Spirit correspond to the seven occurrences of the fourfold phrase which designates all the people of the earth” (109).
This book—while focused specifically on the theology of Revelation—demonstrates an extraordinary amount of thinking and work done on the letter by Bauckham—linguistic, literary, historical, and canonical. Bauckham exhibits both a deep awareness of the prophetic tradition and the great eschatological hope which it promotes, as well as a strong understanding of the first century world, with all its fears and terrors. "The Theology of the Book of Revelation" is a terrific guide for this crucial and often mis-aligned portion of Scripture. It serves to both clarify the message of Revelation in its original context and allow the book’s message to be heard with clarity and power today.
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September 12, 2023A really fantastic primer on the theology of Revelation:
A recurring theme I've encounter with Bauckham is his attentiveness to numbers and their significance, and his work with the recurring phrases demonstrate the literary merit and sophistication of Revelation. He persuasively demonstrates how Revelation stands in line with the Jewish prophet tradition (particularly Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) and yet how it is a distinctively Christian reading.
The best bits I walked away with where Revelation's insistence of the trinitarian character of God in pre-Hellenic categories. The usages of phrases 7 times and 7x4 times which demonstrate the completeness of the Godhead in Christ and the Spirit. And how the particular identification of Babylon with Rome both provides the particular meaning to understand the universal import.
Bauckham rejects the dispensational readings of Revelation precisely because he takes the book seriously, at a literary and canonical level and accords it the honor due it as scripture. It is a book of images and signs, not the Da Vinci Code. Revelation is book which critiques the anti-Christian Roman Empire because of its affluence, built upon oppression and evil—and John critiques Christians who consort with such pagan sinfulness. Yet it also a call to endure because the victors will receive crowns. Revelation manages to do many things at once: critique, inspire, convict, and encourage. Sin has its day, and Christian consort with Babylon not just in its Roman form, but any time we compromise with sinful empires which reject the truth of God and turn a blind eye to those punished its structures. Yet there are also Christians who have boldly stood for God's word and for their neighbor. The call of Revelation is to bold stand against sin for the sake of God and neighbor because the Kingdom of God is sure to come because of the work of Christ. Thus, we endure knowing that God has chosen to speak his words through us, and that one day he will personally wipe all tears from our eyes.
A recurring theme I've encounter with Bauckham is his attentiveness to numbers and their significance, and his work with the recurring phrases demonstrate the literary merit and sophistication of Revelation. He persuasively demonstrates how Revelation stands in line with the Jewish prophet tradition (particularly Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) and yet how it is a distinctively Christian reading.
The best bits I walked away with where Revelation's insistence of the trinitarian character of God in pre-Hellenic categories. The usages of phrases 7 times and 7x4 times which demonstrate the completeness of the Godhead in Christ and the Spirit. And how the particular identification of Babylon with Rome both provides the particular meaning to understand the universal import.
Bauckham rejects the dispensational readings of Revelation precisely because he takes the book seriously, at a literary and canonical level and accords it the honor due it as scripture. It is a book of images and signs, not the Da Vinci Code. Revelation is book which critiques the anti-Christian Roman Empire because of its affluence, built upon oppression and evil—and John critiques Christians who consort with such pagan sinfulness. Yet it also a call to endure because the victors will receive crowns. Revelation manages to do many things at once: critique, inspire, convict, and encourage. Sin has its day, and Christian consort with Babylon not just in its Roman form, but any time we compromise with sinful empires which reject the truth of God and turn a blind eye to those punished its structures. Yet there are also Christians who have boldly stood for God's word and for their neighbor. The call of Revelation is to bold stand against sin for the sake of God and neighbor because the Kingdom of God is sure to come because of the work of Christ. Thus, we endure knowing that God has chosen to speak his words through us, and that one day he will personally wipe all tears from our eyes.
October 31, 2025
This was a really excellent overview of the theology that runs throughout the book of Revelation. Bauckham draws out the themes of the book and contextualizes the images of John’s vision in their OT sources and John’s contemporary cultural setting. This leads to a context-sensitive, symbolic interpretation of the book that understands John’s vision as being in the line of the prophetic and apocalyptic tradition that we have see throughout the rest of the biblical canon.
Bauckham does a great job of holding in balance both the relevance to the first hearers of Revelation and its applicability to the church for all time since then, encouraging the church to live in light of what has already been accomplished by the blood of the Lamb, as well as to continue being His faithful witness to the nations until He appears. Marantha!
Bauckham does a great job of holding in balance both the relevance to the first hearers of Revelation and its applicability to the church for all time since then, encouraging the church to live in light of what has already been accomplished by the blood of the Lamb, as well as to continue being His faithful witness to the nations until He appears. Marantha!
December 2, 2025
This does what few books can: it makes you more excited to read the book of Revelation. It actually made me wonder if I should spend a few months just sort of settled in Revelation for my personal devotions. Not just required reading for a class on Revelation, this is vital for anyone looking to understand the book or even just get a fuller picture of the gospel. I'm going to acquire a physical copy, even though I already have the audiobook, just so I can mark it up.
March 7, 2022
A valuable resource for the themes of Revelation. Although too much of an idealist approach to interpretation and breaks some of his own rules regarding symbolism to refer to Rome throughout the book.
August 3, 2025
This was so throughly good. Great structure, no wasted words, and just when I thought it couldn’t be any more mind-blowing, the final chapter on Revelation’s relevance for today really brought it all together.
February 26, 2012
Baukham's Theology of the Book of Revelation offers an insightful and non-traditional approach to a difficult book in our canon, primarily due to the complexity of the stylism and imagery involved and the eschatological vision. For one, Baukham avoids the more common verse-by-verse approach commentary style that is helpful for understanding the part although often at expect to the sum whole. Instead, he approaches the book thematically, demonstrating John's concern to communicate Christ's Messianic triumph and reign over the competing powers of the earth (namely, Rome). At the same time, he shows how John both adopts and brings to its culmination the Jewish prophetic tradition in such a way that evidences John's concern for his contemporary Christian audience in a struggle against Roman Imperialism without, at the same time, relegating his Revelation only to the early Christian church. In other words, he bridges the gap between interpretation to application in a thoroughly consistent prophetic manner.
For those looking for an explanation of the book of Revelation that transcends modern millenarian discussions of the book that distort John's primary impetus behind his prophetic message while remaining exegetically sensitive to the text, I highly recommend this work.
For those looking for an explanation of the book of Revelation that transcends modern millenarian discussions of the book that distort John's primary impetus behind his prophetic message while remaining exegetically sensitive to the text, I highly recommend this work.
October 16, 2025
2024 reads: 32
Rating: 4.5 stars
This was not an easy audiobook to work through. I'll have to read it to give a better review but it was obvious that Bauckham was just doing Bauckham things: concise, careful, knowledgeable, and prophetic. His expertise in the Jewish apocalyptic tradition was telling.
Rating: 4.5 stars
This was not an easy audiobook to work through. I'll have to read it to give a better review but it was obvious that Bauckham was just doing Bauckham things: concise, careful, knowledgeable, and prophetic. His expertise in the Jewish apocalyptic tradition was telling.
August 9, 2018
After a lovely Garden Party in which Richard Bauckham and I discussed politics and Parsonages (this really did happen haha) , I felt inspired to reread his wonderful book on Revelation, also I am going to be preaching a series on this book soon and needed a refresher
June 10, 2025
Richard Bauckham’s The Theology of the Book of Revelation is a masterfully concise theological exploration—just 164 pages—that goes straight to the heart of the book’s purpose: not as a cryptic predictor of future events, but as a profound Gospel-centered vision of God’s global design. Rather than indulging in sensationalist end-times speculation, Bauckham guides readers toward the core message of Revelation: the timeless Gospel and its place as the capstone of Scripture.
Like many reviewers, I appreciated Bauckham’s focus on the central biblical message. As Andy Holt observes, Bauckham encourages readers to ask not "What code should we try to break?" but "What did this mean to John’s first-century community?"—and in doing so he helps modern Christians see how Revelation calls us to faithful witness through suffering, not through weapons or conspiracy theories. Central to his message is that Christians conquer "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony," even unto death. The book illustrates how Revelation serves the Gospel and invites creation into God’s transformative plan.
Other reviewers highlight both strengths and minor limitations. Ruth Martin describes it as “short but packs a punch,” and believes pastors—indeed any thoughtful layperson—will find it a “go-to” resource for studying Revelation. Denny Burk agrees, calling it “a competent and learned summary of Revelation’s theology,” though he notes Bauckham somewhat underplays alternative interpretations— particularly around the millennium and symbolic passages. Yet these critiques don’t diminish the book’s impact; rather, they underscore Bauckham’s purpose: to steer readers toward the theocentric vision of God’s reign, rather than speculative timelines.
Across various reviews, several themes stand out:
Gospel-Centered Theological Vision – The book places Revelation within the grand narrative of Scripture, culminating in God’s kingdom through Christ.
Clarity and Accessibility – At only 164 pages, it remains robust enough for scholars while accessible for church leaders and laypeople.
Focused on Witness, Not Prediction – Bauckham convincingly argues that Revelation’s power lies in its call to faithful witness amid political powers, not in eschatological timelines.
Verdict: The Theology of the Book of Revelation is essential reading for anyone seeking a Gospel-driven, theologically rich understanding of John's vision. It successfully reorients focus from sensational prophecy to the sovereign, worshipful, and mission-oriented heart of Revelation. While some may wish for more engagement with alternative eschatological debates, this is exactly what gives the book its strength—clarity and conviction in showing how Revelation amplifies the Gospel and God’s transformative intent for creation.
Like many reviewers, I appreciated Bauckham’s focus on the central biblical message. As Andy Holt observes, Bauckham encourages readers to ask not "What code should we try to break?" but "What did this mean to John’s first-century community?"—and in doing so he helps modern Christians see how Revelation calls us to faithful witness through suffering, not through weapons or conspiracy theories. Central to his message is that Christians conquer "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony," even unto death. The book illustrates how Revelation serves the Gospel and invites creation into God’s transformative plan.
Other reviewers highlight both strengths and minor limitations. Ruth Martin describes it as “short but packs a punch,” and believes pastors—indeed any thoughtful layperson—will find it a “go-to” resource for studying Revelation. Denny Burk agrees, calling it “a competent and learned summary of Revelation’s theology,” though he notes Bauckham somewhat underplays alternative interpretations— particularly around the millennium and symbolic passages. Yet these critiques don’t diminish the book’s impact; rather, they underscore Bauckham’s purpose: to steer readers toward the theocentric vision of God’s reign, rather than speculative timelines.
Across various reviews, several themes stand out:
Gospel-Centered Theological Vision – The book places Revelation within the grand narrative of Scripture, culminating in God’s kingdom through Christ.
Clarity and Accessibility – At only 164 pages, it remains robust enough for scholars while accessible for church leaders and laypeople.
Focused on Witness, Not Prediction – Bauckham convincingly argues that Revelation’s power lies in its call to faithful witness amid political powers, not in eschatological timelines.
Verdict: The Theology of the Book of Revelation is essential reading for anyone seeking a Gospel-driven, theologically rich understanding of John's vision. It successfully reorients focus from sensational prophecy to the sovereign, worshipful, and mission-oriented heart of Revelation. While some may wish for more engagement with alternative eschatological debates, this is exactly what gives the book its strength—clarity and conviction in showing how Revelation amplifies the Gospel and God’s transformative intent for creation.
December 20, 2022
One of the most helpful insights from this book was the role that John's apocalypse played in baptizing the imagination of his readers to help arrest their attention away from the typical Roman paganism, which was filled with so much pomp and imagery. For instance:
"Revelation provides a set of Christian prophetic counter-images which impress on its readers a different vision of the world: how it looks from the heaven to which John is caught up in chapter 4. The visual power of the book effects a kind of purging of the Christian imagination, refurbishing it with alternative visions of how the world is and will be. For example, in chapter 17 John's readers share his vision of a woman. At first glance, she might seem to be the goddess Roma, in all her glory, a stunning personification of the civilization of Rome, as she was worshipped in many a temple in the cities of Asia. But as John sees her, she is a Roman prostitute, a seductive whore and a scheming witch, and her wealth and splendor represent the profits of her disreputable trade. For good measure there are biblical overtones of the harlot queen Jezebel to reinforce the impression. In this way, John's readers are able to perceive something of Rome's true character – her moral corruption behind the enticing propagandist illusions of Rome which they constantly encountered in their cities." (pgs. 17-18)
Used this for a Sunday school class I was teaching through the theology of Revelation. Very, very helpful. So much of evangelical scholarship in America is bloated with sifting through a bunch of speculative arguments surrounding dispensational interpretations, that it was helpful to just step out of that stream entirely. I didn't follow Bauckham on everything, but this is loaded with top notch exegesis. I read this in conjunction with Schreiner's theology of Revelation as well, and found it to be a good balance to Bauckham.
"Revelation provides a set of Christian prophetic counter-images which impress on its readers a different vision of the world: how it looks from the heaven to which John is caught up in chapter 4. The visual power of the book effects a kind of purging of the Christian imagination, refurbishing it with alternative visions of how the world is and will be. For example, in chapter 17 John's readers share his vision of a woman. At first glance, she might seem to be the goddess Roma, in all her glory, a stunning personification of the civilization of Rome, as she was worshipped in many a temple in the cities of Asia. But as John sees her, she is a Roman prostitute, a seductive whore and a scheming witch, and her wealth and splendor represent the profits of her disreputable trade. For good measure there are biblical overtones of the harlot queen Jezebel to reinforce the impression. In this way, John's readers are able to perceive something of Rome's true character – her moral corruption behind the enticing propagandist illusions of Rome which they constantly encountered in their cities." (pgs. 17-18)
Used this for a Sunday school class I was teaching through the theology of Revelation. Very, very helpful. So much of evangelical scholarship in America is bloated with sifting through a bunch of speculative arguments surrounding dispensational interpretations, that it was helpful to just step out of that stream entirely. I didn't follow Bauckham on everything, but this is loaded with top notch exegesis. I read this in conjunction with Schreiner's theology of Revelation as well, and found it to be a good balance to Bauckham.
May 2, 2025
This is not the easiest read, but neither is Revelation, so that shouldn’t be surprising. This book does well to give a good thematic overview of Revelation in 7 chapters. Bauckham is theologically sensible and builds a strong case for how Revelation fits into the biblical canon. He also gives good applications at relevant points. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to get started with Revelation (like me!), as this book helpfully scopes out the key themes, rather than functioning like a commentary. I think it’s best to snack on over a few weeks rather than eat as a five course meal in a night. Thank you Richard Bauckham!
August 21, 2025
“The church does not exist for itself, but in order to participate in the coming of God’s universal kingdom. The victory the Messiah has already won in the decisive eschatological event, but it cannot have reached its goal until all evil is abolished from God’s world and all the nations are gathered into the Messiah’s kingdom… Revelation’s future eschatology serves to keep the church orientated towards God’s world and God’s future for the world.”
July 28, 2025
Great synthesis of the various themes that run throughout the book of Revelation. Principles for contemporary application of the apocalypse at the end of the book are succinct and clarifying.
September 28, 2025
'...John’s work is also apocalyptic, because the way that it enables its readers to see their situation with prophetic insight into God’s purpose is by disclosing the content of a vision in which John is taken, as it were, out of this world in order to see it differently. ....John (and thereby his readers with him) is taken up into heaven in order to see the world from the heavenly perspective. He is given a glimpse behind the scenes of history so that he can see what is really going on in the events of his time and place. He is also transported in vision into the final future of the world, so that he can see the present from the perspective of what its final outcome must be, in God’s ultimate purpose for human history. The effect of John’s visions, one might say, is to expand his readers’ world, both spatially (into heaven) and temporally (into the eschatological future), or, to put it another way, to open their world to divine transcendence.... It is not that the here-and-now are left behind in an escape into heaven or the eschatological future, but that the here-and-now look quite different when they are opened to transcendence.'
'In this prophetic process of confronting the present with God’s final purpose for history there is the implicit recognition that the End of history bears a unique relationship to the whole of history. It is not just the last thing to happen, coming after the penultimate historical event. It is the point at which the truth of all history comes to light. It is the divine judgment on the value and meaning of all history.'
'The continuing and ultimate victory of God over evil which the rest of Revelation describes is no more than the working-out of the decisive victory of the Lamb on the cross.'
'In the form, ‘the first and the last’, the designation derives from Isaiah, where it occurs, as in Revelation, as a divine self-designation: ‘I am the first and the last; besides me there is no god’ (44:6); ‘I am he; I am the first, and I am the last’ (48:12; cf. also 41:4). In those chapters of Isaiah the designation encapsulates the understanding of the God of Israel as the sole Creator of all things and sovereign Lord of history, which Isaiah so magnificently expounds and asserts polemically against the idols of Babylon. Unlike human-made gods, this God is the utterly incomparable One, to whom all nations are subject, whose purpose none can frustrate (cf. Isa. 40:12–26). It is precisely this exclusive monotheistic faith that determines the prophetic outlook of Revelation. Hence the unique importance of the designation: ‘the Alpha and the Omega’. God precedes all things, as their Creator, and he will bring all things to eschatological fulfillment. He is the origin and goal of all history. He has the first word, in creation, and the last word, in new creation. Therefore, within John’s literary structure, he speaks twice, declaring himself Alpha and Omega first, before the outset of John’s vision (1:8), and last, in declaring the eschatological accomplishment of his purpose for his whole creation: ‘it is done!’ (21:6).'
'It is worth noticing how far from anthropocentric is this vision of worship. Humanity is radically displaced from the centre of things where human beings naturally tend to place themselves. At its heart and in its eschatological goal the creation is theocentric, orientated in worship towards its Creator. But even among the worshippers human beings are not pre-eminent. The four living creatures who lead the worship of the whole creation are not portrayed as anthropomorphic beings, as angelic beings often are. Only the third has a face resembling a human face. The others resemble a lion, an ox and an eagle, and with their six wings and myriad eyes all have a heavenly superiority to all earthly creatures (4:6–8). Their representative function is to worship on behalf of all creatures, and therefore it is fulfilled when the circle of worship expands to include not only humans, but ‘every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea’ (5:13).'
'Revelation, by avoiding anthropomorphism, suggests the incomparability of God’s sovereignty. In effect, the image of sovereignty is being used to express an aspect of the relation between God and his creatures which is unique, rather than one which provides a model for relationships between humans. Of course, the image of the throne derives from the human world, but it is so used as to highlight the difference, more than the similarity, between divine sovereignty and human sovereignty. In other words, it is used to express transcendence. Much of the modern criticism of images of this kind seems unable to understand real transcendence. It supposes that the relation between God and the world must be in every respect comparable with relations between creatures and that all images of God must function as models for human behaviour. It is critical of images of transcendence, such as sovereignty, but it takes transcendence to mean that God is some kind of superhuman being alongside other beings. Real transcendence, of course, means that God transcends all creaturely existence. As the source, ground and goal of all creaturely existence, the infinite mystery on which all finite being depends, his relation to us is unique. We can express it only by using language and images in odd ways that point beyond themselves to something quite incomparable with the creaturely sources of our language and images.'
'In the conflict of sovereignties the lines are drawn between those who worship the beast and those who worship God. Every stage of God’s victory – through chapters 7–19 – is accompanied by worship in heaven. The issue of true and false worship is fundamental to John’s prophetic insight into the power-structures of the world his readers lived in. In the end, the book is about the incompatibility of the exclusive monotheistic worship portrayed in chapter 4 with every kind of idolatry – the political, social and economic idolatries from which more narrowly religious idolatry is inseparable.'
'...so far from legitimizing human autocracy, divine rule radically de-legitimizes it. Absolute power, by definition, belongs only to God, and it is precisely the recognition of God’s absolute power that relativizes all human power. The image of God’s sovereignty functioned rather similarly in seventeenth-century England, where it played a part in the religious origins of modern democracy. Because God is king, it was said, all men and women are equally his subjects, and no man should arrogate to himself to rule over his fellows.'
'Revelation offers a different way of perceiving the world which leads people to resist and to challenge the effects of the dominant ideology. Moreover, since this different way of perceiving the world is fundamentally to open it to transcendence it resists any absolutizing of power or structures or ideals within this world.'
'The alternative vision of the world which Revelation claims to be orientated to the truth is strongly theocentric. In this it shows the power of a theocentric vision to confront oppression, injustice and inhumanity. In the end it is only a purified vision of the transcendence of God that can effectively resist the human tendency to idolatry which consists in absolutizing aspects of this world. The worship of the true God is the power of resistance to the deification of military and political power (the beast) and economic prosperity (Babylon). In the modern age we may add that it is what can prevent movements of resistance to injustice and oppression from dangerously absolutizing themselves.'
'In the beginning God had planted a garden for humanity to live in (Gen. 2:8). In the end he will give them a city. In the New Jerusalem the blessings of paradise will be restored, but the New Jerusalem is more than paradise regained. As a city it fulfills humanity’s desire to build out of nature a human place of human culture and community. True, it is given by God and so comes down from heaven. But this does not mean humanity makes no contribution to it. It consummates human history and culture insofar as these have been dedicated to God (cf. 21:12, 14, 24, 26), while excluding the distortions of history and culture into opposition to God that Babylon represents (cf. 21:8, 27; 22:15). It comes from God in the sense that all good comes from God, and all that is humanly good is best when acknowledged to come from God. But the city that both includes paradise unspoiled (22:1–2) and is adorned with the beauty of paradise (21:19) points to that harmony of nature and human culture to which ancient cities once aspired but which modern cities have increasingly betrayed.'
'In Revelation’s universal perspective, the doctrines of creation, redemption and eschatology are very closely linked. It is God the Creator of all reality who, in faithfulness to his creation, acts in Christ to reclaim and renew his whole creation. Because he is creation’s Alpha he will also be its Omega. The scope of his new creation is as universal as the scope of creation. It is as Creator that he claims his universal kingdom. It is as Creator that he can renew his creation, taking it beyond the threat of evil and nothingness into the eternity of his own presence. An important contribution of Revelation to New Testament theology is that it puts the New Testament’s central theme of salvation in Christ clearly into its total biblical–theological context of the Creator’s purpose for his whole creation. This is a perspective that needs recovering today.'
'In this prophetic process of confronting the present with God’s final purpose for history there is the implicit recognition that the End of history bears a unique relationship to the whole of history. It is not just the last thing to happen, coming after the penultimate historical event. It is the point at which the truth of all history comes to light. It is the divine judgment on the value and meaning of all history.'
'The continuing and ultimate victory of God over evil which the rest of Revelation describes is no more than the working-out of the decisive victory of the Lamb on the cross.'
'In the form, ‘the first and the last’, the designation derives from Isaiah, where it occurs, as in Revelation, as a divine self-designation: ‘I am the first and the last; besides me there is no god’ (44:6); ‘I am he; I am the first, and I am the last’ (48:12; cf. also 41:4). In those chapters of Isaiah the designation encapsulates the understanding of the God of Israel as the sole Creator of all things and sovereign Lord of history, which Isaiah so magnificently expounds and asserts polemically against the idols of Babylon. Unlike human-made gods, this God is the utterly incomparable One, to whom all nations are subject, whose purpose none can frustrate (cf. Isa. 40:12–26). It is precisely this exclusive monotheistic faith that determines the prophetic outlook of Revelation. Hence the unique importance of the designation: ‘the Alpha and the Omega’. God precedes all things, as their Creator, and he will bring all things to eschatological fulfillment. He is the origin and goal of all history. He has the first word, in creation, and the last word, in new creation. Therefore, within John’s literary structure, he speaks twice, declaring himself Alpha and Omega first, before the outset of John’s vision (1:8), and last, in declaring the eschatological accomplishment of his purpose for his whole creation: ‘it is done!’ (21:6).'
'It is worth noticing how far from anthropocentric is this vision of worship. Humanity is radically displaced from the centre of things where human beings naturally tend to place themselves. At its heart and in its eschatological goal the creation is theocentric, orientated in worship towards its Creator. But even among the worshippers human beings are not pre-eminent. The four living creatures who lead the worship of the whole creation are not portrayed as anthropomorphic beings, as angelic beings often are. Only the third has a face resembling a human face. The others resemble a lion, an ox and an eagle, and with their six wings and myriad eyes all have a heavenly superiority to all earthly creatures (4:6–8). Their representative function is to worship on behalf of all creatures, and therefore it is fulfilled when the circle of worship expands to include not only humans, but ‘every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea’ (5:13).'
'Revelation, by avoiding anthropomorphism, suggests the incomparability of God’s sovereignty. In effect, the image of sovereignty is being used to express an aspect of the relation between God and his creatures which is unique, rather than one which provides a model for relationships between humans. Of course, the image of the throne derives from the human world, but it is so used as to highlight the difference, more than the similarity, between divine sovereignty and human sovereignty. In other words, it is used to express transcendence. Much of the modern criticism of images of this kind seems unable to understand real transcendence. It supposes that the relation between God and the world must be in every respect comparable with relations between creatures and that all images of God must function as models for human behaviour. It is critical of images of transcendence, such as sovereignty, but it takes transcendence to mean that God is some kind of superhuman being alongside other beings. Real transcendence, of course, means that God transcends all creaturely existence. As the source, ground and goal of all creaturely existence, the infinite mystery on which all finite being depends, his relation to us is unique. We can express it only by using language and images in odd ways that point beyond themselves to something quite incomparable with the creaturely sources of our language and images.'
'In the conflict of sovereignties the lines are drawn between those who worship the beast and those who worship God. Every stage of God’s victory – through chapters 7–19 – is accompanied by worship in heaven. The issue of true and false worship is fundamental to John’s prophetic insight into the power-structures of the world his readers lived in. In the end, the book is about the incompatibility of the exclusive monotheistic worship portrayed in chapter 4 with every kind of idolatry – the political, social and economic idolatries from which more narrowly religious idolatry is inseparable.'
'...so far from legitimizing human autocracy, divine rule radically de-legitimizes it. Absolute power, by definition, belongs only to God, and it is precisely the recognition of God’s absolute power that relativizes all human power. The image of God’s sovereignty functioned rather similarly in seventeenth-century England, where it played a part in the religious origins of modern democracy. Because God is king, it was said, all men and women are equally his subjects, and no man should arrogate to himself to rule over his fellows.'
'Revelation offers a different way of perceiving the world which leads people to resist and to challenge the effects of the dominant ideology. Moreover, since this different way of perceiving the world is fundamentally to open it to transcendence it resists any absolutizing of power or structures or ideals within this world.'
'The alternative vision of the world which Revelation claims to be orientated to the truth is strongly theocentric. In this it shows the power of a theocentric vision to confront oppression, injustice and inhumanity. In the end it is only a purified vision of the transcendence of God that can effectively resist the human tendency to idolatry which consists in absolutizing aspects of this world. The worship of the true God is the power of resistance to the deification of military and political power (the beast) and economic prosperity (Babylon). In the modern age we may add that it is what can prevent movements of resistance to injustice and oppression from dangerously absolutizing themselves.'
'In the beginning God had planted a garden for humanity to live in (Gen. 2:8). In the end he will give them a city. In the New Jerusalem the blessings of paradise will be restored, but the New Jerusalem is more than paradise regained. As a city it fulfills humanity’s desire to build out of nature a human place of human culture and community. True, it is given by God and so comes down from heaven. But this does not mean humanity makes no contribution to it. It consummates human history and culture insofar as these have been dedicated to God (cf. 21:12, 14, 24, 26), while excluding the distortions of history and culture into opposition to God that Babylon represents (cf. 21:8, 27; 22:15). It comes from God in the sense that all good comes from God, and all that is humanly good is best when acknowledged to come from God. But the city that both includes paradise unspoiled (22:1–2) and is adorned with the beauty of paradise (21:19) points to that harmony of nature and human culture to which ancient cities once aspired but which modern cities have increasingly betrayed.'
'In Revelation’s universal perspective, the doctrines of creation, redemption and eschatology are very closely linked. It is God the Creator of all reality who, in faithfulness to his creation, acts in Christ to reclaim and renew his whole creation. Because he is creation’s Alpha he will also be its Omega. The scope of his new creation is as universal as the scope of creation. It is as Creator that he claims his universal kingdom. It is as Creator that he can renew his creation, taking it beyond the threat of evil and nothingness into the eternity of his own presence. An important contribution of Revelation to New Testament theology is that it puts the New Testament’s central theme of salvation in Christ clearly into its total biblical–theological context of the Creator’s purpose for his whole creation. This is a perspective that needs recovering today.'
December 3, 2012
REVIEW AND CRITIQUE Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
In The Theology of the Book of Revelation Bauckham explicates how the sound interpretation of the theology of Revelation must be based on the proper understanding of the imageries in its original context.
Revelation in Bauckham’s analysis provides a theocentric vision of the coming of God’s kingdom, to purge and to refurbish the Christian imagination through a highly visualized symbolic world. Revelation as a part of the prophetic tradition of the OT must be understood in our general understanding of prophecy in the OT. The central message of Revelation was designed to confront the late first-century Roman Empire and imperial idolatries, and to call Christians to engage the spiritual warfare with witness and overcome the political pressure and seduction. The Millennium is solely to demonstrate the victory of the martyrs. The New Jerusalem represents a theocentric rule of God among the all nations God gathers into His kingdom.
Critiques:
Bauckham’s contextual approach to Revelation has important implications. First, he reverts the common understanding of the churches that the book is a prophecy predicting primarily the future events before the second coming. His contextual approach itself favors a more historical and situational interpretation and not surprisingly he gets what he wants. It would be somewhat inconsiderate in his contextual approach that he rarely connects and correlates the theocentric vision and the Prousia with other places in the NT. Instead he interacts more intensively with the OT and some second-temple Judaism, yet he did not explicate how and why in John’s thought these sources demonstrate the more imminent present reality of the time of Revelation.
Second, Bauckham’s connection of the symbolic function of imageries with historical context is very significant. But this raises the question whether he has reduced the biblical symbolism into political allegory. The intention of the profusion of OT imageries in Revelation is a very debatable subject. While the historical context of Roman power must be in view, it is a bias to say the Roman power as the exclusive context. As Bauckham has admitted, Revelation communicates more about the truth of God than the future events. Since Revelation provides a theocentric vision of the historical situation before the Second Coming, why would we not see Revelation as a symbolic representation of the history itself? After all, symbolism can convey the deep structure of human consciousness.
In The Theology of the Book of Revelation Bauckham explicates how the sound interpretation of the theology of Revelation must be based on the proper understanding of the imageries in its original context.
Revelation in Bauckham’s analysis provides a theocentric vision of the coming of God’s kingdom, to purge and to refurbish the Christian imagination through a highly visualized symbolic world. Revelation as a part of the prophetic tradition of the OT must be understood in our general understanding of prophecy in the OT. The central message of Revelation was designed to confront the late first-century Roman Empire and imperial idolatries, and to call Christians to engage the spiritual warfare with witness and overcome the political pressure and seduction. The Millennium is solely to demonstrate the victory of the martyrs. The New Jerusalem represents a theocentric rule of God among the all nations God gathers into His kingdom.
Critiques:
Bauckham’s contextual approach to Revelation has important implications. First, he reverts the common understanding of the churches that the book is a prophecy predicting primarily the future events before the second coming. His contextual approach itself favors a more historical and situational interpretation and not surprisingly he gets what he wants. It would be somewhat inconsiderate in his contextual approach that he rarely connects and correlates the theocentric vision and the Prousia with other places in the NT. Instead he interacts more intensively with the OT and some second-temple Judaism, yet he did not explicate how and why in John’s thought these sources demonstrate the more imminent present reality of the time of Revelation.
Second, Bauckham’s connection of the symbolic function of imageries with historical context is very significant. But this raises the question whether he has reduced the biblical symbolism into political allegory. The intention of the profusion of OT imageries in Revelation is a very debatable subject. While the historical context of Roman power must be in view, it is a bias to say the Roman power as the exclusive context. As Bauckham has admitted, Revelation communicates more about the truth of God than the future events. Since Revelation provides a theocentric vision of the historical situation before the Second Coming, why would we not see Revelation as a symbolic representation of the history itself? After all, symbolism can convey the deep structure of human consciousness.
August 14, 2024
Revelation seems to be an apocalyptic prophecy in the form of a circular letter to seven churches.
Revelation stands in the tradition of Jewish apocalyptic material. It asks the question, Who is Lord over the world?
Revelation readers were actually hearers, because the book was designed to be orally reenacted in worship services. Its effect would be comparable to a dramatic performance in which the audience is immersed into the world of drama for the duration and their perception of the world powerfully shifted by their experience within the drama.
The visual power of the book effects a kind of purging of the imagination refurbishing it with an alternative reality of how the world is and will be. (e.g. 17, goddess Roma, but John sees her as a prostitute, seductive whore, scheming witch).
True knowledge of who God is, is inseparable from worship of God.
The living creatures combine the features of Isaiah’s seraphim and Ezekiel’s cherubim are the heavenly prototypes of the heavenly cherubim that flanked the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the earthly temple. Their ceaseless worship at the heart of all reality around the divine throne represents the theocentric nature of all reality, to glorify God.
Humanity is displaced from center, where humans naturally tend to place themselves.
In the conflict, the lines are drawn between those who worship the beast and those who worship God. Every stage of God’s victory 7-19 is accompanied by worship in heaven. True & false worship (idolatry)
God’s holiness is manifested in judgment on evil. 3 series.
No more sea: The possibility of reversion of creation to chaos is no more. It’s the final removal of a threat of another flood. In new creation, God makes his creation eternally secure from any threat of destructive evil. It portrays God as faithful to Noahic covenant.
John defies grammar for the sake of theology. God and Christ. John never makes them the subject of a plural verb or uses a plural pronoun to refer to them both. He’s avoiding polytheistic language, while also making Christ divine.
Major symbolic theme: Role of Christ is to establish God’s kingdom on earth. 11:15. (7x4 occurrences of lamb) Salvation and judgment are two sides of the same coin.
Judgments up to/including the 6th trumpet are limited. They’re warning judgments designed to bring humanity to repentance.
People were so impressed! In early centuries people came to faith in Christ because Christians were effective witnesses to the truth of the gospel because their faith in Christ’s victory over death was so convincingly evident in the way they faced death and died.
Martyrdom is described as the beasts victory over the saints and their victory over the beast. John poses the Q: Who is the real victor? Do we see things from the earthly perspective or the heavenly perspective?
Images are not codes to be decoded. This fails to take the images seriously as images. John depicts the future in images in order to do both more and less than a literal prediction could. Less because Revelation does not offer an outline of events as if prophecy were history written in advance, More because what it does provide is insight into the nature of God’s purpose for the future and shapes our attitudes toward the future and invites their active participation in God’s purpose.
Babylon’s wine is the corrupting way of life which she offered the nations and enticed them to worship the beast. God’s wine is the judgment on the nations. Alluding to Isaiah 63:3, Joel 3:13.
Jesus’ eyes of flame are those of the divine judge who sees infallibly into hearts and minds, it’s not lamb turned slaughterer, it is the witness turned judge. The faithful and true witness is faithful and true. (19:11-12) The blood of his faithful witness to death still marks him.
The question is, Given the power of the beast, how is God going to establish his reign? It will be by God’s Spirit. Zechariah 4:6.
The seven spirits are the power of the church’s prophetic witness to the world symbolized by the ministry of the two witnesses.
The eyes represent discernment, and the horns are power.
The church’s role is to confront the idolatry of Rome/Babylon in a prophetic conflict, like that of Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians, and Elijah with Jezebel and prophets of Baal.
Visions of Babylon and New Jerusalem are contrasted. Chaste bride, wife of lamb vs harlot. Splendor is glory of God vs glory from exploiting others. Nations walk by her light vs corruption deception of nations. Kings bring glory/worship into her, vs Babylon ruling over kings of earth. Water and tree of life, vs Babylon’s wine which makes nations drunk. Life and healing vs blood of slaughter. God’s people are called to enter NJ vs called out of Babylon.
New Jerusalem is a place where people live in the immediate presence of God. 3 aspects, place, people, presence of God. Paradise (natural world in ideal state, rescued from destroyed, reconciled with humanity), holy city (God rules land and people, heaven and earth meet, people live in theocentric community) temple (God’s worshippers see God’s face, holy mountain, where sacred cities were built)
City built out of precious stones of paradise. Ezekiel says to King of Tyre. You were in Eden the garden of God. Revelation 21 is identical with those precious stones in priestly breastplate and foundations of New Jerusalem.
In the beginning God planted a garden for people to live in, in the end God will give them a city. In the New Jerusalem the blessings of paradise will be restored, but more than that, it fulfills human desire to build out of nature a human place of culture and community, but not in opposition to God like Babylon.
New Creation will be even more beautiful because of its refection of God’s own splendor. Similarly, The nations and kings will enjoy their own glory, all the goods of human culture, but more so by dedicating it to God’s glory. God will be all in all. The closeness of God’s presence to all things. Life in the fullest sense, out of reach from all that threatens life here and now!
4-5 In heaven the living creatures form an inner circle of priests in the immediate presence of God and 24 elders form an inner circle of thrones mediating God’s rule. In 22 however all who enter the holy city have immediate access to God’s presence.
“They shall see God’s face” Face expresses who a person is, to see God’s face is to know who God is in his personal being, the heart of our eternal joy.
Paradoxically, God’s service is perfect freedom. We find our fulfillment only when through our free obedience, God’s will becomes the spontaneous desire of our hearts. In new creation, God’s rule and human autonomy will coincide.
The church is called to participate in Jesus’ victory over evil by following the same path Jesus walked: faithful witness to truth to the point of death. Truth will prevail over lies. Jesus will fulfill all the promises of God.
What is predicted in Revelation is a period of conflict between the church and beast, and the church will stay loyal to God even to the point of death.
We can apply the images to contemporary societies. Any society whom Babylon’s cap fits must wear it. Those who absolutizes its economic prosperity at the expense of others comes under Babylon’s condemnation.
Idolatry is absolutizing (or making ultimate) aspects of this world. Worship of true God is resistance to deification of military and political power, the beast and economic prosperity (Injustice, oppression).
Revelation stands in the tradition of Jewish apocalyptic material. It asks the question, Who is Lord over the world?
Revelation readers were actually hearers, because the book was designed to be orally reenacted in worship services. Its effect would be comparable to a dramatic performance in which the audience is immersed into the world of drama for the duration and their perception of the world powerfully shifted by their experience within the drama.
The visual power of the book effects a kind of purging of the imagination refurbishing it with an alternative reality of how the world is and will be. (e.g. 17, goddess Roma, but John sees her as a prostitute, seductive whore, scheming witch).
True knowledge of who God is, is inseparable from worship of God.
The living creatures combine the features of Isaiah’s seraphim and Ezekiel’s cherubim are the heavenly prototypes of the heavenly cherubim that flanked the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the earthly temple. Their ceaseless worship at the heart of all reality around the divine throne represents the theocentric nature of all reality, to glorify God.
Humanity is displaced from center, where humans naturally tend to place themselves.
In the conflict, the lines are drawn between those who worship the beast and those who worship God. Every stage of God’s victory 7-19 is accompanied by worship in heaven. True & false worship (idolatry)
God’s holiness is manifested in judgment on evil. 3 series.
No more sea: The possibility of reversion of creation to chaos is no more. It’s the final removal of a threat of another flood. In new creation, God makes his creation eternally secure from any threat of destructive evil. It portrays God as faithful to Noahic covenant.
John defies grammar for the sake of theology. God and Christ. John never makes them the subject of a plural verb or uses a plural pronoun to refer to them both. He’s avoiding polytheistic language, while also making Christ divine.
Major symbolic theme: Role of Christ is to establish God’s kingdom on earth. 11:15. (7x4 occurrences of lamb) Salvation and judgment are two sides of the same coin.
Judgments up to/including the 6th trumpet are limited. They’re warning judgments designed to bring humanity to repentance.
People were so impressed! In early centuries people came to faith in Christ because Christians were effective witnesses to the truth of the gospel because their faith in Christ’s victory over death was so convincingly evident in the way they faced death and died.
Martyrdom is described as the beasts victory over the saints and their victory over the beast. John poses the Q: Who is the real victor? Do we see things from the earthly perspective or the heavenly perspective?
Images are not codes to be decoded. This fails to take the images seriously as images. John depicts the future in images in order to do both more and less than a literal prediction could. Less because Revelation does not offer an outline of events as if prophecy were history written in advance, More because what it does provide is insight into the nature of God’s purpose for the future and shapes our attitudes toward the future and invites their active participation in God’s purpose.
Babylon’s wine is the corrupting way of life which she offered the nations and enticed them to worship the beast. God’s wine is the judgment on the nations. Alluding to Isaiah 63:3, Joel 3:13.
Jesus’ eyes of flame are those of the divine judge who sees infallibly into hearts and minds, it’s not lamb turned slaughterer, it is the witness turned judge. The faithful and true witness is faithful and true. (19:11-12) The blood of his faithful witness to death still marks him.
The question is, Given the power of the beast, how is God going to establish his reign? It will be by God’s Spirit. Zechariah 4:6.
The seven spirits are the power of the church’s prophetic witness to the world symbolized by the ministry of the two witnesses.
The eyes represent discernment, and the horns are power.
The church’s role is to confront the idolatry of Rome/Babylon in a prophetic conflict, like that of Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians, and Elijah with Jezebel and prophets of Baal.
Visions of Babylon and New Jerusalem are contrasted. Chaste bride, wife of lamb vs harlot. Splendor is glory of God vs glory from exploiting others. Nations walk by her light vs corruption deception of nations. Kings bring glory/worship into her, vs Babylon ruling over kings of earth. Water and tree of life, vs Babylon’s wine which makes nations drunk. Life and healing vs blood of slaughter. God’s people are called to enter NJ vs called out of Babylon.
New Jerusalem is a place where people live in the immediate presence of God. 3 aspects, place, people, presence of God. Paradise (natural world in ideal state, rescued from destroyed, reconciled with humanity), holy city (God rules land and people, heaven and earth meet, people live in theocentric community) temple (God’s worshippers see God’s face, holy mountain, where sacred cities were built)
City built out of precious stones of paradise. Ezekiel says to King of Tyre. You were in Eden the garden of God. Revelation 21 is identical with those precious stones in priestly breastplate and foundations of New Jerusalem.
In the beginning God planted a garden for people to live in, in the end God will give them a city. In the New Jerusalem the blessings of paradise will be restored, but more than that, it fulfills human desire to build out of nature a human place of culture and community, but not in opposition to God like Babylon.
New Creation will be even more beautiful because of its refection of God’s own splendor. Similarly, The nations and kings will enjoy their own glory, all the goods of human culture, but more so by dedicating it to God’s glory. God will be all in all. The closeness of God’s presence to all things. Life in the fullest sense, out of reach from all that threatens life here and now!
4-5 In heaven the living creatures form an inner circle of priests in the immediate presence of God and 24 elders form an inner circle of thrones mediating God’s rule. In 22 however all who enter the holy city have immediate access to God’s presence.
“They shall see God’s face” Face expresses who a person is, to see God’s face is to know who God is in his personal being, the heart of our eternal joy.
Paradoxically, God’s service is perfect freedom. We find our fulfillment only when through our free obedience, God’s will becomes the spontaneous desire of our hearts. In new creation, God’s rule and human autonomy will coincide.
The church is called to participate in Jesus’ victory over evil by following the same path Jesus walked: faithful witness to truth to the point of death. Truth will prevail over lies. Jesus will fulfill all the promises of God.
What is predicted in Revelation is a period of conflict between the church and beast, and the church will stay loyal to God even to the point of death.
We can apply the images to contemporary societies. Any society whom Babylon’s cap fits must wear it. Those who absolutizes its economic prosperity at the expense of others comes under Babylon’s condemnation.
Idolatry is absolutizing (or making ultimate) aspects of this world. Worship of true God is resistance to deification of military and political power, the beast and economic prosperity (Injustice, oppression).
March 6, 2019
Brilliant, clear, and eye-opening. This is the best single work on a book of the Bible that I have read. It is not a commentary, nor simply a long commentary introduction. Instead, it is a well organized, comprehensive view of Revelation, with its context, various themes, and important verses explained—even including a final chapter on how the book applies to us today.
But more importantly than its clarity and scope is the fact that I believe Bauckham is *right.* Oh how confusing the book can be. But wow, does he explain it so well! In the midst of all the misguided futurist, historicist views, here Bauckham shows what John is tiring to communicate.
And I think the main reason Bauckham does this so well is because he is so steeped in the Old Testament. The book of Revelation has more OT references that any other NT book by far! In so many of the verses John is alluding to some Old Testament prophetic text to paint his pictures. Bauckham takes these seriously, and doing so, he avoids many of the modern errors we make of the book when we make essentially it a future 'code.'
Moreover, besides it being clear and the right interpretation (in my opinion), what I also appreciated is that this isn't just a piece of scholarly work. Of course, it is very scholarly. (Warning: It isn't very easy to read. It is super-dense!) But Bauckham is very God-, Christ-, gospel-, and cross-centered. This was a tad surprising to me, just because I didn't expect it. It isn't *devotional*, but it is *worshipful* (if I may make such a distinction using the modern usage of the word 'devotional'). For example, his overarching outline is God-, Christ-, and gospel-focused right away. After an introductory chapter, he has a chapter about God, then Christ, then Christ's victory on the cross and how that applies to us. Such organization and focus was refreshing. And most importantly, Bauckham displayed that these were *John's* focuses in the book.
Lastly, I will just say two important things that stuck out to me. These aren't the most important, but they'r eon my mind currently.
First, Bauckham helpfully shows that for John, the book of Revelation has three main themes, derived from the Old Testament.
1) First, is the theme of *messianic victory*. This was a clear OT (and NT) idea that the Messiah (King) would have victory over his enemies, even world-wide global victory. John shows this was accomplished, but through Jesus' death and resurrection. But not only that, this explains many other pictures, like the 144,000, which is a census (like OT censuses) in which the army of the King (Messiah) is numbered. The 144,000 is symbolic of completeness (12,000x12) since the actual number is innumerable (next few verses), but it is a census. This also makes sense out of the frequent command to conquer. We as Christians are in a war against the ideologies of the world. We fight and conquer and don't compromise, and only those who do are true Christians.
2) Second, is the theme of the *new exodus*. This is evident with the images of the judgments, where so many resemble the plagues. And it's similar in how the judgments don't lead the nations to repent (just like Pharaoh and Egypt). It's also similar in how the saints sing a new song of Moses about deliverance, like Moses did after crossing the Red Sea. And finally, most obviously, it is accomplished through the Lamb slain for them. In other words, the victory is pictured as the new exodus, which is a NT theme elsewhere.
3) Third, is the theme of *witness*. Christians are witnesses to the Messiah's victory/new exodus, and most importantly, to the truth and reality of God. They are witnesses to the gospel and to the fact that God soon will have his creation back. Finally, we are witnesses to the ends of the nations. This is not just a Hewish salvation, but one for the world (a theme that comes up again and again).
I think these three themes make sense out of much of what John is writing.
Second, I want to just point out one extremely helpful thing Bauckham said. This: *The judgments of the seven seals from chapters 6-9 are not the content of the scroll!* This is obviously right, and it's a massive point. So many people think that the 'scroll' outlines the last days of the world, and the judgements are part of the scroll. But in Revelation, that's not true. The scroll is the scroll. The seals open the scroll. Instead, each seal does bring judgment, but it does *not* bring repentance. In other words, John's purpose is to show that the judgments don't lead to repentance (which is his final point at the end of the seals in chapter 9).
What about the scroll then? It is finally opened in chapter 10 (after the seals are done) and explained in chapter 11! This is the climax and center of the book. John takes the image from Ezekiel where Ezekiel is given the scroll, eats it (internalizes it), and then says what the scroll message was. John does the same, eating gin chapter 10, and then explaining it in chapter 11. *This means that chapters 6-9 are setting the stage by showing that judgments don't work to bring about repentance. The center of the book is then chapters 10-11 where the scroll is explained.* SO what is the scroll about? It is about the church—the two witnesses, witnessing to the truth about the Lamb and Messiah, and doing so by following the way of their Lord, through their own sacrificial deaths. But the good news is that they will be successful: the gospel will go to all the earth through the witness of the church.
Bauckham points out we know this is the center and main point of the book because 1) this *is* the content of the scroll, and 2) all the chapters after this just expound on themes (such as beast) that are brought in during chapter 11.
All that being said, the center and most important part of the book is chapter 11. The church is to witness to the nations. We will be victorious, but our witness is one of sacrifice and love, like our Lord. (It is 'two witnesses' because based on the testimony of at least two witnesses is an OT idea, and the church is to be prophetic like Moses and Eliah [as pictured in ch. 11]).
So good. I encourage anyone who is confused or interested in Revelation to give it a read.
And most important, it makes much more sense now why God included it in the canon. And Bauckham shows well in his final chapter on application, the church throughout ages did not read it as a code book like we do. Instead, it has been a constant reminder of the church to conquer with the king by the blood of the Lamb, and to witness to his victory, even unto death. That's the point. It was the point for the early Christians in Rome, and it's the point to us today.
But more importantly than its clarity and scope is the fact that I believe Bauckham is *right.* Oh how confusing the book can be. But wow, does he explain it so well! In the midst of all the misguided futurist, historicist views, here Bauckham shows what John is tiring to communicate.
And I think the main reason Bauckham does this so well is because he is so steeped in the Old Testament. The book of Revelation has more OT references that any other NT book by far! In so many of the verses John is alluding to some Old Testament prophetic text to paint his pictures. Bauckham takes these seriously, and doing so, he avoids many of the modern errors we make of the book when we make essentially it a future 'code.'
Moreover, besides it being clear and the right interpretation (in my opinion), what I also appreciated is that this isn't just a piece of scholarly work. Of course, it is very scholarly. (Warning: It isn't very easy to read. It is super-dense!) But Bauckham is very God-, Christ-, gospel-, and cross-centered. This was a tad surprising to me, just because I didn't expect it. It isn't *devotional*, but it is *worshipful* (if I may make such a distinction using the modern usage of the word 'devotional'). For example, his overarching outline is God-, Christ-, and gospel-focused right away. After an introductory chapter, he has a chapter about God, then Christ, then Christ's victory on the cross and how that applies to us. Such organization and focus was refreshing. And most importantly, Bauckham displayed that these were *John's* focuses in the book.
Lastly, I will just say two important things that stuck out to me. These aren't the most important, but they'r eon my mind currently.
First, Bauckham helpfully shows that for John, the book of Revelation has three main themes, derived from the Old Testament.
1) First, is the theme of *messianic victory*. This was a clear OT (and NT) idea that the Messiah (King) would have victory over his enemies, even world-wide global victory. John shows this was accomplished, but through Jesus' death and resurrection. But not only that, this explains many other pictures, like the 144,000, which is a census (like OT censuses) in which the army of the King (Messiah) is numbered. The 144,000 is symbolic of completeness (12,000x12) since the actual number is innumerable (next few verses), but it is a census. This also makes sense out of the frequent command to conquer. We as Christians are in a war against the ideologies of the world. We fight and conquer and don't compromise, and only those who do are true Christians.
2) Second, is the theme of the *new exodus*. This is evident with the images of the judgments, where so many resemble the plagues. And it's similar in how the judgments don't lead the nations to repent (just like Pharaoh and Egypt). It's also similar in how the saints sing a new song of Moses about deliverance, like Moses did after crossing the Red Sea. And finally, most obviously, it is accomplished through the Lamb slain for them. In other words, the victory is pictured as the new exodus, which is a NT theme elsewhere.
3) Third, is the theme of *witness*. Christians are witnesses to the Messiah's victory/new exodus, and most importantly, to the truth and reality of God. They are witnesses to the gospel and to the fact that God soon will have his creation back. Finally, we are witnesses to the ends of the nations. This is not just a Hewish salvation, but one for the world (a theme that comes up again and again).
I think these three themes make sense out of much of what John is writing.
Second, I want to just point out one extremely helpful thing Bauckham said. This: *The judgments of the seven seals from chapters 6-9 are not the content of the scroll!* This is obviously right, and it's a massive point. So many people think that the 'scroll' outlines the last days of the world, and the judgements are part of the scroll. But in Revelation, that's not true. The scroll is the scroll. The seals open the scroll. Instead, each seal does bring judgment, but it does *not* bring repentance. In other words, John's purpose is to show that the judgments don't lead to repentance (which is his final point at the end of the seals in chapter 9).
What about the scroll then? It is finally opened in chapter 10 (after the seals are done) and explained in chapter 11! This is the climax and center of the book. John takes the image from Ezekiel where Ezekiel is given the scroll, eats it (internalizes it), and then says what the scroll message was. John does the same, eating gin chapter 10, and then explaining it in chapter 11. *This means that chapters 6-9 are setting the stage by showing that judgments don't work to bring about repentance. The center of the book is then chapters 10-11 where the scroll is explained.* SO what is the scroll about? It is about the church—the two witnesses, witnessing to the truth about the Lamb and Messiah, and doing so by following the way of their Lord, through their own sacrificial deaths. But the good news is that they will be successful: the gospel will go to all the earth through the witness of the church.
Bauckham points out we know this is the center and main point of the book because 1) this *is* the content of the scroll, and 2) all the chapters after this just expound on themes (such as beast) that are brought in during chapter 11.
All that being said, the center and most important part of the book is chapter 11. The church is to witness to the nations. We will be victorious, but our witness is one of sacrifice and love, like our Lord. (It is 'two witnesses' because based on the testimony of at least two witnesses is an OT idea, and the church is to be prophetic like Moses and Eliah [as pictured in ch. 11]).
So good. I encourage anyone who is confused or interested in Revelation to give it a read.
And most important, it makes much more sense now why God included it in the canon. And Bauckham shows well in his final chapter on application, the church throughout ages did not read it as a code book like we do. Instead, it has been a constant reminder of the church to conquer with the king by the blood of the Lamb, and to witness to his victory, even unto death. That's the point. It was the point for the early Christians in Rome, and it's the point to us today.
April 28, 2024
An excellent introduction to Revelation and its theology from one of the best in the field. Bauckham tends to focus on classical theological questions such as divine providence, Trinity, doctrine of God as well as interpreting the symbolism of Revelation. I found it insightful for my own reading.
Bauckham discusses only briefly the political theology of Revelation. So I would recommend reading other books as a companion to this one. One of my favorites being Gorman's Reading Revelation Responsibly, which is more consciously contextual and discusses Revelation's political theology. Scott McKnight's book is good too although I like Gorman's better.
Bauckham discusses only briefly the political theology of Revelation. So I would recommend reading other books as a companion to this one. One of my favorites being Gorman's Reading Revelation Responsibly, which is more consciously contextual and discusses Revelation's political theology. Scott McKnight's book is good too although I like Gorman's better.
January 23, 2015
This book completely changed my perspective on Revelation. Having grown up with a more Dispensationalist view on the end times where the sequence of events is drawn from imagery within Revelation, I was thrilled to discover how much depth was to be found in John's writing! I would highly recommend everyone take the time to work through this book and be challenged by the call to faithful witness that Revelation has for all followers of Christ in every age.
April 27, 2012
This book is nothing short of fantastic. It is full of insight into the book of Revelation drawn not from current events but from comparison with the rest of Scripture. You probably will not agree with all of his conclusions, but I cannot imagine anyone walking away from this book without being helped in their understanding of this perennially challenging book. Highly, highly recommended!
December 17, 2025
This little book is one of the most helpful resources I have ever used as far as understanding the bigger picture of Revelation. It's expensive for being such a short book, but I would recommend this be the first thing anyone reads who wants a resource on the book of Revelation. It's very clear and concise and theologically deep. I read this on my Kindle and highlighted nearly the entire book.
February 1, 2025
Read this because of the Bible Project folks. I can see how they pull a lot from this text.
January 30, 2021
In which Richard Bauckham demolishes sensational and parochial interpretations of Revelation. Reading it brought to mind what Chesterton said once: John the Revelator saw many monsters but none so wild as his own commentators. (Far be it from me to mention any recent ones, but in general think Left Behind, Chick Tract publications, and D.K.'s Doctrines of the Bible.)
I'm sorry for what this does to my allegiance to the cherished Evangelical doctrine of Scriptural Perspicuity, but Bauckham forever convinced me of what I had long suspected: 21st-century Westerners cannot come to any real understanding of Revelation simply by reading an English translation without any scholarly/literary input.
In Bauckham's telling, which backs up every minute claim with maddening precision, Revelation primarily has to do with a particular time and place, namely the 1st century Christian church. He masterfully unpacks the allusions (seemingly at least half of the entire text of Revelation) to Exodus, Zechariah, Isaiah, and other OT texts. Toward the end he shifts to a comparison of Babylon (Rome, but also any society operating from her modes of being) to the New Jerusalem, which was long anticipated in the Abrahamic Covenant. The nations will be gathered to her. She exists to carry out God's original purpose for humanity: to form a global family.
In short, it does historic and literary justice to the world of Revelation, it offers a compelling and transformative theology of Revelation, and, especially if you were taught the perspicuity of scripture, it will give you a revelation about Revelation.
I'm sorry for what this does to my allegiance to the cherished Evangelical doctrine of Scriptural Perspicuity, but Bauckham forever convinced me of what I had long suspected: 21st-century Westerners cannot come to any real understanding of Revelation simply by reading an English translation without any scholarly/literary input.
In Bauckham's telling, which backs up every minute claim with maddening precision, Revelation primarily has to do with a particular time and place, namely the 1st century Christian church. He masterfully unpacks the allusions (seemingly at least half of the entire text of Revelation) to Exodus, Zechariah, Isaiah, and other OT texts. Toward the end he shifts to a comparison of Babylon (Rome, but also any society operating from her modes of being) to the New Jerusalem, which was long anticipated in the Abrahamic Covenant. The nations will be gathered to her. She exists to carry out God's original purpose for humanity: to form a global family.
In short, it does historic and literary justice to the world of Revelation, it offers a compelling and transformative theology of Revelation, and, especially if you were taught the perspicuity of scripture, it will give you a revelation about Revelation.
August 27, 2022
Bauckham, who is apparently an English Evangelical Christian, ("English" being there to reassure you he isn't American), does an absolutely outstanding job in explaining the book of Revelation. Doubtless it is one of the most enigmatic, as well as most diversely interpreted parts of the Bible canon. With language that is surprisingly accessible for such a theological undertaking, Bauckham unpacks its otherworldly imagery, its coded symbols, and its complex interweaving of prophecy, epistle, and resistance literature. Readers who are more drawn in by the idea of discovering Nostradamus-like predictions about the approaching destruction of the world will be disappointed, as while this book does not go as far as fully demystifying John's vision, it does stress the importance or recognising how contextually and contemporaneously located many of the things to which it alluded were.
This in no way detracts from the power and profoundness of the text, and Bauckham argues as a man of faith that we must take heed of Revelation's messages, holding to our faith and witness in a world that can, in the end, do nothing other than stand in conflict with the Church and and the true teachings of Christianity.
This in no way detracts from the power and profoundness of the text, and Bauckham argues as a man of faith that we must take heed of Revelation's messages, holding to our faith and witness in a world that can, in the end, do nothing other than stand in conflict with the Church and and the true teachings of Christianity.
January 26, 2021
An excellent introduction to the theological emphases and nuances of John's Revelation. Bauckham defends an "idealist" perspective though he does discuss other views on the book including futurist and preterist views both the partial and full varieties albeit briefly. The book is primarily centered on discussing the theological aspects such as the nature of genres in the book, the usage of pictorial representation, and the nature of numerous aspects of those symbols. For instance, Babylon representative of Rome and every empire that comes after it that persecutes the church or seeks to economically oppress believers. Bauckham is not always agreeable, there are some ares where he attributes wrong emphases and misses some of the main points, he could have also described some more competing views with fairer shakes, but it's a good introduction to understanding this often misunderstood book. I'd recommend it for pastors, teachers, students of the Bible at a deeper level, and those looking to understand the theology of Revelation from an Idealist perspective.
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