Understanding the Book of Revelation

by Jay A. Parry, Donald W. Parry

If you've ever tried to puzzle your way through John the Revelator's words and symbols, you know how difficult it can be to understand them. Is there a reliable way to interpret the meaning of the winged beasts, phantom horsemen, and blood-red moon described by John? Is thre a way to understand the tumultuous and glorious events he saw in his vision? There is! in this volume, Jay A. and Donald W. Parry help decipher John's great vision, drawing upon the scriptures, the teachings of Joseph Smith, and insights from other General Authorities. Joseph Smith taught that "the book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written." With the help provided in this book, you will agree.

Genres: Religion, Lds, Nonfiction, Reference

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Ashley Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is super informative and a great reference guide for the future. Though I will be using it as a reference from here on out, I am really glad I read it cover to cover first. This quite literally takes you through the book of Revelation "line upon line, precept upon precept."

[Sirpa Grierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Liked" is not really the right word for this book that was so incredibly informative (Joseph Smith said that this was one of the easiest of books to understand along with the Book of Isaiah...) but one that is fabulous for understanding John's writing in the Book of revelation. Don is an amazingly thorough writer with a Hebraic scholar's understanding of the culture and language used as well as a solid spiritual foundation that he writes from. Depressing, frightening, apocalyptic, redemptive: these are words to describe John's vision. I guess I really wanted to be informed.

[Marj]

Wow! Did I ever learn a lot reading this book. Symbolism, doctrine, and John the Revelator's vision are all explained in language that I was able to understand. These two authors made a difficult, but compelling subject an important read for me.

My goal for the remainder of this year is to complete my reading of the New Testament and this book has certainly aided my understanding of the Book of Revelation.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very informative. Learned a ton! However, I could only digest about a chapter a day. I give it 3 stars because I found it frustrating when I would look up references for previous mentioned concepts the references were sometimes incorrect. That being said, if you want to understand the book of revelation this book was very helpful.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very, very insightful and helpful commentary on the Book of Revelation in the New Testament which provides a great deal of clarity to the symbolism and many of the difficult passages of the book. This book deeply enriched my study as I read the Book of Revelation. I strongly recommend it.

[Sandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t read all the info in the appendixes as I originally wanted to, but I really liked everything else. I think the next time I read it, I will try again to read it all. But I loved everything else!

[Shambray Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book for explaining The Book of Revelation that can be a really hard book to read. It broke it down so well and I loved looking through the graphs and everything. Very informative.

[Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent commentary on the book of Revelation for Mormon readers. As with trying to read any scriptural commentary from cover to cover, this took a while to get through. However, it did wonders for my understanding of Revelation. I actually got to assist Dr. Parry in his research for this book while studying at BYU. I didn't do much as I'm obviously not credited but it was fun all the same.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very similar to my report on Understanding Isaiah. The authors go into historical context to paint the picture of what is happening. Once those things are known, the book makes much more sense and can be applied and understood much easier.

[Ger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to understand guide to the Book of Revelations with sound explainations of the imagery and symbolism. There was no doom and gloom tone to the message but it was a solemn reminder that things will get nasty as the earth's history concludes.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly hard to follow. You have to REALLY get down and dirty with this book and look up cross references etc in order to get the most out of this book. But I did learn a lot from it. I will probably refer back to it many times as I encounter questions about the book of revelation.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the whole thing several years ago, but read it in part to study with NT. Had some good insights, although I didn't always feel like they were completely accurate.

[Rachel Blackmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book of Revelation makes me say "Huh?!" over and over again. This is a verse-by-verse aide to help you get what's going on with quotes from prophets and scriptures. Invaluable!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good resource for explanations of the complicated imagery of John. It takes you step by step through each verse in the book of Revelation.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very informative. The authors clarified many ideas in John's writings. Multiple references showed the cohesiveness of the words of the prophets.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to his Isaiah book.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great reference book for those seeking further insight into the Book of Revelation.

[Erneilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent reference to one of my favorite books in the New Testament.