Revelation

Lectio Continua Expository Commentary on the New Testament

by Joel R. Beeke

Are you confused by the great variety of interpretations of the book of Revelation, such as the preterist, the historicist, the futurist, the idealist, and an eclectic approach that embraces the strengths of all these? Would you like a clear understanding of various millennial approaches related to the last times? In this book of sermons on Revelation, Joel Beeke gives you all this and much more as he preaches through Revelation in a thoroughly biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical way intended to comfort and mature believers, to warn the unsaved to flee to Christ for salvation, and to exalt Christ as the King of kings and only Head of His church.

Genres: Christian, Religion, Theology

666 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2017

About the author

Dr. Joel R. Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978 and has served as a pastor of his current church, Heritage Reformed Congregation, since 1986. He is also editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited fifty books and contributed over fifteen hundred articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary is in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology. He is frequently called upon to lecture at Reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: Calvin, Esther, and Lydia.

Reviews

[Alan Rennê · Rating 5 out of 5]

Em breve, em português!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If studying Revelation doesn't make you bow before the Lord Jesus Christ in wonder, adoration, and joy, then you have missed the point of the whole book.

What a blessing it was to read this expository commentary based on Dr. Beeke's sermon series, especially in this year of 2020. With so many widely, and wildly, misinterpreted messages of Revelation that exist in the world, to understand the focus on Christ our King brings comfort and hope in such a time as this.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near - Rev. 1:3

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is much to admire in Beeke's commentary on Revelation. The commentary is based upon a sermon series at his home church and is naturally very pastoral. This is by far the book's greatest strength, for Beeke has a pastor's heart and does a remarkable job in bringing the text to bear upon his readers. It does have significant weaknesses, however, as his idealist/amillenialist approach saturates the book.

Beeke is very straightforward about his approach, describing how his position varies from the other acknowledged positions.

For example, he writes:

He describes his position as "an 'optimistic amillennialist' in eschatology, my approach in preaching has not been to try to find some literal or historical meaning in every detail of every verse."

"there are seven parallel sections in Revelation. Each section offers a different view of the church in history..."

He describes these seven parallel sections as offering, "a different view of the church in history... With this parallel or cyclical view of the book, we will see how each section spans the entire dispensation of the gospel..."

He gives his readers hints on how to read and understand Revelation. He writes: "...numbers in this book are symbolic rather than mathematical. Colors are symbolic. So are animals, many of which we have never seen. So are patterns that keep repeating. Revelation draws us into a world which is full of symbols that leave us with profound impressions. As we examine these symbols and see what they mean, we will begin to understand the message of this book. Revelation is a kind of picture book of the glory of Jesus Christ. It is, as John says, the revelation of Jesus Christ. What you and I are meant to see in this book is not a book of puzzles but a catalog of paintings depicting the glory of our Lord and Savior."

Another great line: "We usually understand a prophecy as something that foretells the future. But in the Bible, most prophecy does not speak about the future as much as it applies the Word of God to the present situation. There may be indications about the future, but by and large prophecy is given so that we may know how to live for God’s glory in the present."

Again, there is much to admire here. He does seem to have a fairly good grasp on the symbolism of the book, yet he seems blind to so much of what is happening in the book. In fact, I can't help but think it is a self-imposed blindness.

One of the most important interpretive questions for understanding Revelation is in dating the book. Beeke blunders here. He accepts Irenaeus's dating of Revelation of 95 A.D. But this dating is dubious and arbitrary when there are other early Christian writers that give different, and earlier dates. But this presupposition taints his entire reading of Revelation.

Even worse, he takes an almost entirely pragmatic approach in why he chooses his idealistic approach to the book.

He argues against the preterist approach: "preterism fails to adequately account for the way Revelation also reveals events and circumstances that characterize the struggles of the church throughout the entire inter-advental age."

The then argues for his 'eclectic' approach, which at least in my opinion, leans very heavily toward the 'idealist' position. He writes, "The obvious strength of eclecticism is its ability to incorporate the primary emphasis of the other without the one-sidedness of that often characterizes alternative views." Now, of course whatever approach we take to a text, it must 'work' in some sense. It must make sense of the text and fit into the context of the rest of the Bible. But the way he caricatures preterism and so quickly assumes the late dating of the book, it doesn't appear that he truly understands, or has studied the preterist position.

Regarding the dating of the book, he writes:

"the early church uniformly says Revelation was written much later, in the mid 90s. The other problem with this view is its inconsistent use of literal and symbolic interpretation. The preterist view says the temple is symbolic and the court is symbolic, but the holy city is literal. That is because the literal temple was destroyed in AD 70, but in our passage, the temple is not destroyed. So the preterist view cannot be the correct interpretation of Revelation 11."

Beeke is wrong about the uniformity of the early church dating the book to the mid 90s. This has been refuted elsewhere, in books such as "The Early Church and the End of the World" by Gary DeMar and Francis Gumerlock as well as Kenneth Gentry's book "The Beast of Revelation".

He's also very fast and loose with the facts about preterist interpretation of Chapter 11, dismissing the entire preterist interpretation of chapter 11 because of one of the ways some preterists interpret it. I had to re-read that section a few times to be sure I wasn't misunderstanding him because his argument is that bad.

Early in the book Beek writes that Jesus "will come again in glory. The words, “He cometh with clouds,” allude to the promise of Daniel 7:13–14, “Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” John is assuring believers that Jesus is coming; He is on His way. Mantled in clouds of divine glory, Christ will return to earth to judge every person who lives or has ever lived."

This common interpretation of Daniel 7:13-14 is widely accepted yet I cannot understand why. Beeke clearly links the Daniel passage with the second coming of Christ, but why? The text is clearly about Christ's coming to God (the Ancient of Days) and NOT earth.

So again, the book has much good--particularly in pastoral application, but even much of this is misapplied due to his idealist conclusions. There are some major shortcomings in the book that prevent me from being about to recommend this.

[Steven Azzara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book by Beeke. Although I share Beeke's views on eschatology (i.e., we both take the amillennial position of the millennium), and I agree with his interpretation of the Book of Revelation, I was expecting this to be an exegetical approach to the Scripture. The book reads like a pastor's sermon/journal. On sermon audio, Beeke has his entire Revelation sermons posted (with video), and I think the reader will get more out of those than reading this book. Beeke does tend to hyper-spiritualize many things. A few friends who share the same eschatological view as Beeke and I also read the book and they have expressed the same concerns as this review.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read. I love to read many different genres, topics, styles, authors, etc. I rarely start a book and quit before finishing it, even when I've decided much sooner that I am not benefiting from it.

There are, as we know, exceptions to most every rule. I love to read *from* theological texts, but mostly as reference material, particularly when it comes to a commentary on an entire book of the Bible. So, now we come to the matter of Joel Beeke's commentary on the Apostle John's "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."

I have for years been very much less concerned with figuring out "what it means" than most of my fellow believers. I was always content to let others conjecture about how to "decode" the symbols and types. It seemed enough to read it at face value and take away the message that "God wins" in the end. This would allow me to focus my energy and efforts on the things Scripture makes clear that I should do today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

So I bought this title with the same expectation I had for every other commentary or systematic theology text purchased previously, i.e., as described above. And then, one day, it seemed good (for reasons about which I'll leave you to speculate on your own) to start on page one, investigating no particular question on my mind.

Don't let the start and stop dates for reading fool you; I could not put it down! I read and re-read many passages a number of times along the way.

It is worshipful from stem to stern. It reiterates and celebrates the truth that Christ does return and God does win "in the end", but it also encourages the joy and hope we know from expounding on God's justice, His righteousness, and His unfathomable mercy to His creation TODAY. This commentary explained to me, for the first time (I'm a 66-year-old believer from the age of 12, so this isn't my first rodeo), how the Bible book we refer to as "Revelation" is not so much about future events as it is about living, loving, serving, and worshipping our Great King every day of our lives.

This one gets my rare five-star endorsement: Take up and read!

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of sermons by Dr. Beeke rather than a traditional commentary. I would note that Rev. Beeke's beloved Puritans would spin in their proverbial graves if they knew he had taken an amillennial reading of Revelation!

While I respect the author and have learned much from his writings over the years, it is apparent from his comments that he does not truly understand contemporary moderate preterist and/or postmillennial interpretations of the New Testament apocalypse. In fact, I did not understand many of his criticisms. He would do well to set aside some time and study the writings of R.C. Sproul, Kenneth Gentry and Doug Wilson on the subject.

Moreover, Dr. Beeke often confuses the prophecy of the Olivet Discourse (which addresses a specific question by the disciples in re: the Temple) with the Second Coming.

Finally, I am always at a loss to understand the author's adoration for the King James Version. Do they not teach textual criticism at Westminster?

Occasionally, gems are to be mined here but I think his reading is well off the mark.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes Revelation Relevant to All

Beeke explains in clear terms how this book is meant to be read and how it must influence your life and that of the church. He shows how the Book of Revelation consists of seven cycles describing God's work in heaven and on earth from the Crucifixion to His return in judgment. Beeke teaches how each cycle is meant encourage the church in its trials throughout these last days. He closes his thirty six sermon commentary with Christ's invitation to whosoever will repent and believe: Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price (Rev 22:17b.)

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful expository commentary! Dr. Beeke preaches through the book of the Revelation and presents to us in print. I am firmly convinced that Joel Beeke is one of the best teachers that the Church has to offer, and His gift of teaching and preaching has certainly translates in this work. For any believers young in the faith who want to understand this often misrepresented and misapplied book of the Bible look no further. Clear teaching, Christ exalting, doctrinally on point, and not overly technical. I do plan to continue working through the Lectio Continua Commentary series, and highly recommend this book.

[Todd Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite commentary on Revelation. I liked that he was very pastoral in application. I didn’t like that he painted with too broad a brush and didn’t give a direction interpretation of passages in some places. Many commentaries either err on making it apply to all times and seasons or get too dogmatic in application. Too generic.

[Michael Hand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it.

It was a delightful journey to read this book. It puts Revelation in a sensible light and was both intellectually stimulating and spiritually encouraging. In the end it became clear that gospel urgency is every Christian’s joy.

[Cindy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent teaching in this book of sermons

This Revelation commentary is one of THE BEST we've read. While reading, our hearts was lifted up to where Christ is sitting at the Father's right hand as we prayed always in longing for His appearance.

[Travis Daggett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good history on various interpretations.

[Jeffrey Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Guide to a Difficult Book

Dr. Beeke presents an exposition of Revelation through 36 sermons. Beeke writes from an amillenial, eclectic interpretation of Revelation, but presents different perspectives fairly where others may differ.