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Goldsworthy Trilogy #2
The Lamb and the Lion: The Gospel in Revelation
Hardcover excellent condition
170 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1984
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108 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Goldsworthy
31 books88 followersGraeme Goldsworthy is an Australian Anglican and Old Testament scholar. Now retired, Goldsworthy was formerly lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of "According to Plan" (IVP, 1991), "Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture" (Eerdmans, 2000) and "Proverbs: The Tree of Life" (CEP, 1993). Goldsworthy has an MA from Cambridge University and a ThM and PhD from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 10, 2013
Wow. Just wow.
There's no one quite like Graeme Goldsworthy to remind me that my natural tendency is to read the Bible badly. To be sure, this was a more difficult read for me than his "Gospel and Theology" and "Gospel and Wisdom." I found myself having to go back and re-read sections slowly to make sure I was properly digesting the information.
But I came away with a better understanding of Revelation. No more prophecy voo-doo or wasting a moment trying to predict what Jesus told us not to bother trying to predict.
A great exposition on how Revelation is no different than the rest of the New Testament in that its job to equip Christians to live life now, to remember that the Day of the Lord--as well as our justification--is past, present, and future.
Highly, highly recommend!
There's no one quite like Graeme Goldsworthy to remind me that my natural tendency is to read the Bible badly. To be sure, this was a more difficult read for me than his "Gospel and Theology" and "Gospel and Wisdom." I found myself having to go back and re-read sections slowly to make sure I was properly digesting the information.
But I came away with a better understanding of Revelation. No more prophecy voo-doo or wasting a moment trying to predict what Jesus told us not to bother trying to predict.
A great exposition on how Revelation is no different than the rest of the New Testament in that its job to equip Christians to live life now, to remember that the Day of the Lord--as well as our justification--is past, present, and future.
Highly, highly recommend!
January 27, 2021
This is for those intimidated by the book of Revelation. It is not an in-depth analysis of all the apocalyptic visions or a chapter by chapter commentary. It is rather a way of understanding Revelation as we understand the rest of the Bible - through the lens of the gospel, that is the living, dying and rising of Jesus Christ. Very helpful!
February 21, 2013
I read this in preparation for a new sermon series on Revelation. It is a good overview - some sections more helpful than others (you can tell this book was not "written" but compiled through public lectures and years of accumulated reflection.)
The greatest takeaway is his attention to the Lion and Lamb motif presented in Revelation 5. He understands this motif as central to Revelation: "It provides us with a symbolic representation of the message of the whole book of Revelation" (138). Indeed, page 138-139 alone is worth the price of the book: "The paradox of the majesty of the Lion revealed in the suffering of the Lamb is the paradox of the conquest of God through our Saviour Christ. It is the paradox of the church through which Christ conquers the world, a church which can be the agent of this conquest only by reflecting the nature of its head - the suffering Lamb. It is the paradox of individual and corporate Christian existence as every believer engages in life-and-death struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil, while at the same time rejoicing in the fact that we have already overcome in Christ. It is the paradox of the overlap of the ages in which the kingdom of God, having already broken into this age in Christ, is being formed in us, and yet remains a future event..."
The greatest takeaway is his attention to the Lion and Lamb motif presented in Revelation 5. He understands this motif as central to Revelation: "It provides us with a symbolic representation of the message of the whole book of Revelation" (138). Indeed, page 138-139 alone is worth the price of the book: "The paradox of the majesty of the Lion revealed in the suffering of the Lamb is the paradox of the conquest of God through our Saviour Christ. It is the paradox of the church through which Christ conquers the world, a church which can be the agent of this conquest only by reflecting the nature of its head - the suffering Lamb. It is the paradox of individual and corporate Christian existence as every believer engages in life-and-death struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil, while at the same time rejoicing in the fact that we have already overcome in Christ. It is the paradox of the overlap of the ages in which the kingdom of God, having already broken into this age in Christ, is being formed in us, and yet remains a future event..."
May 20, 2014
Not exactly a commentary, more of a thematic study of the book of Revelation. Extremely helpful in putting Revelation in a gospel context and providing principles for interpreting it properly. Goldsworthy shows how a proper understanding of "the end" or "the day of the Lord" is essential
October 29, 2013
Great little book to serve as a companion through Revelation. Reminded me of Poythress's volume. Both are amillennial.
June 15, 2014
A much more reasoned commentary on the Book of Revelation
17 August 2012
I must admit that I actually found this book quite helpful, but maybe that is because I have always appreciated the Moore (Theological College) position on the Book of Revelation. I have been through my phases where I would treat Revelation as a window to the future, and in some cases would see it as being the conclusion not only to the Bible but also to world history in itself. In my pre-Christian days I would pour over the book to try to catch a glimpse of what the future would hold for me and for the world, and would also attempt to interpret it in light of world history from the end of the apostolic era to the end of the world. At one stage I even believed that the four horsemen represented four major events, namely the discovery of America (a conqueror out to conquer), the Napoleonic Wars (being the horseman who controls commerce), World War I and II (being the red horse of war) and the invention of television (the forth horseman, being death). Okay, granted, much of that had to do with me listening to Metallica (The Four Horsemen) over and over again, but I must admit that I have come a long way since then.
While I have spent too much time in my past on Revelation, I must say that there are probably only five books that I will be commenting on, two of them helpful and three of them decidedly unhelpful. I will try to do all of them in the next day or two, but will try to leave my criticisms on millennialism to the unhelpful ones and discuss the more rational and level headed views in the helpful ones. This book, as you can probably guess, is one of the more helpful ones, the other being John Dickson's 666 and All That.
I think Goldsworthy is right when he says that it is unhelpful to either to dwell too much on Revelation or too completely ignore it. Granted, Revelation does tend to baffle us quite a lot, but I suspect that that has a lot to do with the imagery involved. The truth is that the style of literature (apocalyptic) is not all that different to the modern style of literature that we know as allegory. Many of us have probably read an allegorical book in our time, two of the more well know ones being The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, and Animal Farm by George Orwell. We generally do not have too much trouble with these books because they are written during our time and we can easily connect the imagery with current events. However, there is another famous allegorical book that many of us are aware of, but are probably not aware that it is allegory, and that is Gulliver's Travels. To many of us today it is little more than a children's book, but to the original readers, many of them would have been able to reflect on the current events of the day that the story is outlining. It is no different with Revelation, and it is the allegory that I will spend some time on here outlining.
Back in university, during my (as it was known then) EU days, we had a series of sermons on Revelation which were actually quite helpful in that it opened the book up much better to us, especially with all of the alternate interpretations that were floating around. I won't necessarily say that it changed my outlook on the book forever, as I did end up drifting back into post-millennialist thinking (I am currently, and hopefully will remain, an amillnenialist, meaning that we believe we are currently living in the millennium that is described in Revelation). However it helped me understand the book much more. I remember being given a list of the images that appeared in Revelation and shown that these images were not new but rather drawn from the Old Testament (one of the reasons Goldsworthy actually wrote this book, being an Old Testament scholar). As you will discover, the four (actually five) horsemen appear in the book of Zechariah, and the beast also appears in the book of Daniel. In regards to the beasts, we learn from Daniel that the beasts represent governments, meaning that when we encounter the beasts in Revelation, we can also be assured that John is also using them to describe governments.
Now, we need to contextualise the book because, as with any book (especially Gulliver's Travels) we will not fully understand the book unless we look at the context in which it was written. That is easy for modern books, but can be quite difficult for much older books. Here we have the apostle John exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the gospel. The church, which was growing exponentially at this time, was being attacked from all sides by both Jews and Gentiles (a term generally used for everybody who was not a Jew, but in this context, meaning the Greco-Romans). John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write to the Christians (and appears from the book to specifically the churches in Asia Minor which, at that time, were the largest churches in the empire) to comfort them during their persecution, and then encourage them by reminding them that this time was only minute compared to the eternity they will be with God. In the end, there is little different between the encouragement in this book and the encouragement offered in other New Testament letters. Mind you, the book also contains its fair share of warnings, such as getting too involved in the world, and living half-hearted Christian lives.
There are a few things that came to me as I read this book, and I will briefly mention them here as well, and they involve marriage, prostitution, and persecution. The first two I will briefly touch upon, while I will spend more time on the last. In relation to marriage, and in particular divorce, I have been considering the Bible's position on it. It is clear from the teachings of Jesus that God hates divorce with a passion. While considering the context in the form of woman's rights in that time (which is important), we cannot forget what marriage actually is, and that is a reflection of God's relationship with the church. This is a permanent, unbreakable relationship. God will not divorce himself from his church, and he expects the same of us, so when we see God frowning heavily on divorce, this is the reason. Marriage is supposed to be a permanent bond in the same way that the Church/God relationship is permanent. God will not divorce himself from us, and expects the same from us (as is the nature of a covenant).
Now, I also noticed that the whore of Babylon figures prominently in Revelation, which, after understanding the meaning of porneia, I can see why God is so furious about prostitution. Remember, the translation of porneia is not fornication, nor is it sexual immorality, it is prostitution. In a way prostitution here is used as a symbol reflecting on our selling ourselves to the world. We are God's people, and we are to live as God's people. We are not to sell ourselves for pleasures, and more so, we are not to give ourselves up to the pleasures of the world. Prostitution is a reflection of that. It is, in a sense, selling our salvation for short term pleasures and happiness, usually at the expense of other people. They say everybody has a price, but in reality, that should not be the case. There is no value on salvation, Christ made sure of that, and to sell it for a short time of happiness and pleasure is foolish beyond extreme.
Finally the issue of persecution. There are lots of books on persecution, but I will outline what I have come to understand, and that is persecution in the church. To be blunt, it should not happen, but it does. The church should be a refuge from the rigours of the world where Christians come together to praise God and encourage each other in a hostile world. However, this is not a perfect world, so we are never going to find a perfect church. To those who struggle in church, and with Christians, remember you are not alone, it has been going on since the apostolic age. If you don't like the church, leave and find a new one. Here in Australia (or the Western World) there are plenty of them. Do not believe that the church you are attending is the only church, particularly if the leadership is a part of the problem. Obviously (like me) if there is a sin you are struggling with, it needs to be dealt with, and sometimes it means getting as far away from it as possible (flee from temptation, as the Bible says). However, remember that John condemns churches in Revelation; Paul condemns the Corinthian church for incest and for favouratism; in his letters John condemns the man who loves to be first, and tells the church to have nothing to do with him; and James comes down heavily on favouritism to the wealthy. As I said, if you are struggling in church with issues such as these, you are not alone, Christians throughout the ages have had the same problems. Also remember, while there is no such thing as the perfect church, if the church is spending more time criticising and condemning Christians than encouraging and building them up, then maybe it is time to find another church.
17 August 2012
I must admit that I actually found this book quite helpful, but maybe that is because I have always appreciated the Moore (Theological College) position on the Book of Revelation. I have been through my phases where I would treat Revelation as a window to the future, and in some cases would see it as being the conclusion not only to the Bible but also to world history in itself. In my pre-Christian days I would pour over the book to try to catch a glimpse of what the future would hold for me and for the world, and would also attempt to interpret it in light of world history from the end of the apostolic era to the end of the world. At one stage I even believed that the four horsemen represented four major events, namely the discovery of America (a conqueror out to conquer), the Napoleonic Wars (being the horseman who controls commerce), World War I and II (being the red horse of war) and the invention of television (the forth horseman, being death). Okay, granted, much of that had to do with me listening to Metallica (The Four Horsemen) over and over again, but I must admit that I have come a long way since then.
While I have spent too much time in my past on Revelation, I must say that there are probably only five books that I will be commenting on, two of them helpful and three of them decidedly unhelpful. I will try to do all of them in the next day or two, but will try to leave my criticisms on millennialism to the unhelpful ones and discuss the more rational and level headed views in the helpful ones. This book, as you can probably guess, is one of the more helpful ones, the other being John Dickson's 666 and All That.
I think Goldsworthy is right when he says that it is unhelpful to either to dwell too much on Revelation or too completely ignore it. Granted, Revelation does tend to baffle us quite a lot, but I suspect that that has a lot to do with the imagery involved. The truth is that the style of literature (apocalyptic) is not all that different to the modern style of literature that we know as allegory. Many of us have probably read an allegorical book in our time, two of the more well know ones being The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, and Animal Farm by George Orwell. We generally do not have too much trouble with these books because they are written during our time and we can easily connect the imagery with current events. However, there is another famous allegorical book that many of us are aware of, but are probably not aware that it is allegory, and that is Gulliver's Travels. To many of us today it is little more than a children's book, but to the original readers, many of them would have been able to reflect on the current events of the day that the story is outlining. It is no different with Revelation, and it is the allegory that I will spend some time on here outlining.
Back in university, during my (as it was known then) EU days, we had a series of sermons on Revelation which were actually quite helpful in that it opened the book up much better to us, especially with all of the alternate interpretations that were floating around. I won't necessarily say that it changed my outlook on the book forever, as I did end up drifting back into post-millennialist thinking (I am currently, and hopefully will remain, an amillnenialist, meaning that we believe we are currently living in the millennium that is described in Revelation). However it helped me understand the book much more. I remember being given a list of the images that appeared in Revelation and shown that these images were not new but rather drawn from the Old Testament (one of the reasons Goldsworthy actually wrote this book, being an Old Testament scholar). As you will discover, the four (actually five) horsemen appear in the book of Zechariah, and the beast also appears in the book of Daniel. In regards to the beasts, we learn from Daniel that the beasts represent governments, meaning that when we encounter the beasts in Revelation, we can also be assured that John is also using them to describe governments.
Now, we need to contextualise the book because, as with any book (especially Gulliver's Travels) we will not fully understand the book unless we look at the context in which it was written. That is easy for modern books, but can be quite difficult for much older books. Here we have the apostle John exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the gospel. The church, which was growing exponentially at this time, was being attacked from all sides by both Jews and Gentiles (a term generally used for everybody who was not a Jew, but in this context, meaning the Greco-Romans). John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write to the Christians (and appears from the book to specifically the churches in Asia Minor which, at that time, were the largest churches in the empire) to comfort them during their persecution, and then encourage them by reminding them that this time was only minute compared to the eternity they will be with God. In the end, there is little different between the encouragement in this book and the encouragement offered in other New Testament letters. Mind you, the book also contains its fair share of warnings, such as getting too involved in the world, and living half-hearted Christian lives.
There are a few things that came to me as I read this book, and I will briefly mention them here as well, and they involve marriage, prostitution, and persecution. The first two I will briefly touch upon, while I will spend more time on the last. In relation to marriage, and in particular divorce, I have been considering the Bible's position on it. It is clear from the teachings of Jesus that God hates divorce with a passion. While considering the context in the form of woman's rights in that time (which is important), we cannot forget what marriage actually is, and that is a reflection of God's relationship with the church. This is a permanent, unbreakable relationship. God will not divorce himself from his church, and he expects the same of us, so when we see God frowning heavily on divorce, this is the reason. Marriage is supposed to be a permanent bond in the same way that the Church/God relationship is permanent. God will not divorce himself from us, and expects the same from us (as is the nature of a covenant).
Now, I also noticed that the whore of Babylon figures prominently in Revelation, which, after understanding the meaning of porneia, I can see why God is so furious about prostitution. Remember, the translation of porneia is not fornication, nor is it sexual immorality, it is prostitution. In a way prostitution here is used as a symbol reflecting on our selling ourselves to the world. We are God's people, and we are to live as God's people. We are not to sell ourselves for pleasures, and more so, we are not to give ourselves up to the pleasures of the world. Prostitution is a reflection of that. It is, in a sense, selling our salvation for short term pleasures and happiness, usually at the expense of other people. They say everybody has a price, but in reality, that should not be the case. There is no value on salvation, Christ made sure of that, and to sell it for a short time of happiness and pleasure is foolish beyond extreme.
Finally the issue of persecution. There are lots of books on persecution, but I will outline what I have come to understand, and that is persecution in the church. To be blunt, it should not happen, but it does. The church should be a refuge from the rigours of the world where Christians come together to praise God and encourage each other in a hostile world. However, this is not a perfect world, so we are never going to find a perfect church. To those who struggle in church, and with Christians, remember you are not alone, it has been going on since the apostolic age. If you don't like the church, leave and find a new one. Here in Australia (or the Western World) there are plenty of them. Do not believe that the church you are attending is the only church, particularly if the leadership is a part of the problem. Obviously (like me) if there is a sin you are struggling with, it needs to be dealt with, and sometimes it means getting as far away from it as possible (flee from temptation, as the Bible says). However, remember that John condemns churches in Revelation; Paul condemns the Corinthian church for incest and for favouratism; in his letters John condemns the man who loves to be first, and tells the church to have nothing to do with him; and James comes down heavily on favouritism to the wealthy. As I said, if you are struggling in church with issues such as these, you are not alone, Christians throughout the ages have had the same problems. Also remember, while there is no such thing as the perfect church, if the church is spending more time criticising and condemning Christians than encouraging and building them up, then maybe it is time to find another church.
March 6, 2017
Having come from a background of a deep "Left Behind" futurism concerning prophetic literature, eschatology and the book of Revelation, for many years I have felt worn out from exploring the nature of eschatology and have put it on the shelf. Not intentionally, but now that I'm out of school for the time being and have the ability to read by interest, my interests have been elsewhere.
As I'm working through Goldsworthy's trilogy, I have no engaged this topic once again. His Gospel/Christ-centered hermeneutic is very attractive and compelling, and how he applies it to his interpretation of Revelation seems to make the book pragmatically available for the Christian in everyday life. It makes the book preachable and in reach for a Christian facing life on a Tuesday morning. That by itself sparks my interest and pulls the strings on my heart.
But, as compelling as his approach is, his system comes across as a bit too simplistic. Can Revelation with it's fantastical word images and numerous vivid imagery and stories really just be explained away as "this refers to the Christian's battle against sin in sanctification" or "this is Christ's past victory against Satan" or "this is about the Church's battle against evil" - etc. ? This will enable the reader to have the freedom to gloss over so many verses in Revelation and force a method of interpretation to this book that rarely can be applied in the same manner to other apocalyptic literature (minus some of those crazy chapters in Daniel and the last third of Ezekiel). I feel that we must face the responsibility of trying to deal with the details, and not be quick to abandon them in efforts to make sense of the larger picture. Indeed, they should help us understand the larger picture, right? If they do not, then we are actually indirectly stating that they wouldn't be necessary to understand what the book is about - placing our hermeneutical method above Scripture.
There are still so many unanswered details from Revelation that are not dealt with. But I am not trying to lambaste his hermeneutical system (which admittingly I basically hold to), but my frustrations come when authors aren't able to be honest and say "I know this approach isn't perfect and leaves ____ and ____ unanswered, but this is the best approach I have found..." but rather "this means this" and "this is why other people are wrong." It just appears a bit arrogant and intellectually unhelpful, and can be a little deceitful for the uneducated if they read such strong language.
But let me hit the brakes - I fear in criticizing too much Goldsworthy's book here. I must say that in all the mysteries that Revelation holds for the interpretive process, to have a Gospel/Christ-centered approach does appear to be the most healthy approach. Instead of talking about a future mark of the beast in the form of a microchip whose installation in your forehead will be so powerful as to regard the atonement and justification of Christ as powerless against it - yes, I will opt for a Gospel-centered hermeneutic for Revelation and allow my focus to be on the past victory of Christ presently applied to the Christian, giving us today a glimpse of the future perfected Kingdom that is coming in a renewed world. After all, this is the primary message of the Bible, right? Or you can:
1) Approach Revelation in a Jeffersonian manner and only talk about Revelation 1-4/21-22 and get the scissors out for chapters 5-19
2) Try to finally decide if Revelation 9:17 is really talking about helicopters or not
3) be like John Calvin and many theologians and scholars past and not talk about the book at all
I'll opt in, for now, with Goldsworthy's approach, with it's weaknesses and all.
As I'm working through Goldsworthy's trilogy, I have no engaged this topic once again. His Gospel/Christ-centered hermeneutic is very attractive and compelling, and how he applies it to his interpretation of Revelation seems to make the book pragmatically available for the Christian in everyday life. It makes the book preachable and in reach for a Christian facing life on a Tuesday morning. That by itself sparks my interest and pulls the strings on my heart.
But, as compelling as his approach is, his system comes across as a bit too simplistic. Can Revelation with it's fantastical word images and numerous vivid imagery and stories really just be explained away as "this refers to the Christian's battle against sin in sanctification" or "this is Christ's past victory against Satan" or "this is about the Church's battle against evil" - etc. ? This will enable the reader to have the freedom to gloss over so many verses in Revelation and force a method of interpretation to this book that rarely can be applied in the same manner to other apocalyptic literature (minus some of those crazy chapters in Daniel and the last third of Ezekiel). I feel that we must face the responsibility of trying to deal with the details, and not be quick to abandon them in efforts to make sense of the larger picture. Indeed, they should help us understand the larger picture, right? If they do not, then we are actually indirectly stating that they wouldn't be necessary to understand what the book is about - placing our hermeneutical method above Scripture.
There are still so many unanswered details from Revelation that are not dealt with. But I am not trying to lambaste his hermeneutical system (which admittingly I basically hold to), but my frustrations come when authors aren't able to be honest and say "I know this approach isn't perfect and leaves ____ and ____ unanswered, but this is the best approach I have found..." but rather "this means this" and "this is why other people are wrong." It just appears a bit arrogant and intellectually unhelpful, and can be a little deceitful for the uneducated if they read such strong language.
But let me hit the brakes - I fear in criticizing too much Goldsworthy's book here. I must say that in all the mysteries that Revelation holds for the interpretive process, to have a Gospel/Christ-centered approach does appear to be the most healthy approach. Instead of talking about a future mark of the beast in the form of a microchip whose installation in your forehead will be so powerful as to regard the atonement and justification of Christ as powerless against it - yes, I will opt for a Gospel-centered hermeneutic for Revelation and allow my focus to be on the past victory of Christ presently applied to the Christian, giving us today a glimpse of the future perfected Kingdom that is coming in a renewed world. After all, this is the primary message of the Bible, right? Or you can:
1) Approach Revelation in a Jeffersonian manner and only talk about Revelation 1-4/21-22 and get the scissors out for chapters 5-19
2) Try to finally decide if Revelation 9:17 is really talking about helicopters or not
3) be like John Calvin and many theologians and scholars past and not talk about the book at all
I'll opt in, for now, with Goldsworthy's approach, with it's weaknesses and all.
February 15, 2020
“The Christian looks at the Lamb and sees the Lamb and sees the judgement of God on his sin borne by his substitute. But he sees far more than that. He sees the unending glory of the Lion. He can never see the Lion without seeing the Lamb, and he can see the Lion only by beholding the Lamb. So it will be through all eternity. In this life it is faith alone which perceives these realities, and there is a deep longing within every child of God for faith to be turned into sight. When we are captivated by the gospel, we become more and more impatient with our lack of conformity to the reality of the kingdom. We are offended by the world’s rejection of our Lord. We long to be rid of the daily struggle in the world that has a smell of death hanging over even the most sublime beauty of creation. We cannot but yearn to see all things new. To that end we cry,: ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’”
I read this book not knowing that Goldsworthy was Amil and it was a nice surprise once I put 2 and 2 together because he never came out and said, “I’m Amil.” I also know that there are better books from the Amil perspective out there (one is even by the same author), and I can’t wait to read them. Even after this book, I can’t help but leave this here, #thatAmiltho
I read this book not knowing that Goldsworthy was Amil and it was a nice surprise once I put 2 and 2 together because he never came out and said, “I’m Amil.” I also know that there are better books from the Amil perspective out there (one is even by the same author), and I can’t wait to read them. Even after this book, I can’t help but leave this here, #thatAmiltho
August 30, 2018
The second of this this theological sequence offers a refreshing reading of Revelation, seeing it as being less concerned with eschatological minutiae than the empathy of Christ with the present struggles of his people. It’s reading of the future hope is good and a nice antidote to years of naff rapture movies.
May 22, 2018
Great general overview of Revelation focused on Christ and the Gospel. He basically says that what matter is not when those things happen but what they are, the truth of the Gospel and of God's sovereignty. From an ammilenial perspective.
March 6, 2021
This is not a detailed commentary and won't answer all the questions you might have as you read revelation however it's an excellent overview. Really helps you to read Revelation well and to apply it. Highly recommended.
January 25, 2025
I just love this explanation of Revelation and I m a fan of Dr Goldsworthy’s work. It is well written and lay people as well as theologians can easily understand the explanation in light of the Gospel. As a result of reading this book I’m excited for the present and the future.
September 28, 2018
essential reading for anyone preaching through Revelation
May 19, 2025
ayuda a entender el sistema amilenial de una manera sencilla, aunque a veces muy académico se puede entender, aunque las empezar sería mejor, con el fin de los tiempos de Waldrom
September 10, 2015
I read this book in The Goldsworthy Trilogy. (I had already read Gospel and Kingdom and started Gospel and Wisdom.) In 180 pages, Goldsworthy offers some thoughts on how to read the book of Revelation while keeping the gospel front and center. This is not a commentary on the book, moving from chapter to chapter. Rather, the author addresses certain themes in the book.
Perhaps the greatest contribution Goldsworthy makes is simply how to interpret this often bewildering book of the Bible. He offers insights such as:
"The prophets were not bound, as we of the twentieth century so often are, by strict attention to chronology and sequence. They were quite happy to look at the same event now from this point of view, now from that. Furthermore, events which subsequently proved themselves to be distinct in time, were easily spoken of as if this distinction were unimportant. Let us be clear about this. The prophets did not sit loosely to the idea of history. They were immersed in time and history. But they did not view time and history from the same stand-point as a modern scientific historian" (p. 216 in The Goldsworthy Trilogy).
And:
"Let me emphasize again that Revelation was written, not for the arm-chair prophets with their charts of historical events in the twentieth century, and their intricate diagrams of the end of the age, but for the harassed subsistence-level first-century Christians of the Asia Minor province. It was written to bring them both warning and reassurance, to encourage them in their struggle and to liberate them from fear of the enemy within and without" (p. 291).
The book is written for the average Christian. It's accessible and wise, though not technical.
Perhaps the greatest contribution Goldsworthy makes is simply how to interpret this often bewildering book of the Bible. He offers insights such as:
"The prophets were not bound, as we of the twentieth century so often are, by strict attention to chronology and sequence. They were quite happy to look at the same event now from this point of view, now from that. Furthermore, events which subsequently proved themselves to be distinct in time, were easily spoken of as if this distinction were unimportant. Let us be clear about this. The prophets did not sit loosely to the idea of history. They were immersed in time and history. But they did not view time and history from the same stand-point as a modern scientific historian" (p. 216 in The Goldsworthy Trilogy).
And:
"Let me emphasize again that Revelation was written, not for the arm-chair prophets with their charts of historical events in the twentieth century, and their intricate diagrams of the end of the age, but for the harassed subsistence-level first-century Christians of the Asia Minor province. It was written to bring them both warning and reassurance, to encourage them in their struggle and to liberate them from fear of the enemy within and without" (p. 291).
The book is written for the average Christian. It's accessible and wise, though not technical.
November 4, 2012
Excellent book on Revelation. Written as an overview and thematic treatment rather than a detailed commentary, this book will still help you rightly appreciate Revelation and its unveiling of the gospel in symbolic form.
October 5, 2016
An excellent and balanced perspective on Revelation that is faithful to the gospel message while not dismissing the concerns of more literal approaches to the text. I would have given it 5 stars except it desperately needs proofreading.
September 14, 2016
Very useful to understand the Book of Revelations through the lens of biblical theology.
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