Revelation for You: Seeing History from Heaven's Perspective

God's Word for You

by Tim Chester

Many Christians are confused by the book of Revelation. It moves from strange and disturbing images to warm and practical encouragement; from the fires of Hell to wonderful pictures of a glorious eternity.

And yet the message of the final book of the Bible is both clear and simple. Despite everything that is going wrong with our world, God remains in control. And when we see history, our present, and our future from heaven's perspective, it will encourage us to trust God and remain faithful to the end.

This accessible, absorbing expository guide opens up this book for new and mature Christians alike. It is more applied than a typical commentary, making it a great resource for personal devotion, as well as useful for leading small group studies or sermon preparation.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Faith

208 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2019

About the author

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

Reviews

[Nathan Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting, fast-paced, accessible read. Many of Chester’s interpretations were quite different from what I have heard and read. However, I can now come away from John’s Revelation much more encouraged and strongly convicted.

[Lauren Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and accessible commentary of the book of Revelation. Highly recommended to anyone who desires more of an understanding of what can seem like a overwhelmingly difficult part of the Word. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Robert McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series. I'm glad they're continuing to make these books, particularly for the more challenging parts of scripture.

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 53 of 2020. As I studied the book of Revelation, I found companionship in this book. Broken into twenty small sections, most covering around a chapter, Chester discusses the symbolism, metaphors and application. It’s easy to read, accessible and practical.

For those interested, Chester is a very cautious amillennialist. He interprets Revelation in a more historical sense, tracing allusions to Rome and the Roman emperors as well as devoting plenty of time to symbolism in the book. Some will be turned off by this, but I found it to be a quite practical and reasonable interpretation. Reading Revelation in this manner is sure to leave the reader feeling blessed.

As a scholar, I found Chester’s literary structuring to be fascinating, and I put it on my list of things to go back and re-study in Greek. However, having said that, this book is perfectly appropriate for the layman to read. It is currently the book I would recommend for devotional reading or casual study of Revelation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#books #bookstagram #booklover #bookreview #theunreadshelfproject2020 #biblestudy #revelation

[Wes Van Fleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book! This is the most accessible, and yet, thorough book on Revelation that I have read. Chester does a remarkable job at covering the book of Revelation, it’s beauty and difficulty, all in 176 pages. Not only is this book a great addition to the library of pastors, but I would argue it is a must read for the layman and every Christian wanting to understand the last and hopeful book in the Bible. Jesus and the Gospel are the main thread as we set our eyes simultaneously on the cross/resurrection and the hope of the New Heavens and New Earth.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book. It doesn’t mention the R word which is how the Book ought to be read. True to text.

[Niya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and definitely helps to read Revelation and understand the context and motifs. Chapters 8 & 9 were 👌.

[Amber Thiessen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this commentary on the book of Revelation. For me, this book has always seemed so complicated and I've felt unsure with all the imagery. I'm not an expert now by any means, but it gave me the historical context and an understanding of the audience to whom this letter was written, which really helped me in my reading. This commentary series is target for the lay person, so even if you're not theologically trained, this is a great resource. I highly recommend it!

[Anlee Fekkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone that has spent some time working through Revelation. It is full of great historical content that helps John’s vision become more familiar as it would have been to the original audience. What Chester presents is the solid understanding of the purpose of the letter and how the original hearers would have understood the imagery and metaphor that modern day readers take literally (in error). Chester emphasizes throughout the book the encouragement and call that suffering is victorious. The faithful and true Christ has won (at the cross) and will judge (on the last day). It’s point blank at times and other times left too much room for supposition (these are the few times I thought he went too far with “it could mean…”).

I would not recommend for someone looking for the cliff notes on Revelation. But it’s a good, concise walkthrough of Revelation with some really well designed charts and scripture comparisons. I love that the last word is “Christ”.

[Naomi Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm never sure about rating Christian books because the author is always far cleverer than me.

So, my rating tends to relate to how helpful/accessible I found it.

Tim Chester is an excellent writer as always and this book is a thorough commentary on a challenging book. Credit where credit is due on being brave enough to write a book on one of the more obscure books of the Bible.

However, I did not find this the most accessible read in the world. It didn't make Revelation much clearer for me and I still felt a little bogged down in the interpretations, the history and the format.

Maybe more a book for pastors and scholars than for little ol' me.

[Douglas C. Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best understanding of Revelation I've read or heard.

Finally, a commentary on Revelation that makes sense. I say this as a Christian that has been from the Charismatic, Pentecostal, and Baptist theological traditions. If you want a commentary that isn't a rehash of Scofield, La Haye, Lindsay, and the similar group that leaves you feeling somethings don't add up, get this book. I've been to Bible College as a younger man, and recognize his hermeneutic is sound. And sadly, this is the first time I've read a commentary on Revelation and actually felt good, and not of a state of trepidation or fear.

[Zach Scheller · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for an easy, accessible, and fairly brief commentary on a more amillenial view (or “cruciform millennarianistic” view) of Revelation, this is an excellent choice. Chester walks you through how the book of Revelation is not a puzzle book of future events to be figured out, but a picture book for us in the present on how we are to live and conquer through the suffering of His saints. May be a little too brief if you’re wanting it to “convert you” from a different position, but that was not Chester’s purpose in writing, nor my position in reading.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most concise, accessible, and applicable commentary on Revelation that I have ever read.

While I couldn’t agree with everything (eg his interpretation of Revelation 19:11-21), I thought he did a remarkable job taking a highly complex book and showing how it applied to the first century churches reading this letter, how the contemporary church should receive it today, and also what it has to say about the future.

This will be my new go-to resource for anyone looking for an accessible introduction to the book of Revelation.

[Chylton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me get a better understanding of Revelation as well as cleared up some misconceptions that I had prior. Tim Chester does a great job of presenting the info and leaving room for you to process what you believe and instead of just bombarding you with information that some authors tend to do with the book of Revelation. I really enjoy his style of writing. I've read other materials he has written and they were great. Thus, I have added this one to my arsenal.

[Colin Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good commentary on the Biblical book of Revelation. With it's symbolism Revelation can often seem like a very difficult book to make sense of. Tim Chester opens the book of Revelation up and shows it's relevance to modern life and helps to make sense of a lot of the symbolism. Recommended for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of it.

[Erik Koster · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this one was a difficult rating for me. I struggle in general with 90% of the book of Revelation. And there are so many conflicting interpretations out there. I don't necessarily agree with the take on a lot of things in this book but I ended up with 4 stars because I think it would be a really good addition to anyone's studies on the subject matter.

[Nick Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really helpful book showing revelation's relevance to today, and helpfully and clearly decoding the imagery it uses. I particularly found useful how Chester always showed where the imagery used in Revelation was first used by old testament prophets

[Jon Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

This is not the first time I have read Revelations and I thought I undestood it a bit. This book opened my eyes to see it in a totally new way. It has challenged me to assess my own behaviour in relation to the world and to come to Jesus and worship Him alone.

[Makayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great intro to Revelation that made the book a lot less intimidating to read; however, I didn't feel like it dove deep enough in an exegetical way and focused too much on practical application/implications. I appreciated his view and layout of Revelation regardless.

[Carl J Tomlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

I could not put this book down! Even sections where I found myself thinking, "I don't know if I agree with that.", the author still lays out a well reasoned biblical account of how he arrives at this view.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this helpful to read alongside chunks of Revelation. It explained some of the imagery that I have never understood properly and helped me to tackle the book of Revelation keeping my eyes focussed on Jesus.

[Phil Butcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant devotional commentary in this excellent series. This one stands out as it makes what can be a hard to understand book very clear, along with challenging application for today.

[Laurie Hetherington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written from a view I don’t agree with, this commentary views Rev as symbolic not literal. Some good thought provoking takeaways but I’m still a premillennialist.

[Wassenario · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Tim Chester and love Revelation so actually a bit disappointed that this wasn’t a 5 like I was expecting

[Jackie Selles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was chosen as our study for the women at church. Chester writes this book based on a historical perspective. He was hard to read and understand sometimes. Glad I'm done!

[Denise Georgopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read along with a woman's revelation book study. Thank you for your perspective :)

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of both worlds

Not too scholarly where you don't know what he’s saying but rather very applicable to today's church and believer in 2025.

[Xander Cloudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped me feel like I didn’t just read Revelation, but gained a better understanding of it. Nobody can perfectly explain or understand every bit of Revelation but this book definitely helped me.

[Kirk Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little popular-level commentary on Revelation. Something I would recommend to the average person in the pew to help them get a handle on the book. Packed with solid information, insights, and application in a short amount of space, and very accessible. Very impressed.