Revelation (Paideia: Commentaries on the New Testament):

by Sigve K. Tonstad

This practical commentary on Revelation is conversant with contemporary scholarship, draws on ancient backgrounds, and attends to the theological nature of the text. Sigve Tonstad, an expert in the early Jewish context of the New Testament, offers a nonretributive reading of Revelation and addresses the issue of divine violence. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs, showing how the text shapes moral habits, and making judicious use of photos and sidebars in a reader-friendly format.

414 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2019

Reviews

[Nick Kulhawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably 20% or so is a ‘page turner’ and for a commentary that is pretty impressive. Very thought through and even enjoyable.

[Rachel Shallenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was alright. I got some things out of it, but there were a lot of things that were frustrating. I have not read many commentaries, however, I would think the best approach to writing a commentary would be to present varying viewpoints, analysis of the original Greek/Hebrew, comparisons across Scripture with similar themes, etc. However, this one did not go very deep in analysis, and there were particular viewpoints that Sigve forces into the commentary such as his refusal to believe that God could actually bring about judgment Himself (rather than using Satan as an intermediary, because of course God couldn't POSSIBLY bring death and destruction to evil! (?) Old Testament, anyone? Anyone at all?), his view on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and overall a tendency to question John's writing abilities, that was frustrating to read about, and I ended up talking at the book a lot. Sigh. It was written well enough stylistically to tell that Sigve is an intelligent, thoughtful man, but in that case, his analysis was maybe a little lazy, a bit unclear and difficult to follow, and somewhat overly self-confident without providing sufficient backing to his viewpoints. I don't overall recommend the book. I would have given it 3 stars, except that it was well-written enough to get through the entire book, and I know a lot of books of this kind are not that way. So congrats for writing something we can read! But some intellectual humility might not be a bad thing, considering Revelation is one of the most difficult books in the Bible, and we all know it!

[Carla Albrecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and meaningful understanding of REVELATION!

Revelation is typically understood in terms that don’t really reach the heart or make it very meaningful to individuals. Sigve’s work in this book is so beautiful! God is LOVE!

[Daniel Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the seven Revelation commentaries I have read, this one is the best. Clear, relevant, intelligent, and wise. Tongstad seems to see more than other commentators. Sharply written.