Upside-Down Apocalypse: Grounding Revelation in the Gospel of Peace

by Jeremy Duncan

A peacemaker’s guide to the book of Revelation The book of Revelation—which deals on a cosmic scale with good and evil, politics and empire, community and eternity—has intrigued and frustrated readers since it was written. How do we make sense of John’s prophetic vision of cosmic war in light the nonviolence Jesus embodies in the gospels? What does it mean to tell us about Jesus, our world, and the future of all things? As End Times conspiracy theories surge, it’s more important than ever that we read the final book of the Bible without distorting the true message of Jesus. In Upside-Down Apocalypse , author Jeremy Duncan draws on biblical scholarship and nonviolent theology to guide readers through the book of Revelation, understanding the vision of John in the light of the Jesus we know through the Gospels—the full revelation of the Divine. Along the way, readers will discover what the writer imagines as he weaves this profound revelation of non-violent triumph and see with fresh eyes how the Prince of Peace turns violence on its head once and for all.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Spirituality, Christian, Christianity

206 pages, Hardcover

Published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A peaceful interpretation of Revelation

Jeremy Duncan examines how Revelation actually embodies the peace of the lamb and not the wrath of the lion. This book was very helpful in unpacking Revelation and showing it’s peaceful, inclusive elements. For someone that had grown up with a very violent interpretation of the book, I found Duncans approach to the book very refreshing and far more inline with the Jesus of the gospels.

[Josh Olds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went through a Left Behind phase growing up. Read the adult books before the kids books. Read the prequels and sequel and non-fiction associated the Tim LaHaye School of Prophecy. Eventually even went to seminary at Liberty University. Ok, so it might have been more than a phase. But at some point—between arguing with my amillennialist pastor and insisting that the two witnesses couldn’t be Elijah and Moses, but must be Elijah and Enoch (since it is only appointed once for men to die)—I began to become a bit jaded on the whole premillennial dispensationalist eschatology thing. It just didn’t line up. Or rather, it lined up too neatly. As I began to explore one dispensationalist works—Late Great Planet Earth on through to anything written by Mark Hitchcock—I began to see the sloppy exegesis and the outright absurdities. Having been socialized and academized in Left Behindism, though, I found it difficult to work my way out. I had become convinced that premillennialism wasn’t a faithful interpretation of Scripture but wasn’t convinced preterism was either. In the end, I became a panmillenialist (it’ll all pan out in the end…it’s an old premil joke). There was simply too much to focus on in the here and now to develop a whole new eschatology. And then in waltzes Jeremy Duncan with Upside-Down Apocalypse.

While there’s still some questions I have and while not every contention I have is sufficiently answered, Upside-Down Apocalypse gave me the infrastructure for rebuilding my eschatology in a fundamentally transformative fashion. Instead of presenting the Apocalypse as a gruesome war or display of wrath, Duncan flips the script (back to its proper orientation) to ground the book of Revelation within Jesus’s message of peace. The unveiling of Jesus Christ is made clear not as a message of doom and gloom and wrath, but a message of God’s love prevailing over creation as all things are made new. It’s a paradigm-shattering message of hope and grace.

One of the things I appreciated about Upside-Down Apocalypse is that it didn’t try to be a commentary—even though I would definitely appreciate an exegetical commentary from this perspective. Duncan’s theology and exegesis is robust, but he writes in a style that’s highly readable and accessible. He isn’t here to defend his position or contrast his position with more popular eschatologies. Rather, he simply provides a different lens for interpretation and allows the text to speak for itself. He doesn’t fight for the rightness of his position but relies on the strength and clarity of his interpretation.

My only criticism is that while his interpretation is clear, the content can sometimes get a bit muddled. Maybe it’s because the premil folk love a good chart, or maybe it’s because I needed to read this book with the Bible open at my side, or maybe because it was so foreign a concept to me and premil, pretrib is so ingrained in my thinking, but I kept getting lost in the text a bit, trying to figure out where exactly we were in Revelation’s narrative. I definitely need to sit down with a highlighter and make a second read-through.

Upside-Down Apocalypse invites readers to imagine a different kind of apocalypse, one set within the context of God as love, and God as the Divine which makes all things new. It’s a refreshing, hopeful, and healing perspective that Duncan grounds in solid exegesis and biblical interpretation.

[Dave Hallahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. As a biblical studies student, one of the first things you’ll learn is that the best interpreters of scripture is scripture. In other words, the story is connected. If you don’t understand something here, you’ll likely see it come back around over there. It’s a good rule of thumb. It almost always goes out the window when we get to Revelation. What was once “let scripture interpret itself” is now “this locust / scorpion is actually a helicopter!”

Jeremy Duncan did an excellent job of rooting Revelation in scripture. The Apostle John would have been and was influenced by the text of the Hebrew Scriptures, specifically the prophets, and Duncan didn’t an wonderful job of showing how that came about. In addition, John would have also seen any future of this world being rooted in the ways of his Messiah. This, too, is mapped beautifully by Duncan as he shows us how the violence oft attributed to the Jesus of Revelation simply isn’t there.

Duncan’s writing was clearly well researched, organized, and presented. It was easy to follow, which is a tall task when dealing with Revelation, and compelling to boot!

I absolutely recommend this to anyone seeking to understand Revelation better and/or just wants to fall in love with Messiah of Peace and deepen their hope for the kingdom that is already at hand. Here’s to hoping we catch up!

[Jeanne New · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful surprise to read a book on the book of Revelation and find it draw me towards a loving God! For too many years that part of the Bible terrified me and left me feeling God was vengeful and mean - but Jeremy opened this book up and turned my thoughts upside down and brought new understanding to see the unending love of God.

[Aj Yogi · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🌟

I've been meaning to read this book for a while since it is written by the pastor at my church, and I like his theology. Jeremy Duncan gives a fresh and peaceful perspective on the book of Revelation.

"In the fullness of heaven, we are freed not only from our sins, but also from the insatiable desire to compare and compete, to define our value through the exclusion of another. And that itself might be the heart of salvation - to embrace the way of peace for its own sake, trusting that there is no end to second chances."

[Rick Shafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you courageous and inquisitive enough to discover a Revelation that squares with the Old Testament prophets, John's world, and Jesus' description of his kingdom? Revelation is difficult and made more difficult by pop culture distortions. Jeremy's book gives us a better imagination to aim for.

[Daniel Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and rich with insight. Oh, and Duncan masterfully explains Revelation in a way that coheres with the rest of Scripture and resonates with John's (likely) original intent, while also showing the logical implications of John's work for us today.

Seriously, one of the better books I've read in the past year—whether you care about Revelation or not.

Well done!

[Anieta · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Upside-Down Apocalypse, Jeremy Duncan, who holds a bachelor of theology and a M.A. in biblical/theological studies. In this look at the book of Revelation, Duncan weaves together a gospel of peace, the history of the times and place from which the Revelation was written, and Old Testament imagery, symbolism, and texts for a fresh perspective on the book.

Unlike many other theological looks at The Revelation, Duncan does not seek time or place, but instead discusses three themes (Duncan calls them "rounds"). "...the fall of empire, the salvation of creation, and the end of destruction are not competing agendas. They are the same victory of Christ narrated from three different vantage points. However, because there is a new objective in each telling, the story takes on new forms" (141).

And the ultimate theme of Revelation is this. "...if your politics serves you and not your neighbor, it is evil. If your religion hides the violence of your voting record from you, it is evil. If you don't want to be marked with the beast, then push back against the oppression inherent in the economic systems surrounding you....[the Revelation uses Rome as an example, but his target is something much bigger--the ways in which our principalities and powers can subtly come to dominate our vision of the world.

Agree or disagree with Duncan's ideas and theories, the book encourages readers to think again about their place and role in society. And he doesn't think we should just sit back and wait for God to do it all on his/her own.

[Jonathan Dain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might have been one of the hardest for me to read in a while. I really struggled with the ideas that Jeremy was advocating for because they were very different from the format of theology that I am steeped in. While we might have been from different theological camps Jeremy does have an interesting and deeply impactful stance on the book of Revelation. As I finished this book, I was taken aback by all that I had learned along the way. While my doctrinal position has not changed, I know I can look to the book of Revelation with more hope, peace, and joy than I could previously, and for that I am thankful.

[Joey Thurmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duncan jumps around a bit with Revelation, leaving the reader wondering what doesn’t fit his narrative since verses here and there between passages are left out. However, he doubles back on many anticipated questions, and the core approach and hermeneutic of his interpretation of this book is admirably Christ-centered. Duncan relays beautiful visions of passages that many understand through violence and surface-level metaphors. He digs deep with Revelation through the testimony of Scripture and allows readers to see the eschatological glories that John clues us into, providing a framework that dovetails perfectly with N.T. Wright’s notions of building heaven on earth now. Before reading this book, there were only a handful of verses I found applicable to Christian living. With Duncan's pastoral voice and guidance, I now see it for the incisive sociopolitical commentary it is that resounds in every age to all Christians to watch out for wherever oppression and injustice occur - longing for the day when the prince of peace reigns in the beauty of pacifistic love.

[Glendon Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have spent the better part of the last five years trying to find a worthwhile book to read about Revelation - a task that would sound easy, given the sheer quantity of books about Revelation, but I would hardly call many of them worthwhile. I had borrowed a few textbooks from friends at my university who had taken classes on Revelation, but couldn't get very far before finding them dull and overly academic (if I, of all people, think something is too academic then you should beware). When I heard that Jeremy Duncan was publishing his research on Revelation in a book, however, I got excited. And my excitement paid off - this is the sort of book I've been wanting to read for the last five years.

To be sure, I'm not universally sold by his points; I think it would be asking a lot to find one, singularly cohesive reading of Revelation that everyone agreed on. What's more important is the vision that Duncan posits, a vision that feels honest to the text of this esoteric book while also feeling honest to the narrative of peace and reconciliation the rest of the Biblical story tells. I have a friend who suggests that maybe we ought to put Revelation on the shelf for a generation or so, that maybe it has been used too much for harm to be of any good use. But the redemptive core of John's vision is simply too beautiful for me to leave behind, and Duncan does a great job at making that vision accessible. This is not a book about the damnation of souls and bloody battles, but of a redemption that renews the imagination and brings the world together in the way it was meant to be. Duncan's pastoral tone makes this much more readable than an academic textbook, and is thereby an excellent entry point into the dream of what this story can be.

[Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate any eschatological study which promotes a positive future for humanity, and this overview of Revelation does that. There are many interesting observations concerning the history in which Revelation is written and how that all ties into John’s narrative, although I do think the author relies too heavily on Roman history when interpreting the symbols. He clearly did his research though.

John’s Apocalypse is a revelation of Jesus Christ, so it can be read from many different angles, and the approach to Revelation here is a social-justice one (empire is evil, justice for the oppressed), which is good but also nothing new — although there are several novel ideas which I’ve never heard before.

The author is clearly a progressive Liberal, which is fine, but he does take the occasional passive-aggressive jab at anyone who might vote right of Rachel Notley, which does not help to bring about the political peace he seems to long for. The reason most middle class Conservatives make the decisions they do is because they too are anti-empire. Also, just as it is a mistake to interpret the giant locusts as Apache helicopters, so too is it a mistake to assume John’s depiction of the whore of Babylon is misogynistic.

I do recommend this book, but I’d also recommend that this not be you’re only view of Revelation.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upside-Down Apocalypse
Grounding Revelation in the Gospel of Peace
by Jeremy Duncan
Pub Date 05 Jul 2022
Herald Press
Christian




I am reviewing a copy of Upside Down Apocalypse through Herald Press and Netgalley:



Since it was written the Book of Revelation which deals on a cosmic scale with good and evil, politics and empire, community and eternity has intrigued and frustrated readers since it was written. How do we make sense of John’s prophetic vision of cosmic war in light the nonviolence Jesus embodies in the gospels? What does it mean to tell us about Jesus, our world, and the future of all things? As End Times conspiracy theories surge, it’s more important than ever that we read the final book of the Bible without distorting the true message of Jesus.





Jeremy Duncan draws on biblical scholarship and nonviolent theology to guide readers through the book of Revelation, understanding the vision of John in the light of the Jesus we know through the Gospels the full revelation of the Divine In Upside-Down Apocalypse.




I give Upside Down Apocalypse four out of five stars!




Happy Reading!

[Chad Milroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in the church and believed all I was supposed to believe, including the left behind series… this was a refreshing read. Yes, the dates are correct. I found it harder to read. But ultimately, as my faith journey has taken some turns recently, Upside-Down Apocalypse, has allowed me to see that there is room for new interpretations of the book of Revelation. Jeremy Duncan does a great job of writing to the “least of these!” His down to earth style is easy to follow and he explains everything so well. As I walk my path, I can now do so feeling much more confident that the Armageddon I used to dread, is simple and loving and not scary. Jesus is still the centre! Thank you Jeremy, for the thoughtful explanations of a very complex subject and one that has always divided Evangelicals everywhere.

[Jonathon Karagiannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the greatest and most eye-opening commentary on the Book of Revelation I have read so far. A far cry from Bart Ehrman's brutal and anti-Christian interpretation in his 2023 book 'Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End', Jeremy Duncan's book is an easy read and subverts what you thought you knew about the Apocalypse and surprises you with a hopeful vision, re-shaping our imaginations. Highly recommend.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a pretty cerebral, insightful interpretation of the book of revelations. But part of me still thought it was some mental gymnastics to twist The Word around to fit his own vision. Still a good read, regardless

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grateful for this, eager to come back to Revelations with different resources and with my own eyes, letting my heart be open in new ways.

[Todd Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on the book of revelation I’ve ever read