Andrew Meredith’s Reviews > Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Followingthe Lamb into the New Creation > Status Update
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Andrew Meredith
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Gorman has hermeneutical gaps in his understanding of Revelation because he does not front the typological symbols of the Old Testament in his interpretation. This doesn't make his interpretation or points of application wrong necessarily, but it does lead him to an incomplete analysis and disordered emphases.
— May 11, 2026 09:05AM
"1. What have been your experiences, whether positive, negative, or neutral,
with the book of Revelation?"
It has definitely been a mixed bag. My father (a Baptist pastor) is a self-avowed "pan-millenniallist" (it'll all pan out in the end), who never taught on Revelation to my knowledge. Our church had too few kids to have a youth group, so I attended a local "Bible Church" that I now know was led by MacArthur-ites, graduates of Master's Seminary. They spoke about Revelation quite a bit, but it was seen as all, or mostly, cryptically future. I was taught that the Last Days were upon us, things were inevitably getting darker and darker, and our only hope was to await the coming rapture (which could be any day now!) and rescue by mouth-sword Jesus riding on a white horse. This continued until I read N.T. Wright's "Surprised by Hope" in college. So, growing up, it was a dark and mysterious, somewhat unsettling book.
"2. Why do you think that some people seem to have an obsession with
Revelation?"
It's cryptic, it's mysterious, it's unapologetically symbolical. For those who have imbibed Dispensational Premillennialism, they read it looking for futuristic clues to know if and when the end is near.
"3. What has been the role of Revelation in the church(es) in which you have been involved?"
-My father's church: None. Ignored.
-My youth group church: A prophecy of the end times. Best read with a newspaper in the other hand.
-My college/post-college church: Little, really (kind of the nature of a theological minimalist church). They did a sermon series once but stopped after the letters to the churches. Besides that, they really liked the "a great multitude from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" (Rev 7:9) verse. It's multicultural, you see.
-My church now: A couple (two) sermons have been preached on it in our time here, both revolving around a partial-preterist understanding of the divorce of Israel at the beginning of the enthronement and reign of Christ (the Regeneration).
"4. What do you hope to gain from the study of Revelation?"
Not sure. I tend to read books that I see some friends on goodreads reading that interest me.
Chapter 1 Questions:
"1. With which of the strong negative reactions to Revelation, if any, do you identify? Why do you think that Revelation evokes such strong feelings?"
Of the ones listed, I probably held most to Paine's growing up: (“a book of riddles that requires a Revelation to explain it” (American pamphleteer Thomas Paine, 1737–1809)) Though I don't hold any negative reactions to it now.
Revelation evokes strong feelings due to it's beauty, it's symbolic nature, and the unapologetic violence it portrays, even carried out by Jesus Christ Himself.
"2. Why do you think that Revelation has inspired so much music and visual art over the centuries?"
The book itself portrays a liturgical worship service going on before the throne. The angels and the saints are constantly singing their joyful responses to the Lord's actions as they witness them.
"3. What would it take for you to believe that Revelation is “not only one of the finest literary works in the New Testament, but also one of the greatest theological achievements of early Christianity”?"
Nothing?
More thoughts: Not addressing the four ways Revelation has been historically interpreted strikes me as a pretty major oversight (Preterist, Historicist, Futurist, Idealist). He seems to just be only acknowledging and taking aim at the Futurist interpretation while advocating for an Idealist.