What to Read During the Apocalypse.
Recommended Resources and Commentaries for Reading the Book of Revelation.
A good reading of an ancient text requires spending time with some good New Testament Scholars who have a solid grasp of the context and intent of a text. The problem is that most people do not live near the ivory towers of academia, nor does the average person have access to, nor the time, to have the conversations required for these types of activities.
Of course, this is why books exist: so that we can spend time with experts, thinkers, thought leaders, academics, scholars, and theologians.
I grew up in a church stream and at a time when most of the sources available to me were written by dispensationalist scholars who read the book of Revelation, not as dissidents but as speculators. The speculator presumes that John is writing about events that are coming in the future. Speculators read the text to form theories about what the fanciful images of Revelation represent.
These types of readings are known for establishing more fear than hope in the reader's heart. Speculators may point to a world leader or a nation and speculate that the beast or the antichrist is this or that person and that a time of intense suffering is coming. That the terror of humanity is necessary for God’s will to be accomplished in the world. But the early church believed that the Day of the Lord was a great hope of all mankind, not a great terror. No one, not a single human, needs to die for God to establish his peace on earth. Jesus has died in the place of both our enemies and ourselves.
We are privileged to live in a time where we have access to new books and new ideas, new interpretations that center the hope of the dissident Christians that God was working to heal, to reconcile, and to save humanity.
Here are a few of my favorites.
Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple. By Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett.
Whether you are starting from scratch or deconstructing your old speculative way of reading, this is a great book to begin with. Scot McKnight was my professor, so you will likely recognize much of the language in my own writing. I also sat under Cody Matchetts, teaching about the seven churches of Revelation as we traveled to the ruins of each city in the summer of ‘22.
They have a firm grasp of John's intentions in writing this book, and by the time you are done, you will, too.
Revelation for Everyone, By N.T. Wright.
N.T. Wright has been indispensable in my spiritual journey, and his daily readers (like this one) have always been an excellent companion to my daily studies.
Wright translates small snippets of the text directly from the Greek and then adds a few pages of commentary, complete with stories and deep theological reflection. He is also among the most well-respected New Testament scholars alive today, and the historical context he weaves into his writing is essential. Highly recommended.
Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination
Here is a vintage one. As a pastor, I adore the writings of Eugene Peterson. This book is beautifully calm. Peterson thinks like a poet. It is as if he can see things in John's heart that most of us cannot detect. His writing is pastoral and gentle, but the visuals he creates bring the book to life in a new way (for being an old book).
If you want something different, let me know in the comments. I have many more recommendations that may be worth your while.