Revelation (Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching)

Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: I have used this book along with Wilfrid Harrington's commentary (in the Sacra Pagina series). For me Boring's treatment is the one that has been most helpful.
Boring gives sober and insightful perspectives on what to make of Revelation. He makes many useful connections to parallels in the other Biblical books, and occasionally points out relevant examples from other similar texts (Daniel, 4 Ezra, Jubilees, etc.). He also puts Revelation in touch with the situation that the Church faced when the book was written (near the end of the first century). Rather than pushing all of its meaning into future events, he shows how Revelation had relevance to the churches John wrote to (1,900 years ago), and still has relevance to us in our present circumstances. Revelation actually talks to the Church about its situation, its beliefs, its hopes, and its experience of Christ--that is really what makes it a great book .
There is much else about this book that is outstanding. The author gives excellent insight on the imagery used in Revelation and how to interpret it. One of his main points is that there is often use of symbols and images with multiple meanings attached to them. For instance, it is commonly said that "Babylon" means "Rome" (making it simply a "codeword"--all you do is plug in the "real" meaning). But Boring reminds us that "Babylon" also really means "Babylon" too--because it continues to echo with all the imagery associated with Babylon from the Old Testament prophetic books. Another good example is the "dragon" of Revelation 12. In Revelation 12:9 the dragon is described as "that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan...". In other words, the dragon is a dragon, a serpent, a Devil, a Satan, or all of the descriptions of God's adversaries which all have various echoes in Old Testament imagery and prophecy. To really hear it right you have to think of the serpent of Genesis, the Satan of Job, the dragon of Isaiah 51:9, the Devil of Matthew 4:1, and so on--all of it at once! Of course Boring illuminates this context with more detail. This makes Revelation a very rich book once you start to appreciate its depth.
A part of the commentary I especially appreciate is the way Boring helps us to come to grips with the violent imagery in Revelation, and deals very intelligently with the material that deals with the final judgment. All of this is first rate and I highly recommend reading it--I believe that every reader of the Bible would be well served by taking the time to do this.
Generally, after reading this book I have come to understand that Revelation is really very much in tune with basic Christian beliefs in a very profound way. It is in fact a poetic and rich telling of the Christian message. It can be hard to see this in Revelation (because of the violent imagery), but once you see it (Boring helps you to do this), it is very powerful.
Boring's commentary is not verse by verse but goes in sections, dealing with major units. It is meant to be more readable this way, and it is. The introduction is super and worth the price of the book alone. If you need a verse by verse commentary, I can suggest Wilfrid Harrington's (and many other good ones are also out there). I find this book to be the best overall treatment that will give you a solid understanding of an often misunderstood book of the Bible.
It really deserves fifty stars.

Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: I have used this book along with Wilfrid Harrington's commentary (in the Sacra Pagina series). For me Boring's treatment is the one that has been most helpful.
Boring gives sober and insightful perspectives on what to make of Revelation. He makes many useful connections to parallels in the other Biblical books, and occasionally points out relevant examples from other similar texts (Daniel, 4 Ezra, Jubilees, etc.). He also puts Revelation in touch with the situation that the Church faced when the book was written (near the end of the first century). Rather than pushing all of its meaning into future events, he shows how Revelation had relevance to the churches John wrote to (1,900 years ago), and still has relevance to us in our present circumstances. Revelation actually talks to the Church about its situation, its beliefs, its hopes, and its experience of Christ--that is really what makes it a great book .
There is much else about this book that is outstanding. The author gives excellent insight on the imagery used in Revelation and how to interpret it. One of his main points is that there is often use of symbols and images with multiple meanings attached to them. For instance, it is commonly said that "Babylon" means "Rome" (making it simply a "codeword"--all you do is plug in the "real" meaning). But Boring reminds us that "Babylon" also really means "Babylon" too--because it continues to echo with all the imagery associated with Babylon from the Old Testament prophetic books. Another good example is the "dragon" of Revelation 12. In Revelation 12:9 the dragon is described as "that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan...". In other words, the dragon is a dragon, a serpent, a Devil, a Satan, or all of the descriptions of God's adversaries which all have various echoes in Old Testament imagery and prophecy. To really hear it right you have to think of the serpent of Genesis, the Satan of Job, the dragon of Isaiah 51:9, the Devil of Matthew 4:1, and so on--all of it at once! Of course Boring illuminates this context with more detail. This makes Revelation a very rich book once you start to appreciate its depth.
A part of the commentary I especially appreciate is the way Boring helps us to come to grips with the violent imagery in Revelation, and deals very intelligently with the material that deals with the final judgment. All of this is first rate and I highly recommend reading it--I believe that every reader of the Bible would be well served by taking the time to do this.
Generally, after reading this book I have come to understand that Revelation is really very much in tune with basic Christian beliefs in a very profound way. It is in fact a poetic and rich telling of the Christian message. It can be hard to see this in Revelation (because of the violent imagery), but once you see it (Boring helps you to do this), it is very powerful.
Boring's commentary is not verse by verse but goes in sections, dealing with major units. It is meant to be more readable this way, and it is. The introduction is super and worth the price of the book alone. If you need a verse by verse commentary, I can suggest Wilfrid Harrington's (and many other good ones are also out there). I find this book to be the best overall treatment that will give you a solid understanding of an often misunderstood book of the Bible.
It really deserves fifty stars.

Rating:
Summary: A Revelation that makes sense.
Review: I translated the book of Revelation with Gene Boring in seminary and used this commentary as a textbook. It is quite well written - demanding scholarship in a simple to understand format. There IS another way to interpret the Apocalypse without giving into faddish millennial hype.

Rating:
Summary: About Time
Review: It is good to have a book on Revaltion that goes into depth about the true meaning behind the book. There is no breaking the code, or trying to find hidden things in this book. This commentary goes straight at the text and dives into it true meaning.

Rating:
Summary: About Time
Review: It is good to have a book on Revaltion that goes into depth about the true meaning behind the book. There is no breaking the code, or trying to find hidden things in this book. This commentary goes straight at the text and dives into it true meaning.