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Rating: Summary: But the "Wailing Wall" still stands......... Review: After several years of prodding in religious discussions with a CHRISTian friend of mine I finally obtained a copy of this book and read it and reread it. Here is my review of Ray Summer's 1951 works called " Worthy is THE LAMB".
Although Mr Summer's has attempted to present the case of
non-literal, "Preterist" interpretation of St. John's Revelatory visions, in my humble opinion, the flow of ideas in this book was/is anything but smoothe, scholarly or healthy.
This book did very little to biblically or scholarly justify
the Preterist view that St. John's Revelation was fulfilled
and written exclusively for the persecuted and suffering 1st
century congregation of CHRISTians circa A.D. 70.
In AD 70, the Roman General Titus destroyed Herod's Jewish
Temple in Jerusalem.
The preterist view of eschatology and general scholarly
study of scripture seems entirely flawed when it doesn't
consider at all, the LORD JESUS' emphatic statement in Matthew 24:2 concerning the Jewish Temple, that "not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (NIV).
There is literally an entire standing wall of this said same Temple that Jews still worship at today!
Certainly the 1st century suffering saints found comfort in
John's cryptic letter, however the Preterist treatment of
Eschatology & general Bible Study seems tasked to understand
the universal and timeless application of 2 Timothy 3: 16: "All Scripture is GOD-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness".
It strikes me as odd the inconsistent way Preterists apply
literal and non-literal interpretation of the Scriptures.
John's Apocalyptic Revalations where not just written for
the 1st century church, but also for today's church and
tomorrow's as well.
Any other interpretation does not hold up to any real study.
As is often the case in Biblical eschatology and prophecy,
there is a forerunner or foreshadowing of events in which
the A.D. 70 events is a type of.
The "Western" (Wailing) Wall of Herod's Jewish Temple that
JESUS spoke about in Matthew 24:2, still stands and so does
my "non-preterist" view that St. John's Apocalyptic Revelation will indeed have it's ultimate and final fulfillment in an event yet to come. Take heed!
P.S. Forgive me for this fragmented review. I wrote it in Notepad and then cut & pasted it into this review cgi field and it came out corrupt! Sorry.
Rating: Summary: Must read for for a realistic approach to Revelation Review: Dr. Ray Summers was one of the most respected experts and scholars on the Biblical book of Revelation and a wonderful and challenging teacher. His book takes the strange book of Revelation and adds historical context to make understanding easier for the average reader. Much of the understanding of the book relates to the historical context the Jews faced in Roman times and the type of literature the book is. Dr. Summers examines many of the popular views on Revelation, breaks them down to the pros and cons and gives the pluses and minuses of each. The curious will find this fascinating and a whole new concept of the book opened to him. He will find it is not a scary book with strange symbols about the end of time but a book of hope that can apply to Christians everywhere in times of persecution. The apostle John is writing as a political prisoner and he's using a lot of coded language only Jews could fully understand. Dr. Summers unlocks a lot of the mystery and the code and you know what? We find things are not so mysterious after all if you can grasp the historical contest and type of literature.
Rating: Summary: The Revelation of John made easier to understand Review: This is an older little known "jewel" of a book. It is very well written and composed for the average person seeking to understand all the "mystery" of the book of Revelation. With all the present day abuse and mis-use of this important book, it is soothing to finally read a book that presents, in a very logical and unbiased manner, what God intended for us to understand. Ray removes all the "end-time mystery" and the extreme views being presented today and takes us back to an understandably wonderful message. What did God intend for the first century Christians, the first recipients, to understand? If the message doesn't help them, it can't be the correct message. Revelation doesn't have to be scarey or frightening. It's message is one of love and hope. It will take some effort to get through the book. It's not presented as a storybook. It is presented in a logical orderly study fashion that with time, the scriptures, a note pad and prayer, the simplicity of the message can be realized. This is the only book I am aware of of this caliber. The final message, "God 1: Satan 0", Game Over!
Rating: Summary: The Definitive book on Revelation Review: With the publication of Hal Lindsey's "The Late Great Planet Earth", everyone jumped on his bandwagon and spun off on the most useless fantasy and poor biblical scholarship on Revelation and have confused many. This book presents Revelation in the context as the people it was written to (the seven churches of Asia). If your understanding of Revelation would mean nothing to Christians in the first century then it is wrong. Get this book and get started with serious study of Revelation. It is simpler than you think.
Rating: Summary: The Definitive book on Revelation Review: With the publication of Hal Lindsey's "The Late Great Planet Earth", everyone jumped on his bandwagon and spun off on the most useless fantasy and poor biblical scholarship on Revelation and have confused many. This book presents Revelation in the context as the people it was written to (the seven churches of Asia). If your understanding of Revelation would mean nothing to Christians in the first century then it is wrong. Get this book and get started with serious study of Revelation. It is simpler than you think.
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