Revelation (IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

Interpretations of the book of Revelation are numerous and varied. The preterist view focuses on first-century social analysis of John's environment. The church-historical view sees the Revelation as a prophetic survey of the history of the church. The futurist view sees the book as a precise prediction of unfolding events in the yet-to-come end of the world. The trouble with all three, argues J. Ramsey Michaels, is that they make the Revelation of John irrelevant to Christians throughout much of history. Failing to take seriously what John saw, such interpreters do not comprehend the value of the Revelation to Christians in any age. Michaels strives to recapture the Revelation as a prophetic letter of testimony, a testimony as relevant to today's church as it was to John's as it faces evil and looks for the victory of the Lamb.