The Rationalist's Guide to the Book of Revelation

The Biblical book of Revelation is a work of first-century apocalyptic literature. This was a popular genre among Christians of the day: in times of persecution, its writers used mysterious visions and nightmarish symbolism to foretell the destruction of their enemies and the coming triumph of their way of life. The text was not obscure to its audience, for whom the meaning of the symbols and events would have been clear; but it was meant to be unintelligible to outsiders. 21st-century readers are the ultimate outsiders; we have lost the social, political, and theological perspectives necessary to understand the work. As a result we are left with only the interpretations of modern Christian fundamentalists, who see in the book predictions of the today's world: nuclear missiles, the European Union, communications satellites, and a grisly world war leading to the end of time. But apocalyptic literature was never about the remote future: it offered hope to suffering people by telling them about relief that was just around the corner.

The Rationalist's Guide to the Book of Revelation abandons all attempts to shoe-horn Revelation into the modern world, and tries to restore what it meant to the people for whom it was written. In less than 100 pages, the author reviews just enough history and Biblical background to lay the groundwork for his chapter-by-chapter commentary on the book of Revelation. Although his approach is non-mystical, he does comment briefly on the way Biblical literalists have viewed the book.

Ross Bradbury grew up in a military family, living all over the southern and southwestern U.S. as well as the Philippines. He retired after 33 years as a teacher, and enjoys writing, reading, collecting music, and building and maintaining computers. He is a member of the Unitarian Universalist church.