Revelations Books

Jesus: A New Revelation is the most amazing book I have ever read, and I consider myself an avid reader. I used to think all religious people needed some crutch to get through life, couldn't face reality and were just hooked into conventional traditions without much contimplation of alternatives. I had no faith before I read this book. Not that I was looking very hard, but I never found anything else in the vast sea of new age offerings, nor in the traditional scriptures to turn me away from the practical, scientific, intellectual, humanistic atheism I had evolved in my life. That is, until I read this book which tells the fascinating day to day story of Jesus' life and teaching.

This is a living story, wonderfully captivating, thrilling, and real. Jesus was born, raised, and died a Jew, but he gives hope, joy and inspiration to peoples of all faiths. Christians may have traditionalized him past the point of recognition...I dare say, this book may not even appeal to fundamentalist Christians who have no room in their hearts for growth. This is a book for people who are evolving (or discovering) their multi-facited faith...for whom faith is living.

Don't believe me, read it for yourself and decide for yourself. This is not a 5 star book, it is a 10 star book!

If you truly seek, then you shall find. If you have your mind truly open, then God will provide.
JANR is an edition taken from the 4th section of the Urantia Book, a mind-blowing cosmic journey of faith and hope.
This book is suitable for those who have been intimidated by the wording and size of the Urantia Book. There have been many souls brought into the Light by starting with Part 4 and later reading other parts.
Not everyone will agree with me here. That is fine. But, those folks must realize that there are many paths to the same Source.
The Life and Teachings of Jesus represents the finest account of our Master ever recorded. Read it and you will never be the same again.

Although this book is only one-fourth of the entire Revelation presented in the Urantia Papers, it is the part that I think we can learn the most from. If you are a bible reader and already love Jesus, this book will be the equivalent to having The Master in your presence. Easy to carry around.

I have been a student of the Urantia Book for going on twenty years now and the Jesus papers are a wonderful read, but without the rest of the book as a tutorial, much of it will leave readers scratching their heads. Even a glossary of terms would prove inadequate.

However, the New Testament of the Bible is incomplete without the Old Testament and yet many find it convenient to own a New Testament. Thus, a copy of this book might prove to be a convenient tool for long time readers or a taste of what is in store for those who accept the challenge of reading the entire text.

Everyone should read the Urantia Book. No matter on what level one chooses to approach it, it is a fascinating and enlightening read.

It changed my life.

I have to tell you that this is by far and away a "Must Read" book about the life of the most historic Man to live, Jesus. Wonderfully written narration accounting year-by-year of the life and times of Jesus. This book takes the reader on an intimate journey of Jesus' life from the time he was born to the time that he died here on Earth, giving the reader personal details of the "Master's" thoughts and reactions to daily living over 2,000 years ago. This book is invigorating and most uplifting to those that quest for a "Higher Truth" in life and will completely change your thinking for the better. If nothing else, as a work of fiction, this book is beautifully written with precise English wording to expound the magnificent beauty and truth contained within its pages. This book in every way "Rings" true to my mind, heart, soul and sprit. Please invest the time to read this book and enjoy.

This book is unoriginal - and precisely in its unoriginality, it is profound. Oden draws upon what he calls the "consensual tradition" of classical Christian theology to articulate the logic of Christian thought in his Systematic Theology. Oden's doctrine of God is particularly strong. He weaves together patristic trinitarian reflection, medieval reflection on analogy and the mystery of God, and a canonical reading of scripture to result in a stunning account of a God who is worth worshipping. Oden is deceptively simple in his writing. He points to key passages of scripture, and key passages from a wide range of Christian thinkers (from the East and the West, from the first century to the twentieth century). With this, he pulls together a richly diverse, yet coherent collage which breaks through the common stereotypes of classical Christian belief. This is a very valuable book for thoughtful Christians.

Can you ever give one Author a 5 star review when Discussing Theology ?? This is Odens best effort. A must read for the student of Theology and the last installment of a great trilogy. Read them in order

Oden states that the history of the church is the history of exegesis. By looking back down the hollowed corridor of history to the faith that was delivered up through past generations, who sometimes willingly died as martyrs to protect and pass down the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we rediscover the historical and intellectual roots of the Christian faith. Oden's view is that the wisdom of Christian thought has lain dormant and neglected by the contemporary church for far too long.

Oden desires to present the reader with the faith that Vincent of Lerins reflected when he penned, "quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est": "that which has been believed in every place, in every time, by everyone." By this, he means those statements of faith that have been claimed by the majority of Christians throughout time. Oden evidences a firm sense of the importance of reconciling historic doctrinal teaching within the ecclesiastical fundamentals of theology while presenting it in a way that will fascinate evangelicals as they row down the river of historical theology from its headwaters in the New Testament towards modernity. Faithful to this purpose, Oden tries to make no new theological contribution, seeks no new way to contemplate the Lord, no new method of expressing or articulating the Christian faith. Instead he calls upon with great frequency (over 15,000 times throughout the three volumes) to exegetes of Christian history which, as a group of thinkers, he refers to as classical Christianity, or ancient ecumenical orthodoxy. His goal is to warm Protestants to the richness of centuries of Christian intellectual achievement which led to the Reformation. Therefore, unlike other systematics where little thought is given to historical exegesis as though the Lord invented Christianity and then placed it on a shelf until the 16th century Reformation, this is a systematic that allows the historic Church to reveal its mastery of Christian thought that the history books ignore. By adhering to such a pattern, Oden has contested against the urge to engage modern and contemporary theologians and theological systems.

Though the reading can be difficult, not because Oden fails to define terms, or through the use of ambiguous language, but because his work is broken up by so many references to classical Christian exegetes. Nevertheless, Oden's systematic is well worth the reading effort, for it puts you in touch with what the great and enduring Christian teachers have thought of God and the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While not wishing to downplay the differences within the Body, I would point out that Oden harbors within the pages of his systematic theology an ecumenical focus that is surprisingly evangelical. In short, I highly recommend this systematic as it may well be the best systematic theology on the market. Undoubtedly, it is the best Wesleyan/Arminian systematic available today.

A wonderful systematic theology. Very,very detailed. Oden doesn't start with the reformation as true christian living. The sources he is using are like a pyramid. First the scriptures, then apostolic fathers and so on. By this principle ancient and traditional sources are more used than modern authors or theologies.
A must for christians of all (!) churches. Buy all 3 volumes!

Thomas Oden brings his usual passion to this work of theology, combining Biblical, Apostolic, Patristic, Medieval and Reformed thought into an excellent exploration of fundamental Christian doctrine. Oden is a "thinking person's conservative" who does not gloss over challenges to traditional Christian doctrines, but almost always concludes that the traditional doctrines are, in fact, correct and have stood the test of time and experience. I especially like Oden's ecumenical focus ... as one other reviewer remarked, this is a book that will be valuable to Catholics and Protestants, Calvinists and Wesleyans, High-Church and Low-Church. In sum, incredibly worthwhile!

The attention to verb tenses and the proper translation of Greek words is appreciated and makes this Bible useful for a deeper meaning of the text. It has been noted by some that if you read the original Greek with the verb tenses in mind the New Testament is a much more active or "energetic" text than most English translations indicate. I also found the patristic notes very useful, though I agree that they would have been easier to use as footnotes.

With archaic English and some unusual verb constructions, I am not sure that I would recommend this version as a primary Bible text. However, it is always helpful to have more than one translation for comparison and this version definitely deserves to be one of the texts in regular use by Orthodox.

One note on verb tenses: As I do not read Koine Greek myself, it is difficult for me to determine exactly how well these are translated. I have noted, however, that at least one other Protestant translation that claims to do this (the Amplified Bible) sometimes does not agree with the ONT. And there does not appear to be a bias one way or the other: sometimes the ONT has a more active translation and sometimes the Amplified Bible does.

The reviewer who says this is no more than the Authorized Version with minor changes is not quite on the mark. Besides the frequent difference in verb tenses, Greek words are generally translated more accurately. For instance, the well-known fact that the KJV translates both Gehenna and Hades as "Hell" is corrected. And perhaps the patristic notes are merely copied from the Nicene Fathers series, but as most of us don't want to carry around the entire 38 volumes (well, 30 if you throw out the Augustine stuff) of the Nicene and Ante-Nicene Fathers, having some relevant passages bound into the same volume as the Bible text is useful. Combined with some other resources (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Theophylact's commentary, etc), the ONT helps to make Orthodox Bible study a true joy.

I am not Eastern Orthodox and am not biased for or against this translation. Having said that, it is, in my opinion, one of the best translations of the New Testament available. The only other translation that I know of that is comparable is the International Standard Version (ISV). The Eastern Orthodox New Testament uses King James style English, but I find it easy to understand and the Greek is translated much more accurately. The ISV uses modern English and is a similar high accuracy translation. Using both of these translations for New Testament study is the way to go.

Let me also advise using the Septuagint for Old Testament study. This is the Old Testament translation that is quoted in the New Testament. Most Bibles use the Masoretic version of the Old Testament. When you compare the quotes in the New Testament with the corresponding verses in the Old Testament, you have to wonder what they are talking about. That is because they were quoting the Septuagint.

Use the Septuagint, The Orthodox New Testament, and the ISV New Testament and you can hardly go wrong.

In many ways I think that this is an excellent study Bible - it is not, however, one I would recommend to those who are simply looking for a Bible to read casually.

The text from which this Bible is translated is the 1912 text authorized by the Ecumenical Patriarch. Similar in many ways to Textus Receptus, there are minor differences. The authors have deliberately chosen to use archaic English, in part because of the usage of "thee" and "thou" as the second person singular and "ye" and "you" for the second person plural -- this is an advantage for those who want to be able to distinguish which "you" the writer is referring to, but makes it somewhat awkward for modern readers. The translators are to be commended for accurately translating the Greek words in the same tenses used by the authors, but this does sacrifice some of the beauty which is found in the Authorized - King James versions.

The notes utilizing quotations from the Early Church Fathers is interesting and unique, but I wish that they had been included on the bottom of the page to which the referance appears instead of at the back of that particular book of the Bible. Also, this book is aimed at those already familiar with the teachings of the Orthodox Church -- it would be nice to have some commentary reflecting the teachings and understanding of particular texts by the Church in order to serve as a better evangelistic and catechetical work.

This Bible is attractively bound, and the type is large enough for these old eyes of mine to read.

I am a protestant theologian very interested in Orthodoxy, so I bought this translation hoping for a fresh, readable, Orthodox version of the Bible which made clear how the Orthodox interpreted various passages.

What I got was basically the King James Version. The text is unreadably archaic. The translation differs only in minor ways from any protestant translation.

I had hoped that the excepts from the Fathers would allow me to really come to grips with Patristic exegesis and give me fresh insights into their thinking. I had hoped for a new translation of their writings a change from the archaic and outdated translationn of the Nicene Fathers series. Unfortunately the translators have often just copy-pasted from the Nicene Fathers volumes! The patristic quotations they have choosen do not usually add much to the passages, and do not usually address the questions that are in my mind as I read those passages.

On the positive side, the book is impressive for its beauty, it is nicely printed, with amazingly large text.

The whole thing was an excellent idea in theory - an Orthdox translation with Patristic quotations. But in practice the translators have failed to acheive any degree of excellence. On the whole buying this was a waste of money, and I don't expect to use the volume much in the future. Anyone who wants a Bible should buy the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) instead.

This is the book I have been looking for! While I appreciate the efforts of the editors of the Orthodox Study Bible, I found this 2-volume New Testament to be MUCH more to my liking. First and foremost, it features a new English translation made by Orthodox scholars primarily from an Orthodox text approved by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Secondly, it features the direct, in-depth references to the Holy Fathers that are so often lacking in the OSB. The decision to print icons with the text was an excellent one, as the reader can readily relate to both the written and visual Word of God thereby. Clearly the editors of this text went to very great lengths to prepare and present a truly ORTHODOX Bible, and for this they are to be greatly commended. A "must-have" for every English-speaking Orthodox Christian, and extremely valuable as well for those non-Orthodox seeking to learn what the Holy Fathers (who were Orthodox, after all!) have to say about the Holy Scriptures!

Most of modern Christianity is plagued by despair and depression which is brought on by a false theological system that teaches us that there is nothing better for us than to just wait around for the rapture. David Chilton in this excellent work, blows a hole in this way of thinking, with this Scripture packed survey of what he calls a "Biblical Theology of Dominion."

Dominion is a topic that is found throughout the Bible, and yet it a topic that many modern Christians shy away from. I think this is because they don't want to be tarred by those preaching ungodly forms of dominion so they rather embrace defeatism and despair than the glorious hope that is presented in the Bible.

If you have lived your life trying to "decode" the scripture through the daily headlines, and trying to make sense out of the numerous rants of the latest end time predictions, than you need to read this book. The Bible is it's own best interpreter, but we do need help sometimes with its language. This book is a great start to understanding the message of the Scripture.

This book will help you understand true Christian theology on Dominion and shift your beliefs for the better!

Are we going to take seriously the promises made in Scripture? Chilton does just that as he systematically and Biblically explains why paradise has been restored. If we really read our Bibles and really believe them, it's hard to understand how we can come to any other conclusion except that Christ came to pay for sin AND to bring in the kingdom.

Although Chilton was a reconstructionist, one need not subscribe to this theory to enjoy and find much fruit in this book. In fact, the book speaks very little of reconstructionism specifically. As doom-sayers continue to make claims about the end of the world being right around the corner, Chilton's defense of a bright future for the church is something we really need.

In Paradise Restored, author David Chilton examines the modern defeatist theology held by many evangelicals and gives us an alternative: a bright future filled with Christ-serving nations and, most importantly, a victory for Christ through the spreading of his gospel.

Chilton first examines the imagery present in Genesis and elsewhere in the Bible, especially that having to do with the Garden of Eden and the restoration to Eden through Christ in the great gift of salvation, and demonstration of God's mercy, for individuals, and for the world.

Although premillennialism was not invented until 1827, it had nonetheless taken a strong hold on Protestant Churches everywhere, especially in America. Though it has no scriptural basis and was considered to be a theology of quacks until the last hundred years or so, it became the rule, rather than the exception, during the 1970s. Then again, a lot of things happened in the 1970s! :)

Chilton does a wonderful job refuting all of this, and uses the best source of all: the Bible, to prove his case. He shows us the hope that is found for the church through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Read this book. Twice. Then, share it with your family. They'll love it too.

This book is a must read for anyone genuinely interested in Eschatology and Biblical Prophecy. David Chilton does something that Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey and all the other popular christian teachers fail to do. He applies the first basic rule of Biblical interpretation to the book of Revelation and other "End Times" prophecies. That first rule is to discover what the text meant to the people it was originally written to. The poetic imagery of The Song of Songs makes no sense to 20th Century Americans, but it make perfect sense to the members of the ancient culture the book was written for. The failure to apply this first rule to the Revelation and other prophecies has resulted in massive misinterpretations of these texts. Chilton takes the reader step by step through the process of discovering exactly what the Apostle John was saying to the first century Church. David Chilton called himself a "Christian Reconstructionist", but the truth is he was just discovering what the Church has always believed since its conception. The doctrine of Dispensationalism is less than 200 years old, yet many christians don't know this. (I was one of them a few years ago!) By starting each chapter with a quote from one of the early bishops of the Church, Chilton shows us that the Church held a different view of the "End Times" and "Rapture" than is preached by numerous dispensationalists. His approach and evidence is almost impossible to reproach since his primary proof text is the Bible itself. If you ever wanted to know what the Early Church Fathers and the Church through out the centuries really believed about the "End Times", the book of Revelation and Eschatology; then you need to read this book.

Here I speak again in the TRUTH and REALITY of the purpose of Angels. There has been a lot of misconceptions about Angels and their true purpose but Mary brings the reality of Angels to us as the Bible has quoted. This is a book to read for sure. The first and foremost One to serve is the ONE AND ONLY LIVING GOD in HEAVEN. He has the authority over the Angels and they work for GOD. We as believers worship GOD and He set His angels to do the work of His request. Read more on how to receive a legion of Angels vs. One angel. Angels are waiting for the order to do work on your behalf, but you must first go to the HOLY ONE and make your request be known. Read more..... It is absolutely the book to read.

For those of you who love well written books, you'll certainly enjoy reading this one. My personal analization of this book is that it's wonderful with every descriptive remark made about supernatural beings called Angels. From the divine instructions from God to the way they encompass our every day lives here on earth they're wonderful. And yet because of my spiritual up-bring, I was reduced to tears in some passages of this book, with the terminology used younger readers can understand and will enjoy the basics that will relate also to the mind of a child.
C. Jackson
Hampton, VA

I read this book after reading her book about Hell.The hell book was a bit unsettling. She describes and calls one area of hell"the fun center". HUH, also she states that the devil and the demons torment souls in hell.According to Pastor and author Erwin W. Lutzer a quote from his book "One Minute After You Die""Be assured of this:Neither the devil or his angels will torment people in hell.Satan and his demons will be among the tormented,they will not be the tormentors".(Revelation20:10)This is a direct opposition to the word of God...So her revelations are maybe not that divinely inspired.The book is nice and is comforting in some area's, but if she is off scripture I don't know what to really believe.I have all the books and am reading The Spirit Realm one. I guess we all should trust our own relationship with Christ.

I adore all of Mary Baxter's books. All of them are so deeply saturated with raw honesty and truth, that her words seep into every crevice of the heart. I believe with my entire essence that Jesus Christ came to her; nobody could make this stuff up. After reading each one of her books, I am left pondering how very different her outlook must be toward this world and the next, in comparison to everyday people like you and I. After all, She has seen for a fact the reality of Hell; not only has she seen it, but she actually experienced it's horrors from the perspective of a lost soul. On the flip side, she has not only seen Heaven either, but also experienced it's marvelous and indescribable attributes from the perspective of an actual citizen! These books will forcefully open your spiritual eyes, and demand that your mind to look past the physical realm, and focus on that which we cannot see. The trickle effect will be that of spiritual sobriety and an ever growing relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. For He knew He had to let her experience the harsh boldness of all her visions, in order that she and all her readers would have a unstoppable, and unquenchable urge to spread His Holy Word.

Carrie Lynn Jones
It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers

I want to answer the reviewer: "xmaggie mayx". First of all you are mistaken in scriptures that you say that all revelations of God ended with the "Book of Revelation". You are mistaken. Read the book of "Joel" in the Old Testament. The books talks about how God in the last days will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. How the young will see visions and your old men dream dreams. He said that this will happen on both young and old. As you know we are living in the last days. Remember what the Lord said: who ever is not with me is against me. I think you are judging Mary K. Baxter out of your own opinion not with something that you can back up. Read the book of Joel and if you still disagree then you are not reading the same book I read or you are denying what the Holy Scriptures are saying. The Bible says also that in the last days there will be scoffers having a Religion but denying the power there off. I have read some of her books and the Holy Spirit bears witness with my spirit that what she has written is totally of God. You are entitle to your own opinion, but that doesn't make it the truth. You don't have to read and believe what she has written. Let other find for themselves their own opinions and come to their own conclusions and if they have the Holy Spirit inside of them, then the Holy Spirit will reveal to them weather is true or not.

A lot of commentators have attempted to create a study of the book of Revelation that would take into account all of scripture. Some have done so with varying degrees of success but none so well, in my view, as Dr. Hahn.

Dr. Hahn's careful and well-reasoned study takes the preterist (primarily first-century fulfillment) hypothesis and makes the case quite convincingly. At the same time, he does well to point out the strengths of other views that help shed light on ways it describes an "already but not yet" view of church history. Further, Dr. Hahn draws on, what now seems obvious, analogies to Christian liturgy as a recurring theme in the book. See also his book or EWTN video series, _The Lamb's Supper_ for more on the liturgical connections.

Having studied the various views of this difficult topic, my conclusion is that Dr. Hahn has done the best job yet of explaining the mysteries it contains and plumbing the deepest depths to provide the greatest appreciation we might have for it. If you had time for but one study on the book of Revelation, this would be your best choice. Dr. Hahn's discussion is clear, well-researched, and inspiring. No student of eschatology can afford to ignore this study.

I've listened to this entire tape series twice, and I highly recommend it for the following reasons. First, Dr. Hahn produces the greatest number of connections I've ever heard between the Old Testament, the apocalyptic passages in the synoptic Gospels and St. John's Apocalypse providing maximum insight to what the early Christians, who were Jewish converts, would have heard in the visions. He proceeds to tie these insights into the events directly experienced by the early Church in the 1st century, culminating in the destruction and fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Secondly, he presents these explanations in a very rich, exciting way which is eminently practical for the lay Christian, the clergy-man or the Theologian. He cites sources regularly for the listener who wishes to dig deeper.

Lastly, it is the most even-handed treatment of interpretive views which are not his own. His counter-arguments to other interpretations cite biblical, historical and empirical evidence, not merely denominational or political opinions. For example, he never condemns the Futurist view, believing it to have merit as the other views. However, he gives examples of how often in the past the those who have applied specific prophecies to world events have been proven wrong. Well worth the investment in time and cost; everyone should take away something regardless of interpretive prejudices at the start.

Another Scott Hahn masterpiece. He reads Revelation like he reads the rest of the bible, in a way that brilliantly connects the New Testament to the Old Testament. Drawing from plenty of outside sources, such as the Church Fathers and *Legends of Jerusalem*, you don't have to worry that you're getting only one man's opinion on this very complicated book.

This book of the bible is so full of weird signs and events, that it's no wonder there are hundreds of differing interpretations. It's no wonder LaHaye and Jenkins can make millions on a series like *Left Behind*. It's no wonder people are still scanning the headlines (especially after 9/11/01) to see if they can tell who The Beast is, when the 666 is coming, if the AntiChrist has finally arrived.

Scott Hahn brings the book back into it's original context: 1st century Jerusalem. Suddenly, the book isn't quite so hard to interpret, because we're looking back and interpreting, in a sense, based on "old newspaper headlines," not looking to future newspaper headlines. This gives us an incredible benefit!

Hahn reveals his own personal view about the binding of Satan as well - a view I've never heard anywhere else. It comes at the end of the study, and I don't want to give it away, but it'll spin your head for sure!

Get this series, and you'll be much better prepared for the real "end times."

First, a heads up: I hear tell that it's excellent publisher is now producing this series in a CD format w/ special study guide.

Second, and in any event, I couldn't recommend more highly Scott Hahn's work on the Apocalypse -- /especially/ when used in conjunction with one or more of the following books:

(a) Michael Barber's /Coming Soon: Unlocking the Book of Revelation and Applying Its Lessons Today/ (Emmaus Road)

(b) David B. Currie's /Rapture: The End-Times Error that Leaves the Bible Behind/ (Sophia Institute) -- This book is far more than "just" a "Left Behind" refutation (though it is that): it also provides a detailed yet easily understandable interpretation of the two most eschatologically-charged Books within Scripture -- Daniel and Revelation.

(c) Further, there is now (at long last) a book giving the disguised "liberal" ideologues a run for their money with respect to the Book of Daniel -- and Daniel **exclusively**. The author, John S. Evans, does this in an eminently scholarly fashion that is, at the same time, widely accessible to the lay reader. Though written from the perspective of one who is non-Catholic, it dovetails beautifully with Hahn, Barber and Currie (in the respective works noted above). Also, while Currie engages in incisive exegesis of the Book of Daniel, Evans's analysis of Daniel is book-length in character and thus allows for greater space to be dedicated to defending/interpreting Daniel and the Book of Daniel *alone*. What results is an analysis of the authorship, dating and eschatological implications of said Book that is far more detailed than any other I've come across. (Nevertheless, Evans and Currie greatly complement one another, with both contributing -- each in their own unique fashion -- to a sound and strong defense and exegesis of this, one of the most assailed Books within the Old Testament.) Entitled /The Four Kingdoms of Daniel: A Defense of the "Roman" Sequence With AD 70 Fulfillment/, please see my review of this powerful work for further details (the bottom line being that the purchasing this book is imperative for truly appreciating the prophetic and eschatological import [past and future] of this most awesome of works of Holy Writ.)

The previous three recommendations (as well as Hahn's series itself) are brought forth utilizing a theory that has come to be known as "preterism" --that theory which argues for various prophesied events having already been, in some fashion, fulfilled -- *while by no means /necessarily/ indicating a past fulfillment of /all/ eschatological prophecies*. "Partial-preterist" is usually the name given to those who (a) espouse some past fulfillment of eschatalogical prophecies while (b) deny the theory espoused by "total preterists" that absolutely all prophecies related to the "end times" have been exhaustively fulfilled.

Nevertheless, another preteristic theory may be brought forth -- also compatible (just as is "partial preterism") with the traditional, historic Christian faith on the End Times: i.e., that *all* of the eschatological prophecies have *in one or another sense* been fulfilled, but /not/ in **final, exhaustive or superlative** fashion -- the latter being another fulfillment that is yet to come. As Hahn, Barber and Currie are each at pains to point out, "multiple fulfillments" of prophecy may be instanced throughout salvation history by way of events of the past acting -- through the Sovereign Lord of history -- as "types" of things yet to come. Accordingly, we can indeed allow for both a full-throttled preterism as well as a futuristic outlook with respect to the Eschaton.

(d) With this caveat, I introduce my last recommendation (a work that has been vouched for by EWTN, Father William Most and many other orthodox theologians, living and deceased): I speak of Desmond Birch's /Trial, Tribulation and Triumph: Before, During and After Antichrist/; this voluminous tome is one of those exceedingly rare books able to suggest a plausible perspective regarding a **futurist** eschatological scenario that is, at the same time, perfectly orthodox in its perspective (maintaining fidelity to the Scriptures and to the variety of testimonies to the Living Tradition of the Church - from the Fathers and Doctors all the way up to the recent 1997 universal Catechism). True enough, Birch does not approach eschatological matters using any sort of preterism, but what I hope to have indicated in the preceding paragraphs is that the two outlooks on eschatology are indeed compatible.

At any rate, I hope to have provided some direction for those who are presently wandering in (to mix metaphors) the "seas" of the eschatological "wilderness".

Dr. Hahn, who has personally esposed many of the Historicist, Preterist, Futurist, and Spiritual/Idealist views of Rev. 1-19, as well as Premillennial, Postmillenial and Amillennial interpretations of Rev. 20, in this tape series shows the fundamental basis for interpreting Revelation is a postmillenial preterist view. He then uses the spiritual senses of scripture to illustrate how to arrive at proper methods of interpreting Revelation to arrive at the Historicist, Futurist, and Idealist views. Since in this view the millenium already occurred, the view is similar to the Amillenial view, yet is Postmillenial. Given the riches of this point of view, one can now understand why a premillenial view (such as that exposed by Timothy LeHaye author of the Left Behind series) is biblically inconsistent (just look at Rev 1:1). After all the biblical author said ~2000 years ago it must occur soon and it did (God cannot lie or error - if God says something it must happen). Dr. Hahn explains how it happened and gives scholarly references that support his view. Dr Hahn uses the type of the End and the judgement to form the Analogical sense in which the each of the other views (Historical, Futurist, and Idealist) is properly viewed. Finally he unviews the bride of Christ, the Catholic Church, which has been wed to Him in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

This is a wonderful book for beginners to learn the principals
of the Urantia book. It is also a great teaching tool.

Wendy Vig

I received the book in a very timely manner. The book was well packaged to prevent any damage to it. Thank you!

If you have read The Urantia Book and couldn't understand the first section, this is the book for you. It's brief, to the point, explains with maps and charts.

Excellent!!!!!!

I have been a reader of The Urantia Book for several years. Despite regular and methodical reading, plus also owning a copy of Concordance, I still have not managed to finish the book nor digest some of its more difficult premises. This Introduction by David Bradley helped me do that.

At first I was hesitant that it would alter some of the TUB's basic theories. When an author attempts to simplify and explain, he can offer enter in false information through his own personal "filter" of understanding. Bradley avoids this by quoting directly from the book and keeping his own explanations to the barest minimum. The most beneficial thing Bradley did was to select out key paragraphs from TUB and put them together, thereby helping the reader to summarize some of the most important concepts quickly.

The other benefit of Bradley's book are the illustrations. In order to understand the cosmos as explained in TUB, I've had to make my own sketches. Bradley has saved us all a lot of time by making two large and really excellent illustrations.

The U Book is often a difficult read for first timers, especially if they have had little preliminary discussion about its content. "Introduction" presents some of the fundamentals contained in the revelation in an easy to grasp manner. If still interested, the reader can progress to the U Book itself. This is far better than frustrating a reader in the first 20 pages of The Urantia Book.

McCullough recognizes why the fear of the Lord is a must have. He laments the lack of reverence our culture has for God and, for the reader of conviction, provides ample reason for its recovery, using sobering references from Scripture. This book does not hound the reader to feel contrition for such trivialization. Instead, McCullough firmly reminds the reader of God's wholly-otherness, His mystery. It creates in the sensitive reader an appropriate posture toward the omnipotent and transcendant deity without using guilt to achieve it.

This book hits the nail right on the head when its author states that, at one time we were taught that man exists in order to please God. Now we are being taught that God exists to please man. The author McCullough also points out that a separation from this world may also lead to abandonment of the world, a position directly contrary to Christ's teaching about reaching the world for Him. It seems that, in every age including ours, we must strike a balance between the awesomeness of God, on one hand, and the fact that God cares about every detail in our lives, on the other. This balance must also extend to avoiding the extremes of the severity of God (God watches over our every move and is ready to punish us) versus the tender loving mercies of God (God is much too sweet to send anyone to Hell).

I agree with the other reviewers that this book makes some interesting points, and overall, I think it is worth reading. I wish, though, that I could recommend McCullough more as a *writer*. As a thinker, he clearly has good ideas, but he sometimes has trouble expressing them clearly. There are points in this book that read as though they were written by a college sophomore--awkward sentence structure, lurching thoughts, unclear metaphors. There are other sections that sound almost like poor translations ("Wholly-Other-in-Love" sounds like an untranslatable idea from some German theologian!). Other parts of the book, especially the last few pages, are crystal clear. It's the lack of clarity that keeps me from giving this very good book 5 stars.

McCollough's book reads like a captivating sermon. His foundational premise, that "we prefer the illusion of a safer deity, and so we have pared God down to more manageable proportions," is eloquently devoloped. This is a book which moves the soul to want a God who is bigger, and less safe than the one which our culture tries to peddle to us today.

His book takes an interesting turn in the last four chapters. The Chapters are as follows:

1. The Trivialization of God; 2. A Pantheon of Deities; 3. In the Temple of Idols; 4. The Self-Revelation of God; 6. Consuming Fire; 7. Conversion into Community; 8. Community of Worship; 9. Community of the Word; 10. Community of Love;

So chapter 7 makes a seemingly awkward transition on the surface. The content flows, however, and the transition is an important one, spiritually. The idea of Community drives the last portion of the book. There is a very compelling image which McCollough borrows from Donald Baillie in chapter 7:

t is "a tale of God calling his human children to form a great circle ... In that circle we all ought to be standing, linked together with lovingly joined hands, facing toward the Light in the centre, which is God...But instead of that, we have, each one, turned our backs upon God and the circle of our fellows, and faced the other way, so that we can see neither the Light at centre nor the faces on the circumference...That is what is wrong."

This a book well worth reading and sharing with others. It has been a great tool in small group settings. I've shared many chapters of this book with friends, and various groups.

The correlation between this book and JB Phillips classic "Your God is Too Small" are obvious as soon as you look at the verses of scripture which begin the work (Isaiah 44:10 & Isaiah 40:25 - both of which deal with the fact that there is none like God and our attempts to make an idol of Him are faulty), yet this book is more than just a rewriting of "Your God...". "Trivialization" takes Phillip's theme and conveys it in modern language and metaphors. Dr. McCullough chips away at the false gods of the 90s and after the dust has clear from the destruction of those false concepts that we try to pretend are God, we find a marvelous vacum that is just waiting for the true and living God to come in a fill. Dr. McCullough brings out the mystery and danger of our God and by doing this helps those believers (and non-believers) who read this work to begin to fathom what an incredible God the Lord is.

Dr. Adrian P. Rogers, a prince of preachers, shares the fruit of his pulpit prowess in Unveiling the End Times in Our Time: The Triumph of the Lamb in Revelation. By reading this book you will be introduced to the major players in future world events; you will be informed about the culmination of God's plan of the ages; and you will be inspired to live each day anticipating the fulfillment of our Lord's promise to return. I whole-heartedly recommend this book!

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor, teacher, mentor, writer, author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice

Book was in good shape, delivery on time, and had a good price.

Adrian Rogers explains in very simple to understand terms the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. He believes that the Bible is the inerrant word of Almighty God. From this basis, all Scripture explains Scripture. Therefore, I believe this book to be a very helpful tool to open to the reader an understanding of the Word of God. In Genesis, God created heaven and earth. In Revelation He comes as King of kings and Lord of Lords and creates a new heaven and earth with no more suffering and no more death.

Adrian perpetuates of the church age (which is a harmful myth to perpetuate) when he says started "when Jesus came the first time" and will end "when he will come a second time". Actually, if there was any so called church age, it started with the angels when they were created, who then worshipped Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit, and at the very least when Adam, Eve, and Abel existed. Contrary to what many confused Christians think, these three and the ancient Jews of the OT were not saved by sacrificing sheep, but rather the gospel, as the NT clearly teaches, so, so much for the "church" age. And the church will certainly not cease to exist, so I don't get how it can end.

In his explanation of when the rapture is going to be, he explains himself poorly. He says he doesn't no when it will be because no one knows the day or hour when Jesus returns (which implies he believes that that is when it will happen.) It would have been much better if he had just said, "The rapture will happen when Jesus will return to judge the world." And most Christians already know that you can't know the day or hour Jesus will return. The good thing is that he didn't teach that the rapture would occur before the tribulation.

He also seemed to imply that you can't get a good idea as to when Jesus will return with the day or hour comment, but that would mean all the prophecies in the Bible are useless, and obviously they are not.

So aside from that apparent contradiction, this book is decent, but I would try and find something better that is more clear in the rapture area.

Adrian Rogers recently passed away, and with him, some of the finest teaching skills in Christendom.

His Revelation is one of the best books on the subject. His strength is talking to the reader--not at the reader.

If you want Revelation in-depth, you might seek out "Revelation for the Complete Idiot". If you want a scholarly work, read Mounce.

If you want a teenager-oriented (or brand new believer, or teacher) book on Revelation, there is nothing better than: "Dragons, Grasshoppers, & Frogs!" by Jerry L. Parks.

But if you want a conversational-style commentary--one with wonderful alliteration (which Rogers was the best at!) look no further than this book. You will not be disappointed!

I've read Dr. Olin-Hitt's book twice now and continue to be amazed at how true the messages he receives ring for me. If the book was simply a transcription of the messages, it would still be useful and worth a read. However, what really fleshes it out and makes it spectacular is the way in which Olin-Hitt weaves the tale of his own personal and spiritual journey into the teachings he has received. Some readers may find it a little creepy, and some readers that are tied to narrow religious dogmas probably will have difficulty accepting the teachings and even the fact that a college professor at a small Ohio institution would actually receive these teachings. It's real, though, and a book that deserves a whole lot of exposure. Just keep an open mind and it will touch you.

This important account is written by a man who sought to deepen his faith as he and his wife struggled with grief over the loss of a stillborn child. During prayer an unexpected gift of prophecy emerged which troubled and burdened Michael Olin-Hitt and his wife, a Methodist minister. Yet they worked together, along with others whose faith transcended narrow dogma. They transcribed the words that came from a Holy source, words that provide profound nourishment for those who hunger for greater truths. Rather than hide these revelations, Michael Olin-Hitt shares them with all who are ready to hear. People of all faiths as well as people searching for faith will find sustenance in this book.

Dr. Michael Olin-Hitt bears his soul and opens himself up to possible widespread criticism and even ridicule by the far right in this book. His experiences and the messages he has been gifted to receive are, however, affirming, and entirely consistent with Gospel. This must have been a difficult book to write, especially given what was going on in the author's life at the time he began having these experiences. Part of the power of the messages themselves are found in the fact that Dr. Olin-Hitt overcame so much and put so much on the line to share them with readers. Some of the material is quite dense and forces the reader to examine her or his beliefs and pre-conceived notions about faith; however, the experience is incredibly rewarding.

During a period of several years, Dr. Michael Olin-Hitt began to experience certain odd and scary phenomena; his hands shook; he trembled; he went into trances in which he experienced the voice of another. After he and his wife, a Methodist minister, had made a resolution to concentrate on their prayer life with intention and dedication, these events occurred. This book describes Olin-Hitt's odyssey and evolution from skeptical literary man (both scholar and creative writer) to receiver of prophetic texts from a place where few of the faithful can enter. Assisted by his wife and a friend, the visitations were transcribed and they are evaluated with the skill onliy a Ph.D. in literature can render. This book is for the skeptical, who say "I believe Lord, I believe. Help thou, Lord, my unbelief." An account of the family's encounters with daily life--the stillbirth of a son, the adoption of a daughter, the making of an urban ministry--is interwoven with the texts of "The Holy," or "The Messenger," as the voice came to be called. This is an account of a Christian man about the fruit of the spirit called prophecy. Read. Buy. Meditate. Celebrate. This book is one of a kind and it should be read by those who wish to read creative nonfiction by an expert writer. I wept at the beauty of Olin-Hitt's words and the words of The Holy.

At first, one is very puzzled by his use of such orthodox Christian terms or phrases such as the Word of God, Jesus Christ, claiming the Christian perspective, biblical tests of prophesy, Christian journey, spiritual gifts, Christianity, and Christian while at the same time mixing in such questionable extra-biblical phrases such as the Messenger of the Holy, conduit of sorts for a being, Messenger comes to me, lower and higher astral beings, channeling, braided way, Kabbalist tradition, spiritual companions, Sophia, way of being, circles of holy people, Holy Whole, Holy Way, and God is found in emptiness. And the most provocative statement is the following, "The many faiths are strands woven together in a braid that is the pathway to God."

His fusion of the extra biblical with the biblical is attempt to validate or legitimize his writings as being from a Christian perspective and that God is speaking through him. From this reader's perspective this book is highly deceptive presenting a false teaching, a false gospel, and a false prophesy to those of the Christian persuasion. In short, it is representative of false mysticism - a doctrine of heresy in the Christian community.