Revelations Books

The author - Jeff A. Manty - guided by the Holy Spirit - connects Old Testament dates and History and connects them to New Testament Reality, straight forward to our days, starting with "1897" when the first Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland, after exactly "1897" years of exile from Jerusalem - 1967 minus 70 (Destruction of the Temple in 70AD) = 1897. That date is followed by the Establishment of the Jewish Nation ISRAEL in 1948. The 6 Day War with the Capture of the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall on 6/7/67 at 10:20 am is the last date in our present time. The 6/7/67 stands for the Sabbath Commandment - 6th days of work, 7th day of rest - the SABBATH REST of ISRAEL - while the coming of the LORD is announced in the year ... (read the book) but "No one knows about that day or hour" (Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:32), but we may know the year... Very thought provoking. A must read for those who want to know...

I grew up being taught the mainline Christian thought. As I have become older I began to see much of what I believed came not from the Bible but from other people. Thank GOD for men like Jeffrey Manty who can see outside the man made box we have been put into by others. Jesus/Yeshua told us a deception would come that would fool the very elect if that was possible. A must read.

I've always believed that some type of hidden code existed within the verses of key biblical text. Prophecy Code exposes, then deciphers this hidden code by giving answers to the three most important questions that eschatologist have been struggling to answer for Millennia. If you want to the know the name of the Beast, who the ten toes of Daniel's great Image are, and the year all this will happen, including the year of our Lords Return, I suggest you buy this book you won't be dissapointed.

Jeffrey Manty takes a further step within this new paradigm of prophecy books to reveal even more the underpinnings about what he believes are the prophecies of Daniel and the End Times as spelled out in the Book of Revelation. His approach is admirable, and what he reveals about the origin of the word "Allah" is incredible. I would part company with him, however, on his setting dates and the timing of the return of Jesus Christ. Even given the fact that Jesus, Himself, said that no man knows the hour, the author specifically sets down dates, and why he does this might be a way to attract others to his book, but with all the former "date setting" by those who've gone before him, he runs the risk of being totally wrong like the rest. Overall, though, this is a fine read, and as the book develops, he takes an approach to prophecy which is far more traditional than the earlier half of the book.

This is probably the best all-around commentary on Revelation that I have read. I am a college student and have only read a handful, but this particular one was required for a course and it was one of my favorites to read. Witherington opens up so clearly and well what is happening in the book of Revelation based on historical and social situations of the time in which it was written. This is not an overly large commentary and is quite easy to read. Another nice feature is that after the verse-by-verse commentary of each chapter, he has little break-out sidenotes to explain in a little more basic language what this all means for us today. He also quotes from Eugene Peterson's "Reversed Thunder" commentary on Revelation, so if you have read and enjoyed that book, or any other by Peterson, you will most likely enjoy this commentary by Witherington as well.

A remarkable commentary! Normally a clear and accessible work of biblical scholarship lacks depth or objective analysis. NOT so this commentary. This is as good as any Witherington book I have read. It starts off with general discussion about the authorship, dating and historical background of Revelation and moves into a detailed commentary. The complete text of Revelation is included, and the author comments on every verse. The low price of the paperback version makes your purchase a great deal.

Ben does a great job on this exposition of Revelation. He sees the book as a call through His servant job for the church to persevere in its worship of the one true Emperor, the one true God.Dr. Witherington contends that the books was written near the close of the first century in the days of the emperor Domitian. He acknowledges that the imagery of Revelation is symbolic and is applicable to a wide variety of situations.

But he also stresses that John sees the events of Revelation as working toward the end of human history as we know it. Ben notes that the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet, and the pouring out of the seventh bowl all climax with the close of the age. Yet he also notes that each series of seven judgments are increasingly intense and affect a larger proportion of the population.

Ben observes that John is thoroughly familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures and with the noncanonical writings, and that he uses and reworks these images freely.

Ben sees the mighty angel of Revelation 10 as a powerful representative of the Messiah. The two lampstands of Revelation 11 represent either the evangelistic witness of the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia, or the collective church's prophetic witness.

Dr. Witherington sees the woman of Revelation 12 as a portrait of the people of God (I think of this woman as Israel - see Joseph's dream details in Genesis 37). he is undecided about whether the defeat of Satan in Revelation 12 happens at the time of the crucifixion and resurrection or at a later time.

Ben does a good job of contrasting the godly woman of Revelation 12 with the wicked whore of Revelation 17-18. He also takes a premillennial interpretation of chapter 20, though acknowledging that 1000 years is figurative for a long period of time and not necessarily a literal 1000 year period.

He also points out that Revelation 21-22 is a description of the character of that city and should not be taken as a literal portrayal of the city's geography.

Ben sees the book of Revelation as insider information for Christians who are living in perilous times. I like how he is able to apply the text to our lives in the bridging the horizon sections.

The commentary is engagingly written, and the interpretations are sound. Ben takes dispensational interpretations to task at Revelation 3:10 and at 4:1, noting that these are not rapture texts.

Buy this commentary for a simple yet profound take on the book of Revelation. I enjoyed it more than any other commentary on Revelation, although Craig Koester's book is great, too.

Though I have thoroughly enjoyed the other books that I've read by Witherington, I had real trouble getting through this one.

His other books provided great insight into contemporary writing styles and, thus, insight into what the original text would have meant to the original hearers. Obviously, this is critical to an understanding of what Scripture means to us.

However, in Revelation, Witherington has not done a good job of connecting us with what the hearers of Revelation would have understood. Part of this is the difficulty of Revelation itself. With all its symbolic language, visions of the future, and pictographic explanations of the past, there is much to stumble over. Determining how the original hearers would have understood all this can be an intimidating venture.

Unfortunately, Witherington stumbles in a number of areas. Because of the generality of some of the images, Witherington suggests several meanings but then leaves us hanging as to what he thinks could be the accurate depiction. Though this is not problematic if done occasionally, there are so many pictures that Witherington is unwilling to definitively state his ideas on that we are left wondering what he believes. Though an interesting read to find out the `what could it mean' perspective, Witherington gives no consistent explanation of his take on the whole book.

Overall, although not a bad commentary, I did not find that it sparked my interest enough to be expectantly turning each page to see what other truths he could illuminate for me. Though I'm not unconvinced by his propositions, I'm not sure he's made the best case for those propositions.

For the full review, go to the blog listed in my nickname and click on the Readings category.

The Book of Revelations is a mysterious scripture - often quoted, usually misinterpreted and taken out of context. John Cord's book struck me as both a work of serious scholarship and of sincere devotion (a rare combination). Mr. Cord has no causes to espouse, or religious axes to grind, in this work. Rather, he meticulously interprets each and every sentence of Revelations in light of the channeled wisdom of the world's most credible "psychic", Edgar Cayce.
There are many self-serving books on the market which distort the meaning of such scriptures in order to instill fear-based "faith" and elicit financial contributions from sincere seekers. These "bogus" tomes provide little or no genuine information to the seeker of Truth. John Cord has made a major contribution to spiritual literature, and I look forward to his next release.
I highly recommend "Revelation Earth" to anyone who wants a detailed reference to Edgar Cayce's interpretations of this important scripture. As far as I know, there is no other such reference available.
Hats off to John Cord!!!

There is relevance to Revelation, Genesis and Daniel here in 2,001. How? If you have and know how to use your concordance (and are feeling so inclined) you will discover that our space program is very reminisant of the tower of babel (sorry to burst your bubble) and the so called fall of mankind in the garden of eden (if you are looking for common threads you will find them). If you will recall, the snake promised that the (increased) knowledge that came with the fruit (like the increased knoweledge predicted to happen, like what we see today)would enable Eve, and later Adam, to become as the gods who said, come, let US make man in OUR image. Then, after the close call with extinction at the (so-called "flood") (which I am allowing for some possibility in my mind may have occurred in some facsimile) It is said that after repopulation, in BABYLON, that the tower of Babel was constructed, it would (enable man to) reach up into the heavens (so they could be with the gods and become as the gods, having their own charriots of fire)(hang with me). Obviously, humans once again seek to become as the gods while trying to work out their own salvations (preserve ourselves from extinction). Why else build the tower of babel? A world wide flood with but a few surviving (think of it in symbolic terms, because currently I do, too) is a close call with extinction. Then, fastforward to Babylon, in Daniel. Daniel is said to have interpreted a dream of king Nebucanezzer's(sp?) to which the king erects an image of solid gold as a symbol that his (man's) kingdom shall endure forever (a form of denial that persists as Daniels interpretation predicts that all subsequent kingdoms shall be inferior to Babylon in splendor). Fastforward to our space program of today. Once again, it appears, we are repeating what those kings Babylon attempted, as predicted in revelation that the Babylon in the last days would do, which is to construct towers that will enable us to reach up (travel) into the heavens and attempt, you guessed it, a settlement on Mars (we spend billions if not trillions on this currently). Why? Ultimately, we know that we are not being good stewards of the Earth (there is a passage that says that god comes to destroy those who destroy the Earth. Funny, conservatives are usually the worst when it comes to being conservationists). So, our space program serves as our foot out the backdoor in case (when) we have trashed the Earth too much or... Like it or not, there is much relevance here and the towers of old may have been our early ancestors trying to copy what they saw in their day. Those pharohs of Egypt may have not been so mistaken when they went to such great lengths to preserve their bodies. With todays scientific minds, it is easy to see that they may have been hoping to have their well preserved cells cloned into making a twin (hey, a twin of the king and his family is better than no twins at all)

Thank you very much for your time and co-operation! ...

I am so pleased to have discovered "Revelation Earth," as I have found it to be the most comprehensive look into the Book of Revelation. The author's style of writing is thoughtful, and his use of font styles is very effective. I consider this book to be one of the most valuable in my personal library, and recommend it to everyone reading this review.

This book touches ones soul and carries it closer to enlightenment. If you search for truth and wisdom buy this book..no matter what your religion. You will not regret it.

Scary, Apocalyptic, Confusing. These are all words that I have heard used to describe the Book of Revelation. Raised with a pre-tribulation rapture viewpoint, the vague and indistinct impression of Revelation was mainly, "take me now, Lord Jesus, I don't want to have to endure all those terrible things...". This study of the Book of Revelation seeks to cast away these preconceived ideas. An unvarnished and straightforward look at the truths that God has revealed about His son, Jesus Christ, Revelation, Plain and Simple digs to the core of God's message to us:

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" Revelation 5:12

And in this basic, core truth, what can be found for us today is not worry or anxiety or fear, but great comfort. I would encourage everyone to dig into this satisfying study of the Book of Revelation and see what God has used Jon MacKinney to reveal about His character, the character of His Son, and the blessings that are found in the reading, hearing and speaking of His word. I have found great comfort in studying the Book of Revelation, enough that I now can truly understand the Apostle John when he says "Come, Lord Jesus" and joining in his chorus I say, Come, Lord Jesus, Come!!!

To break down the book, I would say that it is topical
sermons based out of the book of Revelation, I enjoy the read, but felt lacking in any indept study of the book.
I would recommend an exposition study by Robert Thomas his two volume set from Moody Press on the book of Revelation, Or John Walvoord's Commentary "The Revelation of Jesus Christ", Even Hennry Morris "The Revelation Record" or another two volume set from John MacArthur "Revelation".
May God Bless you and Keep you.

What encouragement from this most challenging of Scripture. While many relegate Revelation to elements of the Sci-Fi channel or put it at a comfortable distance from our daily lives, Pastor MacKinney brings it up close and personal, as it should be. According to "Revelation, Plain and Simple",prophesy is meant to warn for the future and in that warning influence our today. This book does so with an upbeat and thoroughly referenced study.

I am an 82 year old retired inventor business man and father of the author. I heared almost all of the 42 sermons that make up REVELATION PLAIN AND SIMPLE. The BLESSING kept as promised in Rev 1:3 to those who read, hear and keep those things that are written is a universally attractive influence in time and space. The repeated presentation and rejection of the mercy of GOD shows His great patience. I am reminded how uncomfortable it is to try to view a picture or projeted image that just doesn't seem to be in focus and the great satifaction when someone gets to the focus knob and it all comes clear and sharp. Many treat Revelation as just too out of focus or too far out and thus quit looking. This book goes a long way toward improving the focus.

"Modest, safe, and sure," lies the way to power, Dr. Modesto writes in the book-within-a-book that anchors this novel. Modesto advocates a new philosophy, an aggressive conformism, and proposes to raise a "massive nothing in the heart of the United States of America. Some might say that his creed is unprincipled. But what, he asks, have principles gotten the misfits? Science, in fact, is disproving all of those principles.

Reconditioned as a Centralist, protagonist Hal Hingham becomes a star salesman and reconnects with his Rose. But he is a victim of his own success: like Icarus, he flies too high and meets disaster. Hingham makes such a dramatic turnaround that his boss decides to showcase him at an upcoming life insurance convention, and Rose learns that having a fiancee who does everything you've ever dreamed of is a little creepy, particularly when he follows the same script again and again.

From there, the novel takes a few turns, as Hingham runs into Merko, the Human Fly, who reads Schopenhauer and confronts any obstacles (including gravity) with sheer will, and Johnny Swan, a conniving publicist. At the end, the reader may share Hingham's desire to grasp at straws of meaning in a confusing, mercenary world.

The book's real significance is as an artifact of the 1950s. Hingham represents the underside of the Organization Man. He's an insignificant misfit, and can't even be a cog in the bigger corporate machine. Sexual and particularly romantic love are debilitating-every character is, as Harrington paints them, corrupted or weakened by their attachments to others. One woman looks forward to an awful marriage as self-punishment for her own hubris, and the publicist Swann is undone by his lust for Rose's voluptuous blonde room-mate.

This book shows a bleak world where the individualist has no part. So on one level, the book could be a critique of any kind of collectivism or any political movement that asks its followers to bury themselves in the will of the people, or the Fatherland. Revelations was written just after World War II, with the specters of both fascism and communism still very real. A man who follows the crowd has, at his center, only a mirror, and no soul.

It also might be a cautionary tale: the Centralist as Harrington describes him sounds much like a politician, trying to be everything to everyone. A guy who has not one lucky charm, but a whole closet-full that he picks from to satisfy the mood of the day's special interest group is, basically, a Centralist. The only way to get elected is to stand for nothing.

The Revelations of Dr. Modesto is a very strange book. It's not exactly a page-turner, though it's a quick read. The philosophy seems out of a bizarre mirror universe but in fact isn't that far off the mark. It's an interesting read, if you approach it in the right mood.

To get the full, in-your-face impact the author intended, one would have to have read this book in the late 50s or very early 60s. First copyrighted in 1955, The Revelations is a thorough-going condemnation of society's worship of success and the conformity it requires. It's the same message as that of the classic film The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit and the early Beats (Kerouac, et al).

The main character is Hal Hingham, a Boston life-insurance salesman, who is a total failure professionally, socially, and personally. Spotting a mysterious ad in the paper that promises a technique guaranteed to reverse his failures and end his unhappiness, Hal writes to Dr. Modesto at his Nebraska post office box. Receiving Dr. Modesto's revelations in the mail, Hal commits them to memory and begins applying them. The results are immediate and miraculous: total success in every aspect of his life. The technique? Becoming the mirror image of whoever you're talking to. The book traces Hal's fall into invisibility and his quest to find the mysterious Dr. Modesto and get some help.

Though this book is seriously dated now, the dangers of conformity still exist. The modern reader would be better served if the message of this book were shortened and turned into an essay. Recommended with caveats.

Makes a change from reading pulp fiction to read a real book. I think he was on the ultimate imagination trip when he wrote this book. I guess if you like Herman Hesse then you'll like this.

A must read satire from the foremost expert on life, death and everything related to it.

The Sealed Book discusses a subject of great and timely interest to every living person today...the end times. Richard Madsen has given us a rare opportunity to understand and check for ourselves what the prophecies say about the end times. He has gathered, and outlined in the easiest to understand format possible, information and sources so those of us who are not scholars can finally understand these important prophecies. Charts and tables graphically illustrate the progression of events such as the seals, trumpets, and bowls. The author has simplified as much as possible an otherwise difficult subject. There is much popular talk these days about the "rapture" of the church. I personally find this subject very interesting. The author has painstakingly documented a detailed account of the end times as it unfolds including a difficult to refute conclusion of when the "rapture" takes place. This is important so as not to be deceived when the False Messiah appears. The author lets the Word speak for itself. Information is continuously referenced throughout the book so it is simple to go directly to the Scriptures and read what they say. The work is as pure as humanly possible and is without doctrinal influences. A book of this nature was long overdue and is an incredible bargain. This book will make an excellent gift for family or friends who are interested in Bible prophecy. I plan to place a copy of The Sealed Book into my Pastor's hands too!

Paul T. states that a Jewish year may have 354, 355, 383, or 384 days. Tell us Paul, where in scripture does it say that? This book is an interpretation of scripture, not of some other book. The story of Noah in Gen. 7:11 to 8:4 clearly outlines 12 months of 30 days each. Dan Chapter 7 describes the rule of a beast as lasting for a "time, times, and half-of-a time" (3-1/2 years). Revelation chapter 13 describes the same rule as 42 months. Prophecies in Revelation chapter 11 describe other events that occur between the breaking of the first seal and ending with the second woe judgement as lasting 42 months or 1260 days.

On the one hand, the subject of Biblical prophecy should be discussed in a non-fiction book. The Problem, however, is that even the best non-fiction books on the end times, including this one, deal with the prophecies individually rather than fully exploring how the events of one prophecy impact and interact with each of the others.

For example, looking at the events and aftermath of the Ezekiel 38-39 war and then at the events of the trumpet and bowl judgments, AND taking into account what we know about the geo-politics of the various regions of the world, can we determine with any certainty in what part of the world the destruction described in the fifth seal judgment will occur? After all, you can only destroy a given part of the planet so many times in a seven year period.

While really good fiction would normally take these factors into account in a well developed scenario, most Christian fiction is anything but good. (The ONE exception to this is James BeauSeigneur's THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY which I highly recommend.)

This, however, is not the only problem with Madsen's book. Please understand that I do not question his motives or desire to seek and speak the truth. But over and over in this brief book Madsen jumps to conclusions without explanation or support. The math he uses to break the seven years of the Tribulation into equal parts is undefended in his logic.

Finally (for this review anyway), Madsen makes the same old mistake of so many other prophecy "scholars" of building his schedule on the misunderstanding that a "Biblical" or "prophetic" year is made up of 360 day. This is not correct. The Jewish year may have 354, 355, 383, or 384 days. Madsen DOES get credit for knowing about Adar I (sometimes called Second Adar) which is an extra month which is added to each of seven years in every nineteen year cycle. (I'd provide a link to a Hebrew calendar page, but I don't think Amazon.com allows that. You can look one up on any search engine.)

Anyway, if you read a lot of books on prophecy, here's another one. If you don't have that much time, read THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY with a Bible close at hand.

Most Christians today agree that we are approaching end times. It is a subject that is drawing all Christians together. However it is important that Christians weight everything with what is said in the Bible. "The Sealed Book" helps open the book of Revelations along with Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah to explain it. End times is an exciting subject and we need to arm ourselves with understanding so as not to be deceived. This book uses charts to outline this subject. Use your Bible to follow along. Revelation is one book in the Bible that promises a Blessing for reading!

From page 96: "One could imagine a club dedicated to false gossip, in which members vied with one another for who could tell the most outrageous stories about fellow human beings. So long as all knew the tales were false, and the stories went no farther, the practice would not be a deceptive one..."

Bok writes with the skill of a philosopher and with the concern to actually do some good that is common to most everyone except many philosophers. She distinguishes secrecy from privacy. She distinguishes good secrets from bad ones. She defends the need for privacy and secrets in several convincing ways, including some surprising ones such as the need for surprise, but in an unconvincing way as well. She appeals to the lessons of Orwell's 1984, claiming that the protagonist Winston Smith was persecuted for secrecy and threw his life away because he wanted secrecy that badly. (In a footnote in another context Bok describes confessions thus: "The sin . . . may not always lie in what has been hidden, but rather in the hiding itself.") Is that right? It seems to me, as I remember Orwell's book, that Big Brother had the horrible defect of not allowing free speech, which is not the same as not allowing secrecy. Certainly Big Brother tried to prevent secrecy as well. But did He do this as an end in itself? If Smith could have openly dissented and loved he would not necessarily have wanted secrecy. I think that what's needed is some thought on how surveillance relates to the offense not of "invasion" but of distrust.

Bok discusses self-deception as well as other secrets. She sees some advantages in Freud's picture of multiple selves with barriers between them, as opposed to Sartre's terminology, "bad faith," in trying to explain how a single person can keep a secret from him/herself. But Freud's picture, I think, remains a Socratic one: a person cannot "know him/herself." Sartre, on the other hand, is trying to avoid pinning responsibility on "another self." In Sartre's vocabulary, there is no barrier to knowing oneself. And why shouldn't I know myself? A plant has a past and a future, and we are usually happy to say that we can know a plant. This does not imply that we cannot learn more about the plant.

Sissela Bok has done it again, Secrets, like Lying, is a wonderful book exploring one of ethical issues that real people cope with every day. I recently assigned this book in my Introduction to Ethics class and recommend it highly. The students were most interested in talking about gossip (especially her claim that much of gossip is morally good), and scientific and military secrecy. As a philosopher interested in moral psychology I found her argument that what we call self-deception is better described as an over use of normally good (yes, good) strategies such as denial, avoidance and compartmentalization quite fascinating.

Sissela Bok enables her readers to consider our everyday situations and interactions in a new light. She acknowledges that all of us value the truth, although each finds ways to justify our lies. The book is thought provoking, while often a bit thick as Bok explores every nook and cranny of each ethical issue. The book creates in each reader the desire to know how far one is willing to go to be honest, and when it is justified to deceive. If you have the patience and time to deeply explore our daily decision making processes, I would recommend this book as an eye-opener.

This compilation contains #9-19 of WITCHBLADE and #9 and 10 of THE DARKNESS, offering in that way the complete arc of FAMILY TIES, in which there's a crossover between Sara Pezzini, wielder of the Witchblade, and Jackie Estacado, wielder of the Darkness. This story arc is one of my favorites, so is no wonder I give this compilation the 5 stars rating, because it also includes the comics that make the crossover and don't left you hanging.

Also, good drawings and good plot makes this comic book a keeper! ;)

Sara Pezzini's life as a New York detective, and wearer of the very strange Witchblade just gets weirder, as she stumbless across Jackie Estacado. He is a gangster, but like her, he has some very strange things riding around with him, in the form of the Darkness. In this crossover Sara and Jackie are sometimes at cross purposes, sometimes working together, and breaking lots of things.

Witchblade 2: Revelations, collects Witchblade issues #9-19, and Darkness issues #9,10. Has an excellent cover gallery with some variant issue covers.

Artist Tony Daniel takes the reins for Witchblade issue #9.
Artists Michael Turner & Marc Silvestri join together on Witchblade issue #10 (Enter Jackie Estacado, a character from The Darkness comic series).
Artist Michael Turner does Witchblade issues #11-19.
Artists Marc Silvestri, Joe Benitez, Clarence lansang & Brian Ching work together for Darkness issues #9,10.

The Darkness issues fall in between Witchblade #18 and Witchblade #19 for the crossover Witchblade/Darkness: Family Ties Parts 1-3
Witchblade #18 = Witchblade/Darkness: Family Ties Part 1
Darkness #9 = Witchblade/Darkness: Family Ties Part 2
Darkness #10 = Witchblade/Darkness: Family Ties Part 3

This is a great find for anyone that has joined the club a little later in the story, and doesn't want to pay twice as much for these hard to find issues. Also great for those that just want to read the story without breaking out their Mint Condition issues.

I seriously wish that these sites would get all the information out to the customers. Anyways, Image/Top Cow made Witchblade: Volume 2 with two covers back in 2000. If you have that, don't get this.... you'll be wasting your money.

This book was made in 2005 and contains:
- Witchblade: #9-19
- The Darkness: #9,10

Basically, it includes all of the issues in the previous Witchblade Vol.2 (2000) plus the Witchblade/Darkness: Family Ties story arc (collected into trade format in 2001)

This book is convenient for those of us who didn't buy those earlier trades or issues. ^_^

Aside from my own personal issues with Michael Turner's artwork (he draws almost every appealing girl and guy with the same face... gets annoying...), this book is a MUST-HAVE for Witchblade fans or anyone even interested into getting into the series.

In Volume 1, we were introduced to the Witchblade and how Sarah came to possessing it. In Volume 2, we find out more about the mysterious weapon and see who controls whom as she begins to accept her role. I don't want to spoil too much.

Cover price of $19.99 for 13 issues isn't bad at all.

It is difficult to praise this book too highly - both its subject, Molla Sadra, and its author Christian Jambet, are masters of philosophical exposition and Sadra's apparent ontological reversal from the Muslim conception of God as Essence to God as the Act of Being must be one of the most fascinating metamorphoses in a philosophical tradition. The 17th Century Persian still influences Iranian thought and considering his philosophy carries echoes and anticipations of Spinoza, Heidegger, Bergson, Kierkegaard, to name but a few, the notion of an insuperable gulf between "the West" and Iran is shown to be nonsense. A timely as well as timeless book, then.

Christian Jambet is his book The Act of Being: The Philosophy of Revelation in Mulla Sadra, elaborates on some of the central concepts of the Iranian Shi'ite philosopher Mulla Sadra. An enigmatic figure of the Persian Islamic world, Mulla Sadra's views could be described as a philosophy influnenced by Aristotle and Avicenna (Ibn Sina), obviosly based on Qur'anic revelation and Shi'ite world view. And that was just a gross simplification.

Bulk of the book is devoted to ontology of Islam as understood by Mulla Sadra and the place of Mulla Sadra's view in Aristotelian and Avicennian systems of thought. It is worth pointing out how Jambert reaches the above conclusion in order to emphasize the study of metaphysics and politics in the same vein.

Jambert although acknowledges that study of figures such as Mulla Sadra will primarily remain within the scholarly world, he mentions that it is not just another "antiquarian passion" (p. 13). He cogently argues that the philosophical thought of Islam did not come to a halt in the thirteenth century after being the "springboard" philosophy for Aristotelian thoughts, which is a common perception among some historians:

"On the contrary, reasonable scholars will admit that one cannot treat Islamic thinkers after the thirteenth century as if they were simply "mystics" or "spiritual masters" devoted entirely to an inner salvation devoid of any conceptual intelligence. One goal of the present work, among the other purposes it attempts to serve, is to show how a number of discourses, including metaphysics, the exegesis of the Qur'an, the sciences inherited from the Greeks, Sufism, and morality, were progressively constituted into coherent systems." (p. 12)

And such systems are essential in understanding different world views and these are not just lofty metaphysics secured for scholars. They can contribute towards our understanding of the crude realities of the day to day troubles. Also these philosophical systems are part of the world history, not so much disconnected from, "even interlinked with our own metaphysical destiny, both Greek and biblical" (p. 15).

Although a demanding book, I am finding this very thought provoking. An introduction to Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and other Islamic philosophers would be helpful in following some of the arguments in this book.

Mulla Sadra has a central place in modern Shi'ite philosophy. I've read numerous books that make mention of his importance both as a synthesizer of various streams of thought** and as an innovator who brought Islamic philosophy to its perfection. I was looking for a good source of information on Mulla Sadra and "The Act of Being: The Philosophy of Revelation in Mulla Sadra" looked like a good place to turn. It's probably the most comprehensive work on Sadra in English (at least that I've come across) and it was a very informative book. "The Act of Being" is really necesary reading for the student of Shiite philosophy.

Just as a side note - you might want to read "Sadr al-Din Shirazi and his transcendent theosophy: Back ground, life and works" by S.H. Nasr as an introduction before you try to tackle this work.

* Particularly the Illuminationist (Suhrawardi) , Peripatetic (ibn Sina , etc), and of Ibn Arabi.

"Answers for Chicken Little" is probably the best study on Revelation I have ever read. Dan Boone approaches "The Revelation of Jesus to John" as the beautiful continuation of the story of God's relationship with the human race. He does not try to squeeze 21st century situations into the ancient writing, but he does affirm that the story found there is also our story. In "Answers for Chicken Little," you will find an easy-to-read, very understandable approach to what many consider scripture's most difficult text. Happy reading!

If you're uncertain about future elements embedded in the last book of the bible, you might wanna try this one. This book gives a complete different angle on how to look on this "controversial" bible book. Dan Boone let's you get back on what it is really all about in the days when it was written. Not some apocoliptic seince fiction tale to doom us all, just dynamic history told in a curious way. The chapters are short and easy to follow. Add a little humor and voila, Answers for chicken little!

I have always been a bit curious about the last book of the Bible, but understanding it always eluded me. The book was recommended to me by a member of my church, and I feel like I finally understand! It breaks down different parts of scripture, explains how Revelation is an example of apocalyptic literature, and it's helped me understand this book of the Bible rather than be intimidated by it.