Revelations Books

I always use this as a reference to more extreme and less rigorous interpretations of the Bible's final book. Unfortunately, much of this book has been superceded by events such as the reunification of Germany, the collapse of Communism and the steady growth of technological change - all of which together place the book on untenable grounds. I find it bizarre that, for example, the writers interpret some things literally (eg a literal 1000 years), but others symbolically (eg the 144000 in heaven).

For a more balanced viewpoint from a conservative point of view, I suggest "The Gospel in Revelation" by Graeme Goldsworthy.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ANY ONE SERIOUS ABOUT BIBLE PROPHESY. IN ALL MY YEARS OF STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD, I HAVE BEEN TRULY BLESSED BY THE BOOKS CONTENT, RESEARCH DATA AND THE COLLABORATION OF THE AUTHORS DR. GARY G COHEN (A BORN AGAIN JEW) AND SALEM KIRBAN ( A BORN AGAIN ARAB). I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY THE WAY EVERY SINGLE VERSE WAS ANALYZED AND RESEARCHED TO GIVE THE TEXT A CLARITY THAT IS RARE WHEN IT COMES TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE. THIS SHOULD BE A PART OF EVERYONE'S COLLECTION WHO IS TRULY COMMITTED TO THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD'S ULTIMATE PLAN FOR MANKIND. GET THIS BOOK AND SHARE ITS CONTENT WITH EVERYONE. IT HAS TRULY BEEN A BLESSING TO ME.

Let me heartily recommend this book on Revelation--IF you can find it! Along with Tim Lahaye's 'Revelation Illustrated and Made Plain', these are the two best layman's commentaries on Revelation from a pretribulational, premillennial point of view.

As other reviewers have correctly pointed out, the authors include careful interpretation based on scripture, and thus avoid having John actually see helicopters and call them locusts (e.g., Hal Lindsey). As a former seminary student, I appreciate the lack of wild speculation by these authors, and their Middle Eastern background ands a depth of understanding lacking in other works.

The drawings and photos are excellent additions, and the charts are wonderful. Throughout this book, one is carefully led through the text line upon line (as Isaiah directs), and solid footing across difficult passages is the strength of this work. Almost makes Revelation an easy book to understand--especially as the events of today transpire around us!

I would recommend this commentary without hesitation. One can go deeper (Thomas; Walvoord) or more shallow (McGee), and still learn much from excellent commentaries. But one can hardly do better than this one. The sincerity, expertise, and desire to make sure we are never lost is ever evident through these pages. Exceptionally well done!!

It's unfortunate that many of Kirban's books are either out-of-print or hard to get. Many Christians familiar with Grant Jeffrey's or Hal Lindsey's works would find much familiar ground in Kirban's books. A born-again Arab, Kirban uses many examples from the Bible and then explains what they mean to us today. Kirban's co-author, Gary Cohen, is a born-again Jew. This is simply one of Kirban's best efforts. The entire book of Revelation is explained in both words and charts to create a crystal clear interpretation of the Bible's final book that you will remember forever. One of my favorite things about this book is that Cohen and Kirban never forget that the Apostle John wrote in the first century AD and did not have a modern reference source to compare to. This means that the Apostle John had no way of really describing what God was allowing him to see in the far future. But Kirban and Cohen do - and they take pains to go over every line of Revelation from the King James version, the most widely distributed translation. Verse by verse, Cohen and Kirban take passages from Revelation and explain them and their relevance to us today. I believe that it would be hard to find a more thorough dissection of scripture from a totally Christian perspective. And the viewpoints of Cohen and Kirban shine through so that they speak to all of us - from the Christian, to the Jew, to the Arab, and to everyone. If you want to really know Revelation, then I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I first read this book when it was published a couple of years ago. I have never completely understood it, as it is a literary masterpiece and some of the issues discussed are beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person like me. Nevertheless, it continues to fascinate me and whenever an issue intrigues me, I rely on this book for a better understanding. It provides thoughful and detailed insight into philosophy, origins of different religions and also an amazing analysis of issues that plague manking today. THis book is surely a testimony to the author's wisdom, intellect and broad vision.

My understanding of how Natural Selection works came primarily from "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins. This author seems to have read this book and I'm surprised he hasn't even attempted to understand how Natural Selection works! If he did, he would have probably decided to quite being the fanatic that he was.

If you truly want to understand how nature works then this book is definitely NOT recommended. Instead buy something like the "Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins.

...ABOUT BOOK:
All major issues which intrigue the modern mind are attempted to be incorporated in this fascinatingly comprehensive statute. It examines a very diverse and wide range of subjects including the concept of revelation in different religions, history of philosophy, cosmology, extraterrestrial life, the future of life on earth, natural selection and its role in evolution. It also elaborately discusses the advent of the Messiah, or other universal reformers, awaited by different religions

This a beautifully written work on a very important topic; whether revelation (from a single God, the creator of all) has anything to do with the attainment of human knowledge. This book traces the history of human thought (religious, philosophical, scientific) and tries to ascertain the role of revelation in it. This is a work whose real importance is still to be recongnised by the philosophers and scientists in general. But its day will come and soon for that matte

Joseph Campbell's entire contribution to this piece consists of a few pages at the beginning--basically, Campbell seems to have written an intro to Roberts' book, and Roberts decided to gravytrain on the Power of Myth phenomenon by adding Campbell's name to the author list.

The book that Roberts wrote is a moderately interesting examination of the Waite-Rider arcana through a Jungian lens, but I was so ticked off that I'd been sold a book that perported to be by Campbell and yet had finished the portion written by Campbell in about fifteen minutes that I didn't get much out of it. My problem, I know, but the bait-and-switch thing REALLY bothered me!

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in the interperetations of the Tarot cards and how they relate to the initiatory Magickal systems of organizations like the Golden Dawn and even Freemasonry. Joseph Campbell (who needs no introduction!) writes on the French Mersailes deck, and Richard Roberts does a wonderful job with the Waite-Rider deck, including an explanation of his "Magic Nine" arrangement that is probably the most revealing layout of the cards. The authors focus less on the divinitory aspects of Tarot and more on the individuals journey through the mysteries of the Cosmos as outlined by the symbolism of the Tarot. Get this book! You will be glad you did.

a uniquely elegant and informative look inside the world of Tarot by a powerful collaboration indeed.

Tarot from a Jungian and mythological perspective is what you will get with this highly interesting work.

For years, I ignored the Tarot because I thought it was a frivolous card game and that material written about it was cultish at worst and childish at best. It did not help that Tarot cards on the market were manufactured by American Games. I became interested in the Tarot cards because Bill Moyers interviewed Joseph Campbell, and as Moyers had never struck me as a kook, I thought perhaps Campbell was worth getting to know. Getting to know Campbell led me to TAROT REVELATIONS.

Much of my formal education concerns the social sciences including ethnography and the study of religion, myths, belief systems, etc. As a professional social scientist in a job that deals with ethnic issues, I have struggled to operationally define and measure ethnicity, and view cultural elements including myths as the basis of belief systems around which various ethnic groups organize their societies. I have arrived at the conclusion that most of the smaller systems are doomed, but fortunately, anthropologists and others have recorded enough material that we may still study the myths of our ancestors. Joseph Campbell points the way.

Mark Twain is purported to have said, don't let school get in the way of your education. Like Twain, Campbell--a highly educated man and a college professor--was able to break out of the mold of formal education and develop a fresh viewpoint concerning the world and what makes it tick. In other words, he was able to get past the mental censorship of academe.

In TAROT REVELATIONS, Campbell takes a leaf from Sir James Frazier's book 'The Golden Bough' and suggests a core set of concepts underlie all belief systems. He suggests Jungian psychologists have their own terms for these mythical elements which Jung recognized ages ago. As an empirical test of his idea that mythical elements have universal meanings, he compares the Tarot cards of the Major Arcana with the works of Dante and notes their similarities. He also demonstates how the cards can be used to illustrate the "ideal life, lived virtuously according to the knightly codes of the Middle Ages."

In the remainder of the book, Richard Roberts, a student of Campbell, shows how the cards reflect the various mythological belief systems of historical peoples in the ancient world--Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Keltoi, Iberians, etc. Roberts uses a deck designed about 100 years ago by A.E.Waite, a member of a group interested in arcane matters that included many illustrious members including W.B.Yeats. Waite did not invent the cards, he merely redesigned them using historical sources such as Tarot decks from the Middle Ages. Waite hired Pamela Coleman, an artist and fellow New Dawn member to illustrate the cards. Coleman, a Jamaican by birth with occult interests of her own was later "discovered" by Afred Stigliz who arranged for a showing of her works in New York City.

Roberts compares the elements in the Tarot deck with various myth based and arcane systems including alchemy, astrology, and Hermetic teaching. The Tarot deck is absolutely loaded with connections to all these systems. One could argue that some very educated folks constructed this deck, but the elements of the Tarot cards are recorded back to the mid-1300s thanks to Church Inquisitors who took an interest in the Cathars. Folks in the 1300s did not have had the expertise required to "construct" the cards from scratch because the cards reflect the heavens (arrangement of constellations, solstices, equinoxes, etc.) in about 2000 B.C.E. No one in the 1300s understood astronomy well enough to deduce how the heavens might have looked 3500 years earlier and if s/he did they sure kept it hidden--as in occult knowledge. Since Europeans in the 1300s were struggling with establishing the dates for the moveable feasts (they could not figure out when Easter would come 10 years hence) it strikes me that if anyone could have provided an answer they would have provided an answer--depending on how they felt about the church.

Information about the heavens between 4,000 and 2,000 B.C.E. can be found in the ruins of the ancient world--Stonehenge, the Azetec temples, the Pyramids so there is a great deal of evidence that the ancients understood their moment in time. Events moved too slowly for them to understand that 4,000 years after they lived the spring equinox would not fall in the sign of Taurus. However, Roberts suggests the ancient Persians figured out many things about the heavens and incorporated this knowledge into their belief systems. After all, those Magi who found Christ were onto something. Much of the knowledge of ancient Persia was locked away in Constantinople to be discovered years later by prying minds.

So, the Tarot cards are very old because the knowledge in them is very old. The Tarot cards represent the distilled knowledge of ancient peoples including the Persians who had a Mithraic code that still manifests itself in Zoroastrianism today (number one religion on Islam's hit list in Iran). Archeologists have long argued diffusion versus spontaneous theories regarding the spread of cultural elements including creation tales. Roberts does not take sides, but suggests the information in the cards could support either view point. Whether the information captured in the Tarot cards was discovered by many people in different places at different times or in one place and later spread across the world does not matter. The truth is, humans have been stuggling with the meaning of life for a long time, and while no one has the final answer the Tarot cards are a leading competitor.

Swedenborg is truly a genius. With this in mind, I figured a nice copy of "True Christian Religion" would be a good thing to have.

When I put the order through for this item, I discovered that the item is actually part 2 of a 2-volume set of the complete work, "True Christian Religion." I don't see this indicated anywhere in the product description.

If you do wish to purchase this item, and can find part 1 of this 2-volume set, by all means do it. The book looks nice and reads well, it's well bound and all... it's just disappointing to be sitting here with half of a great book.

Though we are free to choose what we believe and how we act, there is a good way to live our faith. True Christian Religion is a wonderful guide to how we should follow Christ's example, and live the way He wants us to. It explains who God is (which explains the Trinity), and then lays out steps of following Him and improving our spiritual lives (regeneration). The steps are practical and simple, though challenging. Through examples from the Bible and nature, this book is engaging and inspiring.

I just finished reading this book this morning. It is the most profound and simple text on living a good life; a life that leads to heaven that I have ever read. To read this book is to go on a journey, a journey that makes your life happier and more peaceful.

True Christian Religion provides a much more comprehensive picture of Swedenborg's theology than the more popular Heaven and Hell. This book covers all the major topics that Swedenborg wrote about in his theological works: the nature of God, the Trinity, Scripture, faith, charity, free will, repentance, regeneration, baptism, holy supper, and the Second Coming. If you really want to know what Swedenborg's theological writings are all about, this is probably the best place to start.

An elder in the church of Christ, Dr. Stafford North provides seven "keys" with which readers may "unlock" the secrets of the book of Revelation in the Bible. While they serve as a suitable introduction to understanding the book, they do not unlock the whole story.

Accordingly, North asserts that Revelation: (1) is written in symbolic language that should not be taken literally; (2) reveals only events that would shortly transpire in the era written (no end-time predictions); (3) was given simply to warn and to comfort Christians of the era about impending persecution; (4) identifies the "dragon" and two "beasts" respectively as Satan, the Roman Empire, and the cult of worshiping Roman emperors; (5) identifies the "harlot" as the city of Rome; (6) identifies the "1260 days" or "42 months" as a symbolic time period (not literally lasting 3.5 years) in which Christians of that era would be persecuted; and (7) identifies the Kingdom as the church, or God's people.

North is of the notion that, whereas Revelation's imagery and symbolism have defied definitive interpretation for two thousand years, first-century Christians would have experienced little difficulty with them. I find that hard to believe. Recall that Jesus' disciples often missed the meaning of His parables until He explained them in detail. And His parables were not nearly as complex as Revelation.

North's interpretation is rather simplistic and, as he admits, is primarily based on the prevailing views of commentators and religious scholars of today. While he provides plausible interpretations for some symbols as mentioned above, he tends to avoid any specific interpretations of the numerical symbols prevalent throughout. For example, 1260 days, 42 months, or "time, times, and the dividing of time" should not be interpreted as any specific duration of time, let alone 3.5 years. If not, then what? And the number 144,000 (12,000 saved from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) merely represents a full, "complete" number, not literally 144,000 people. Furthermore, the army of 200 million that will cross the Euphrates river is also not taken literally.

Most disappointing of all, North avoids any detailed discussion of 666, the number of the "beast," which is probably the most controversial element in Revelation. According to North, since the beast simply represents the Roman Empire, he believes that 666 probably refers to the Latin name of a Roman emperor like Caesar Nero, but he offers nothing to substantiate this. North also mentions nothing about other controversial groups which claim that the beast is the pope or the Roman Catholic Church, because of the Latin inscription, "Vicarivs Filii Dei" ("Vicar of the Son of God"), that is allegedly inscribed in the pope's mitre. Adding up the value of the Roman numerals in that inscription yields 666.

Surely these specific numbers have specific meanings and should not be ignored. Why else would they and other complex symbolisms appear? Therefore, probably more significant "keys" unlocking Revelation await discovery, yet neither North, myself, nor anyone else is likely to discern them anytime soon.

North is right on the mark in his easily accepted explanations of the symbols in Revelation.
In contrast to the common belief today that the book of Revelation is meant to predict the return of Christ or end of the world, I learned that even Christ himself did not know when he is to return, therefore, Revelation is not referring to the end times.
What a releif and enlightenment! The book of Revelation is easier to understand than I thought, and I appreciate North's approach to examining when and to whom it was written.
Very highly recommended for any Christian or Seeker. An essential in my library, I reference it all the time!

The only way to describe a book of this type is that it is backed by a great amount of study and understanding in the subject of the Revelation of Christ. This is required for anyone to give such a great understanding in very few pages, compared to most commentaries.

The book is meant to be an overview of the basic meaning of the Revelation and is a very interesting look at what the book says about itself. While most "scholars" are making assumptions pertaining to what the symbols of the Revelation stand for, North allows the Revelation to explain itself. Knowing that the wisdom of God far surpasses the wisdom of man, this seems to be the most logical and substantial approach to understanding the Revelation for the message that God intended. North does an outstanding job of brining out a logical understanding of the "mysteries" of the Revelation.

Taken from originally six sermons, the book is laid out to be used as an in-depth group bible study that illustrates how seven keys can guide the astute reader to a clearer amillenial interpretation of Revelation. In the first lesson North explains that readers must understand the book's use of symbolism, that what was written will "shortly come to pass", that the book's aim is to comfort persecuted Christians, and that many of the symbols are sufficiently identified.
The book will not show the author engaging with contemporary critical readings of Revelation, but instead provides an easy to read and teach general approach to Revelation within the amillenial framework. At a time when many are mislead by the eschatology of the Left Behind series, Unlocking Revelation will shine a clearer light onto a frequently misunderstood book.

Frank Fox, the talented author of "Funky Butt Blues" and "Bizarre New Orleans" has done it again with this high-energy romp through New Orleans as seen through the eyes of two, er, "twin" brothers from a small country community.

Although this slim volume isn't packaged as a mystery, it's hard to write about it without it seeming mysterious, as much of the action is propelled by questions waiting to be answered: "Who are these fellows?", "Why do they behave so oddly?", "If they're brothers, why are they so very different?" There are answers and they are mysterious, but that's not all this book is about.

What is it about, you ask? Well, it's about identity. It's about the little vortex of oddness that goes by the name "New Orleans". It's about tourism, gentrification, petty theft and Mardi Gras. It's about accepting who you are, even if who you are isn't what you expected.

The book is described here as being in the spirit of "A Confederacy of Dunces", an assessment with which I agree, as both are fun and tragic comedic tales of fish out of water, trying to survive in a world that makes no sense.

"19 1/2 Revelations" opens with Moto arriving in New Orleans and applying for a job at the public library (all the while ruminating on sloths), pursued by his brother Abe. Both are in the city looking for the truth about "the clipping", a newspaper article concerning UFOs and a discarded baby. Hijinx ensue and the two are soon joined by Roberto, a local businessman who drives them around town.

Fox's writing is light and breezy, making this an easy read and suiting the tale beautifully. It's obvious he's a resident by the locations he chooses and by the fact that, as in "Funky Butt Blues", he uses his fiction to grouse about local eyesores, such as the casino and the SuperDome. The only thing I didn't like was the character Roberto, who seemed a little too "Deus ex Machina" for my tastes, always arriving just in time to feed the brothers, drive them around, fix their car, etc. But it's a small complaint and a forgivable one.

Frank Fox's New Orleans novel ranks with the best of the young Louisiana writers. To anyone who has suffered through the attempts at movies and TV shows to depict the Crescent City, Fox offers welcome comprehension of the complexity and nuances of this most unusual town. To be sure, the work is not much on plot and not much on characterization, but that is what New Orleans is about and Fox does convey the strange somnambulism that characterizes much of life in New Orleans. Highly recommended to anyone interested in New Orleans fiction.

Moto arrives in New Orleans seeking his twin brother Abe, who had been born in a dumpster. Abe had come to New Orleans to apply for a job at the library. Unfortunately, they do not want to hire someone who likes to read, which is the problem they had with the last clerk. Moto finds his brother in children's section, about to be arrested due to a misunderstanding.

Once they are escorted from the building, they try to find Moto's car, but he had parked it on a carnaval route and it has been towed. They eventually track the car to where it has been towed, but it has been vandalized and is no longer drivable. The next several days proceed with such discordant incidents, including beed chasing, Moto being jailed after saving a girl's life, an underwear ball at a department store.

19 1/2 REVELATIONS mimics its carnvalistic background with a kalidoscope of odd incidents, happenstance, and revelations. As people continuously comment that these twin brothers look absolutely nothing alike, the reader becomes aware of their odd yet profound relationship. They seem to spend a lot of time losing each other, finding each other, and bailing one another out of trouble. Ultimately they become as finely defined as the detail within in the kalidoscope just before it shifts to form a new image. An unusual, yet compelling read, 19 1/2 REVELATIONS comes recommended.

Anyone who has ever read a commentary by Charles Talbert knows that a hallmark of his writing style is "lucid brevity" and this commentary follows in that suit. Written in a very clear manner, Talbert focuses upon the text in its historical setting, that of a late first century AD Jewish Christian document. To be blunt, this commentary does not follow what I call "pop-eschatology", or what is espoused by the likes of Tim LaHaye and others. Rather, Talbert seeks to situate the book of Revelation within its literary and cultural setting. He advises in his introduction that the best thing to do to prepare oneself for studying Revelation is to read the Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic literature (this is what Professor Talbert made the class do when I took his course on Revelation).

In regards to another reviewer's comments that he is overly-reliant upon extra-biblical sources, I must say that this is an unwarranted critique. Every good Biblical scholar will rely heavily upon extra-biblical sources when making interpretive judgments about the individual books themselves. The reason is because these sources informed the worldview of the author's. Some may think that this is a hallmark of "liberal scholarship" but even some of the more conservative (and best!) scholars like Ben Witherington or Darrell Bock do the same.

The only drawback to this commentary is that it is so brief. For someone seeking an in-depth treatment of Revelation, they should get G.K. Beale's commentary or David Aune's commentary.

Professor Talbert aims "to offer aid to those who are scarred by harmful readings of Revelation and to encourage mainstream Christians to deal with Apocalypse in ways other than ignoring it." In my opinion, he succesfully delivers what he promised. This book is concise and easy to read but is not just "preaching to the choir." It is an erudite, well written essay, adjusted to modern biblical exegesis yet accesible to a broad audience.

Revelation is a neglected book within the church. Even Calvin never preached from it. Talbert attempts to make the book more readable and accessible to Christians today. What is troubling is his reliance on extra-biblical apocalyptic literature, especially when it suits his purpose. For example, as to the authorship of the book, Talbert claims that all we can say is that it was written by someone named John (not necessarily the Apostle). He assumes this despite some strong historic evidence pointing to the Apostle. However, he appeals to these sources when defending the cannonicity of the book. By way of another example, when the question of the millennial reign of Christ is addressed, Talbert admits it not based solely upon the text, but because other, extra-biblical, apocalyptic literature. Despite these difficulties, no call them slight discomforts, with the book, Talbert handles the text fairly well. This book would best be used with a solid, orthodox, Reformed commentary.

McDermott's primary thesis is this: Evangelicals can learn from the world's religions. He offers chapters on the historical encounter between evangelicals and the religions of the world; the definition of "revelation"; biblical "suggestions" on the world religions (e.g., God-fearing Gentiles and pagans honored by various prophets and by Jesus); theological considerations (typology, the "scandal of exclusivity," covenants); an account of ancient Christian theologians and their views of the world religions in light of the ascendancy of Christ; and finally the four chapters I found most interesting: one each on Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Islam in which McDermott writes explicitly of what he has learned about his own faith, Christianity, from these religions, and ways in which he has come to understand more fully his understanding of the uniqueness of Christ. These final four chapters were quite insightful as an exercise in "comparative" religion.

McDermott writes a much-needed book that helps those in the evangelical Christian tradition find a way to truly respect other religious traditions without selling out the store. Citing examples of such biblical figures as Melchizedek, Balaam, and others who speak the word of the one true God but are not members of the Children of God, McDermott shows that there is biblical evidence for Christians to rediscover truths that are deeply imbedded in the Bible from those who do not confess Christ.

The author is very diligent and often reminds his readers that the Christian claim of the uniqueness of Christ is one that needs to be lifted up. Furthermore, what we learn from those outside our faith is not new knowledge per se but may be a different but helpful approach to biblical principles.

The unfortunate title regrettably misleads readers who will probably be surprised to find a careful study on the nature of revelation and a theological overview of Christianity's major theologians. The concluding chapters offer a great inroad to some Eastern and Near Eastern faiths. Explicitly stating that the acknowledgment of Christ as Lord is the only saving confession, McDermott continues to show how God has continued the biblical tradition of revealing himself to those outside the Christian faith.

Gerald McDermott would answer in the affirmative to the question posed in the title of his book, "Can Evangelicals Learn From World Religions?". But I still don't know what his main point was in writing this book. I think I could write a similar book and call it "Can Evangelicals Learn From the World of Sports?" and accomplish the same result as Mr. McDermott accomplishes with this book. Christians (and all people) can learn from almost anything.

McDermott seems to be trying to walk both sides of the fence. He boldly claims that Jesus is the only true AND full revelation of God, but he also says that God has revealed aspects of Himself within other religions. So the obvious question becomes, "If these truths can be known within the Christian belief of biblical revelation, then why go to other religions to learn the same things we can learn from Christianity?" He tries to answer this question in a helpful section at the end of the book where he address objections and concerns. His answer focuses on the fact that Jesus used non-Jews to demonstrate true faith (Luke 4:14-30, Matthew 15:21-28, etc) and how some of the pillars within Christianity such as Aquinas (from Aristotle) and Augustine (from Neo-Platonists) had their theology shaped by those outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Unfortunately, his answer fails to note that in the case of Jesus, those making a religious response were responding directly to Jesus and not acting within their previous religious system. In the case of Augustine and Aquinas, I think they'd be the last to argue for their own infallibility. But what is our test for truth? Evangelicals have said that when it comes to religious claims, its the Bible that has the final say. I'm not disputing that Christians are unable to learn from other religions, but I think we could learn a lot more by studying our own. Rather than reading Confucius or Muhammad, let's try some Aquinas and Augustine (heck, even C.S. Lewis would be a start).

This book does have some very positive points, otherwise I wouldn't have given it three stars. McDermott will help Christians become more educated about other religions and hopefully this will help us to become more sensitive when dealing with people from those backgrounds. He has also succeeded in showing evangelicals how to properly test all religious claims by a final standard, and that standard is the Bible. Let him be found "not guilty" of abandoning this important doctrine. McDermott acknowledges that this book covers relatively uncharted territory within evangelicalism. I look forward to his further work in this area and more clarification on his views.

This is one of the better verse by verse commentaries on Revelation. It is very readable making it suitable for the layman and there is sufficient information to make it a good introduction for the student. He assumes the traditional late date and uses a mixture of the preterist and futurist interpretation in which the beast is both Rome and the eschatological Antichrist. He sees Revelation as a prophecy about the destiny of the church, the 144,000 being the church, although he sees the two witnesses as two eschatological prophets rather than the church. There is little or no Greek and footnotes are kept to a minimum.

Note: Among 7 recent scholarly commentaries on Revelation Ladd is the 14th most cited author.

This book does not address much of the latest scholarship. Although I love the writings of Ladd and his book "The Blessed Hope" changed my worldview forever, I would recommend more recent scholarship. Try David Sliker's "End Times Simplified" if you are an Apostolic Premillenialist or Ken Gentry's "The Day Jerusalem Fell" if you are a Preterist.

George Eldon Ladd has written a highly informative and readable overview of Revelations in the form of a verse-by-verse commentary. While Ladd presents his understanding of Revelations from a non-dispensationalist premillenialist (and post-tribulationalist) position, there is no trace of polemics in his discussion of alternate interpretations of particular verses, or of the philosophies underlying different readings of the book as a whole.

The book opens with a brief introduction to the authorship, date, and setting of Revelations, then proceeds with a discussion of four possible methods of interpretation-preterist, historical, idealist, and futurist. While he describes his understanding as "a blending of the preterist and the futurist methods", those who consider themselves preterists might be surprised at Ladd's definition of preterism. Ladd describes preterism as the view that apocalyptic literature contains "tracts for hard times", but no prophecy, and that the apparent prophecies of Revelations neither were fulfilled, nor will be. Given this definition, it is difficult to understand why Ladd describes himself as a preterist-futurist in his understanding of Revelations. From his own definitions, it would be easier to see him as an idealist-futurist.

Following the introductory chapter, Ladd proceeds directly to a verse-by-verse commentary of Revelations. I am not usually fond of this format in theological works, but nevertheless found this book very stimulating. Clearly well versed in Greek and Hebrew, Ladd goes into depth on many specifics of theology contained in Revelations. Most satisfyingly, he constantly links his interpretations of the text to passages found elsewhere in Scripture, in the process offering a fresh new view of the message of the book as a whole.

It is possible that some readers, accustomed to a highly literal reading of Revelations, might find this book troubling. Pointing to "the fluidity of apocalyptic language", Ladd interprets the visions of John as representing real future (or in some cases past) events, but visions to be understood more in terms of their underlying meaning, than in terms of specific details. In additon, at a number of points, Ladd is also critical of the underlying Greek text or English translation of the Authorized Version, preferring the Revised Standard Version or in some cases the NEB. While these factors may displease some, I came away from the book with the impression of an author convinced of the truth and importance of Scripture, and a man with important theological insights. Certainly I plan to read more of his books!

The book like the above person stated is definitely a page turner. The characters are full and robust and just jump off the page. Furthermore, the world that the author presents is a quite possible one in our most dark hour. The beautiful thing about the book is that it show how people can become twisted and evil when controlled by their lower instincts instead of their divine nature. My only criticism is that I wished the book was more cohesive, meaning that that the author makes you reach instead of putting it on your plate. Yet overall it is a good book that has the potential to be a great book, depending if the author decided to do further revisions on this book or add another book in the series that can answer the questions which one leaves with after finishing this book. All in all I feel that for a first time writer the author is very ambitious in combining the tones and themes in this book. I look forward to watching this author's career to see him flower into the great writer that he is and see him transform into the better writer that he will become.

A science fiction thriller with a hint of eastern mysticism best describes Donors. Do not relax or you will miss something for there is action on every page. A real page turner.

Donors the Revelation

I have read and watched my share of books and movies about cloning but this adds an original twist to the saga and horror of human duplicating.
I read the authors first book Fate of the Donors and I have to admit, if it wasn't for a friend telling me it was good I would not have finished reading. The book had a very slow beginning and the editing was awful but as it turns out my friend was right, the story line picks up around the third chapter. I found it hard to put down so you can imagine my frustration when I reached what I thought was the ending only to find a cliff hanger. This wouldn't have been a bad thing if it wasn't for the fact that Donors the Revelation had not yet been released. I have been waiting two years to find out what happened.

If you haven't read Fate of the Donors... then don't; the author decided to combine them together during the lapse between the two books. He wrote a brief description of it in the acknowledgement section and if you read carefully you can spot evidence of his experience in his second book. The story line has the same characters and events in Donors the Revelation but they take on a symbolic meaning. Using past and current events, this author paints a disturbing picture of the state of humankind and earth.
The villain, Dr. Raymond makes you both feel sorry for him and hate him at the same time but toward the end of the book I understood why he felt it was his destiny to save mankind even though his solution could have destroyed the entire human race.

I also like the author's boldness making two of the main charters lesbian lovers; it was a joy getting to know Nurse Betty and Carmen. This book is a great read and for you Hollywood executives don't let this one slip away I think that Donors the Revelation could be a blockbuster.