The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Rock Bannon has a heart as big as the Rocky Mountains that surround his quiet home, but he's always known that romance wasn't in the cards for him. Instead, the big man does his best to see that others around him are happy and safe. A man riding for the brand doesn't have time for silly things like love. Mary Ellen Bigsby is off on an adventure to the home of her favorite writer. She knows it is a frivolous journey, but she wants this one trip before she's too old to travel. Having given her youth to the classroom, she's ready for a change but unprepared for what she finds at the end of the trail. Francis has been accepted by the people of Biders Clump, but the father of the girl he loves is set against him. The young Indian brave will do anything to win the hand of Matrice and start a happy home of their own but can't seem to overcome her father's resistance. When Matrice suggests running away together, Francis has to make the hardest decision of his life. Will true love win the day or will two young people be pulled apart by one man's stubbornness? What revelations await the quiet cowboy when a tiny teacher arrives in Biders Clump?

This ground-breaking commentary on The Revelation to John (the Apocalypse) reveals its far-reaching influence on society and culture, and its impact on the church through the ages. Explores the far-reaching influence of the Apocalypse on society and culture. Shows the book's impact on the Christian church through the ages. Looks at interpretations of the Apocalypse by theologians, ranging from Augustine to late twentieth century liberation theologians. Considers the book's effects on writers, artists, musicians, political figures, visionaries, and others, including Dante, Hildegard of Bingen, Milton, Newton, the English Civil war radicals, Turner, Blake, Handel, and Franz Schmidt. Provides access to material not readily available elsewhere. Will appeal to students and scholars across a wide range of disciplines, as well as to general readers. More information about this series is available from the Blackwell Bible Commentaries website at http://www.bbibcomm.net/

This monumental commentary on the book of Revelation, originally published in 1999, has been highly acclaimed by scholars, pastors, students, and others seriously interested in interpreting the Apocalypse for the benefit of the church. Too often Revelation is viewed as a book only about the future. As G. K. Beale shows, however, Revelation is not merely a futurology but a book about how the church should live for the glory of God throughout the ages -- including our own. Engaging important questions concerning the interpretation of Revelation in scholarship today, as well as interacting with the various viewpoints scholars hold on these issues, Beale's work makes a major contribution in the much-debated area of how the Old Testament is used in the Apocalypse. Approaching Revelation in terms of its own historical background and literary character, Beale argues convincingly that John's use of Old Testament allusions -- and the way the Jewish exegetical tradition interpreted these same allusions -- provides the key for unlocking the meaning of Revelation's many obscure metaphors. In the course of Beale's careful verse-by-verse exegesis, which also untangles the logical flow of John's thought as it develops from chapter to chapter, it becomes clear that Revelation's challenging pictures are best understood not by apparent technological and contemporary parallels in the twentieth century but by Old Testament and Jewish parallels from the distant past.

This contribution to The New International Commentary on the New Testament is a revision of Robert Mounce's original entry on the book of Revelation and reflects more than twenty additional years of mature thought and the latest in scholarship.