Offers a grammatical explanation to the peculiarity of the language of the Apocalypse (or Book of Revelation).

Drawing on recent research into verbal aspect in New Testament Greek by Stanley E. Porter, Buist M. Fanning and others, this work addresses the issue of verb tenses in the book of Revelation and how they function within its visions and discourse.

Drawing on recent research into verbal aspect in New Testament Greek by Stanley E. Porter, Buist M. Fanning and others, this work addresses the issue of verb tenses in the book of Revelation and how they function within its visions and discourse.

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.

Get back to the roots on Revelation Through the centuries since its writing, the book of Revelation has captured the fascination of the Christian church. The earliest Christians were unanimous in understanding it along a premillennial view of Jesus' second coming, but other hermeneutical approaches began to emerge in the third century. These clouded, and added complexity to, the task of explaining the book’s meaning. For most of the Christian era, consequently, many readers have viewed this last of the NT writings as though it were hopelessly embedded in an aura of deep mystery. An avalanche of interpretive literature has evidenced remarkable interest in the book’s contents, but along with the interest has come widespread bewilderment. Written especially for the informed layman, student, and scholar, this commentary seeks to clear the air. The book is interpreted according to a historical and grammatical hermeneutic and propounds a conservative, evangelical theology, but the reader will not get a narrow view on areas of disagreement. This commentary interacts with a range of major views, both evangelical and nonevangelical. It reaffirms the basic framework of eschatology espoused by ancient Christianity, but with added help from centuries of maturing thought and doctrinal progress in the Body of Christ. All exegesis and exposition in this 2-volume commentary are based on the original language of the text. Translations used are those of the author, and textual criticism and word study are included where appropriate. This in-depth commentary also includes extended excursuses on important topics of theological and historical interest.

This third volume, like its predecessors, adds to the growing body of literature concerned with the history of biblical interpretation. With eighteen essays on nineteen biblical interpreters, volume 3 expands the scope of scholars, both traditional and modern, covered in this now multivolume series. Each chapter provides a biographical sketch of its respective scholar(s), an overview of their major contributions to the field, explanations of their theoretical and methodological approaches to interpretation, and evaluations and applications of their methods. By focusing on the contexts in which these scholars lived and worked, these essays show what defining features qualify these scholars as "pillars" in the history of biblical interpretation. While identifying a scholar as a "pillar" is somewhat subjective, this volume defines a pillar as one who has made a distinctive contribution by using and exemplifying a clear method that has pushed the discipline forward, at least within a given context and time period. This volume is ideal for any class on the history of biblical interpretation and for those who want a greater understanding of how the field of biblical studies has developed and how certain interpreters have played a formative role in that development.