Further Reading

Next week we're looking at the vision of the Son of Man in Revelation 1. Before that I thought I would recommend a couple of books for anyone who is interested in reading deeper into the text and theology of Revelation. I mentioned Richard Bauckham last week. His book, The Climax of Prophecy, is the most important book on Revelation in the twentieth century. Unfortunately it is now out of print and it is like goldust. Expect to pay upwards of £200 if you can find it online!
Fortunately Bauckham had another book published on Revelation in 1993 and it contains all the important bits of Climax of Prophecy. It is in the Cambridge New Testament Theology series called The Theology of the Book of Revelation. It is available from Amazon or even Wesley Owen if you are that way inclined and want to go to an actual bookshop...

If you are looking for a simple introduction to the book and its background I can heartily recommend the New International Biblical Commentary by Robert Wall published in 1995. It should be no more than £15, probably less than £10 second hand and will serve as a useful conversation partner for the journey we're going on.

If you don't want to buy a book then the Wikipedia entry on Revelation is, um, alright. The first sentence is factually incorrect but it does contain some good background. As I said in the talk, anyone who claims to get it doesn't get it. I thought about it, and I thought I got it but now realise I don't.

So, I look forward to the vision of the Son of Man on Sunday. Please do spare a thought for poor Jeni Rankin who has to fit praise and worship around that theme!