Revelation (New Covenant Commentary | NCCS)

by Gordon Fee

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2011

Revelation is a book that many Christians find confusing due to the foreign nature of its apocalyptic imagery. It is a book that has prompted endless discussions about the “end times” with theological divisions forming around epicenters such as the rapture and the millennium. In this New Covenant Commentary Series volume, award winning author Gordon Fee attempts to excavate the layers of symbolic imagery and provide an exposition of Revelation that is clear, easy to follow, convincing, and engaging. Fee shows us how John’s message confronts the world with the Revelation of Jesus Christ so that Christians might see themselves as caught up in the drama of God’s triumph over sin, evil, and death. Fee draws us into the world of John and invites us to see the world through John’s eyes as the morbid realities of this world have the joyous realities of heaven cast over them. In this latest installment in the New Covenant Commentary Series we see one of North America’s best evangelical exegetes at his very best.

Key Features

• Section-by-section commentary
• Comprehensive introduction, abbreviations, bibliography, and index
• Exploration of the extensive imagery in Revelation

Contents

• Preface
• Abbreviations
• The Introduction (Revelation 1)
• The Letters to the Seven Churches (Revelation 2–3)
  • Fusing the Horizons: Christ and His Church(es)
• John’s Vision of Heaven and Earth (Revelation 4–6)
  • Fusing the Horizons: Getting One’s Priorities in Order
• An Interlude in Two Parts (Revelation 7)
• The Blowing of the Seven Trumpets (Revelation 8–11)
• The Holy War Is Engaged (Revelation 12:1–14:13)
• Prelude to the (Original) Tale of Two Cities (Revelation 14:14–20)
• The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath (Revelation 15–16)
• The (Original) Tale of Two Cities, Part 1:
  • The Demise of Rome
• The Last Battle and the End of Evil (Revelation 19:11–20:15)
• The (Original) Tale of Two Cities, Part 2:
  • God Makes All Things New (Revelation 21:1–22:5)
    • Fusing the Horizons: The Original Tale of Two Cities
• The Wrap-Up (or Epilogue)
• Selected Bibliography
• Index

Top Highlights

“Second, their language, especially their imagery, was deliberately cryptic and symbolic.” (Page xii)

“Thus the main themes are clear. The church and state are on a collision course of some magnitude over who runs the universe, and John fully recognizes that power and victory presently appear to belong to the state. But because of Rome’s arrogance and oppression, God will bring her to ruin.” (Page xvii)

“But as the narrative that will soon unfold makes relatively clear, this phrase has less to do with the End as such, and mostly to do with the somber events awaiting the churches of John’s day.” (Page 2)

“Third, the apocalypses tend to be formally stylized, which often includes the symbolic use of numbers. Time and events are divided into neat numerical packages, as in John’s Apocalypse, where the three major sections (chs. 6–7, 8–11, 15–16) are all sets of 4-2-1, with a twofold interlude between the last two (sixth and seventh) in each case.” (Page xiii)

“One may readily grant that because our book is prophetic in part, one should be open to the possibility, as with much biblical prophecy, that at points there may be a further, second meaning. But one can only know that after—not before—the event or situation occurs to which this further meaning pertains.” (Page xxi)

About the New Covenant Commentary Series

The New Covenant Commentary Series (NCCS), compiled by international contributors from a diverse range of backgrounds, devotes itself to the task of biblical interpretation and theological reflection for the global church. The NCCS unwraps each selected New Testament book section-by-section, providing a clear view of the theology and application within. Focusing on both the text and various contexts of each book, the NCCS illustrates the impact they had on faith and tradition at the time of their composition—and the significance they continue to have in contemporary life, faith, and ministry.

Endorsements

Gordon Fee has trained a generation of scholars and pastors in the art of biblical interpretation. In this volume, this master exegete applies his skills to guide the reader through one of the most often misunderstood books of the New Testament. Fee writes a commentary on Revelation—not a commentary on commentaries on Revelation—that provides an engaging, readable exposition of this text that lay persons will find immediately accessible. His personality shines through on every page, so that the reader does not merely encounter ‘material,’ but also the faithful teacher behind the material.

—David A. deSilva, Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Revelation (New Covenant Commentary Series | NCCS)
• Author: Gordon D. Fee
• Series: New Covenant Commentary
• Publisher: Cascade
• Publication Date: 2010
• Pages: 354

About Gordon Fee

Gordon D. Fee (1934–2022) was a leading expert in pneumatology and textual criticism of the New Testament. He was an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God and served as professor emeritus of New Testament studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Fee earned degrees from Seattle Pacific University and University of Southern California. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Northwest University. Before teaching at Regent College, Fee taught at Wheaton College, Vanguard University of Southern California, and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Fee was a member of the Committee on Bible Translation that translated the New International Version and its revision, the Today’s New International Version.

In addition to Fee’s many highly respected commentaries in series like the Understanding the Bible Commentary Series: New Testament and The New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT), he is also the author of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study, and To What End Exegesis?