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The Book of Revelation
The Rest of the Story
Revelation, by any modern standard, is a strange book. It has intrigued and perplexed readers through the centuries, and all too often has fallen victim to fanciful interpretations. Although it may seem mysterious and impenetrable to us today, it represents a distinct message in language and imagery that was familiar to the original readers, woven together into a beautiful tapestry of twenty-two interconnected chapters. The Book of Revelation: The Rest of the Story demonstrates that the key to understanding the message of Revelation is found in this intricate relationship between the seven “letters” and the rest of the book, with the visions of Revelation 4-22 building on, fleshing out, and driving home each of the messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. In the end, Revelation proves to be not primarily a guide to how things are going to unfold at the end of the age, but rather a profound call to a life of radical devotion to Jesus regardless of one’s circumstances.
Reviews
Written in a clear, lively, and engaging style, this book makes a unique contribution to the study of Revelation by tracing how the letters to the seven churches are thematically connected to the rest of the book. Culy combines reliable scholarship with a passion to help today’s Christian understand and respond faithfully to John’s message, a call for radical devotion to Christ in the face of looming distress and pervasive compromise.
Revelation has been well-served recently with a number of commentaries and treatments at both an academic and popular level. But this work by Martin Culy is unique among all of them. Marty takes seriously the background to the messages to the seven churches in chapters 2-3 as the hermeneutical lens for reading the book of Revelation. He considers how Revelation would have been understood given the unique situation and problems faced by each of the seven churches. Culy leads the reader through the book of Revelation seven times from the perspective of each of the seven churches. It is one of those ‘why didn’t I think of that’ books! Pitched at an appropriate level, this book will shed much valuable light on the book of Revelation and should be consulted regularly along with other aids in coming to grips with the message of the apocalypse. Marty is a wise, judicious, and insightful guide through this difficult New Testament book.
