Revelation

What is Michael doing with his angels in Revelation 12?

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This Sunday’s lectionary reading is from Rev 12.7–12 in celebration of the feast of Michael and All Angels. Although the festival focusses on Michael, everything about this passages actually focusses away from Michael and points us to the victory of God and the lamb—even Michael’s name! This is what I wrote in my Tyndale Commentary, as … Continue Reading

Where is the Cross found in the Book of Revelation?

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Any discussion of ‘the cross’ in the Book of Revelation immediately faces a substantial challenge: in contrast with almost every other book in the New Testament, it is barely mentioned at all overtly. Its solitary explicit appearance comes in an extended prophetic narrative in chapter 11: the bodies of the ‘two witnesses’ will ‘lie in … Continue Reading

Where is the cross in the Book of Revelation?

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I have removed this article, pending publication in the journal Preach. A revised version will be made available on the blog after the print version has come out. Come and join us for the second Festival of Theology on Wednesday October 17th! Follow me on Twitter @psephizo. Like my page on Facebook. Much of my work is done on a freelance basis. … Continue Reading

Did John see Revelation as a vision?

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Most ordinary readers of Revelation assume that John had some sort of vision, and that what we have is a more-or-less straightforward description of what he saw as if he was describing a picture. But there are several reasons for qualifying this kind of understanding. The first relates the nature of visions and spiritual auditory … Continue Reading

What does Revelation tell us about the human condition?

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I have contributed a chapter to a book appearing next year on Anthropology of the New Testament, exploring Revelation’s depiction of the human condition. I include here some paragraphs from my introduction, and the conclusion. Revelation’s anthropology (like much else about it!) is less straightforward and less predictable than commonly thought. Excavating the anthropology of the … Continue Reading

Where will it all end?

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Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard … Continue Reading

What on earth is God up to?

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Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by … Continue Reading