First Evangelical Free Church Sioux City, Iowa

Review: Revelation Commentary

Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches is a new commentary written by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor James Hamilton. Hamilton is known from his magnum opus, God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment: A Biblical Theology which is an excellent and highly recommended work. There is much to commend this work, starting with its accessible content valuing clear explanation and application, which is to be expected from a book in a series entitled Preaching the Word. This commentary series is intended for pastors and others involved in the teaching ministry of the church and, through my other interactions with the series (namely Hughes and Chapell’s 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: To Guard the Deposit), I had high hopes for this entry and, presentation issues aside, I was not disappointed. Let's begin with areas that I quibbled with and then move on to what I found to be helpful...

Right off the bat, one area of disappointment is the manner in which the commentary has been put together: these are a series of teachings which are broken down and explained exactly like sermons with sections on introduction, body, and conclusion. While the structure can be helpful at times, it took away from the book’s usefulness as a commentary and in some chapters is more noticeable (and thus less helpful) than in other chapters where it is virtually invisible (and thus quite helpful). While Hughes & Chapell do some of this as well, I never got the feeling while reading their text that I was reading sermon manuscripts and at the same time I could easily find their comments for any given passage.

Moving forward, the book begins with a single chapter overview of the entirety of Revelation, which is a feature that more commentaries should have as the Biblical-Theological implications of this are massive and help us to locate the teachings of the text within the larger framework of the entire revelation of Scripture. After this introduction, Hamilton then moves into his first section, Revelation 1:1-8. On the content side of the equation, the comments that Hamilton makes on the text itself are spot on and quite helpful. On the other hand, to get at those nuggets one has to dig through quite a bit of sermon text linking everything together. For example, when speaking of 1:3 (p.33), Hamilton offers some explanation of the text itself, but then launches into a section of question after question (“Is your experience of Christianity like John’s?” and “Do you know the relief that comes from knowing that faith in Christ and his death on the cross makes you right before God?” amongst others). While these questions are well meant and potently asked, their helpfulness in a commentary seems at times distracting from the point that these particular verses are making. Perhaps they would make more since in a concluding application section at the end of each chapter. Speaking of, application is of course, a perennial issue in our information-overload culture, but before we can get to application we need observation and interpretation. It is in these two attributes that I occasionally was left lacking in my understanding of the text before jumping straight into the application.

On the positive side in the same chapter, Hamilton describes the blessing of reading the Book of Revelation as the “blessing of being affected by the reading and hearing of the words of this prophecy. The reading and hearing of the words of Revelation changes those who experience it. They believe what it reveals, and as a result they ‘keep what is written in it’ (p.34).” Now this is helpful stuff: Hamilton’s view is that the blessing isn’t some sort of undefined action that God does as a reward for reading but that instead the blessing is offered in the reading itself. The message from God itself is the blessing, which should provoke us with much food for thought.

Moving forward, Hamilton also does an adequate job of dealing with differences in interpretation (a major issue in the Book of Revelation!). To give just one example, we see that Hamilton describes the angel’s purpose in 10:2-3 is to reflect Christ’s glory rather than to be an apocalyptic picture of Christ Himself: “…some suggest that this angel might be Christ himself. But this figure is called ‘another mighty angel’ in the first part of 10:1…we saw a ‘mighty angel’ back in 5:2…we’ll see a third ‘mighty angel’ in 18:21. So I don’t think this angel is Jesus because there are other ‘mighty angels’ in Revelation (p.224).” This is good, practical commentary, using the entire teaching of the book to show us what the book says.

Another area in which Hamilton excels is in drawing out Old Testament references and parallels. There are numerous examples of this throughout the book, but one that sticks out is found in the parallels between Ezekiel’s eating of the scroll and John’s eating of the scroll (to show that John is a true prophet just as Ezekiel was, p.228). Hamilton continues with a chart and explanation of how the Book of Ezekiel very much parallels the structure of Revelation (p.229). Seeing this connection is incredibly valuable to our understanding both of Revelation itself and of the Bible as a whole.

Finally, let us close by examining one more chapter. Revelation 21 gives us a picture of hope and great joy when, in a very tangible sense, God will be “with us.” I am greatly pleased to see Hamilton reinforcing this picture in ways that are nothing short of worshipful. Continuing his helpful links between Old Testament and New, Hamilton states: “Verse 1 gives us the wide-angle view of the new heaven and earth, and now 21:2 seems to focus in on the new city… here John describes the fulfillment of Isaiah 52:1, where Jerusalem, the holy city, is called to put on beautiful garments, and it also fulfills Isaiah 61:10, where the redeemed are likened to a bride who ‘adorns herself with jewels’ (p.383).”

Another helpful comment is given regarding the relationship of the word-pictures that John gives us: “So this new Jerusalem is a city because God will dwell there, and it seems to be likened to a bride because God will be in covenant with his people who dwell with him there (p.384).”

In conclusion, I would recommend Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches as a worthwhile commentary provided that you have other more focused resources available to aid you as well. This is a commentary that gets right to the point of understanding the big picture of Revelation and would be well used as preparation for a small group or similar teaching role as well as for personal understanding and devotions.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I wish to note that the publisher of this book, Crossway, provided it to me at no cost as a review sample. That said, my review is in no way influenced or controlled by them and thus I write my review of this book with honesty and integrity.)

Radical Humility

In this past week's sermon, we spoke briefly concerning our responsibilities and the Lord's responsibilities: we are to spread the Gospel, the Lord is the One who will call people to respond to it - He does the hard work.

This reminded me of a comment that I read once regarding the great humility which is shown throughout the Scriptures by folks who have done all manner of service for God - some were "successful" in the eyes of the world and others were not, but they had God's glory (as the Lord of the Harvest) in mind rather than their own...

Peter preaches and 3000 repent. Stephen preaches and he is martyred. The seed of the Gospel falls on every type of soil. Whether people respond and repent, rejoicing in the glory of the Lord and experiencing the refreshment of forgiveness, says nothing of the the sower. “God causes the growth.” And of course growth doesn't necessarily mean numbers. The size of a congregation (big or small) should not be our measuring stick for Gospel faithfulness.

Having said that, I am concerned that we are not as disturbed as Peter and John in Acts 3 or Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14, when people look at us as if anything that has happened is by our own power. That radical humility will determine in the end whether we draw people to ourselves or to Jesus.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the turning point! Who do we serve? Who do we bring glory to? The answers to those questions should be the same: to God, the Lord of heaven and earth. Let us be a people who are faithful at spreading the Gospel and by the same token let us be a people who trust God to do what He will with His own harvest.

Reading your Bible in 2012

Sometimes the most difficult part of reading any part of the Bible is deciding how to begin. I realize, of course, that the New Year has already begun, but if there's anyone out there who is contemplating reading through their Bible this year (or just part of it, even) and hasn't quite had the motivation to get to it yet, see the following link for a number of different reading plans with ideas for a manageable and for how to read for comprehension.  I can tell you from firsthand experience that any time you spend in the Scriptures is well worth it and I would encourage you - no matter what sort of plan you have for Bible reading - to spend regular time in the Scriptures. Whether you measure your reading in verses or chapters, the time spent is both honoring to the Lord and produces maturing faith in you as you grow in being a disciple.

Bible Reading in 2012

Wisdom

I've mentioned before that I believe our culture is particularly bad at listening wisely - especially those of us who are younger and feel like we need to jump right in to a conversation not realizing that we aren't the first ones to confront a particular issue. Of course it is also true that wisdom and folly are traits which can be found in all people regardless of age, and so whatever your point in life I'd encourage you to give thought to some great Biblical truth about opinions and disagreements that I wanted to pass on from Pastor Paul Martin:

1) Remember how long Elihu waited before he spoke to Job and his three faulty counselors.

2) Younger men ought to focus on growing personally spiritually strong by overcoming the devil's work in their life and growing deep in God's Word (1 John 2:13-14).

3) Waiting to be asked for an opinion is not such a bad thing: "Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent." (Proverbs 17:28)

Resolutions in the New Year

This past week we included a bulletin insert on giving some thought to the New Year. Sure, we all take stock of the previous year and think through how we'd like things to be different in the upcoming year, but one area that is easy to forget is our spiritual lives. What grace has God shown us in the previous year? What, by His power, do we seek to accomplish in our devotion to Him in the New Year?

As noted on the insert, Professor Donald Whitney provided much of the thought behind the material, and so I'd like to pass on the original that he wrote for those who are interested because he includes a number of other thoughts and questions that you might find helpful in thinking through what you will aim for this year, Lord willing.

Questions to Start the New Year - PDF