The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

In this lively introduction, J. Nelson Kraybill shows how the book of Revelation was understood by its original readers and what it means for Christians today. Kraybill places Revelation in its first-century context, opening a window into the political, economic, and social realities of the early church. His fresh interpretation highlights Revelation's liturgical structure and directs readers' attentions to twenty-first-century issues of empire, worship, and allegiance, showing how John's apocalypse is relevant to the spiritual life of believers today. The book includes maps, timelines, photos, a glossary, discussion questions, and stories of modern Christians who live out John's vision of a New Jerusalem.

The idea of "The Rapture" -- the return of Christ to rescue and deliver Christians off the earth -- is an extremely popular interpretation of the Bible's Book of Revelation and a jumping-off point for the best-selling "Left Behind" series of books. This interpretation, based on a psychology of fear and destruction, guides the daily acts of thousands if not millions of people worldwide. In The Rapture Exposed, Barbara Rossing argues that this script for the world's future is nothing more than a disingenuous distortion of the Bible. The truth, Rossing argues, is that Revelation offers a vision of God's healing love for the world. The Rapture Exposed reclaims Christianity from fundamentalists' destructive reading of the biblical story and back into God's beloved community.

A startling exploration of the history of the most controversial book of the Bible, by the bestselling author of Beyond Belief. Through the bestselling books of Elaine Pagels, thousands of readers have come to know and treasure the suppressed biblical texts known as the Gnostic Gospels. As one of the world's foremost religion scholars, she has been a pioneer in interpreting these books and illuminating their place in the early history of Christianity. Her new book, however, tackles a text that is firmly, dramatically within the New Testament canon: The Book of Revelation, the surreal apocalyptic vision of the end of the world . . . or is it? In this startling and timely book, Pagels returns The Book of Revelation to its historical origin, written as its author John of Patmos took aim at the Roman Empire after what is now known as "the Jewish War," in 66 CE. Militant Jews in Jerusalem, fired with religious fervor, waged an all-out war against Rome's occupation of Judea and their defeat resulted in the desecration of Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome. Soon after, however, a new sect known as "Christians" seized on John's text as a weapon against heresy and infidels of all kinds-Jews, even Christians who dissented from their increasingly rigid doctrines and hierarchies. In a time when global religious violence surges, Revelations explores how often those in power throughout history have sought to force "God's enemies" to submit or be killed. It is sure to appeal to Pagels's committed readers and bring her a whole new audience who want to understand the roots of dissent, violence, and division in the world's religions, and to appreciate the lasting appeal of this extraordinary text.

“There has never been a book provoking more delirium, foolishness and irrational movements, without any relationship to Jesus Christ [than the Book of Revelation].” —Jacques Ellul, Introduction Known for his trenchant critique of modernity and of those Christians who celebrate their captivity to it, Ellul here cuts to the heart of the theological intention of the Book of Revelation, and thereby reveals the liberating gospel in all its offensiveness. Neither an exhaustive commentary nor a work of historical-exegetical analysis, Apocalypse is a provocative, independent interpretation. Ellul seeks to rescue Revelation from the reassuring and orthodox banality to which commentators often reduce it. The goal is to perceive the totality of the book in its movement and structure. “Architecture in movement” is the key to understanding Revelation’s puzzling but simple message. This edition also comes with a new foreword by Jacob Marques Rollison who provides an essential aid for guiding readers through Ellul’s thorough engagement with Revelation.

THE INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY THAT THE BOOK OF REVELATION HAS BEEN A MONSTROUS DECEPTION WHICH HAS FOOLED CHRISTIANS FOR ALMOST 2000 YEARS The Apocalypse, also known as the Book of Revelation is the last book of the New Testament. It begins with these words: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw." (Revelation. 1:1) Those words are not those of Jesus Christ, contrary to the claims of its author. Transmitted through an unnamed angel, they are part of a monstrous deception that has plagued Christianity ever since they were first penned. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, the Apocalypse was not written by John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee nor is it. Who then wrote the Apocalypse? He is the same person that John the Elder confronted in the Roman Baths of Ephesus and called "the enemy of the Truth." If as I will show, that the Book of Revelation was written by this person, then clearly, he is an enemy of the Truth, the Apocalypse cannot be included the Christian Canon of the New Testament This book expands upon the scholarly work, "The Apocalypse" written by R.H. Charles in 1920, the famous scholar widely recognised as the greatest authority of his time in matters of Jewish eschatology and apocrypha. Now take heed of a prophecy that Jesus made about a future time after his crucifixion. "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he, ' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them." (Luke 21:8) Do not follow anyone who says "the time is near" Jesus says. Do not be deceived he says. Yet this is exactly what the writer of the Apocalypse says. "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near." (Revelation 22:10) As a Christian, as long as you adhere to the words of Jesus and the Apostles recorded in the Gospels and the other writings of the New Testament, then the council of John the Elder, the disciple that Jesus loved and the author of the Fourth Gospel, will serve you well. "So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" (John 8:32) May this book set you free, but this it will not do unless you are willing look past your prejudices, seek the truth and read it. You will not regret it if you do.

That the Apocalypse of John is a “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1) is a fact too often overlooked by interpreters of this last book of the Bible. As Msgr. A. Robert Nusca’s The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation proposes, beyond predictions of earthquakes and falling stars, St. John articulates from start to finish a multifaceted and compelling portrait of Jesus Christ. Nusca offers an exegetical reading of selected verses of the Book of Revelation, incorporating rich spiritual and pastoral reflections. The Christ of the Apocalypse above all affirms that St. John’s God- and Christ-centered, symbolic universe offers our contemporary world a spiritual place to stand amid the shifting sands of postmodernity. As Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, writes in his Foreword, “Now, as in the first century, Christians face martyrdom, and those who are not called to die for Christ are called to live for Christ in a world which in many ways rejects the Gospel. More than ever, we need the apocalyptic vision, to have our own vision of reality clarified, and to be strengthened in our evangelical witness.”

"Like most people who are lovers of God's word, for a long time, I was very uncomfortable with the Book of Revelation…. But I found that there was a way out of the confusion, a way to hear what God was saying, a means of interpreting the book in the way that God intended…" —from the Introduction In this engaging and responsible volume, Scripture scholar Stephen Doyle uses a three-pronged approach to deciphering the complicated and often-misunderstood Book of Revelation—one that is accessible to a new Bible reader, yet useful to the serious student. Following the directives of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on Divine Revelation, he helps the reader to: examine the text in light of its original language, understand what the human author meant to communicate, and determine the literary form used and its influence on the meaning of the text. Each chapter begins with a passage of the Book of Revelation, followed by an explanation that searches for the main theme in that passage, and concludes with a reflection that casts light on the meaning of the text for today. A thorough bibliography provides resources for further study.