Chalice Commentaries for Today - Revelation

Farmer invites us to take a step back to survey the reality of the Book of Revelation to determine its vibrant message to the first-century churches and its living meaning for the ongoing church. Farmer finds the clue to the varied interpretations of the book of Revelation in the presuppositions the reader brings to the text, or as Farmer phrases it, "the glasses one wears while reading." He surveys four schools of interpretation, (preterist, historicist, futurist, and symbolic) to discuss one of the most significant symbols in Revelation: the millennial reign of Christ. Farmer's approach to understanding the book of Revelation combines preterist and symbolic schools to read Revelation with a view both to the original readers' situation and to the contemporary setting. He clearly sets out his own assumptions, stating that it may be human to desire to know the future, but it is neither biblical nor Christian. Farmer includes "Reflections" on how one gains contemporary meaning from the text.