Interpreting Revelation

by Merrill C. Tenney

Overview

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.

For centuries the book of Revelation has been both an inspiration and a mystery to the Christian church. In hours of darkness it has given courage to its readers; but in periods of ease and prosperity it has become the subject of a bewildering assortment of approaches and interpretations.

Merrill C. Tenney has built his study on the thesis that Revelation had a definite message for those to whom it was first written, a meaning they could comprehend because they understood the structure, imagery, and contemporary allusions in the text in ways lost to modern readers.

Tenney's Interpreting Revelation attempts to recover how the book as a whole would have spoken to the ancient Christian world. In so doing, Tenney applies broad interpretive principles that will enable readers to think through the book for themselves and to formulate their own conclusions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802804211
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/07/1988
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

(d.1985) He was for many years Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Bible and Theology at Wheaton College in Illinois.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	List of Illustrations	xi
I.	The Background of Revelation	13
	The Character of Revelation	13
	The Author	15
	Its Place in the Canon of the New Testament	16
	The Historical Background and Date	17
	The Social Background	22
	The Religious Background	23
	The Literary Background	26
II.	The Theme of Revelation	28
III.	The Structure of Revelation	32
IV.	The Introduction (1:1-8)	42
	The Title	42
	The Commendation	44
	The Author	45
	The Destination	45
	The Greeting	46
	The Dedication	47
	The Motto	48
	The Publisher's Imprint	48
V.	Vision I: The Seven Churches of Asia (1:9-3:22)	50
	The Setting	51
	The Church of Ephesus	55
	The Church of Smyrna	58
	The Church of Pergamum	59
	The Church of Thyatira	62
	The Church of Sardis	63
	The Church of Philadelphia	64
	The Church of Laodicea	66
VI.	Vision II: The Process of World Judgment (4:1-16:21)	70
VII.	Vision III: The Climax of Judgment (17:1-21:8)	82
VIII.	Vision IV: The Eternal City (21:9-22:5)	91
IX.	The Epilogue (22:6-21)	96
X.	Observations and Conclusions	99
XI.	The Old Testament Background of Revelation	101
	Titles of Deity	105
	Old Testament Concepts	107
	Continuous Passages	112
XII.	The Christology of Revelation	117
	The Prologue: Christ in Communication (1:1-8)	117
Vision I	Christ in the Church (1:9-3:22)	122
Vision II	Christ in the Cosmos (4:1-16:21)	125
Vision III	Christ in Conquest (17:1-21:8)	130
Vision IV	Christ in Consummation (21:9-22:5)	132
	The Epilogue: Christ Challenging (22:6-21)	133
XIII.	The Chronological Approach	135
	The Preterist View	136
	The Historicist View	137
	The Futurist View	139
	The Idealist View	143
XIV.	The Eschatological Method	147
	Postmillennialism	147
	Amillennialism	151
	Premillennialism	154
	Application	163
XV.	The Terminology of Revelation	168
	Institutions and Objects	168
	Personalities and Places	173
	Formulae	177
XVI.	The Symbolism of Revelation	186
	Symbols Explained	187
	Symbols Paralleled by Old Testament Imagery	187
	The Unexplained Symbols	189
XVII.	The Meaning of Revelation for This Present Age	194
	Its Historical Significance	195
	Its Predictive Content	196
	Its Theological Teaching	197
	Its Spiritual Application	199
	Notes	203
	Bibliography	207
	Indexes
	Subject	213
	Scripture	215

Editorial Reviews

Otto A. Piper in Theology Today
"Dr. Tenney has here succeeded again in condensing a great deal of learning into a relatively small compass. He is able to present difficult and complicated issues in a simple and intelligent manner, and with all fairness to his predecessors, to chart his own original approach to the problem."

From the Publisher