“Ron Farmer brings current scholarly research, in a readable and non-technical format, to the contemporary ‘thinking Christian.’ Farmer examines the book of Revelation from a first-century perspective while at the same time showing that it has much to say to a twenty-first-century audience. Particularly noteworthy is Farmer’s insistence that contemporary readers do not need a key to break the code of this elusive book, but rather a willingness to participate imaginatively in the cosmic drama that John set before his early Christian readers. Farmer’s commentary is an important resource for Christians at a time when most ‘knowledge’ about the book of Revelation comes from popular fiction.” — Paul B. Duff, The George Washington University

“The best response of ‘mainline’ Christianity to the wave of pop-eschatology sweeping the country is neither to ignore Revelation—effectively a sellout to the religious right—nor to show the errors of ‘rapture theology’ and the like, but to present a responsible interpretation of Revelation and other biblical apocalyptic literature. Ron Farmer’s commentary on Revelation is a welcome addition to the growing number of such books. It is written with clarity, with a concern to guide the reader to understand both the ancient meaning and its contemporary relevance, and with respect for both ancient text and modern world as belonging to God. This book will help readers to envision the symbolic universe communicated by Revelation, a powerful alternative world that is not an escape from the realities of the present, but a means of giving readers a new understanding of reality and their place within it to which God calls them.” — M. Eugene Boring, Brite Divinity School