Revelation (Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament | ACNT)

Top Highlights

“John Calvin wrote a commentary on every New Testament book except Revelation.” (Page 25)

“The content of the scroll is put into effect in three cycles (seals, trumpets, and bowls) which are not consecutive along a time line. They are three parallel accounts, like three one-act plays, with new emphases, intensities, and perspectives. They make one point, that it is God and the Lamb who execute judgment and bring about salvation. Judgment is necessary because of Satan on one hand and idolatry on the other. Salvation is the rectification of all that is wrong. God shall establish his rightful claim upon the world by vindicating his people and destroying idolatry, death, and the devil.” (Page 161)

“Revelation found its place in the canon because of its wide use in the church of the West, the tenacity of Greek-speaking pockets in the East, and the prestige of Athanasius, who included it among the canonical writings of the New Testament in his famous 39th Easter festival letter of a.d. 367.” (Page 25)

“The vision John is communicating to his people that Christ, the victim, is the victor embraces all of life, including the future, even as his alternative vision of the beast and its worship embraces every aspect of society, including buying and selling (13:11–17), present and future (18:9–21).” (Pages 50–51)

“The Apocalypse has always been misunderstood when it is approached as code containing predictions for the interpreter’s own past and future; it has frequently been neglected and occasionally been maligned. Those who regarded it as key to the Scripture generally misused it most.” (Page 26)