Customer Reviews

A Commentary on the Revelation of John

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George Eldon Ladd has written a highly informative and readable overview of Revelations in the form of a verse-by-verse commentary. While Ladd presents his understanding of Revelations from a non-dispensationalist premillenialist (and post-tribulationalist) position, there is no trace of polemics in his discussion of alternate interpretations of particular verses, or of the philosophies underlying different readings of the book as a whole.

The book opens with a brief introduction to the authorship, date, and setting of Revelations, then proceeds with a discussion of four possible methods of interpretation-preterist, historical, idealist, and futurist. While he describes his understanding as "a blending of the preterist and the futurist methods", those who consider themselves preterists might be surprised at Ladd's definition of preterism. Ladd describes preterism as the view that apocalyptic literature contains "tracts for hard times", but no prophecy, and that the apparent prophecies of Revelations neither were fulfilled, nor will be. Given this definition, it is difficult to understand why Ladd describes himself as a preterist-futurist in his understanding of Revelations. From his own definitions, it would be easier to see him as an idealist-futurist.

Following the introductory chapter, Ladd proceeds directly to a verse-by-verse commentary of Revelations. I am not usually fond of this format in theological works, but nevertheless found this book very stimulating. Clearly well versed in Greek and Hebrew, Ladd goes into depth on many specifics of theology contained in Revelations. Most satisfyingly, he constantly links his interpretations of the text to passages found elsewhere in Scripture, in the process offering a fresh new view of the message of the book as a whole.

It is possible that some readers, accustomed to a highly literal reading of Revelations, might find this book troubling. Pointing to "the fluidity of apocalyptic language", Ladd interprets the visions of John as representing real future (or in some cases past) events, but visions to be understood more in terms of their underlying meaning, than in terms of specific details. In additon, at a number of points, Ladd is also critical of the underlying Greek text or English translation of the Authorized Version, preferring the Revised Standard Version or in some cases the NEB. While these factors may displease some, I came away from the book with the impression of an author convinced of the truth and importance of Scripture, and a man with important theological insights. Certainly I plan to read more of his books!

This is one of the better verse by verse commentaries on Revelation. It is very readable making it suitable for the layman and there is sufficient information to make it a good introduction for the student. He assumes the traditional late date and uses a mixture of the preterist and futurist interpretation in which the beast is both Rome and the eschatological Antichrist. He sees Revelation as a prophecy about the destiny of the church, the 144,000 being the church, although he sees the two witnesses as two eschatological prophets rather than the church. There is little or no Greek and footnotes are kept to a minimum.

Note: Among 7 recent scholarly commentaries on Revelation Ladd is the 14th most cited author.

In looking for support for one of the four primary types of interpretation of Revelation, I actually found Ladd's arguements for Pre Mill a little distracting and found myself going more to Idealist view. It is a good read but if you are looking for strong Pre mill support, I did not find it.

This book does not address much of the latest scholarship. Although I love the writings of Ladd and his book "The Blessed Hope" changed my worldview forever, I would recommend more recent scholarship. Try David Sliker's "End Times Simplified" if you are an Apostolic Premillenialist or Ken Gentry's "The Day Jerusalem Fell" if you are a Preterist.

George Eldon Ladd's commentary on Revelation is insightful and the single best commentary on the book of Revelation I have on the shelf. If you appreciate Ladd, you will love this commentary.