33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best, April 11, 2004
This review is from: Revelation: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Hardcover)
I have used this book along with Wilfrid Harrington's commentary (in the Sacra Pagina series). For me Boring's treatment is the one that has been most helpful.
Boring gives sober and insightful perspectives on what to make of Revelation. He makes many useful connections to parallels in the other Biblical books, and occasionally points out relevant examples from other similar texts (Daniel, 4 Ezra, Jubilees, etc.). He also puts Revelation in touch with the situation that the Church faced when the book was written (near the end of the first century). Rather than pushing all of its meaning into future events, he shows how Revelation had relevance to the churches John wrote to (1,900 years ago), and still has relevance to us in our present circumstances. Revelation actually talks to the Church about its situation, its beliefs, its hopes, and its experience of Christ--that is really what makes it a great book .
There is much else about this book that is outstanding. The author gives excellent insight on the imagery used in Revelation and how to interpret it. One of his main points is that there is often use of symbols and images with multiple meanings attached to them. For instance, it is commonly said that "Babylon" means "Rome" (making it simply a "codeword"--all you do is plug in the "real" meaning). But Boring reminds us that "Babylon" also really means "Babylon" too--because it continues to echo with all the imagery associated with Babylon from the Old Testament prophetic books. Another good example is the "dragon" of Revelation 12. In Revelation 12:9 the dragon is described as "that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan...". In other words, the dragon is a dragon, a serpent, a Devil, a Satan, or all of the descriptions of God's adversaries which all have various echoes in Old Testament imagery and prophecy. To really hear it right you have to think of the serpent of Genesis, the Satan of Job, the dragon of Isaiah 51:9, the Devil of Matthew 4:1, and so on--all of it at once! Of course Boring illuminates this context with more detail. This makes Revelation a very rich book once you start to appreciate its depth.
A part of the commentary I especially appreciate is the way Boring helps us to come to grips with the violent imagery in Revelation, and deals very intelligently with the material that deals with the final judgment. All of this is first rate and I highly recommend reading it--I believe that every reader of the Bible would be well served by taking the time to do this.
Generally, after reading this book I have come to understand that Revelation is really very much in tune with basic Christian beliefs in a very profound way. It is in fact a poetic and rich telling of the Christian message. It can be hard to see this in Revelation (because of the violent imagery), but once you see it (Boring helps you to do this), it is very powerful.
Boring's commentary is not verse by verse but goes in sections, dealing with major units. It is meant to be more readable this way, and it is. The introduction is super and worth the price of the book alone. If you need a verse by verse commentary, I can suggest Wilfrid Harrington's (and many other good ones are also out there). I find this book to be the best overall treatment that will give you a solid understanding of an often misunderstood book of the Bible.
It really deserves fifty stars.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revelation by M. Eugene Boring - Review, November 13, 2009
This review is from: Revelation: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Hardcover)
The Interpretation Bible Commentary Series is one of the best available and Eugene Boring's contribution in his book: Revelation is exceptional. Although not easily accessible to one unfamiliar to the landscape of biblical scholarship, this text is more than worth the effort. Boring deals with the Revelation from the stand point of examining the cultural and historical setting of John's time. Boring skillfully guides the reader in discovering the meaning of John's vision for the Christians of the late first century, and for people today. Boring makes it clear that understanding Revelation is not a function of looking at John's writing not as a prediction of events that will take place in a far distant future, sine this is not a legitimate understanding of the function of biblical prophecy. Instead Boring sets the Revelation in the appropriate context of John's prophetic vision as a proclamation of the "Word of the Lord," which was addressed to a specific people in a specific circumstance of a specific time and place. Boring makes it clear that John's vision has definite meaning for Christians in today's world; however, he also makes it clear that John's vision is not a secret code that once deciphered can allow one a glimpse into the future. Boring allows the reader to see in John's work a vision of what it truly means to be faithful to God in a time when faithfulness could result in one paying a high cost. Like John, Boring is clear that faithfulness to God, then as now, often means speaking to power and to the popular culture, a word that is seldom welcome. For those who wish to understand the book of Revelation in a responsible, faithful manner that captures the seriousness in which the Bible is best studied, Boring's text is a must read.
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24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Revelation that makes sense., June 19, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Revelation: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Hardcover)
I translated the book of Revelation with Gene Boring in seminary and used this commentary as a textbook. It is quite well written - demanding scholarship in a simple to understand format. There IS another way to interpret the Apocalypse without giving into faddish millennial hype.
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