Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (Preaching the Word) [Hardcover]

James M. Hamilton Jr. (Author), R. Kent Hughes (Series Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2012 | Series: Preaching the Word

In the book of Revelation, God unveils the world as it really is, identifying an unseen spiritual war and announcing a very real day of judgment. As the end approaches, we need to be convinced that Jesus is reigning as the risen King. We need to have him speak to the situation in our churches. We need to see how God will pulverize wickedness, answer those who oppose him, and establish his eternal kingdom. Revelation has exactly what we need.

Useful for personal study, as well as for preaching and teaching, the thirty-seven sermons in this volume have a clear structure and even include helpful charts and tables to highlight key themes and literary elements. In each sermon, professor and pastor James Hamilton grabs the reader’s attention, raises awareness of a real need, and states the main point of the biblical text. In addition to explaining the meaning of each passage, Hamilton connects the main ideas to applicable analogies and actionable points.

Revelation is a prophecy of epic proportions and Hamilton invites readers to love God and his people by expositing this revelation of Jesus, and to say along with the apostle John, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hamilton has done his homework—and numerous footnotes reveal his scholarship—but he keeps the plot moving as he focuses on the pastoral duty of preaching the book. When exegeting difficult texts he presents the best case for differing viewpoints and then argues persuasively for his, all with an eye on preaching. Pastors will find here an inspiring foundation to craft their own sermons (and check their work), and laypeople will discover a pastoral guide through the minefield that is Revelation. Do you have a question about a passage in Revelation? Look here first.”
—Michael Wittmer, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Cornerstone University

“In a day when most preachers appear to be terrified by the prospects of preaching any text beyond the third chapter of the Apocalypse, I find Dr. James Hamilton’s Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches to be an oasis in the wilderness. Though my own interpretation of the book is light years removed from that of Professor Hamilton, the purity of his love for Christ, for his church, and for the Word of God makes every page a delight to read regardless of his eschatological position.”
—Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

About the Author

JAMES M. HAMILTON (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of biblical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of preaching at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (January 31, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143350541X
• ISBN-13: 978-1433505416
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Commentary on Revelation! January 17, 2012

By Mitch Chase

Format:Hardcover

James Hamilton, author of "God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment," has made a valuable contribution to the Preaching the Word series published by Crossway. The book's strengths are at least 5-fold:

(1) A God-centered passion. Hamilton's love for the Bible and God's glory are evident in the chapters. As he guides you through Revelation, he wants you to be in awe of God.

(2) A pastoral sensitivity. Hamilton is a scholar and professor, but he is also a pastor, and his pastoral heart shines through the commentary. Reading these chapters was like reading great sermons.

(3) A broad audience. This is a commentary, but it's not totally written in "scholar-ese," though its content will benefit scholars as well. Keeping with the aim of the series, a thoughtful Christian will be able to pick up Hamilton's commentary and plumb the mysteries surrounding the book of Revelation. This commentary is for everyone!

(4) A literary endeavor. Hamilton cares deeply about literature and knows not only that words convey meaning--he knows that words, crafted well, move the heart and stimulate the mind. If good literature can do such things, how much more necessary for the Bible to have those effects! With that in view, each chapter of his commentary bears a careful design and structure, and the arguments are artfully advanced with the goal of representing the majesty of Revelation.

(5) A big picture aim. It's easy to get tangled up or altogether lost in the details of Revelation, but, no matter your eschatological view, you will benefit from reading Hamilton's treatment of Revelation. His aim, like his previous book, is to showcase God's glory in salvation through judgment. He certainly cares about details, and even makes his case on disputed texts, but the big picture is never marginalized.

Revelation is indeed a wonderful NT book, though too often neglected by believers who consider its genre and symbols too complex and muddled. And when the book is studied by some Christians, too often the approaches are unbalanced, removed from a first-century Roman context, and resemble efforts of reading the text in one hand and a modern-day newspaper in the other.

With a delightful contrast to unhelpful extremes, Hamilton's commentary takes Revelation's Old Testament background seriously, and he also shows the insights that a first-century Roman context brings to the matters therein.

His commentary is clear, accessible, edifying, and God-centered. It is written by a scholar with a pastor's heart, and I highly commend it to you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for Pastors, Beneficial for Congregations February 10, 2012

By Michael Leake

Format:Hardcover

As a preaching pastor (for students on Wednesday evenings, Sunday morning Sunday school, and adults on Sunday evenings) about 6-8 times per year I come to that most difficult time when a series is almost completed and I have to decide on what book of Scripture or topic we will cover for the next few weeks/months.

Most of the time I welcome input as I am trying to discover what to teach on next. I usually eliminate the pleas for "let's go through Revelations". First of all I eliminate it because Revelations is not a book in the Bible. The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John is a book of the Bible but not Revelations. I jokingly say that but underneath that joking statement is the reason why I usually avoid going through Revelation. Most people view it as a manual for the end times. I take a different approach to Revelation. So out of fear of sorely disappointing people--or perhaps because I am afraid I do not quite have enough rapport to dismiss the Left Behind series--I tend to avoid going through Revelation.

That may change.

Book Summary:

Jim Hamilton has written a tremendous "commentary" on Revelation. It is part of the Preaching the Word series edited by R. Kent Hughes. Hamilton shows how one can hold a historic-premillenial view (as I do--though I want to be amillenial) and preach through Revelation without every week just being "I'm not sure what this means but I do know that Jesus wins".

This book is marketed as a commentary. While it could serve as a commentary and do a very good job it is actually a collection of sermons that Hamilton preached at his church. These manuscripts are tweaked to fit a commentary type of mold. For those familiar with Martin Lloyd-Jones' "commentary" series on Romans this is almost what you are getting in this offering from Hamilton.

There are 37 chapters with each having a catchy introduction followed by a brief placing of the text and a stating of the main point. Hamilton then engages in practical exposition of the text at hand and then wraps it up with a helpful conclusion. Revelation 1-22 is covered in this commentary, and the first sermon serves as an overview of the entire message of Revelation.

One could theoretically read through the book from front cover to back cover and benefit greatly. But those that will perhaps benefit most from this work are pastors looking for a supplement to their own study and preaching through Revelation. A large part of sermon preparation is trying to really come to grips with what the text says. Hamilton's commentary will be somewhat useful for that task. But it will be most useful for the more difficult task of the preachers task; namely, trying to figure out how to say what the Scriptures say in a compelling way. I could see myself consulting Hamilton's work asking the question to myself, "how could I best explain this truth".

Is It Helpful?

As I worked through this book I asked two questions of it:

Is the book solid theologically and still fair to other positions? This first question is important because I have read a decent amount of commentaries or books on Revelation that are either not sound theologically or largely dismissive of other positions. Eschatology has proven to be a hot-bed for theological controversy. So obviously the book that is often seen as an end times manual is usual fodder for end-times controversy. So how does Hamilton handle these passages? Consider is explanation of Revelation 3:10--an often used verse for those of a pre-tribulation mindset. Does Hamilton just dismiss them as nutjobs or does he engage their views with grace?

Consider Hamilton on Revelation 3:10: "Whether you think 3:10 means that the church will be raptured before the tribulation happens, or whether you think the verse means that the church will be preserved through the tribulation, we can all agree that Jesus says he will keep his people from the tribulation `because you have kept my word about patient endurance'...It seems to me that this text refers to the church's being preserved through the tribulation rather than the church being raptured before the tribulation...But again the important thing for us to see and on which we can agree is the clear commendation of the way the church has kept Jesus' word." (Hamilton, 117)

I love it. He is never shy in explaining his position and why he holds it, but at the same time he is not dismissive of other views, nor does he castigate them and cast them off as "not believing what the Bible clearly teaches". Because of his gracious tone I believe that any reader, regardless of eschatalogical persuasion, could benefit from reading this work.

Would I use this book in my sermon preparation?

I have to be honest and say that though I love D. Martin Lloyd-Jones reading his sermons on Romans is about as laboring as typing out his entire name. They are lengthy and often you would have to read 40 pages just to discover his commentary on a few verses that you might be preaching. Because of my experience with Lloyd-Jones I was skeptical that Hamilton's work could be beneficial as a commentary.

However, I was wrong. The sermons are broken up in such a way that it would be helpful for the busy pastor if he only wants to read Hamilton on a couple of verses. It is not necessary to read through an entire sermon to catch a comment on a particular text.

Furthermore, each sermon is usually only around 10 pages and they are easy and engaging reads. I could see myself preaching through Revelation and after laboring over a passage coming to the sermon construction step of sermon preparation and turning to Hamilton to see how he dealt with a particular passage. The wise pastor may even consider using (while citing of course) some of Hamilton's introductions or conclusions--they are very beneficial.

Should You Buy It?

If you are a pastor, yes. If you are a pastor preaching through Revelation, then you would probably be a goon not to buy it or at least try to find it in a library. If you are are not a pastor I would still say that you would benefit from this book. I would encourage any member of our congregation to purchase this book and read through the chapters slowly and devotionally. If it benefited God's people being preached on a Sunday morning I'm pretty sure it would benefit them reading it on the toilet on Monday...Or maybe I should have said bathtub, bedroom, or breakfast table.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the book of Revelation scare you off March 26, 2012

By William D. Curnutt TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The book of Revelation is a difficult book to tackle. Many pastors stay away from it because it is difficult. They don't preach from it, they don't read it, they don't really want to talk about it much because it is difficult.

So, if it is difficult for Pastors just think of how difficult it is for lay people. My College Age students asked me to teach to them from the book of Revelation one summer. I did not feel up to the task. But I found a resource and started into the book. How I wish that I could have had Hamilton's commentary that summer. It would have given me much insight.

Hamilton grapples with the big picture of Revelation and all of the little pieces that come with it. He then presents to us a very readable and understandable commentary on the book.

The "Preaching the Word" series of commentaries are not deep, dig into original language, talk about all the nuances and all the Theological controveries about the book in question. No, these commentaries are written by men who "preach" the word of God on a weekly basis. So, they grapple with the truth of the text and how it is to be applied to our culture today.

As such Hamilton gives us a great commentary that will give you enough insight to understand some of the deep issues in Revelation, but he will keep it simple enough that you will walk away with many practical insights and applications for your life.

The Chapters are not lengthy and lend themselves as a way for a small group to be able to daily read a chapter and then come together and discuss them later on.

This book would be useful for the lay person and lay pastor who want to get a `big picture' overview of the book of Revelation and be able to discuss the applications to their lives. For the lay pastor and professional pastor who want a lengthy dialogue about all the theology behind the word pictures you probably will be disappointed with this book. BUT, you will find it encouraging to read and it WILL give you many good things to think about in regards to the book of Revelation.

Enjoy!