Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Bible & Liberation) [Paperback]

Wes Howard-Brook (Author), Anthony Gwyther (Author), Elizabeth A. McAlister (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The two authors of this volume--both committed Christians and social activists--are not interested in the idea of apocalypse as an end-of-the-world phenomenon. Rather, they conclude, St. John's book was a call to "the followers of Jesus in the cities of Roman Asia [the audience for the Revelation] to continue the nonviolent witness practiced by Jesus. This is how the disciples were to live in the midst of empire." In short, "Revelation is a call to have faith in God rather than empire."

Beginning with a chapter connecting the contemporary enthusiasm for apocalypse to such events as UFO sightings, near-death experiences, New Age spirituality, and even the current visions of Mary, the writers then explore the origins of apocalyptic writing in (among other places) the book of Daniel, Isaiah, and the gospels, and place John's vision in the historical context of first-century Rome. From there the book devotes itself to a close study of Revelation itself, concluding with a chapter that returns to the question of the relevance of John's vision to the current global economic empire, which is, the authors suggest, "simply the air we breathe." The deepest goal of this exciting and challenging book--like John's own Revelation--is to challenge that. --Doug Thorpe

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570752877
• ISBN-13: 978-1570752872
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #896,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wes Howard-Brook has been teaching and writing at the intersection of church, society and academy since 1988. Previously, Wes was an attorney for the federal and Washington state governments, including a stint as counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee (1981-83).

Wes and his wife, Sue Ferguson Johnson, collaborate in the ministry, Abide in Me, that interweaves the mystical and the prophetic, the inner and outer journeys with God. Through word, silence, song and movement, they seek to be agents of God's passionate desire to transform individuals, communities and the world itself into the body of Christ.

Wes also teaches theology and scripture at Seattle University and at churches and gatherings around the Pacific Northwest and the U.S.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rational and useful interpretation of Revelation, November 15, 1999

By 

Jim Knowles ([e-mail]) (Puyallup, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Bible & Liberation) (Paperback)

There seems in general to be two encampments around the book of Revelation. Fundamentalists have literalized it, wrapped their theological arms around it, and made it their gospel. Mainstream denominations have largely ignored it, treating it rather like Uncle John, the gospel family's erratic eccentric . Why either group would stretch themselves to read this book is unclear. Outside of a seminary classroom, this book seems to have no intended audience. But it must be more broadly read. I have felt the authors' passionate plea for justice which winds its way through the pages of the Old and New Testament and culminates with the visceral images in Revelation. John of Patmos has metamorphosed from worm to wasp as he stings the institutions of capitalism and creates the structure by which oppression can be identified and resisted. If you suspect that things are not what they ought to be, if something seems amiss within the status quo, if you have ever felt that the world seems somehow upside down, join with these two authors on a trip through the mind of John of Patmos. In their hands, the Book of Revelation becomes a careful, considered, coherent plan of action which puts the immanence of God before immediate gratification and an interest in the sacred above commercial interests. Mere words cannot express my appreciation to these two authors for unveiling the message behind the images in this often misunderstood biblical text. You must read this book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resisting Empire's Embrace, December 22, 2003

By 

R. D. Hudgens (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Bible & Liberation) (Paperback)

This is a thematic rather than verse-by-verse commentary. An underlying premise is that the churches of Asia Minor who originally received this letter were not under the severe persecution from Rome that has long been assumed. The authors assert that it was in fact a time of peace and affluence, and the churches in Asia Minor were succumbing to assimilation. The parallels with churches in the West are therefore more exact and evocative than previous interpreters have understood. The authors are not shy about drawing out the similarities between Babylon (as depicted in Revelation) and contemporary global capitalism (the incarnation of Babylon that surrounds us today). Drawing inspiration from Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement, as well as the interpretive and prophetic work of Daniel Berrigan and William Stringfellow, this is a provocative reading of a consistently neuralgic but unavoidable part of the canon. The political implications are drawn out in a final chapter dialogue between the authors.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Get Left Behind, July 29, 2002

By 

Jeremy Garber "urbanmenno" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Bible & Liberation) (Paperback)

Howard-Brook and Gwyther unpack what Revelation really means. Studying the book in its original context - remember, Revelation was written for the first century, not for us! - the authors still connect the concerns of John of Patmos' day to our own. They see Revelation's message of faithful resistance to the surrounding patriotic culture and how John warned the early Christians to resist it and preach the good news instead. And they uncover what the "beast" really is in modern society. A thoughtful and passionate understanding of this fantastic book's true message to both its time and our own.