I have received a number of queries asking me what has happened to the Gems.
“Ian, I haven’t had any Gems since 2184. What has happened? Are you alright?”
Yes, I am fine. We are on a Gem break between one book and the next one. It is my practice to give you a month between books to read back over the Bible book we have been analysing in order to gather your thoughts before we begin the next one. Some Gem readers like to read the previous book again in its entirety in conjunction with the Gems I have written on that book. Others think that is a bit much and prefer just to read the previous book through again once (e.g. Hebrews). Then there are others who just wait patiently until the new Gem series starts.
Other queries or comments I have received relate to my choice of ‘Revelation’ next. The comments range from one end of the spectrum to the other.
“Wonderful, I am looking forward to it.”
“Why on earth would you do that? Why waste time on Revelation; I have never seen anything useful in that book. All the symbols and mysterious things. Who can understand it?”
“Wow! You are a brave man Ian, tackling Revelation is going to be controversial and likely to stir up all sorts of opposition and criticism. It’s like each expert has a different take on Revelation.”
“My pastor (when I was 16), said after he had finished a Sunday night series on Revelation that he would not have done that if he had realised the amount of work it would take him.”
I remember David Pawson saying that Revelation triggers different reactions in so many people. Some are so fearful they can’t get into the book while others are so fanatical they can’t get out of the book.
When I taught 120 leaders of JPCC in Deeper Bible and then solicited their feedback all those years ago it amused me when I told them, “Go and apply what I have taught you in DB 101 and give me your input.”
One of them said in a gathering a couple of months later. “What you have taught us doesn’t work!”
I said, “How so? In what way doesn’t it work?”
He said, “I took a book of the Bible as you told us and tried to apply the DB approach to the book in the cell group but it didn’t work. We had the same confusion as before.”
I asked what book they had chosen.
He said “Revelation.”
I said, “Why did you start with the hardest book of the Bible?”
He said, “Oh, is Revelation the hardest book of the Bible? We don’t know which is hardest and which are easier. You will have to teach us that too.” So I came up with an added unit for DB 101 Session 4 with a schema on “Handling the Genre” – which is easy and which is hard and why?
Their response always makes me laugh when I recall it. David Pawson called Revelation “the worst book to use as an introduction to the Christian Scriptures”. Just like the group back at the beginning of Deeper Bible who wanted to launch into Revelation somewhat prematurely, many have asked me over the years, “Ian, when are you going to work your way through the Book of Revelation? I would be very interested in following that series.”
There are different reactions to the Book of Revelation. Martin Luther said “it’s a pity it ever got into the New Testament . . . everyone thinks of the book whatever his spirit suggests . . . there are many nobler books to be retained.” John Calvin omitted it from his New Testament commentary. William Barclay felt Revelation was “the only masterpiece of pure art in the New Testament . . . infinitely worthwhile to wrestle with until it gives its blessings and opens its riches. It’s beautiful beyond description.”
Why would we bother with Revelation? It is different, difficult and hard to understand?
Simply because it is the only book in the Bible which promises rewards for reading it.
God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.
Revelation 1:3
Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.
Revelation 22:7
Not only are rewards promised but there are warnings against tampering with the text of Revelation. It is clear that God takes this portion of His Word very seriously.
I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18-19
Satan hates the book of Revelation. So many stories abound related to satan’s opposition to the book of Revelation. It is plain to see why. It is the book which most clearly predicts his demise [Rev 20]. Hence he appears to oppose it at every opportunity. David Pawson tells of multiple incidents when posting out his early audio tapes which formed the basis for the book “Unlocking the Bible”. “The recordings of Revelation would be damaged, corrupted or wiped clean. There were even instances of screaming in a foreign language superimposed on the recording, rendering the original words unintelligible.” [Unlocking the Bible p 1242-1243] There have been multiple reports from Bible translators in Wycliffe of difficulties arising when completing the work on the last book in the Bible; especially reports of weird things happening with the text of Revelation 20.
It is clear that we should take the biblical book of Revelation seriously. I have indicated why it is better to leave Revelation until you have developed skills in deeper Bible study. I have been asked many times ‘when I would gem Revelation’. I have responded with the reasons as to why it is better to leave Revelation until you have developed skills in deeper Bible study before tackling Revelation. The moment to begin the first Gems of Revelation is June 1st, 2023.
To do it I am going to do something I have not done before in the Bible Gems. Normally I have used the Bible text only and my practice is to read through the text of the book I am gemming as many times as I am able before I start, but for one week at least I read the book through seven times in seven days. That gives me a good handle on the whole book from a bird’s eye view. Following that I use the text of the Bible in Greek, Hebrew and English and on occasions in Indonesian as well. As an aid I use the related book in the Wycliffe Bible Translators’ Exegetical Helps series to pick up on the variety of interpretations on problematic passages in the book I am gemming. I haven’t used other commentaries before, just the text of Scripture and the Exegetical Helps to aid me in the summary of what the experts think about the text, the variations and the interpretations. You would have picked that up if you have been following the Gems for any length of time. This time however I am going to use a number of resources I have gathered over the years and a few that I have bought or borrowed to ensure my coverage of Revelation is thorough.
- Exegetical Helps on Revelation – edited by Richard C. Blight
- Revelation Visualised – Gary Cohen & Salem Kirban
- Studies in Revelation – M. R. De Haan
- Understanding Revelation – H. L. Ellison
- New Covenant Commentary Series: Revelation – Gordon Fee
- Revelation – H. A. Ironside
- The Revelation of Jesus Christ – G. H. Lang
- Hebrew Insights from Revelation – Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg & Pinchas Shir
- Revelation in a Jewish Context I – Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg
- The Book of Revelation – William Kelly
- Now You Can Understand the Book of Revelation – Jim McKeever
- Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation – Bruce Metzger
- Revelation An Introduction and Commentary – Leon Morris
- International Critical Commentary: The Book of Revelation – Robert H Mounce
- Revelation Chapter by Chapter – William Newell
- The Expositor’s Greek New Testament Volume 5: 1 Peter to Revelation – W. Robertson Nicoll
- The Communicator’s Commentary – 1,2,3 John, Revelation – Earl F. Palmer
- A Commentary on the Book of Revelation – David Pawson
- Unlocking the Bible – David Pawson
- A Semantic Structure Analysis of Revelation – Andrew Persson
- Sparkling Gems from the Greek Volume 1 – Rick Renner
- Sparkling Gems from the Greek Volume 2 – Rick Renner
- Word Pictures in the New Testament: Revelation – Archibald Thomas Robertson
- The Book of Revelation Decoded – Kirt A. Schneider
- Revelation in a Jewish Context II – Pinchas Shir
- Daniel and Revelation: The Response of History to the Voice of Prophecy – Uriah Smith
- The Book of the Revelation – Lehman Strauss
- Commentary on the Greek Text of Revelation – Henry B. Swete
- An Exegetical Summary of Revelation 1-11 – Ronald L Trail
- An Exegetical Summary of Revelation 12-22 – Ronald L Trail
- Revelation – N T Wright
I have been trained as a Bible translator and have been involved in Bible Translation for close to 40 years. This year on August 19th 2023 I will have been a Christ follower for 50 years. I have been writing Bible Gems since June 2005 and have covered nine books of the Bible: John, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Luke, Acts, Philippians and Hebrews. I think the time is right for me to begin gemming the book of Revelation. Judging by the comments I have received, many of you are LOOKING FORWARD to this series. I would be delighted if you would come on this journey with me. As I have said many times before, I am doing this for me and would do it even if no one followed me. I know I am going to learn lots in this process of analysing the book of Revelation in detail and taking in the big picture view of the book. I have already spent two weeks just reading the text of Revelation over and over since I finished the Gems on Hebrews. I hope to take you all with me in this endeavour so we together can understand Revelation better rather than making it appear more complex than it is. Revelation was written for ordinary, every-day people in the First Century A D for the benefit of people who were facing immense challenges. It seems appropriate for us to be looking at this biblical book now.
I am happy for you to follow along either by checking this website intermittently or regularly as you may choose. You can also sign up at the bottom of any page to have the Bible Gems sent to you via MailChimp. I welcome your comments and your questions. As with other books I have gemmed, feel free to ask your questions and make your comments and I will respond in kind. You can steer the direction of the Gems on Revelation by asking questions at timely moments. Especially if you want more information on anything you want to ask at a deeper level. But if I have already moved on then I won’t go back. You will have to be following the Gems regularly to ensure your input, comments or questions are timely.
My suggestion to you is that you read Revelation through in its entirety at least once before I start on June 1st. Of course it would be better to read it seven times before June 1st, following the advice of my Greek mentor Dr Basil Brown. Why seven times? In order to perfect it.
History is not just a haphazard accumulation of happenings. Coincidence gives way to providence. History is going somewhere.
David Pawson
Is Revelation meant to be read in the ‘present’ of the First Century AD (past tense – historical) or currently from the view point of types of churches existing now which parallel the seven churches of Revelation (present tense) or should it be read with a view to the predictions related to the end of time (future tense)? Which view is correct?
Ian
Many think the book of Revelation is enigmatic and unknowable; I think it is an unveiling of that which is known by God and has been hitherto hidden from mankind until God Himself inspired John to write Revelation.
Ian
If satan opposes this book so vehemently and God offers a reward for reading it – it’s a no brainer isn’t it? Don’t be afraid to get into it and don’t be so obsessed with it that you get stuck in it.
Ian
I will be following with interest!
Ooh, I’m looking forward to this!