The Book of Revelation (The New international commentary on the New Testament)

by Robert H. Mounce

Book Overview

This contribution to The New International Commentary on the New Testament is a revision of Robert Mounce's original entry on the book of Revelation and reflects more than twenty additional years of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802823483
• ISBN13: 9780802823489
• Release Date: January 1977
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• Length: 426 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The old switcheroo!

Not a commentary on the book itself per second but here's a novel idea why don't you show the actual book and price instead of showing the hardcover at a paperback price and then switch both book and price?

Readable and enlightening

As a layperson, I found this commentary to be readable and enlightening; you need not be a member of clergy nor a biblical scholar to get through it. Each section of Revelation is preceded by an introductory overview, then followed by a verse-by-verse analysis. Ample footnotes provide further illumination and sources for further reading. If you compare this commentary with other books expounding the "four views" of Revelation, you will find (as expected) that while the NIV tends toward the future, eschatological view, it is not uniformly so, and often cautions against an overly literalistic view of apocalyptic writing in general. I have a few other Revelation commentaries, but if I had to choose just one, this one would definitely be "it."

Read it before before buying it

Surely there will be someone else writing about this book, so I'm going try to help you in another way. When you start reading biblical commentaries you will need to be aware that the thoughts expressed by the author deal with facts and speculations that should of happened. You can NEVER rely on only one commentary to affirm something about the Bible. You need at least three good commentaries. Try to read biblical commentaries from different confessions of faith (e.g., Calvinism vs. Arminianism; Pentecostal vs. non-Pentecostal; Catholic vs. Protestant; Egalitarian vs. Complementarian; Amillennialism vs. Premillennialism vs. Postmillennialism; etc). Look for their arguments: What do they agree or disagree on? Which of them is closest to the biblical text? It's not a sin to read commentaries written from other points of view. You will notice that what is fact or solid argument will be seen over and over on different commentaries, so you will start learning what is speculation and what is not. As Haddon W. Robinson said in his book, Biblical Preaching, (second edition, page 22), "In approaching a passage, we must be willing to reexamine our doctrinal convictions and to reject the judgments of our most respected teachers." Remember, a commentary is not the biblical text. Do not replace the authority of the Bible with a commentary. The same apply for Study Bibles. The study notes there are not written by "apostles and prophets," so never confuse the "gospel" with the teacher or preacher. Learn to separate it. Commentaries are important because nobody can get a poem from one language and translate it with the same structure to another language. This simply does not exist. Words, phrases, and sentences are rooted in a specific time, culture and custom. About Bibles, the best way is to check different translations, but be cautious about a very loose translation. For you to appreciate any biblical commentary you need to know what level of reading you are. I'm going call them beginner, intermediate and advanced. I recommend the following biblical commentaries that you can start from. All of them have both Old Testament and New Testament. (If you're thinking of buying the whole set, look for the CD edition; it's cheaper and you can take it with you where you go.) Beginner - NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC) by Zondervan. (or) The Bible Speaks Today Series (BST) by IVP (This is a growing series and not yet complete.) Intermediate - New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) and New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT) by Eerdmans Advanced - Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) by Thomas Nelson These are basic commentaries on their own level, but there are a lot of commentaries today, so don't forget to look for more information. Maybe you can get information from one of these: (1) Commentary and Reference Survey: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical and Theological Resources by John Glynn, (2) New Tes

Keeping it simple.

Having worked through the entire book of Revelation in a 42 sermon series, I find Mounce to be indispensable! Other reviewers are right in saying that he is not as detailed about the historical interpretation of each verse, but that would just indicate that he is more futurist in his understanding, and less a preterist. Mounce manages to do what so many others have failed to do; to keep the message of the book in the forefront, and not allow it to get lost in the clutter of interminiable squabbling over interpretive details. His work is deep, but not confusing. He deals with the text at hand, and not as much with historical references or the Apocrypha. While these pseudopigraphal references may float the boat of scholars, Mounce keeps his finger in the Revelation text, and so his book is extremely helpful.

Makes deep stuff simple. Very well done.

As a pastor working on sermons from the Greek text through Revelation, I've found that Mounce's NICNT commentary on Revelation is one of the best ways for me to summarize what I've read in all the other commentaries. I have to take exception to the previous reviewer regarding Mounce's commentary on Revelation-saying that Mounce doesn't declare himself on issues. I think Mounce writes with clarity...boiling down the sometimes complex arguments of the various views to a few sentences that make sense. It's surprisingly easy to understand...so good that you can actually use some of his summaries in the pulpit and not lose the average listener! That is amazing to me. He makes a judgment call, sometimes coming to a different view than most or many other commentators. For example, on the term ANGELOS (Angel) in Revelation 1:20, 2:1 and the other six churches, Mounce reviews the other positions...and then concludes that the term 'prevailing spirit' may capture the real meaning there. However, many believe that the term here means 'angelic messenger' or a real angel from heaven. I think he missed it on that point, but he knows way more about Greek than I do and I respect his position. I found that Mounce is not always complete when describing the historical situation for each verse. It's helpful to read other commentaries for background information-they all give nuggets that bring out different aspects of the historical situation. For example, Beale (NIGTC) on Revelation has more information as does Aune on Revelation. Also Osborne (Baker) is helpful too. I have perhaps about ten scholarly works on Revelation. Yet Mounce is easier for a busy pastor to read through than any of these other fine authors...even if he gives less information. (Beale is my number one pick even so). I find myself unwilling to part from my Mounce commentary. What when compared to the heavy hitting commentaries is less information, is still a lot of useful detail for any preaching pastor or bible teacher working through the text of Revelation. Plus he's really easy to understand. If you are preaching through Revelation, or writing a paper for a course, or even teaching a class on the subject...or a small group discussion, Mounce can help you. When describing the historical context of the seven churches, he sometimes strikes a lyrical cadence that is very useful. I love this commentary! What a rare flower! Get a copy if you can afford it!

A great commentary on Revelation!

This is one of my favorite commentaries on the Book of Revelation by a prominent scholar. It is written from a historical premillennial perspective and it packs a lot of information yet is not overly technical. A person who holds to a different approach in interpreting Revelation will still gain a lot of insight from reading this commentary. I highly recommend it!