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THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY

Volume

REVELATION

Paige Patterson

Nashville, Tennessee

ISBN 978-0-8054-0139-4

Dewey Decimal Classification: 228

Subject Heading: ESCHATOLOGY \ SECOND ADVENT \ BIBLE. N. T. Revelation

16 15 14 13 12 • 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Unless otherwise stated all Scripture citations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture citations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible. © The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture citations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952, © 1971, 1973 by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and used by permission.

This commentary on the Apocalypse is dedicated to my son Armour Patterson of Kingman, Arizona. No one has been a more consistent encourager than Armour. In life’s most discouraging and intimidating moments, Armour has challenged me to stand strong for the Lord and for the faith. Typical of his support is the following poem, which appeared beneath the picture of an Indian warrior. Armour sent it to me when I was experiencing great sorrow and challenge. How can one exhibit a lack of courage in the face of a challenge like this?

The Warrior

For a warrior who stood alone,

Who spilled his own blood,

And never feared for his own life,

Who rode boldly through the storms,

Stood unwaveringly in winds of strife,

And withstood lonely winters and long nights,

Who was undaunted by threat and attack,

Willing to lead when others would not follow,

And loyal and caring always to his own,

The war goes on always.

But though the flesh weakens,

The spirit and the heart remain strong.

When the storms come again,

The wounds sting and the blood spills,

And the valley of the shadow of death is at hand,

It is only the beginning.

The good fight has been fought.

The war’s end is nigh.

The sun sets in its splendor of this earthly battlefield;

Peace flows in the whispers of the night’s wind,

And joy comes in the morning.

Armour Patterson

Father’s Day, 1994

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About Revelation

In the Introduction to his commentary on Revelation, L. Paige Patterson observes the widespread neglect of this closing book of the New Testament. “Aside from a few journal articles and fewer monographs, few homiletical adventurers have evidenced the moxie to enter the eschatological lists and take on this book in the pulpit. This remains the case even though curiosity abounds in many congregations where parishioners fervently wish that their respective pastors would explain the book to them. Among those who embark on this adventure, most sail no further than the message to the seven churches … thus missing the grandeur of the promises that proliferate in chapters 4–22.”

Patterson writes with the strong conviction that preachers and professors can grasp Revelation and expound it fruitfully. To that end he has written this commentary, and in doing so, interacts with a wide array of interpreters of Revelation across the centuries. The reader who follows Patterson’s interpretive decisions will experience a virtual hermeneutical workshop—but far more than that. He will see more clearly than ever the glory and grandeur of Jesus Christ.

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