Revelation

the NIV

APPLICATION

COMMENTARY

From biblical text … to contemporary life

Craig S. Keener

The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation

Copyright © 2000 by Craig Keener

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Keener, Craig S., 1960–

Revelation / Craig S. Keener.

p. cm.—(NIV application commentary)

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN-13:978-0-310-23192-9

ISBN-10:0-310-23192-2

1. Bible. N.T. Revelation—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series.

BS2825.3.K43 1999

238’.077—dc21 99–26622

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.

To Dr. Danny McCain

of the International Institute of Christian Studies.

and all the precious students he gave me the opportunity

to teach in northern Nigeria

in the summers of 1998 and 1999

Contents

Series Introduction

General Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

Outline

Annotated Bibliography

Text and Commentary on Revelation

Scripture Index

Other Ancient Sources

Subject Index

Author Index

NIV Application Commentary
Series Introduction

The NIV Application Commentary Series is unique. Most commentaries help us make the journey from the twentieth century back to the first century. They enable us to cross the barriers of time, culture, language, and geography that separate us from the biblical world. Yet they only offer a one-way ticket to the past and assume that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. Once they have explained the original meaning of a book or passage, these commentaries give us little or no help in exploring its contemporary significance. The information they offer is valuable, but the job is only half done.

Recently, a few commentaries have included some contemporary application as one of their goals. Yet that application is often sketchy or moralistic, and some volumes sound more like printed sermons than commentaries.

The primary goal of The NIV Application Commentary Series is to help you with the difficult but vital task of bringing an ancient message into a modern context. The series not only focuses on application as a finished product but also helps you think through the process of moving from the original meaning of a passage to its contemporary significance. These are commentaries, not popular expositions. They are works of reference, not devotional literature.

The format of the series is designed to achieve the goals of the series. Each passage is treated in three sections: ...