Reading the Apocalyptic, the Book of Revelation- A Commentary

This book will be an asset and a great text for theological students, pastors and all scholars who want to understand the last book of the Bible. The author of this book himself went through different stages of his life with different experiences as a student, pastor, research scholar, professor and mentor. His vivid outlook and experience shine through the pages of the book. This should inspire a great number of people today to criticize, research and publish more.

This book has been written amidst the COVID 19 pandemic when the world has been undergoing an unprecedented crisis. The war in Ukraine also looms large over the world as a great threat to the peace of the world. Whenever the world has undergone similar crises situations, the apocalyptic literature, especially the Book of Revelation has provided hope amidst hopelessness to the suffering people. Moreover, as this book has been written with the course in Biblical Cluster namely the apocalyptic Literature in mind, theological students will find it very helpful in their studies.

Rev. Dr. Abraham Philip is a visiting Professor at FFRRC, Kottyam. He has taught at the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary at Kottayam for nearly two decades during the early part of this century staying at the Campus. He was visiting Professor at MSOT Seminary, Mulanthuruthy, near Kochi during the last decade of the last century for a few years. He has authored several books. Some of them are Daily Prayers for the People of God (2011, 2014, and 2018), Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (2012, 2015), Enlightening Words of Truth (2017). An Introduction to the New Testament (2017), The History and Theology of the Gospel According to St. John (2018), The Holy Spirit in the New Testament (2018), Biblical Hermeneutics: Methods and Perspectives (2020).

During history, the Book of Revelation got marginalized especially during the Reformation. Many of the Reformation leaders did not have high regard for this book. I began taking this book seriously almost a decade back. During the first week of January the Diocesan convention of the Mar Thoma Church was going on at the Mar Thoma Seminary Higher Secondary School ground at Kottayam. One evening a learned and respectable layman, a College Professor, was the preacher, He preached from a passage in the Book of Revelation. Rev. Dr. Sham P. Thomas who was there to lead the Bible Study, every morning told me that I should write a book on the Book of Revelation. From that time I started pondering over it. During all these years I had a longing to write a book on this last book of the Bible namely The Apocalypse, popularly known as the Book of Revelation. But I did not get enough confidence to venture upon it though I taught the book to a few batches of students at Kottayam Mar Thoma Theological Seminary.

Two years back after the publication of my work: Biblical Hermeneutics: Methods and Perspectives (Tiruvalla: CSS, 2020), Rev. Dr. Mathew Daniel. the Secretary of Christava Sahitya Samithi told me that he would venture to publish only such academic books hereafter which could be used as text books for theological and for others who want to study the Bible. In the light of that conversation, I thought that I should start writing a book on the Apocalyptic Literature in the Bible, which is one of the courses for Bachelor of Divinity students at the Seminary. During Christmas 2020, I started writing this book praying to God to give me the divine guidance and the needed wisdom to complete this work which will be of use to people who want to study this last book of the Bible and also that I could give an apt and useful interpretation of the book for the contemporary times.

If we analyze the events recorded in the annals of history, it can be seen that the seventeenth century was a century of reasoning, the eighteenth century was that of enlightenment, the nineteenth century was one that of progress, the twentieth century as that of freedom and independence, and the twenty-first century as a century of extremism and uncertainties. Amidst the uncertainties it is difficult to predict what is going to happen in the days to come.

The present century has become one of extremism and uncertainties. It is very difficult to predict what is going to happen next. Even now the pandemic of Covid 19 looms large over the world in the form of yet another wave. Wars, climate change, etc., are disastrous events that the world is facing today. Cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and floods affect various parts of the world. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are also a great threat to many regions. Uncertainties make it very difficult for people to dream of a better future. Moreover, the social media and even some reputed scientific journals report about certain mysteries hovering over the world related with living beings visiting the earth from alien planets in the universe.

The Indian thought regards history as cyclical. Creation and destruction are processes that happen on earth repeatedly. There are some people who predict that the earth would be destroyed after some years due to natural calamities. It could even be as a result of some objects coming from outside and hitting the earth. They observe that this has happened in the past. They point out that some of the fossils of huge living creatures that are found on earth are those of such species that were there on earth during time immemorial. They think that the threat of humanity's destruction looms large over the world today than ever before.

All these have turned human attention to the apocalyptic literature in the Bible. There is no doubt that the Apocalypse or the Book of Revelation would provide some solace and comfort for the people who are very skeptical about. their future as well as those who undergo severe hardships or persecutions in their everyday life. Thus the Apocalypse has become the book of the hour. It provides hope for the future through the words of Jesus Christ who says, "I will come back." This commentary on the Book of Revelation is hoped to be an aid for those who would like to read this book and discover its message for the contemporary times in the New Normal.

**Contents and Sample Pages**