“We have sought to read Revelation less as a coded text to be interpreted, and more as a text that imposed a Christ-centered interpretation upon the everyday activities, landscapes, and stories encountered by the members of the seven congregations addressed… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“Like Jonah’s word, Revelation as prophecy seeks mainly to stimulate faithful response among John’s audience, not to provide an absolute blueprint for an uncertain future.” — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“The cities of Asia Minor were as enthusiastic and as invested in hosting the imperial cult as modern cities are about convincing a major… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“The greatest threat the hearers face is to be found unprepared to encounter God or God’s Christ at his coming (6:12–17), thus being exposed… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“This tenet, however, ignores the primary purpose of prophecy, which is not to give hard and fast statements about an unchangeable future, but to… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“While such prophecy could include a predictive element, it was also—and perhaps primarily—a declaration of God’s action in the present or an announcement of… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“The title “Lord of lords,” for example, was ascribed to the emperor; the acclamations of God and Christ as “worthy” (4:11; 5:9) echo the… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“John exposes Pax Romana and Pax Augusta to be bald-faced lies. He does not allow his hearers to ignore the fact that a great… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“John would have disciples in every age understand—and live like they understand—that they exist to do God’s bidding, because God created all things for… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“A grounded and responsible reading of Revelation begins with reading it first as we would read Paul’s Letters to the Galatians or Philippians or… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“In John’s vision of the cosmos, there is no room for gathering around God’s throne at one time as one’s cosmic center and at… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“Thus apocalypses set an audience’s space within the context of a larger, invisible world, and they set the audience’s time in the context of… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“We have sought to read Revelation less as a coded text to be interpreted, and more as a text that imposed a Christ-centered interpretation… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“In many instances, however, I would expect such instances of discomfort to draw our attention to the ways in which we have drunk deep… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
“Like Jonah’s word, Revelation as prophecy seeks mainly to stimulate faithful response among John’s audience, not to provide an absolute blueprint for an uncertain… — David A. Desilva Copy Share Image
