Brian Blount has given us this commentary on Revelation in the New Testament Library (NTL) series. Perhaps no other book of the Bible would find a shelf full of commentaries on it to so diverge as does Revelation, so we enter any such commentary with our seat belts tightly fastened. As you would expect with the NTL series, you will also get a critical outlook. That being said, this volume was pleasantly a little more moderate in places than I expected. For comparison, it has far more value than the OTL volume on Daniel, which is the most prophetic book of the Old Testament. It doesn’t match my views on prophecy at all, but there is some real exegetical help for words and phrases, some fine background material, and some thoughtful theology. He delves deeply into the idea of persecution so you will have what you need to formulate your ideas on that angle as well.

The Introduction begins with the theological focus. His saying “John writes in anger” might be a little much, but his discussion of justice, judgment, and anger has real insight. When he discusses authorship, he can accept that a “John” probably wrote, though he isn’t sure which one. He dates the book at the year 95. His section on social setting was quite thorough and helpful. If you enjoy studying genre, he goes into much detail here as well. There are an outline and a brief overview of structure. He concludes his Introduction with a cursory glance at the text of Revelation.

There are almost 400 pages of commentary on Revelation that follows in the strengths (exegesis, background, and theology) and weaknesses (too critical in places) mentioned above. Still, if you asked me to recommend the best critical commentary on Revelation, I’d likely choose this substantial commentary.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.\