Revelation for the Rest of Us - by Scot McKnight & Cody Matchett

About the Book

In Revelation for the Rest of Us, world renowned New Testament scholar and author Scot McKnight explores the timeless message of Revelation and how it disciples readers into dissidents of the ways of the world and empire, calling them to the courageous challenge of faithful, or allegiant, witness.

Book Synopsis

See how the Book of Revelation can be read as a book of discipleship, challenging Christ-followers everywhere to live as hopeful agents of resistance and transformation.

The last book of the Bible frustrates and frightens many people with its imagery and apocalyptic tone. Popular interpretations rely on fear and politicization and often lead to pride and alienation of others. Is this really how we were intended to read John's Revelation?

In Revelation for the Rest of Us, Scot McKnight with Cody Matchett explore the key message of Revelation and how it:

• Calls us to be faithful and hopeful witnesses to Jesus.
• Stimulates our imagination to see the world through the eyes of God and excite our faith.
• Challenges us to stand against the militarism, economic exploitation, oppression, and injustice of worldly authorities.

McKnight addresses the popular misconceptions about the book, explaining what John means in his use of the images of dragons, lambs, and beasts; and how the symbolism of Revelation spoke in the days of Rome and still speaks powerfully to the present day--though not in the way most people think.

You'll learn to see the Book of Revelation in a fresh and hopeful new way. Drawing from the latest scholarship, the authors present an understanding of Revelation for anyone interested in deepening their personal study of the Bible and strengthening their faith as dissident disciples who can discern the presence of "Babylon" in our world and learn to speak up, speak out, and walk in the way of the Lamb.

Review Quotes

'A brilliant, fast-paced narrative that does so much more than make an incomprehensible book comprehensible. It shows us how white evangelicals lost our theological grounding, becoming the very monster we were supposed to resist; it emboldens us to become dissident disciples, leaving team dragon and returning to the side of the Lamb; and it gives us hope that a world where justice rolls down like water will one day be more than a dream. This is the most powerful interpretation of Revelation I have ever read, reorienting us away from bizarre prophecies and fiction bestsellers back to the truth of the gospel. You do not want to miss it.'-- Beth Allison Barr, James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University and bestselling author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth

'A fascinating and engrossing book about one of the most puzzling--and hopeful--books of the Christian Bible. Revelation is about how to live as dissidents in the Babylon of our time, how to hope actively for the New Jerusalem, the home of God and the goal of creation.'-- Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology, Yale Divinity School, founding director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture, and coauthor of The Home of God

'Finally, someone makes sense of the confoundingly beautiful mystery that is the book of Revelation. McKnight and Matchett's Revelation for the Rest of Us not only debunks speculative, spectacular, and specious interpretations, it explains Revelation's prophetic message of God's justice and peace, the way of the Lamb. Reading Revelation is a trumpet call to 'dissidents, ' God's people, to faithful public discipleship in today's 'Babylon' built by arrogance, greed, exploitation, and militarism. McKnight and Matchett refocus attention on the true center of Revelation: worshiping God on the throne and the Lamb.'-- Lynn H. Cohick, provost/dean of academic affairs, Northern Seminary

'If Revelation is not a book for speculation about the antichrist and the millennium, what is it? Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett have gifted the church, especially (but not only) its evangelical wing, with a revelation about Revelation. It is a call for dissident discipleship. This challenging but also pastoral book is a must-read for anyone concerned about the new forces of Babylon confronting the church and the world today.'-- Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, St. Mary's Seminary & University, Baltimore