Revelation of Jesus Christ - by Margaret Barker & Margaret Baker (Paperback)

About the Book

A new and transforming approach to the Book of Revelation. Margaret Barker bases her study on a fresh reading of the primary sources. As an Old Testament scholar, she can read Revelation as Hebrew prophecy - ancient temple oracles which inspired Jesus and his own prophecies, and influenced the whole Jerusalem Church. Jerusalem was waiting for their Great High Priest to return and complete the Atonement at the end of the Tenth Jubilee. This expectation fuelled the revolt against Rome. Josephus, who deserted to Rome, was the false prophet. John, who escaped to Patmos, compiled Revelation as a record of the first generation. In the future, he taught, the Lord would return to his people in the Eucharist.This work illuminates the formative years of Christianity, in the social, religious and political situation of mid-first-century Palestine, in a quite remarkable way. It will have profound implications for the understanding of Christian origins and the development of Christian liturgy.

Book Synopsis

Margaret Barker shows that Revelation represents some of the oldest material in the New Testament, some of it from Jesus himself. Her work illuminates the formative years of christianity in the social, religious, and political situation of mid-first-century Palestine in quite a remarkable way. This book will have profound implications for the understanding of Christian origins and the development of Christian liturgy.

Review Quotes

'This is a very exciting and suggestive book. Margaret Barker strips off the varnish applied to the portrait of Jesus Christ by generations of desk bound scholars. She reveals a fresh and startling Christ, but one who is entirely believable in the diversity of first century Judaism which she has so dramatically illuminated.'
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London
'This is a serious book and one that will provoke much debate and reflection.'
The Bible Today
'The case is argued by massive (but readable) scholarship. But does it hold together? If Margaret Barker is correct, how come this book got into the same New Testament as the letters of Paul whom it so vehemently opposed? Read her case; it will stimulate your own thinking. And then make your own mind up.'
Canon Michael Perry, Church Times
'Margaret Barker makes the Book of Revelation make sense. It no longer stands apart at the edge of the Christian Bible, but appears as a key New Testament text, showing us the world of images in which the early Christians thought their religion. Margaret Barker has written a compelling book. It reshapes our understanding of early Christianity, its literature and its liturgy.'
Professor David Melling, Manchester Metropolitan University

"Barker is one of a growing number who have seen the potential significance of the Temple and its mythology for the classic Christian creeds." International Journal of Systematic Theology 3.2 (July 2001)

"This commentary-like series of essays on the book of Revelation offers a fresh and complete interpretation of what Barker considers one of the earliest [ ] NT writings Barker's book demonstrates that there can be no convincing account of early Christian history without a proper understanding of the book of Revelation. Highly recommended!"
- International Review of Biblical Studies, 1999/2000

This is a brave book and an intriguing one it must be said that not the least intriguing aspect of the author's presentation is the wide cast of her net: she has read and mastered an astonishingly broad range of primary texts. The Heythrop Journal, July 2003.

About the Author

Margaret Barker is a former President of the Society for Old Testament Study, and author of numerous works, including The Older Testament, The Lost Prophet, The Gate of Heaven, The Great Angel.