Thomas Nelson - Revelation: Four Views, Revised and Updated

For the fifteen years since the first edition of this book was published, I have hosted a daily Christian talk show on AM radio, discussing (and sometimes answering) callers questions about the Bible. At the time of publication, I had spent the previous fourteen years as a lecturer at a small Bible institute in Oregon. For the twelve years prior to that, I had been a freelance, international Bible teacher. Despite the wearing of multiple hats, during almost forty-three years of ministry, I have not been a prolific book writer. In fact, I have not produced a book for publication since the appearance of this one in 1997.

When one writes so few books, he wants the few that he writes to be as good as they can be. Therefore, immediately after the publication of the first edition of Revelation: Four Views I began to see imperfections that I wished I could have avoided. It was on the occasion of the publishers request to publish an updated and expanded version that I was invited to make alterations to the original. The primary changes in this edition are as follows:

1. The viewpoint that appears in the fourth column of the main body of the work is rightly called the idealist. I was aware of this, when writing in 1997, but I did not find many authors referring to their view by this name, even when it was their view. I assumed that they may not have preferred this label for their position, and I sought for an alternative name from their writings. Though authors taking this position floated a variety of possible labels (e.g., the philosophy of history view), there was none among them of which all seemed to approve. At that time, I decided to create a generic name for the viewpoint, and I settled upon the label spiritual. The ink was no sooner dry on the first copies of the book than I regretted this decision. Idealist is clearly the most widely recognized name for this view, and it is so named in this edition.

2. The first edition sported unused white space on many of its pages, owing to the fact that I could not find an equal amount of material for all four views in many cases, and the four-column format meant that when the treatment of one or two views extended considerably beyond that for the others, there often would be white space in the columns to which the commentary on the other approaches did not extend. In preparing this second edition, I have found more authorities than were available to me in 1997 from which to quote.

3. When I wrote Revelation: Four Views, I was not aware of Richard Bauckhams book, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, which had been published four years earlier. Also, in the years since 1997, a major commentary on Revelation by G. K. Beale has appeared. The importance of these two scholars in the modern evangelical world renders it essential that their work be included in a study such as this.

Apart from these few things, the second edition is very much like the first. I have been very encouraged by the many positive reviews the first edition received and am grateful to Thomas Nelson that a second edition in paperback was deemed a worthwhile project. It gave me another opportunity to delve into the fascinating exploration in which I continue to revel. I wish you equal revelry in your own exploration.

Steve Gregg, December 2012