Allan Jellett - The Kingdom of God Triumphant: Studies in the Book of Revelation

... not another commentary on Revelation

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Between September 2015 and April 2016 I preached 27 sermons on the book of Revelation. Our church is a very small group of believers in Knebworth, England, about 25 miles north of central London, though we actually now meet in Welwyn Garden City about 4 miles from Knebworth. Our services are recorded and put on our website (www.knebworthgracechurch.org) and the sermons are uploaded to Sermon Audio, where they are accessible via www.freegraceradio.com. As a result we have a much bigger internet congregation than the little group that gathers on a Sunday morning, and many people write to me regularly. I was asked frequently if I had considered writing up the sermons in the form of a book and finally I have bowed to the requests.

This is not another commentary on Revelation; I feel in no way qualified to undertake such a work. It is just my sermon notes expanded into the type of discourse I would have given as my sermons on Revelation. Each sermon can still be listened to on Sermon Audio and what is written in these chapters will be readily seen to be far from a transcription of those sermons. Nevertheless, I hope that what is written will come across in reading as sermonic in style and reasonably close to what was actually said when the sermons were first preached.

My basic position on Revelation for over 40 years has been a-millennial in interpretation; the vast bulk of the book is to be taken as symbolical rather than literal and I strongly believe that the a-millennial standpoint is consistent with the rest of scripture and the revelation of the gospel of grace throughout the scriptures. As a younger man I had been exposed to bizarre views arising from pre- and post-millennial teachings that, for example, saw Christ returning to reign for a literal 1,000 years in a literal Jerusalem over a world still in its sin with temple sacrifices restored. I found this literally incredible and in its place I gladly received the teaching of Stuart Olyott at Belvedere Road Baptist Church in Liverpool in the early 1970s which he had based squarely on William Hendriksens Revelation commentary, More Than Conquerors.

In preparing my sermons I was greatly helped by Don Fortners Discovering Christ In Revelation. His style is always very readable and his focus on Christ and his blessings on his people is unsurpassed. However, there are places in which readers might detect a divergence in my interpretation from Dons. That is largely because I was influenced, too, by the Revelation commentary of Herman Hoeksema, Behold He Cometh. Whilst I do not agree 100% with Hoeksemas interpretation, I find it very satisfying regarding the view he comes to of world history and Gods rule over all things for his eternal purposes and the triumph of his kingdom over Satans false kingdom.

At the time of writing this preface, some final additions to the chapters and the summary, I have no idea what will become of it all. I have no ambition for it other than to answer the requests of those who asked me to do it. It might remain as no more than a down-loadable link to a set of .pdf files. That is fine by me. If it is a blessing to anyone, I am more than happy.

Allan Jellett