Days of Vengeance - The Preterist Archive

FOREWORD
Foreword
Readers of the Book of Revelation are either
mesmerized or mystified by it. The mesmerized come up
with such startling interpretations that the mystified
often conclude that sober-minded Christians should
leave the book well alone.
David Chilton’s commentary ought to be studied by
both types of reader. He shows that Revelation is a
book, like every other book of the New Testament,
addressed primarily to the first-century church and
easily understood by them, because they were
thoroughly familiar with Old Testament imagery. He
shows that once we grasp these idioms, Revelation is
not difficult for us to understand either.
Revelation remains, though, a challenging and
relevant book for us, not because it gives an outline of
world history with special reference to our era, but
because it shows us that Christ is in control of world
history, and how we should live and pray and worship.
In vivid powerful imagery it teaches us what it means to
believe in God’s sovereignty and justice. May this
valuable commentary prompt us to pray with John and
the universal church in heaven and on earth, ‘Even so
come, Lord Jesus!’
Gordon Wenham
The College of St. Paul and St. Mary
Cheltenham, England
Author’s Preface
From the very beginning, cranks and crackpots have
attempted to use Revelation to advocate some new
twist on the Chicken Little Doctrine: The Sky is Falling!
But, as I hope to show in this exposition, St. John’s
Apocalypse teaches instead that Christians will
overcome all opposition through the work of Jesus
Christ. My study has convinced me that a true
understanding of this prophecy must be based on the
proper application of five crucial interpretive keys:
1. Revelation is the most “Biblical” book in the
Bible. St. John quotes hundreds of passages from
the Old Testament, often with subtle allusions
to little-known religious rituals of the Hebrew
people. In order to understand Revelation, we
need to know our Bibles backward and forward.
One reason why this commentary is so large is
that I have tried to explain this extensive
Biblical background, commenting on numerous
portions of Scripture that shed light on St.
John’s prophecy. I have also re-printed, as
Appendix A, Philip Carrington’s excellent
survey of the Levitical symbolism in Revelation.
2. Revelation has a system of symbolism. Almost
everyone recognizes that St. John wrote his
message in symbols. But the meaning of those
symbols is not up for grabs. There is a systematic
structure in Biblical symbolism. In order to
understand Revelation properly, we must
become familiar with the “language” in which it
is written. Among other goals, this commentary
seeks to bring the Church at least a few steps
closer to a truly Biblical Theology of Revelation.
3. Revelation is a prophecy about imminent
events – events that were about to break loose
on the world of the first century.
Revelation is not about nuclear warfare, space
travel, or the end of the world. Again and again
it specifically warns that “the time is near!” St.
John wrote his book as a prophecy of the
approaching destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.
70, showing that Jesus Christ had brought the
New Covenant and the New Creation.
Revelation cannot be understood unless this
fundamental fact is taken seriously.
4. Revelation is a worship service. St. John did
not write a textbook on prophecy. Instead, he
recorded a heavenly worship service in progress.
One of his major concerns, in fact, is that the
worship of God is central to everything in life. It
is the most important thing we do. For this
reason I have devoted special attention
throughout this commentary to the very
considerable liturgical aspects of Revelation,
and their implications for our worship services
today.
5. Revelation is a book about dominion. Revelation
is not a book about how terrible the Antichrist
is, or how powerful the devil is. It is, as the
very first verse says, The Revelation of Jesus
Christ. It tells us about His lordship over all; it
tells us about our salvation and victory in the
New Covenant, God’s “wonderful plan for our
life”; it tells us that the kingdom of the world
has become the Kingdom of our God, and of His
Christ; and it tells us that He and His people
shall reign forever and ever.
I have many people to thank for making this book
possible. First and foremost, I am grateful to Dr. Gary
North, without whose patience and considerable
financial investment it simply could not have been
written. The week I moved to Tyler, Gary took me
along on one of his periodic book-buying sprees at a
large used bookstore in Dallas. As I helped him haul
hundreds of carefully chosen volumes to the
checkstand (I bought a few books, too – a couple every
hour or so, just to keep my hand in the game), Gary
asked me what long-term project I’d like to work on,
along with my other duties at the Institute for Christian
Economics. “How about a medium-sized, popular-style,
introductory-level, easy-to-read book on Revelation?” I
suggested. “I think I could knock something like that
out in about three months.” That was, almost to the
day, 3 years and six months ago – or, as Gary might be
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