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.
Industry Reviews
'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