Are you interested in studying along as we move through our series? Here are a few books that you might consider reading on your own or with others.
Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination, Eugene Peterson. This is pastor Eugene Peterson’s meditation on Revelation engaging the book as the last words on scripture, Christ, church, worship, evil, prayer, witness, politics, judgment, salvation, and heaven. Excellent!
Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb Into the New Creation, Michael J. Gorman. This is a slightly more academic approach to Revelation, yet written in an accessible and helpful way. If you like Bible study, Gorman’s book is a great resource.
The Lost Letters of Pergamum, Bruce W. Longenecker. What would it have been like to live late in the first century? This “historical novel” takes the content of the New Testament and applies it creatively in a fictional, yet real, context. Using the format of a collection of letters, it chronicles the challenges of one first century community struggling to be faithful to God in a hostile world.
The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis. This classic by Lewis is not a reflection or study of the book of Revelation. It is an imaginative journey onto the shores of heaven with a guide who relates his experiences and conversations as he contemplates taking a journey into the “high country.” This is one of my favorite books. I read it yearly.
Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright. Eschatology is the theology discipline that studies “last things,” from the Greek words, “eschaton” meaning “next” or “last” and “Logos” meaning “word” or “study.” New Testament scholar and pastor Tom Wright has written a tremendously helpful and creative book exploring what the New Testament has to say about final realities.