This book is about the various ways in which the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) has been interpreted over the last 300 years. It examines in detail Methodist, Baptist, English Anglican and Roman Catholic uses of Revelation from 1600 to 1800, and then American Millerism and Seventh-day Adventist uses from 1800 on. The book argues that, far from being a random sequence of bizarre statements, millennial schemes (including the setting of dates for the second coming of Christ) are more often characterized by complex and internally consistent interpretations of scripture. As an example, the work of David Koresh is examined at length. Koresh, styled by some the ‘Wacko from Waco’, clearly had views which some would find odd. However, his interpretation of scripture did not lack system or context, and to see him in that light is to begin to understand why his message had appeal.
• Seeks to understand the internal logic of interpretative methodologies that appear to the outsider to be strange in the extreme (including how dates for the second coming are arrived at) • Argues that texts, even apocalyptic ones, can yield to and serve the interests of the strong as well as the weak • Seeks for the first time to understand David Koresh’s interpretative scheme, a scheme that was absolutely central to the famous Waco stand-off
Contents
1. Introduction: texts, eisegesis and millennial expectation; 2. Hanserd Knollys, Benjamin Keach and the Book of Revelation: a study in Baptist Eisegesis; 3. Revelation 13 and the Papal Antichrist in eighteenth-century England; 4. Catholic apocalypse: the Book of Revelation in Roman Catholicism from 1600 to 1800; 5. Methodists and the millennium: eschatological belief and the interpretation of biblical prophecy; 6. Charles Wesley: prophetic interpreter; 7. William Miller, the Book of Daniel, and the end of the world; 8. ‘A Lamb-like Beast’: Revelation 13:11-18 in the Seventh-day Adventist tradition; 9. Waco apocalypse: the Book of Revelation in the Branch Davidian tradition.
Reviews
From the hardback review: ‘Read and be challenged!’ Baptist Times
From the hardback review: 'Well-documented and supplied with excerpts from primary source materials, Newport's study provides an intriguing look at how the book of Revelation has frequently been the victim of highly subjective exegesis. The practical result of this work is that better understanding of the exegetical assumptions and approaches of apocalyptically-minded groups like the Branch Davidians may help prevent another Waco-like disaster.' Perspectives in Religious Studies
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