Book of Revelation: Written to be Understood by its Original 1st-Century Readers
Book of Revelation: Written to be Understood by its Original 1st-Century Readers Below is the first of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell: " We come now to the consideration of the most difficult and obscure part of divine Revelation, and we may well pause on the threshold of a region so shrouded in mystery and darkness . The conspicuous failures of the wise and learned men who have too confidently professed to decipher the mystic scroll of the apocalyptic Seer [John] warn us against presumption. We might even feel justified in declining altogether a task which has baffled so many of the ablest and best interpreters of the Word of God. But, on the other hand , do we honour the book by refusing to open it, and pronouncing it hopelessly obscure ? Are we justified in so treating any portion of the Revelation which...