Blessed

This book by Nancy Guthrie is a practical walkthrough of the final & perhaps most mystifying & intimidating book of the Bible - Revelation.

   While the vast majority of books about this closing entry to the New Testament either try to construct a systematic theology of eschatological matters (if this is what you want you'd be better served by Moltmann's The Coming of God, although fair warning that is quite academic) or speculate wildly about the exact timelines/events prophesied herein (as far as I see most of these kinds of book are written by conspiratorially-minded crackpots & far more interested in wrangling historical allegory out of Revelation's multidimensional metaphors than they are helping us know God's ways - none are worth reading, with arguably one Very Much Fictional exception); Guthrie thankfully does neither, and instead offers us a straightforward exegesis. She defines Revelation's central message as promise, rather than doom, thereby to believing readers "a call to patient endurance of tribulation as we await the coming of Christ's kingdom in its fulness".

   After a very helpful grounding introduction, she spends twelve chapters working through the twenty-two chapters of Revelation to explore how we are blessed: by hearing the revelation of Jesus, by seeing the glorified Jesus, by being known by Jesus, by worshiping the worthiness of Jesus, by being protected by Jesus, by being on mission for Jesus, by living & dying in Jesus, by being ready for the return of Jesus, by being prepared as a bride for Jesus, by sharing in the resurrection of Jesus, by living in the New Creation with Jesus, and by keeping the words of Jesus. Each of her chapters ends with a short restatement of how we are to "hear and keep" the truths learnt prior, which make this a pastorally helpful book.

   Guthrie writes clearly & readably, and as should be obvious from this brief post this book is very much Christ-centred & full of thorough spiritual applicability. If you're a Christian reader looking to make liveable sense of John's apocalypse - look no further.