'This is a highly accessible commentary on what most readers find the most difficult book in the New Testament. As well as relating Revelation to its late first century context and tracking its rhetorical force, Witherington strongly refutes some of the extraordinary misinterpretations of Revelation that are so influential in contemporary America. This is a commentary which a wide range of readers will find helpful for its clarity of explanation and its theological and pastoral relevance.' Professor Richard Bauckham, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

• Part I. Introduction: 1. Authorship, date and audience of the apocalypse; 2. The resources, rhetoric and restructuring of Revelation; 3. Revelation in its social setting in West Asia Minor; 4. The christology of Revelation; 5. The genre of Revelation; 6. A brief tour of the Book of Revelation; Part II. Suggested Reading on Revelation: 1. The genre of Revelation; 2. Commentaries; 3. Rhetorical studies; 4. Sociological and anthropological approaches; 5. Classical and archaeological resources; 6. History of interpretation; 7. Theology; 8. Important monographs; 9. Articles of interest; Part III. Commentary: 1. Rev. 1.1–3: Visionary material: handle carefully; 2. Rev. 1.4–1.20: The Heavenly Son of Man; 3. Rev. 2–3: postcards from the edge; 4. Rev. 4–5: the throne room vision; 5. Rev. 6.1–8.5: The Seven Seals; 6. Rev. 8.5–11: The Seven Trumpets; 7. Rev. 12: The woman and the dragon; 8. Rev. 13.1–14.5: 666 and his spokesman; 9. Rev. 14.6–14.20: Three angelic messengers; 10. Rev. 15.1–16.21: The seven eschatological plagues; 11. Rev. 17.1–19.10: Babylon the Harlot; 12. Rev. 19.11–21.8: The rider on the white horse, redemptive-judgment and the messianic millennium; 13. Rev. 21.9–22.5: The tour of the New Jerusalem; 14. Rev. 22.6–22.21: The epilogue; Part IV. Appendix: A Millennial Problem; Index.