Commentaries on Revelation sorted by Price
Prices quoted are Amazon FULL non-discounted prices as of Dec
2005
Note: in Jan 2004 Amazon were offering 30% discounts on books over $15
Books linked to
| G K Beale | $75 HB 1408pp | Very detailed, verbose, idealist interpretation. A must for the scholar and advanced student. He is usually quite readable, and he uncovers almost every stone, but most readers will find him too detailed. Most students will be better of with Mounce, Kistemaker, Osborne or Brighton. (Eerdmans Oct 1998) | Idealist Amill |
| Stephen S Smalley | $65 HB 633pp | Excellent scholarly commentary based on the Greek text, less verbose than Beale, published Sep 2005, InterVarsity Press (a must buy for the scholar and advanced students) | Amill |
| Isbon T. Beckwith | $65 PB 810 pp |
Reprint of the 1919 commentary, 416 pages of introductory studies, one for the scholars. | Premill |
| Grant R. Osborne | $49.99 HB 869pp | More accessible for the student than Beale, very readable, layout is clear, compares views of different commentators, my favorite, published Dec 2002, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Includes comments by Aune and Beale. | eclectic Premill |
| R H Mounce2nd ed. | $48 HB 439 pp | Second edition 1997. This is a good commentary suitable for the student, but it is overpriced. Well worth getting a second hand first edition (1977) which I used a lot back in 1995. Now superceeded by Beale, Osborne, Smalley (Kistemaker and Brighton are also worth looking at for students). | Pret - Future Premill |
| H B Swete | $45 PB 552pp |
Reprint of the 1906 commentary. Greek, Latin and several other European languages required, strictly for the scholar, otherwise his English is concise, precise and excellent. | Amillennial |
| Simon Kistemaker | $44.99 HB 576pp | Exposition of the Book of Revelation (New Testament Commentary) by Simon Kistemaker emeritus professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Baker Book House. Published Aug 2001 - Another good commentary (student to scholar level) | Amill |
| Louis A Brighton | $42.99 673pp |
Very good, fast becoming a favorite of mine, his summary of Rev 7 as the Church militant and the Church triumphant is superb, although I think he gets the interpretation of the harlot wrong, but excellent even so. Concordia Publishing House; (November 1999), has good reviews on Amazon. | Amill |
| Robert L Thomas, | $42.99 Vol 1 HB 524 pp $42.99 Vol 2 HB 690 pp |
Very detailed, but dispensational. Good on the Greek. He examines most alternatives which makes it useful for reference. One for the scholar. | Dispensational |
| David E. Aune | $39.99
Vol
52a 1-5 $39.99 Vol 52B 6-16, 500 pp $39.99 Vol 52C 17-22, 592 pp |
Published 1997 to 1998. Not seen yet, although the reviews say that it has a secular approach. | |
| Frederick James Murphy | $34.95 PB 416 pp | Not seen yet, see review (sociorhetorical) | |
| Steve Gregg (Ed.), | $32.99 HB 528 pp | Compares four views of Revelation (historicist, idealist, futurist, preterist) | |
| Paige Patterson | £29.99 HB | New American Commentary, Broadman & Holman Publishers. Published Nov 2000? but why are we are still waiting for it? | |
| Craig S. Keener | $29.99 HB 576 pp | The NIV Application Commentary, published 2000 Good, covers original meaning and then applies it to today which is its strength. Reasonable detail and footnotes but could do better on interpretation. Good for teachers and preachers. |
Premill |
| Eugene M. Boring, | $29.95 HB 236 pp | Not technical, suited for pastors, teachers (liberal) | Amill |
| Ian Boxall | $29.95 HB 347 pp | A good starter for students | |
| Leonard L. Thompson | $27.50 PB 288 pp | Apocalypse and Empire Not seen yet (sociorhetorical) |
|
| Austin Farrer | $27 PB 242pp |
Reprint of the 1964 edition. The Revelation of St. John Divine: Commentary on the English Text. | |
| John P Newport, | $24.99 PB 381 pp | Student, layman level, quite detailed | Premill |
| Dennis E. Johnson | $24.99 | Triumph of the Lamb : A Commentary on Revelation - P & R - very good also recommended by John Glynn (readable) | Amill |
| Caird | $24.95 HB 318 pp | Published in 1966, back then he was a pioneer. Quite detailed, more suitable for the scholar or advanced student, few footnotes. Sometimes he has little to say but when he has something to say he is worth hearing. Other pioneers include R H Charles, H B Swete, William Milligan, Isbon Beckwith, Hendriksen (1939), Austin Farrer. | Preterist |
| John F. MacArthur | $23.99 HB
Ch
1-11, 344pp $23.99 HB Ch 12-22, 224 pp |
Dispensational, disappointing on the Greek. Buy it if you must, but he misses the plot. Revelation is God's letter to the Church. | |
| Gerhard A. Krodel | $21.00 PB 391pp | This is reasonably detailed and gets to the heart of the spiritual issues, one of the better volumes for the student and pastor. If you are a pastor try to get your hands on a copy. | Premill |
| Ben Witherington | $20.99 PB 320pp |
Not a starter commentary, the PB is great value (sociorhetorical). Cambridge University Press; (September 2003) | Premill |
| J. Ramsey Michaels | $20.00 HB 300 pp | Aimed for students, pastors and bible teachers. Medium length, not over detailed, useful for preaching. | Idealist Premill |
| Kendell H. Easley | $19.99 HB 400 pp | Holman New Testament Commentary - useful non-technical, aimed for layperson, Bible study leader | Promill (sic) |
| Ladd | $18 PB 308 pp | Very readable, layman student level, this would be a useful starter for the student. | Pret- Fut Premill |
| Craig R. Koester | $18.00 PB 209 pp | Revelation and the End of All Things - Eerdmans - readable, recommended for layperson, bible study leader. | Late preterist Amill |
| Philip Mauro | $17.99 HB | Things Which Soon Must Come to Pass Not seen yet - historicist |
Historicist |
| Paul T Butler | $17.99 PB 316 pp | Difficult to judge this one (late preterist/amillennial) |
Pret Amill |
| David L. Barr | $17.95 PB | Revelation as narrative | |
| C. Marvin Pate | $16.99 HB 192pp | Four Views on the Book of Revelation (Counterpoints series). Preterist (Gentry), Idealist (Hamstra), Progressive Dispensationalist (Pate), Classsical Dispensationalist (R L Thomas). | |
| Kenneth H. Maahs | $16 PB | Not seen yet | |
| Fiorenza | $16.00 PB 150 pp | One for the scholar - good but short | Pret/Amil |
| A F Johnson | $15.99 HB 207 pp | One of my favorites, good starter for the student, quite detailed and good value (Expositors Bible Commentary) | Pret-Fut Premill |
| Michael Wilcock | $15.00 PB 223 pp | Written for the layman, but with some deep observations | Idealist Amill |
| Hendriksen | $14.99 PB 224 pp | Very readable, a classic idealist interpretation aimed at layman (1939) He recognises that the purpose of Revelation is to 'comfort the militant Church in its struggle against the forces of evil' | Idealist Amill |
| Bruce B. Barton et al | $14.99 PB 360 pp | Reasonably detailed - aimed at layman (young Christian level) and study leader and at this level a good buy. But you might be better off with Koester, Hendriksen or Morris. | Premill |
| Eugene H. Peterson | $14.95 PB 224pp |
Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination - not seen yet | |
| Wall | $14.95 PB 295 pp | Well designed simple starter for the student (best value) but not enough detail. Better off with Morris, Hendriksen or Johnson. | Premill |
| Morris | $14.00 PB 256 pp | Preterist approach, but Johnson is more detailed. Good starter for student and layman (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries). Tyndale can always be relied upon to give a sound approach to scripture. Hendriksen is also good. | Preterist Amill |
| William Barclay | $12.95
Vol
1 Ch 1-5 $12.95 Vol 2 Ch 6-22 |
A good read for the layman, he goes into Roman history, fascinating. The revised 1976 edition is getting hard to find, there is a new edited edition out but much original material is missing, so better off getting a second hand edition. | Preterist |
See also Annotated bibliography
See also a comparison of how over forty commentaries
interpret the first seal, the 144,000, the two witnesses, the woman of Ch 12,
Babylon and the millennium.
Authors cited in 7 recent commentarties (1997-2005)
Reviews of Aune, Beale, Caird, Krodel, Michaels, Mounce and Thomas can be found at Revelation Resources.
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