The Apocalypse of John: A Commentary

Product Description

This major, paradigm-shifting commentary on Revelation brings Francis Moloney’s keen narrative and exegetical work to bear on one of the most difficult and misinterpreted texts in the biblical canon.

From the Inside Flap

“Francis Moloney has given us a remarkable commentary that is deeply sensitive to the literary artistry of Revelation. He reads the Apocalypse in the same way that John’s intended reader (the implied reader) approaches it: with a word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph sequential reading of the narrative. Challenging the traditional view that Revelation was written to address the suffering of the Christian community under Roman persecution, Moloney provides a compelling case for a divergent reading–one that sees the saving effects of Jesus’ death and resurrection as the key to this enigmatic book. His commentary is a breed apart, fascinating and abreast with contemporary scholarship on Revelation.”
—
James L. Resseguie, Winebrenner Theological Seminary (emeritus)

From the Foreword
“I greet the publication of this study by Francis J. Moloney with gratitude and hope.
Gratitude for the dedication he has given to my interpretation of the Apocalypse, translating a first version into English as far back as 1983 (
The Apocalypse: The Perennial Revelation of Jesus Christ). He has returned to it as inspiration for his own reading of the Johannine text with this new publication. I greet it with
hope that his efforts will continue to spread and deepen, among those who approach John’s book for motives of faith or scholarship, the central idea that we share. The ‘revelation’ of the Apocalypse is not an obscure prophecy about the catastrophic end of the world and the second coming of Christ. On the contrary, it is the story of a past event that embraces the whole of the history of salvation, beginning with the creation of the world and culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. . . . I trust that Professor Moloney’s careful, profound, and skillful capacity to capture the narrative shape of the text will reopen debate on John’s book, guided by the hermeneutic I suggested many years ago. It may appear to be new, but it is in fact as old as the earliest Christian communities that read the Apocalypse, not as an announcement of the kingdom of God that will be realized only at the end of all time, but as a symbolic commentary on the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
—
+Eugenio Corsini

From the Back Cover

“A remarkable commentary”
This paradigm-shifting commentary on Revelation brings Francis Moloney’s keen narrative and exegetical work to bear on one of the most difficult, mysterious, and misinterpreted texts in the biblical canon. The book includes a foreword by Eugenio Corsini.

“Francis Moloney, renowned as a specialist on the Fourth Gospel, here turns to the book of Revelation. Inspired by the work of Italian scholar Eugenio Corsini, Moloney offers a vigorous challenge to readings of Revelation as an ‘apocalyptic’ work focused on eschatological judgment. With astute sensitivity to the rhetoric of this ‘genre-bending’ text, Moloney argues that Revelation celebrates the eternal victory of the sacrificed Lamb over all powers of evil. His persuasive reading of Revelation as a work of ‘realized’ eschatology will stimulate debate but will also inspire a deeper appreciation for this complex, visionary book, particularly relevant in an ‘apocalyptic’ epoch.”
—
Harold W. Attridge, Yale Divinity School

“Francis Moloney offers a much-needed perspective to the interpretive conversation about the Apocalypse (the book of Revelation). Reinvigorating a long-standing mission to bring Eugenio Corsini’s voice into the global scholarly discussion, Moloney, in his customarily engaging and accessible manner, challenges readers to encounter this text as a genre-bending, apocalyptic reenvisioning of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both late first