Gospel in Revelation. Gospel and Apocalypse

170 Pages·1984·2.79 MB·English

by  Graeme Goldsworthy

Former Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at Moore
Theological College, Sydney, Graeme Goldsworthy is
author of Gospel and Kingdom: A Christian
Interpretation of the Old Testament, Gospel and
Wisdom: Israel's Wisdom Literature in the Christian
Life, and, most recently, According to Plan: The
Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. He is
currently Associate Minister of St Stephen' s,
Coorparoo, Brisbane.
In his characteristically pithy and lucid style;
Goldsworthy offers here a fresh understanding of the
purpose and contemporary relevance of Revelation,
arguing that the gospel is the key to unlocking its
meaning. This exemplary study is further informed by
the author's knowledge of Old Testament literary
idiom and structure.
The Paternoster Press
PO Box 300, Carlisle,
Cumbria. CA3 OQS UK
ISBN 0-85364-630-9
9 780853 646303 >
THE
GOSPEL
IN
REVELATION
Gospel and Apocalypse
GRAEME GOLDSWORTHY MA, ThD
THE PATERNOSTER PRESS
Carlisle UK
Copyright © 1984 Graeme Goldsworthy
This edition 1994
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publisher or a licence permitting
restricted copying. In the U.K. such licences are issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 TottenhamCourt
Road, London WIP 9HE.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall
not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired
out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior
consent in any form of binding or cover other than that
in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.
Passages from The Holy Bible, New International Version
Copyright © 1978 by New York International Bible Society.
<'irst published in Great Britain 1978, used by persmission of the
New York International Bible Society.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Goldsworthy, Graeme
Gospel in Revelation: Gospel and
Apocalypse. - New ed. - (Biblical
Classics Library)
I. Title 11. Series
228.06
ISBN 0-85364-630-9
Typeset by Busby Typesetting & Design, Exeter
and Printed in the U.K. for The Paternoster Press,
P.O. Box 300, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA30QS
by Cox and Wyman Ltd, Reading
DEDICATED
TO ALL WHO SUFFER PERSECUTION
FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST,
AND ESPECIALLY TO THE CHRISTIANS
IN SOVIET-OCCUFIED ESTONIA.
Ja nemad on tema
voitnud Talle vere tottu
ja oma tunnistuse sona tottu ...
Ilmutuse 12: 11
(Revelation 12:11)

Contents
PREFACE 9
INTRODUCTION 11
I. I saw a Lamb standing as though it had been slain 21
The Gospel as the Key to Revelation
2. The tribulation and the kingdom 31
The Gospel and our Present Sufferings
3. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb 41
Justification by Faith in Revelation
4. The great day of God Almighty 58
Biblical Perspectives on the End of the World
5. To him who overcomes 78
The Letters to the Seven Churches
6. I saw a beast coming out of the sea 87
The Apocalyptic and Prophetic Passages
7. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain lOO
The Hymnic Passages
8. And there was war in heaven 113
Conflict and Armageddon
9. I saw a new heaven and a new earth 132
The Final Separation
10. Come, Lord Jesus! 148
Living in Hope for the Future
APPENDIX: What is the Mark of the Beast? 154
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND NAMES 161
INDEX OF BIBLE REFERENCES 165
List of Diagrams
Fig. I. Three Views about the Millennium 20
Fig. 2. The Structure of the Book of Revelation 57
Fig. 3. The Two Ages in the Old Testament 66
Fig. 4. Two Perspectives on the End 71

Preface
This book is not a commentary and it is not intended to
compete with the already large amount of commentary on the
text of the Book of Revelation that is readily available. It is
largely the outcome of my own attempts to expound the
essential, contemporary message of Revelation in three
separate Bible Study groups and in a series of public lectures
at a Bible College. These expositions took place within a
period of some nine or ten years and each lasted about three
or four months. Within that period I was prompted from
time to time to reflect on the broad plan and purpose of
Revelation in relation to the overall pattern of biblical
revelation. Exposition in informal groups permitted much
useful dialogue with other Christians about how Revelation
spoke to our real life situations. Perhaps it was also inevitable
that my own keen interest in the Christian significance of the
Old Testament should lead me to that book which not only
contains more Old Testament quotations than any other
book of the New Testament, but which also preserves the Old
Testament literary idioms and thought patterns in a way
unparalleled in the New Testament. I am grateful to those
colleagues and friends who read the manuscript at various
stages, and who made helpful suggestions and encouraged
me. I am especially indebted to Mrs. Ellenor Neave for typing
the manuscript.
GRAEME GOLDSWORTHY,
St. Stephen's Anglican Church,
Coorparoo, Brisbane.
9