Review: A thoughtful examination of an often misread  text
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 24, 2014
The Book of Revelations is the last book of the Christian New Testament, and it is not only mysterious, it is also the fuel for much Christian hysteria and fanaticism. No other book of the Christian bible inspires such outright craziness, so I appreciate Justin Mark Staller’s no nonsense, scholarly approach to explicating John’s Revelation, and Staller’s overall theory: The Revelations are an extended allegory of the gospel teachings and life of Christ that can be understood through context and historical knowledge.Staller’s approach is thorough, common sense, and based on knowledge and research. He unfolds the B.o.R. slowly, and attempts to put everything in context as he discusses it.  He also understands that his explication flies in the face of populist (hysterical) views of the Apocalypse but more interestingly he espouses the simple, Joseph Campbell related truth, that all religious and mythical texts need to be experienced not learned second hand or absorbed culturally and unquestioningly, and the truth found through knowledge, thought, and individual discovery. He writes, “And of those adequately equipped, some are simply unprepared, being hindered by a natural aggregation of prejudices: methodological partiality, denominational preference, doctrinal preconception. To fully enter into the Revelator’s vision, many readers of necessity must set aside traditional eschatologies, christologies, or theologies which they themselves have already inherited, consciously or unconsciously, from the wider world. It takes a certain determination—or, perhaps, desperation—to launch out into the uncharted waters of the hermeneutical abyss with no clear direction, and no promise of safe passage.”  Staller’s book is an exploration, and he invites the readers along to explore too.