Today we discuss the book Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes.

Tremper Longman III joins David Capes to talk about his book, Revelation through Old Testament Eyes (Kregel Academic 2022).  Although Dr. Longman is an Old Testament expert, he is the right person to take on the last book of the New Testament.  Revelation is “chocked full” of biblical, micro-allusions. 

Dr. Longman’s book is part of a new series of biblical and theological commentaries by Kregel, edited by Andy LePeau.

  Books such as Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah provide a strong background to John’s Revelation.  The Apocalypse, as it is also called, orbits around many of the same themes as Daniel. 

Jewish believers at the time of these books were persecuted and marginalized.  It looked as if evil was in control; but the big takeaway from Daniel and Revelation is that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is in control.  Though God’s authority is veiled for now; in the future it will be revealed.  It is a book relevant for today as many Jesus followers feel increasingly marginalized in secular society. 

In particular, Tremper discusses two passages related to the second coming: Revelation 1 and Revelation 19.  Both are full of imagery derived from the Old Testament.  Anyone with Old Testament eyes could see it and hear it!  That is the point of the series.  If we knew the Old Testament well, how would that help us read these New Testament books better. What insight would we have that may not be apparent otherwise?

Though there are only a few quotations of the Hebrew Bible in Revelation, nearly every verse has a symbol, an image, a reference to these earlier books. This is where understanding Old Testament references would really make a difference.

In an earlier podcast Dr. Capes talked with Andy LePeau regarding his book, Mark through Old Testament Eyes (Kregel Academic).  This is a part of the same “Old Testament Eyes” series. You can hear that podcast (20 minutes) here.