Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Map of Western Asia Minor and the Island of Patmos -- I. Introduction -- II. Suggested Reading on Revelation -- The Genre of Revelation -- Commentaries -- Rhetorical Studies -- Sociological and Anthropological Approaches -- Classical and Archaeological Resources -- History of Interpretation -- Theology -- Important Monographs -- Articles of Interest -- III. Commentary -- Revelation 1.1-1.3 - Visionary Material: Handle Carefully -- Revelation 1.4-1.20 - The Heavenly Son of Man -- Revelation 2-3 - Postcards from the Edge -- Revelation 4-5 - The Throne Room Vision -- Revelation 6.1-8.5 - The Seven Seals -- Revelation 8.5-11.19 - The Seven Trumpets -- Revelation 12 - The Woman and the Dragon -- Revelation 13.1-14.5 - 666 and His Spokesman -- Revelation 14.6-14.20 - Three Angelic Messengers -- Revelation 15.1-16.21 - The Seven Eschatological Plagues -- Revelation 17.1-19.10 - Babylon the Harlot -- Revelation 19.11-21.8 - The Rider on the White Horse, Redemptive-Judgment, and the Messianic Millennium -- Revelation 21.9-22.5 - The Tour of the New Jerusalem -- Revelation 22.6-22.21 - The Epilogue -- App. IV. A Millennial Problem.

"This book is the first of its kind: an innovative socio-rhetorical commentary on the book of Revelation. Without sacrificing scholarly perspective or academic rigor, it is written to be accessible for a wide audience - including pastors, scholars, teachers, seminarians, and interested laypeople. A "Suggested Reading" list - a feature of all volumes in the New Cambridge Bible Commentary - will serve as a point of entry for the new serious student of Revelation and as a helpful annotated bibliography for all readers. Frequent "Closer Look" sections examine key elements of the Roman-Greco world that bear on the text's meaning, while "Bridging the Horizons" articles connect this world with the cultural, political, and religious environments of today. The entire NRSV translation is provided throughout the text as a convenience to the reader. Award-winning author Ben Witherington III brings a New Testament scholar's insight and successful clergyman's lucidity to the often opaque passages of the last book of the New Testament."--BOOK JACKET.