The Book of Revelation is an enigma even to many serious students of the Scriptures, but Dr. Tim LaHaye, originator and coauthor of the bestselling “Left Behind” series, and renowned puzzle master Timothy E. Parker will publish a book this summer that will remove the shroud of mystery surrounding the Bible’s 66th and final book.
The Book of Revelation Made Clear: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Understanding the Most Mysterious Book of the Bible (ISBN 9781400206186, $22.99) was released July 8 by Thomas Nelson.
Revelation, the authors say, “describes the end of Satan and his eventual punishment in the lake of fire, and the unveiling of a new earth and a new heaven where death, suffering, crying and pain will be no more.”
The book will be released at a time when interest in the end times is high. News reports regularly call on theologians and popular “experts” to interpret natural and man-made events in terms of biblical prophecy. Also, this fall actor Nicholas Cage will star in a reboot of the popular “Left Behind” series of movies.
Bible scholars generally consider Revelation to have been written by the Apostle John on the Greek island of Patmos near the end of the first century. He was exiled there after miraculously surviving an attempt by the Roman Emperor Domitian to boil him alive.
Revelation offers a picture of the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ through a series of visions given to John. The visions are full of dragons, beasts and other prophetic imagery of the coming apocalypse that seem strange to most modern readers.
One baffled commentator said there are “as many riddles as there are words” in Revelation.
But some things are frighteningly clear. Scripture says that the forces of evil will gather in the Valley of Megiddo—now called the Valley of Jezreel—in Israel before the climactic Battle of Armageddon. The carnage will be so great that the blood of the evil army will flow as high as horses’ bridles.
The Book of Revelation Made Clear is a collaboration between Parker, senior crossword puzzle editor of USA Today Crosswords and the “World’s Most Syndicated Puzzle Compiler” according to Guinness World Records, and LaHaye, the man he considers the world’s foremost authority on Revelation.
Their book covers every complex verse of Revelation in a way that is accessible to the average reader. Using a method that promotes retention, each section of the book begins with a pre-quiz with three multiple-choice questions, followed by the Bible verses and an explanation of what they mean. Then the questions are repeated with the answers provided. Early feedback from readers of The Book of Revelation Made Clear has been overwhelmingly positive.
