William Edward Dewberry. Revelation and the Antichrist: A Commentary. WestBow Press, 2012. See here to buy the book.
William Edward Dewberry was a data communications technician at AT&T and is currently retired. This book, Revelation and the Antichrist, is a commentary on the Book of Revelation.
Overall, the prose of this book is well-written. It flows smoothly, and there is no stylistic awkwardness that I can recall.
There is a lot of regurgitating of what the biblical text says
accompanied by fairly obvious homiletical commentary. You will not find
much in here about, say, the identity of the Antichrist. But there are
interesting interpretations, here and there. Dewberry states that
Satan is confined to the Abyss right now and has been there since the
ascension of Christ, but he will be released in the end times, causing
such mayhem as the Antichrist. He interprets the Temple as the
persecuted church of God, and the two witnesses as the church’s
proclamation with the word and the Spirit of God. In a rare attempt to
interpret details of Revelation in light of the book’s historical
context, Dewberry states that the white stone promised to the church at
Pergamum is a white stone communicating a verdict of innocence, which
existed in first century courts. God is declaring the suffering church
at Pergamum innocent.
The book is a combination of a variety of perspectives. When Christ
says that he is showing John what will shortly come to pass or affirms
that he will come quickly, Dewberry interprets that to mean that, when
Christ does return, it will be rapidly. No first century expectations
of an imminent end there. Dispensationalists have argued similarly
about the Book of Revelation. Dewberry interprets the letters to the
seven churches as related to the first century, and the rest of the book
as related to the future end time. His interpretation of the
millennium leans towards the amillennial side.
Whether the book is convincing in terms of its interpretations, that
is up to the reader. I can somewhat sympathize Dewberry’s claim that
Satan is currently in the Abyss and will be released at the end time.
Revelation does appear to depict a particularly heightened time of
Satanic deception and torment of people, and tormenting spirits do
emerge from underground in the Book of Revelation. At the same time, to
say that Satan is currently confined to the Abyss is a bit problematic,
as Revelation 12:10 seems to depict him accusing the brethren day and
night, which would take place in heaven. Moreover, there are New
Testament passages that depict Satan as active on earth during the time
of the first century church. Dewberry’s interpretation of the Temple as
the church rather than as a future, literal reconstructed Temple is
plausible. This claim may have been more interesting, however, had
Dewberry explained what II Thessalonians 2:4 means when it says that the
man of sin will sit in the Temple of God claiming to be God; will he
come from the church?
A lot of Dewberry’s interpretive moves are assertions rather than
arguments. In a sense, a lot of interpretation of the Book of
Revelation, in general, can be speculative, but perhaps Dewberry’s book
would have been more interesting had it had more exegetical meat, or
engaged different perspectives.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My review is honest.