Todd Lewis. The Revelation Mandate: The Foundations of the Priesthood of Every Believer. WestBow, 2012. See here to purchase the book.
This book mixes preterist and idealist approaches to the Book of
Revelation. The book is preterist in that it holds that the Book of
Revelation primarily concerns events surrounding the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 CE. It still seems to hold that God will judge the
powers-that-be in the future. It is rather idealist in that it
interprets several details in the Book of Revelation as general
spiritual truths about the church, such as the idea that the church
perseveres amidst a hostile world.
The book is not exactly a verse-by-verse commentary, but it does go
through the Book of Revelation sequentially. The author is familiar with
the Bible and brings in other biblical references.
The author also holds to a rather “Lordship” view of salvation: that
mere intellectual assent to the Gospel is not enough, for one needs to
obey God.
Some might see preterism as a bit of a stretch, thinking that it
artificially forces the Book of Revelation into the events of 70 CE
Jerusalem. That critique is valid. Some may not receive a lot of
spiritual encouragement from a “Lordship” view of salvation, recognizing
that they fall short.
This book is still a pleasure to read. The prose is elegant and also
weighty. The paragraphs could get rather long, in places, and that was
not always necessary. The author presents his views in a convincing
manner: not so much in the sense that his arguments reflect the only
legitimate way to interpret the Book of Revelation, but in the sense
that readers could get inside his mind and see how he arrives at his
conclusions.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through BookLook Bloggers. My review is honest.