Jon Paulien presents a study on the biblical view of Armageddon, beginning from a survey of the present “war on terror” to investigating the signifi cance of the term, especially from the context of the book of Revelation.
In the first two chapters, the author begins with an overview of the war on terror and the factors central to it. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the author’s personal search for the meaning of Armageddon. Chapter 5 traces the Mount Carmel theme in Revelation 12–14 and identifies the key players involved in the conflict.
The sixth chapter analyzes the end-time role and context of the seven last plagues of Revelation 16 and creates the background for interpreting Armageddon (which is related to the sixth plague). The author tackles the exegetical challenge of interpreting certain prophetic specifi cs of Armageddon in Revelation 17 (especially verse 10) in chapter 7 and (in more detail) the appendix at the end of the book.
In chapters 8 and 9, the major confederacies involved in the war of Armageddon are identified based on the author’s exegesis of the Revelation 12–17 context. Chapters 10 and 11 enumerate the major events of Armageddon, while chapter 12 contains reflections on the implications of the study’s view of Armageddon for the present time—beginning with the war on terror and concluding with basic spiritual principles pertinent to the reader’s preparedness for what is coming.
First, the book contains a basic description and explanation of the war on terror as an introduction, stating the factors affecting the two parties involved and also relating the nature of this war on terror to the real, soon-coming battle of Armageddon and end-time events. This is relevant and attractive to contemporary readers.
Second, the pastoral nature of the book can be seen as it stresses important spiritual points from prophecy by repeating them for emphasis. Third, the book simplifies the exegetical process for interpreting the apocalypse for lay members to understand and use for their own personal study. He does this by stating hermeneutical principles for interpretation. Fourth, the author clearly avoids and warns against the human tendency to make specific predictions, speculations, and date setting about the events to come. He based his work on general principles identifiable from the exegesis of the text of Revelation. He also supports these general events with quotes from the writings of Ellen G. White where necessary.
The book, logically organized and exegetically sound, is recommended not only for New Testament biblical students interested in the book of Revelation but for others who want to learn more about the topic and understand it from a biblical perspective.
