I have a new book out this week: An Eschatological Commentary on the Apocalypse of John

The book present my understanding of the last book of the New Testament, called the Apocalypse of John or the Book of Revelation, especially in how it relates to the End Times. I also plan to publish the book as a paperback (over 200 pages). For now it is only available in Kindle format.

Excerpt from the book:

[Revelation 1]
{1:1} The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, in order to make known to his servants the things that must soon occur, and which he signified by sending his Angel to his servant John;
{1:2} he has offered testimony to the Word of God, and whatever he saw is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
{1:3} Blessed is he who reads or hears the words of this Prophecy, and who keeps the things that have been written in it. For the time is near.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave this revelation to John, and through him to the whole Church. This book is not merely an expression of the hopes and fears of the early Christian community, as some have claimed. It is not a book describing the persecution of the early Church under Nero, as others have claimed. Nor does the book describe the persecution during the reign of the emperor Domitian, the same persecution that caused John to be exiled to Patmos. The first verse is not a lie. Jesus gave this revelation to John “in order to make known to his servants the things that must soon occur,” in other words, to reveal information about future events.

In this passage, the word “soon” is used the eschatological sense, for, at the time the book was written, the start of the apocalypse was still many hundreds of years in the future. However, in my opinion, based on my study of Scripture, the writings of the Saints, and the current signs of the times, the events at the start of the apocalypse are about to unfold. The Book of Revelation is a description of future events, which I believe are imminent and will begin during the current decade (the 2010’s).

The Apostle John wrote this book, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as a solemn testimony of the Word of God. This testimony is not the opinion or idea of John, but a revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ to His Church through John. Whosoever says otherwise is in effect calling Jesus and the Holy Spirit liars. The Book of Revelation is the solemn testimony of Jesus and the Holy Spirit about “the things that must soon occur.”

The word “apocalypsis”, in the Latin text of this book, is merely the Latinization of a Greek word meaning “revelation”. The phrasing “the things that must occur soon” is a literal translation of the Latin: “quae oportet fieri cito.” This Latin phrasing clearly and unequivocally indicates the future, even though the future tense is not used.

The faithful who read or hear the words of the Book of Revelation, and who accept these words as the Word of God about future events, will be blessed by God. The faithful during the time of the tribulation, who are guided by this book, will be blessed by God. The unfaithful who explain away this book, giving it essentially no meaning about the future, treating it as if it were not a prophecy from Jesus Christ, will not receive that same blessing. They will be in great confusion and consternation during the tribulation, not knowing what to believe.

by
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Roman Catholic theologian and
translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible.