An Introduction to Reading the Apocalypse

'[The Apocalypse] is a book widely misunderstood, that has given rise to numerous strange heresies; and yet it is a book that we neglect at our peril, for it speaks to us, in the most literal sense, about matters of life and death'eternal life, eternal death. Here, more than anywhere else in Scripture, we recognize the truth of the Ethiopian's reply to Philip: 'How can I understand what I am reading, unless someone guides me?' (Acts 8:31) 'In Fr Columba Flegg we have found exactly the guide who can help us. His tone is sober and his words are as precise as possible; and this is of crucial importance when commenting on a text that has occasioned so much bizarre speculation. While open to the insights provide by modern biblical scholarship, he takes as his basic guideline the interpretation given by the Fathers. As we read his pages, gradually we see unfolding before us the coherence of the Apocalypse, the true unity of its cosmic vision.' Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, from the Foreword