Saving God's Reputation: The Theological Function of Pistis Iesou in the Cosmic Narratives of Revelation (The Library of New Testament Studies)

Amazing tea, I rave about this tea with my friends is so good!Will be buying again when I need :)

Superb breath of fresh air. Revelation revisited with new insights that are based on Scriptural exegesis rather then re-hash of previous schools of thought. Where you start and the course you steer determines where you arrive.Requires a moderate knowledge of Koine Greek to get best out of it. So refreshing to see old theories of atonement being circumvented by what Scripture actually says in its own context rather that relying on theories that go back to early Fathers re-inforced by Reformers to present date. I can have greater assurance in trusting the God which Dr Tonstad's book reveals.

I found this book to be without equal in helping me to understand Revelation, the last and most mysterious book in the Christian Testament. While not a verse-by-verse study, Doctor Tonstad's book is an invaluable guide on how to approach Revelation. Revelation does not unlock its secrets to the casual reader. Rather, it is with continued re-reading that a clearer picture begins to emerge. Perhaps Dr. Tonstad's most valuable advice is his unorthodox suggestion that we start by reading Revelation chapters 21 and 22 so we can see how the story ends. With that clear end in mind, the reader is better equipped to navigate through its more mysterious passages. Dr. Tonstad next stresses the importance of reading Revelation chapter twelve. Appearing roughly halfway through Revelation, and while this may seem an odd place for it, it is in chapter 12 that the reader discovers a "back story" of a cosmic conflict that cannot help but inform his reading of the whole book. Once we have better knowledge of the participants in the conflict, Dr. Tonstad urges us to pay close attention to who does what; so that we do not ascribe to God what is done by another. Finally, Dr. Tonstad examines, in the original Greek, the phrase perhaps best translated as "the faithfulness of Jesus." While at first glance this may seem of no great significance, this phrase is intimately related to the "back story." Differing from a translation that focuses attention on the perseverance of the faithful, Tonstad's suggested translation speaks of the faithfulness of God (a covenant concern of Israel) which finds its ultimate expression in the the faithfulness of Jesus. It is as though one were to point to Jesus while saying "Here are they that keep the commandments of God....here is the faithfulness of Jesus," expressing how Jesus represents all humanity and that it is He who is the fullest expression of the faithfulness of God.