Jesus Speaks to Seven of His Churches: A Historical and Exegetical Commentary on the Messages to the Seven Churches in Revelation. Electronic Christian Media, May 2017, HB Feb 2021.
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Full colour hardcover ISBN: 979-8711827122
The Online Biblical Archaeology Companion website is free for everyone and accessible through this LINK.
Introduction Video
This book is a first of its kind: an innovative exegetical commentary on the messages (letters) to the Seven Churches in Revelation (Rev 2–3). It is perhaps the most comprehensive commentary on the Seven Churches in modern times. It examines the Graeco-Roman local references from the first century, in the tradition of Sir William M. Ramsay[1] and Colin J. Hemer[2], but also considers the Hebraic-Semitic covenant lawsuit influences (see below) and deals with the material set out in Graves’ PhD dissertation “The Influence of Ancient Near Eastern Vassal Treaties on the Seven Prophetic Messages in Revelation with Special Reference to the Message to Smyrna” at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland (2008), under the late I. Howard Marshall.
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| Sir William M. Ramsay National Portrait Gallery |
Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, FBA (1851–1939) was a Scottish archaeologist and the foremost authority of his day on the history of Asia Minor and a leading scholar in the study of the New Testament. From the post of Professor of Classical Art and Architecture at Oxford, he was appointed Regius Professor of Humanity (the Latin Professorship) at the University of Aberdeen. He was knighted in 1906 and held several honorary fellowships from Oxford colleges, and nine honorary doctorates from universities around the world.
- Letter to Ephesus (Rev 2:1–7)
- Letter to Smyrna (Rev 2:8–11)
- Letter to Pergamum (Rev 2:12–17)
- Letter to Thyatira (Rev 2:18–29)
- Letter to Sardis (Rev 3:1–6)
- Letter to Philadelphia (Rev 3:7–13)
- Letter to Laodicea (Rev 3:14–22)
It is the first commentary of the seven messages arranged after the ancient Near Eastern vassal treaty structure of preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, blessing and cursing, witness, and deposit/public reading. A scholarly/academic commentary, yet accessible for students, pastors, scholars, teachers, seminarians, and interested laypeople.
SCHOLARLY PRAISE
“Dr. Graves seeks to shed light on the problem of the structure of thought in Revelation by placing the work as a whole and the messages to the seven churches in particular firmly in the context of the ancient near eastern vassal treaties that have also influenced the shape of covenantal theology in the Old Testament. This carefully researched thesis brings a new contribution to the interpretation of the apocalypse and deserves close examination.”
I. Howard Marshall, Late Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen. Recommend his New Testament Theology.
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| Sample page of Jesus Speaks to Seven of His Churches |
The Online Jesus Speaks to Seven of His Churches Companion website is free for everyone and accessible through this LINK. The website does not provide the material of the book but does provide photos from the book, enlarged and in colour, external web links, and an extended bibliography for research, along with additional bonus material that could not be put into the book due to space limitations. Includes over 175 colour photographs.
Footnotes
1. Not to be confused with Sir. William Ramsay, the Scottish Noble Prize winning Chemist. For the proper photo of Sir. William M. Ramsay (1851 – 1939) the classicist historian and archaeologist who taught at Aberdeen see National Portrait Gallery and new image in Wikipedia. Some of his many works include:
- Ramsay, William M. The Historical Geography of Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- ———. The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, Updated and Revised Edition by Dr. David E. Graves, ECM 2021.
- ———. The Cities of St. Paul. Their Influence on His life and Thought. The Cities of Eastern Asia Minor. Updated and Revised Edition by David E. Graves. ECM 2021.
- ———. St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen: Updated. Edited by Mark W. Wilson. Reprinted of 1897. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
- ———. The Letters to Seven Churches of Asia and Their Place in the Plan of the Apocalypse. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1904.
- ———. The Letters to Seven Churches: Updated. Edited by Mark W. Wilson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.
2. Some of Colin J. Hemer's (1930-1987) many works include the following. He died suddenly at the age of 57 at the prime of his work in 1987.
- Hemer, Colin J. “Seven Cities of Asia Minor.” In MCBW, edited by R. K. Harrison, 234–48. Nashville: Nelson, 1985.
- ———. “The Later Ramsay: A Supplementary Bibliography of the Published Writings of Sir William Mitchell Ramsay.” Tyndale Bulletin 22 (1971): 119–24.
- ———. The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting. The Biblical Resource Series. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
- ———. The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History. Edited by Conrad H. Gempf.WUNT 49. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990.
For a list of Colin's works see theologicalstudies.org
7X10 Black and White paperback format, 686 pages. ISBN: 978-0994806086 Available from Amazon; AbeBooks; Alibris; Barnes & Nobles; Blackwell; Biblio; and Book Depository.
7X10 Color Hardback (updated 2021) 513 pages ISBN: 979-8711827122 **
** NOTE: the hardcover edition is in full colour but does not include the foreign word and ancient writings indexes in order to conform to the page limits for hardcover printing (limit of 550 pages). Textual updates have been made since it was first published in 2017.
The Seven Messages of Revelation and Vassal Treaties: Literary Genre, Structure, and Function. Gorgias Dissertations Biblical Studies series 41. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2014. .
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