Revelations

Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

By: Elaine Pagels

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Elaine Pagels explores the surprising history of the most controversial book of the Bible. In the waning days of the Roman Empire, militant Jews in Jerusalem had waged an all-out war against Rome’s occupation of Judea, and their defeat resulted in the desecration of the Great Temple in Jerusalem. In the aftermath of that war, John of Patmos, a Jewish prophet and follower of Jesus, wrote the Book of Revelation, prophesying God’s judgment on the pagan empire that devastated and dominated his people. Soon after, Christians fearing arrest and execution championed John’s prophecies as offering hope for deliverance from evil. Others seized on the Book of Revelation as a weapon against heretics and infidels of all kinds.

Even after John’s prophecies seemed disproven - instead of being destroyed, Rome became a Christian empire - those who loved John’s visions refused to discard them and instead reinterpreted them - as Christians have done for 2,000 years. Brilliantly weaving scholarship with a deep understanding of the human needs to which religion speaks, Pagels has written what may be the masterwork in her unique career.

©2012 Elaine Pagels (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Revelations is a slim book that packs in dense layers of scholarship and meaning . . . One of [Elaine Pagels's] great gifts is much in abundance: her ability to ask, and answer, the plainest questions about her material without speaking down to her audience . . . She must be a fiendishly good lecturer." (The New York Times)

"One of the significant benefits of Pagels's book is its demonstration of the unpredictability of apocalyptic politics . . . The meaning of the Apocalypse is ever malleable and ready to hand for whatever crisis one confronts. That is one lesson of Pagels's book. Another is that we all should be vigilant to keep some of us from using the vision for violence against others." (The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice)

"Pagels is an absorbing, intelligent, and eye-opening companion. Calming and broad-minded here, as in her earlier works, she applies a sympathetic and humane eye to texts that are neither subtle nor sympathetically humane but lit instead by fury." (Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker)

An inspiring study made vivid

Would you listen to Revelations again? Why?

I would listen to Revelations again because there are references to gnostic materials that I want to hear again.

What other book might you compare Revelations to and why?

I would compare it to Stranger Magic by Marina Warner. Primarily because they approach the material of myth in a broad, carefully considered manner.

Pagel Expands Our Understanding of Revelation

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in commentaries of the Bible. Pagel's generally broadens our understanding of the way the Bible was put together--how decisions were made and why.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Revelations?

The conclusions near the end, emphasizing why Revelation was chosen over other visionary writings of the time--and what these other writings have to teach us---was enlightening.

What about Lorna Raver’s performance did you like?

Her reading was clear, her pronunciations very good, and in general she seemed to understand the material she was handling.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to it in about three sittings, and I would not recommend stretching out the listening process. Too much would be lost between sessions. One needs to stay in the "flow" of the book.

Any additional comments?

I think religious fundamentalists would not like this book, but then it was not written for them. Pagels writes in terms that any interested person can comprehend. I think her popularity has been her ability to avoid strictly "theological" terminology and language.

Less about the book of Revelations, more about time period politics

I was looking for a book that could potentially explain Revelations, so I was a little disappointed, yet curious, when I realized this book was more about the political context related to the writing and inclusion of Revelations in the bible. Still, it is very interesting stuff, especially the part about "secret books" of the bible. Will certainly be looking up the gnostic gospels in the future. Worth a listen for context sake.

A Fuller View of early Christianity

Dr. Pagels gives a much fuller view of the historical setting of the book of Revelation in the Christian Bible than I received in a Christian seminary and years of church history courses and study. (Why this occurred, I can't say but it does make me wonder what else was left out.)

Dr. Pagels gives an excellent summary of the biblical book of Revelation (IMHO) and she also gives the historic interpretation of the book (which I agree with). Her picture of the writer of the book of Revelation and how it came to be included in the Christian Canon was also enlightening. She also dealt with other book of "Revelation" that were floating around the Christian communities and that is very helpful in placing the biblical book of Revelation in the historical context. Since there were scores of books of revelation and since she writes about more than the biblical book of Revelation, her book is quite aptly entitled "Revelations".

Dr. Pagels has given a fuller picture of the historic setting and I greatly appreciate it. Knowing the path of how the biblical book of Revelation came to be included in the Christian Canon makes me, I believe, better educated on the subject. One of the issues of biblical translation is how to translate poor quality Greek original into English. (Revelation is not the only biblical book to have these issues; 2nd Peter is another.) English translators tend to homogenize fluent and poor Greek into a readable and seamless whole which makes it harder for the individual reader to understand that different people wrote the New Testament books and, sometimes, the titled writer did not actually write a particular book. While this does not necessarily create a problem, it does unnecessarily and regrettably isolate the reader from the text.

As someone with 12 years of formal theological education in Christian institutions, I heartily recommend "Revelations" and Dr. Pagels' other books. I thank her for her dedication to the important subject of Christian origins and beginnings.

Great book

Great book however I would not agree with her conclusions. Very insightful. A must for serious bible students.

Elaine Pagels does it again!

I always enjoy professor Pegel's books and audiobooks. This book and also the accompanying audiobook is historically detailed and provides very concise background regarding John of Parmos' Book of Revelation, providing social details of that period of human history, and also other religious works from the same time period. It was very interesting to learn the background of what and why we have what we do as the accepted Old and New Testament. The power struggle among the early church leaders explains a lot about how the Roman government stole a religion, how the formation of the early Roman Catholic Church assured women lost their place in early Christianity, and also how a strong-willed clergy can take over nations and gain vast amounts of wealth.

I don't want to seem to throw negative insinuations toward any religion, but the knowledge and comparisons are there to understand and make for yourself. After all, one should remember that the most important thing about Christianity is Christ!

I think it behooves each person truly interested in knowing and understanding the totality of Christianity should study the deeper aspects of Christianity, especially it's early teachings, not just the teachings that someone approximately 1700 years ago decided that you should know about and study.

The full God, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit are very much alive in this day and age, as they always have been, and always will be. Thank you for reading this review and my views regarding this work by Elaine Pagels.

Good book to get

Topic was very interesting. Narration was also done well. Interesting to make the connection of what was going on during the period when it was written and some of it's meaning.

Excellent info & narrator

Excellent background and highly informative with an emotive and wonderful narrator. Recommend for those seeking historical background on the most divisive book of the new testament.

Thought provoking illuminating yet fun

Page turner with arresting insights on almost every page explaining first four centuries of Chriianity and Book of Revelations

Historical view of Revelations

In this book, Pagels puts Revelations in its historical context and shows how it lies in the tradition of Jewish prophetic/apocalyptic literature and how it may be related to gnostic-Christian literature. She described, correctly in my opinion, how it was really a rather close thing that the book came to be included in the New Testament--still being debated in the 3rd and 4th centuries, as the canon was solidified. Pagel's book is required reading for anyone who thinks the New Testament and particularly the book of Revelations was simply dropped out of the sky by God one day. She devotes a good deal of space in the book to Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria. Was he a saint, a villain, or both? Fascinating account--how he co-opted the monasteries, how his Life of Anthony, the book that so influenced later Christians, is likely rather pure fiction to promote Church control of monasteries. Athanasius was responsible for suppressing gnostic writings (and, of course, Arius) and may have been the ultimate cause of the gnostic books being hidden at Nag Hammadi. Since this was the time of Emperor Constantine, Athanasius had to reinterpret the beast in Revelations to refer to Christian heretics rather than its rather obvious original 1st century reference to the Roman Empire. This is but one example, as she points out, of the continuing reinterpretation of the symbolism in this book over subsequent centuries to explain present calamities or to predict future ones. Lots more to the book than I can cover here. I thoroughly enjoyed the it. I also liked the reader--strong female voice for a strong writer.