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Francis Gumerlock

Books and Articles on the Theology of Grace and Eschatology

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Book of Revelation

I Will Show Wonders in Heaven

August 5, 2014 by Frank Leave a Comment

NEW ARTICLES:  Under the sidebar “Published Articles by the Author” are two new articles.  The first is “I Will Show Wonders in the Heaven Above” published in Trinity Journal.  It examines the eschatology of an eighteenth century Baptist community in Pennsylvania, called Ephrata, and how they viewed certain comets, which had appeared at that time, as signals of end time events.

The second is “Arnobius the Younger against the Predestined One” published recently in Augustinian Studies.  Arnobius had many negative things to say in his Psalms commentary and Praedestinatus about a certain person whom he called pejoratively “predestined one.”  This article makes a case that his predestinarian opponent was the defender of Saint Augustine, Prosper of Aquitaine, who resided in Rome at the same time as Arnobius.

NEW CONFERENCE PAPERS:  Four new conference papers were posted recently on this website.  These include papers on the theology of grace of Prosper of Aquitaine, the interpretation of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 & 14, an 8th century predestination controversy in Spain, and an early Christological heresy called Nestorianism.

FORTHCOMING is my review IN Augustinian Studies of the first English translation of Fulgentius of Ruspe’s “On the Truth of Predestination” in the Fathers of the Church series.

CURRENT PROJECTS:  On the Latin to English translation of Tyconius’ Exposition of the Apocalypse, I have finished the translation, and am going over it one more time.  David Robinson is working on the introduction and footnotes.  I have also finished translations of the Apocalypse commentary in the Reference Bible, another by pseudo-Jerome, and one by Theodulph of Orleans, all from around 650-810 AD.  I am going over them one more time, and then I need to write the introduction, before sending it to publication.

Filed Under: Biblical Commentaries, Christology, Early Christian Studies, Eschatology, Medieval theology, Patristics, Theology of Grace, Translated Texts Tagged With: 144000, Apocalypse, Apocalypse commentaries, Apocalypse of Elijah, Arnobius the Younger, Augustinian Studies, Bibliotheca Sacra, Book of Revelation, Ephrata, Fulgentius of Ruspe, Grace for Grace, History of Spirituality, Nestorianism, Praedestinatus, predestination, Prosper of Aquitaine, pseudo-Jerome, Pure Flame of Devotion, Rapture, Reference Bible, Theodulph of Orleans, Trinity Journal, Tyconius

Revelation and the First Century

February 13, 2013 by Frank Leave a Comment

I am happy to announce the publication of my latest book entitled Revelation and the First Century: Preterist Interpretations of the Apocalypse in Ancient Christianity.

The Book of Revelation is a fascinating book filled with wonder, mystery, and triumph. In its visions one sees references to the coming of Antichrist, the last persecution, the last battle, the Second Coming of Christ and the general resurrection accompanying it, the Last Judgment, and everlasting life.

Many people today, however, believe that its visions contain prophecies about historical events that were going to take place shortly, that is, in the first century of Christian history. Those who oppose such a lens for interpreting the visions of the Apocalypse say that this “preterist” view of Revelation is a relatively recent phenomenon not found in early Christianity. Revelation and the First Century challenges that idea by showing that many writers in ancient and medieval Christianity indeed saw references to first century historical persons and events in John’s visions.

For example, some interpreted the “hour of testing” in Rev 3:10 as a time of trial that happened immediately after the death of the emperor Nero. Others saw in the four horsemen of the Apocalypse a description of the deeds of early Roman emperors. Some interpreted the 144,000 sealed in Rev 7 as a picture of Jewish believers in the first century. Others expressed the opinion that Nero was the beast of Rev 13, and that some of the prophecies of the Book of Revelation were fulfilled in the Roman-Judean war of 68-70 AD.

Revelation and the First Century provides citations in English translation from dozens of early commentaries showing just how they often interpreted the visions of the Apocalypse in light of first century historical events.

View the Table of Contents, PDF

To read a review by Jack Kettler, click here.

For those interested in ancient biblical interpretation, the Book of Revelation, eschatology, ancient history, and ecclesiastical history, I trust the book will be an interesting read and a valuable resource.

To order from the publisher, click here.

To order from Amazon, click here.

Filed Under: Biblical Commentaries, Early Christian Studies, Eschatology, Featured, Medieval theology, Patristics, Translated Texts Tagged With: ancient history, Antichrist, Apocalypse, beast, Book of Revelation, church history, First century, Nero, preterism, resurrection, Roman emperors, Roman-Judean War, Second Coming

Seven Seals of the Apocalypse

June 30, 2009 by Frank Leave a Comment

The Seven Seals of the Apocalypse: Medieval Texts in Translation” was recently published by Medieval Institute Publications at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Designed as a supplementary text for classroom use in medieval studies programs, and part of a medieval biblical commentary series, The Seven Seals contains fifteen translations of portions of Apocalypse commentaries from 500 to 1500 AD, showing how Christians in the middle ages interpreted Revelation 5-8.

I found much variety of interpretation on the seven seals by these biblical scholars of the middle ages. Some of them said that the opening of the seals corresponded to seven events in the life of Jesus which had been “sealed up” (concealed) in prophecies of the Old Testament. Others saw the seals as descriptions of life in the Church between the first and second comings of Christ. Still others viewed the seals as markers in a grand blueprint of history or as symbols of judgments associated with the Second Coming.

The Seven Seals includes translated texts from notables like Caesarius of Arles, who convened the Council of Orange in 529, Cassiodorus whose library at Viviarum preserved so many of the ancient texts we have today, Alcuin of York, the secretary and minister of education under the emperor Charlemagne, who is responsible for how we today write our upper and lower case letters, and Joachim of Fiore, the famous abbot from Calabria whom many regarded as a prophet in the time of the crusades.

If you are interested in how Revelation has been interpreted in the history of Christianity, The Seven Seals is a nice sampling of texts, heretofore unavailable in English translation, at a very reasonable price. I hope you enjoy it.

Frank

Filed Under: Biblical Commentaries, Early Christian Studies, Eschatology, Medieval theology, Patristics, Translated Texts Tagged With: Alcuin of York, Apocalypse, Book of Revelation, Caesarius of Arles, Cassiodorus, Joachim of Fiore, medieval Christianity, Second Coming, seven seals, Translated Texts

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