Craig R Koester
Author
Description
Since its first publication in 2001, Revelation and the End of All Things has been a highly readable guide to one of the most challenging books in the Bible. Engaging the questions people most frequently ask about Revelation and sensationalistic scenarios about the end of the world, Craig Koester takes his readers through the entirety of Revelation, offering perspectives that are clear and compelling.
In the second edition Koester provides new insights...
Author
Description
This accessible, engaging work explores the major theological dimensions of John's Gospel, including God, the world and its people, Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit, faith, and discipleship. Craig Koester's Word of Life is notable for its comprehensive treatment of themes and its close, careful focus on the biblical text, on the narrative itself.
In his introduction Koester provides a succinct overview of the Gospel and shows how...
Author
Description
Craig Koester's respected study uses the symbolic language of the Gospel of John as a focus to explore "the Gospel's literary dimensions, social and historical context, and theological import." This edition is, updated and includes, a number of new sections on such topics, as Judas and the knowledge of God. Fresh treatments are, given on a number of issues, including the Gospel's Christology. This new edition offers both new insights and proven worth...
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 10
Description
Encounter Babylon the harlot, one of the most remarkable figures in the Apocalypse. She symbolizes the city of Rome in all its ancient opulence. Two literary forms useful for understanding John's metaphor are satire and the obituary. John is both satirizing Rome's decadence and sounding its death knell.
5) Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History: Apocalyptic Fervor in the Late Middle Ages
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 17
Description
See how certain followers of St. Francis of Assisi carried Joachim's ideas even further, styling themselves players in an apocalyptic drama and predicting that the present age would end in the 13th century.
6) Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History: Seven Trumpets, Temple, and Celebration
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 7
Description
Analyze the middle section of the Apocalypse from two contrasting perspectives: first, from the futurist view that Revelation is a book of ominous predictions; then, from the literary perspective that seeks to understand how John organizes his details into a narrative that is surprisingly hopeful.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 9
Description
Trace John's depiction of evil through the images of the two beasts. The beast from the sea, whose name equals 666, works in the realm of politics. The beast from the land supports the beast from the sea through practices that serve worldly empire.
Author
Series
Description
What are we to make of the book of Revelation, with all its dramatic events and rich symbolism? Get an authoritative guide to this extraordinary work in 24 thought-provoking and enlightening lectures, divided into three parts: the historical and intellectual background of the Apocalypse; a close reading of John's text, focusing on the meaning of its images; and the wide-ranging impact of the book on Christian and Western history. Throughout these...
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 6
Description
John's distinctive images - his "word pictures" - have captured the imaginations of readers for centuries. Plunge into some of John's most vivid scenes, including the breaking of the seven seals, which unleashes the four horsemen and other startling visions.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Description
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans believed that Revelation outlined a progressive social destiny pointing to the great millennial age of peace on Earth. Meet leaders in this movement, including Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, and Julia Ward Howe, who wrote "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
11) Reading Biblical Literature: Genesis to Revelation: The complete course contains all 36 lectures
Author
Series
Description
Rightly recognized as one of the world’s most important spiritual texts, the Bible has shaped thousands of years of faith, art, and human history. Yet for all its importance to believers and nonbelievers alike, we rarely engage with the Bible as a collection of unique narratives that were only later united into what we now know as the Old and New Testaments. And these different texts - historical narratives, dramatic visions, poems, songs, letters...
12) Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History: The Battle, the Kingdom, and Last Judgment
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Description
Revelation's final chapters feature scenes that have had a powerful effect on the modern imagination, ranging from the battle of Armageddon to the final defeat of Satan and the Last Judgment. Learn the ancient context for these images, which mark the climax of God's battle against the forces of evil.
13) Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History: Revelation in African American Culture
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 20
Description
The Apocalypse has played a vital role in African American culture. Its visions of hope inspired the spirituals sung by slaves in the American South and the Dixieland favorite, "Oh when the saints go marching in." Scenes of New Jerusalem caught the imagination of Sojourner Truth and others who worked for social change.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 16
Description
Trace medieval responses to Revelation through the ideas of several influential thinkers, including the controversial monk Joachim of Fiore, whose struggle with the Apocalypse led him to the mystical insight that it was the key to the meaning of history since the Creation.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 3
Description
Consider how the apocalyptic worldview, with its strong sense of conflicting powers, was taken up and transformed by Christian writers in the New Testament. Apocalyptic themes had an important place in the early church, creating the religious matrix out of which the book of Revelation arose.
16) Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History: Revelation and the Apocalyptic Tradition
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 1
Description
Professor Koester introduces one of the most discussed books of all time: the book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse. Learn the original meaning of "apocalypse" and the importance of the apocalyptic tradition. Also survey the three-part structure of the course.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 2
Description
Investigate the world of the Hebrew prophets, whose writings deeply influenced the author of the Apocalypse. First, focus on the themes of evil and hope in such works as Ezekiel and Isaiah. Then, see how these themes are taken up in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the apocalyptic book of Daniel.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Description
Explore Revelation from a completely different perspective: its rich musical heritage. There are many songs within Revelation, and much music has been inspired by it. Examine Handel's Messiah, the hymns compiled by Charles Wesley, and gospel songs such as "Shall We Gather at the River?"
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 24
Description
Finish the course by meeting some of the contemporary theologians who show how dynamic and engaging the study of Revelation continues to be. The book has an unparalleled ability to both challenge and encourage, proving that the Apocalypse is as powerful today as it was 1,900 years ago.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 23
Description
Turn to today's most popular futuristic perspective on the end times, Dispensationalism, held by those who believe that all true Christians will be spirited up to heaven in an event called the Rapture. Examine the origins of this view, its connection to Revelation, and its mix of literal and symbolic interpretation.