What if the book of Revelation isn’t a playbook for the end times? What if it isn’t a fanciful letter to be decoded? What if the apostle John actually had a pressing and relevant message for the first-century churches he addressed?

Amid the fervor for popular apocalyptic books and speculative end-times theology, New Testament scholar David deSilva offers a book to help readers thoughtfully approach Revelation as it was intended to be read by John’s audience.

In this expanded and revised edition of Unholy Allegiances: Heeding Revelation’s Warnings (Hendrickson, 2013), deSilva continues his exploration of the world of first-century Roman Asia, the context in which Revelation was written, explaining why John wrote such a graphic and startling message to the church. While many books today persist in offering innovative so-called decodings of Revelation, deSilva reminds us that John’s letter is not a historical blueprint for prophecy or prognostications but a letter about the dangers the church faced under Roman rule following Jesus’ resurrection—a warning as apt today as it was two thousand years ago.

Clear and thoroughly researched, this book offers readers:

• A levelheaded approach to the interpretation of Revelation that falls in line with scholarly approaches to all the New Testament writings addressed to specific congregations
• Historical and cultural context on the early church audience John was writing to and how it informed his message
• Reflections on the insights and challenges that Revelation offers Christians in the twenty-first century

The true power of the book of Revelation is not in a mystical unfolding of the future but in its confrontation with the unholy allegiances already at work in the world. It’s time to pay attention without playing endgames. It’s time to take Revelation seriously and focus our allegiance on the kingdom of God—not to the unholy world that competes for our loyalty and submission.