(Revised Edition)
This revised edition of Dr. Mounce’s commentary on the Revelation represents a third line of tradition in this series, all of which began under the editorship of my predecessor, F. F. Bruce. Some hitherto unpublished commentaries are still scheduled to appear (as of this writing: Matthew, the Pastoral Epistles, and Jude/2 Peter), while several replacement volumes have already appeared (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and the Johannine Epistles). In other cases (Mark, John, Acts, Colossians/Philemon, Hebrews, and the present commentary) the original authors were asked to revise by updating their original volumes.
The first edition of this commentary appeared just twenty years ago. Its brisk sales record demonstrated what several reviewers prophesied, that it would become a standard within the nondispensationalist, evangelical tradition. The present edition, besides being based on the NIV and being reworked to conform to the new format of the series, has given the author an opportunity to reflect on the text once again, as well as to interact with recent scholarship.
As noted in the original Editor’s Foreword, Dr. Mounce was serving as dean of the college of arts and humanities at Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green) when the first edition appeared in 1977. Since then he served seven years as president of Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington (1981–1987), and in “retirement” extended a three-month interim into three and a half years of pastoral ministry with Christ’s Community Church in Walnut Creek, California. We welcome this revision as part of an ongoing process to upgrade and thus increase the usefulness of this series of commentaries.
GORDON D. FEE