Revelation through Old Testament Eyes, by Tremper Longman III. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2022. 368 pp. $29.99.
Tremper Longman needs no introduction to anyone even slightly familiar with evangelical Old Testament scholarship. During his illustrious career at Westminster Theological Seminary and Westmont College, Longman authored or co-authored a wide range of books, most notably a significant number of commentaries and an Old Testament introduction. He now brings his expertise to a niche New Testament commentary.
Neither Longman’s contribution on Revelation nor the series as a whole are meant to replace the standard commentaries on one’s shelf. Rather, they are intended to focus specifically on quotations and allusions to the Old Testament books, as well as general points of contact on background and theology between the New Testament text and the Old Testament.
While differing significantly in content from a normal commentary, Revelation through Old Testament Eyes for the most part follows the normal pattern of regular commentaries. The very brief introduction contains no surprises, though this writer appreciated Longman’s willingness to stress that the apocalyptic genre does possess “an interest in the future” (17). Longman then proceeds chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse, though the amount of space devoted to each verse depends on the amount of OT background material detected. One key difference from regular commentaries are the special, gray sections where Longman either discusses the overall structure of the section or a specific theological theme in Revelation in light of the Old Testament. Indeed, this is a key strength of the book (see below). One unfortunate side-effect of this approach is that matters of cultural background relevant to Revelation are short-changed, but, again, this book is not meant to replace regular commentaries but to supplement them.
Naturally, Longman’s commentary deals with the many places in Revelation where John is clearly alluding to a specific OT passage (e.g., Dan 7:13 in Rev 1:7) (38). A strength of the commentary, however, is Longman’s ability to discuss the more general background of the Old Testament world in a way that illuminates the language of Revelation. For example, Longman’s discussion of Rev 15:8 and the significance of smoke related to the presence of God is a masterful exploration of a neglected OT theme that is relevant for John’s vision (230), and his perspective on the Isaiah background to Jesus’s blood-spattered robes is very helpful (273) . Longman does, however, attempt to avoid “parallelomania” (a term popularized some decades ago by Samuel Sandmel), as evidenced by his careful treatment of the “falling star” in 8:10–11 (136).
Despite the generally excellent observations, some oddities occur. Longman’s refusal to consider Job 1 and 2 as relevant background to Satan in Revelation is odd; he suggests that the “Satan” in Job 1 and 2 and Zechariah 3:1–2 most likely refers to “an angel in God’s service who has taken on the role of an ‘accuser’” (192). That “an angel in God’s service,” with presumably the same moral alignment as God, would take delight in torturing and attempting to cause God’s servant to sin, is simply too much for this reviewer to swallow.
One of the greatest strengths of the book are those gray sections where Longman explores a key theological theme (“Going Deeper into…”). Pages 88–90, for example, discussing “Going Deeper into Worship,” and 225–226, “Going Deeper into the Fear of God,” expertly model canonical biblical theology, often with practical observations. Longman’s sensitivity to questions of systematic theology is also appreciated, such as when he offers a rebuttal to Gregory Boyd’s attempt to eliminate any sort of violent divine judgment (106). Elsewhere, Longman (with a bit of personal testimony) offers the theologically perceptive observation that “the Bible teaching on hell has a redemptive purpose” (286). In other words, one key reason for purchasing this book is for its theological wisdom.
Yet it is precisely at that point, i.e., Longman’s own strongly conservative yet Reformed theological commitments, that one encounters some of the book’s weaknesses. Indeed, this reviewer would even go so far as to suggest that a few times in the book Longman’s theological perspective at times overrides, and virtually nullifies, the Old Testament background.
One example is Longman’s view that the 144,000 in Revelation 7:4–8, the innumerable multitude of 7:9–10, and the two witnesses of 11:7 all represent the entirety of God’s people (see 116, “all of God’s people”; 122, “these are two ways of describing the same group,” etc.) This renders completely irrelevant the description of the 144,000, and raises the issue that if, hypothetically, John had wanted to depict a certain group as Jews, there is no way he could have done so any more clearly than Revelation 7:4–8.
Furthermore, when combined with Longman’s desire to depict the woman of 12:1 as “representing the church” (184, though also “both Israel and the church”), we suddenly end up with what would appear to be mutually incompatible apocalyptic references. On the one hand, the people of God are persecuted even unto death (20:4); on the other hand, according to Longman’s perspective, they escape the Beast (12:6). So, which is it? The situation is further complicated by the fact that, since the two witnesses also “figuratively represent the church” (159), then the church is apparently given the ability to physically harm unbelievers before the church is destroyed by the Beast (11:4–6), which certainly does not fit the job description given in Acts! Any suggestion that such apocalyptic violence is merely figurative for proclaiming the Gospel then nullifies Longman’s own accurate assessment that “violent metaphors, though not giving us a literal picture, are telling us about a violent judgment” (217). At the end, this reviewer was beginning to wonder whether there is any imagery in Revelation that does not represent the church!
Finally, this review would not be complete without comparing Longman’s book to one of the closest equivalents, G. K. Beale and Sean McDonough’s chapter on Revelation in Baker’s Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. A quick comparison demonstrates that both of them fill some lacunae of the other. Longman’s book has the edge with biblical theology and broader canonical interaction, whereas Beale and McDonough interact more extensively with both Second Temple literature and modern scholarship. In Revelation 1:4 and 1:12 Longman makes no mention of the possible background of Zechariah 4:2 and 10 (though he does for Rev 5:6) whereas CNTUOT does; conversely, in Revelation 14:17–20, Longman discusses Lamentations 1:15 and Isaiah 63:3, whereas CNTUOT does not.
Notwithstanding some important criticisms, Longman’s work remains on the one hand a helpful resource for understanding the Old Testament background for Revelation and on the other hand an extremely valuable tool for connecting Revelation canonically with the rest of Scripture. The dispensationalist pastor would do well to be aware of Longman’s Reformed theological perspectives, but he will probably still gain much value from the book.
