Rating: 
Summary: Enlightening Commentary on Revelation
Review: "Days of Vengence" is an enlightening commentary that interprets Revelation in context with the rest of the Bible. Knowing Old Testement history and the culture of the people to whom Revelation was written is essential to understanding the book. Chilton explains this culture and history demonstrating that Revelation is very easy to understand. He explains Revelation verse by verse in light of the Biblical context and history needed to properly interpret the book. Chilton refutes today's popular Christian beleif about Revelation that interprets the book from today's viewpoint with no understanding of the history and culture that went into writting the book. This book is essential for any Christian living in today's world.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening Commentary on Revelation
Review: "Days of Vengence" is an enlightening commentary that interprets Revelation in context with the rest of the Bible. Knowing Old Testement history and the culture of the people to whom Revelation was written is essential to understanding the book. Chilton explains this culture and history demonstrating that Revelation is very easy to understand. He explains Revelation verse by verse in light of the Biblical context and history needed to properly interpret the book. Chilton refutes today's popular Christian beleif about Revelation that interprets the book from today's viewpoint with no understanding of the history and culture that went into writting the book. This book is essential for any Christian living in today's world.
Rating: 
Summary: A deeply researched, yet flawed book. . .
Review: "Days of Vengence" is, without a doubt, one of the more interesting scholarly works I've seen on Revelation in the last several years. The author demonstrates his in-depth knowledge of the Scriptures and of Calvinistic theology. He also makes an imposing (if not completely convincing) case for a post-millinnial view of the End. This being said, the negatives to this book so greatly outnumber the positives, that, as a clergyman, I would have a difficult time recommending this book. As a non-Calvinist, I find his some of his presuppositions concerning covenantal theology to be arrogant and unjustifiable. As a Christian, I find some of his conclusions to border on the anti-semitic. As an academic scholar, I find his "contributers" to the book offensive, out of line, and completely over the top with the tenor of some of their remarks. (Not their opinions, mind you, they, like everyone else are freely entitled to views different from mine!) But the manner in which opinions were expressed, and the mockery of those who disagree don't belong in academia, Christian OR secular. I was enormously disappointed with this book.
Rating:
Summary: A deeply researched, yet flawed book. . .
Review: "Days of Vengence" is, without a doubt, one of the more interesting scholarly works I've seen on Revelation in the last several years. The author demonstrates his in-depth knowledge of the Scriptures and of Calvinistic theology. He also makes an imposing (if not completely convincing) case for a post-millinnial view of the End. This being said, the negatives to this book so greatly outnumber the positives, that, as a clergyman, I would have a difficult time recommending this book. As a non-Calvinist, I find his some of his presuppositions concerning covenantal theology to be arrogant and unjustifiable. As a Christian, I find some of his conclusions to border on the anti-semitic. As an academic scholar, I find his "contributers" to the book offensive, out of line, and completely over the top with the tenor of some of their remarks. (Not their opinions, mind you, they, like everyone else are freely entitled to views different from mine!) But the manner in which opinions were expressed, and the mockery of those who disagree don't belong in academia, Christian OR secular. I was enormously disappointed with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Helps to Put Revelation in Its Original Context
Review: Although I am not familar with the breadth of scholarship on the Book of Revelation I can say that as a "budding theologian" that this book breathes a sense of fresh air into a world of "newspaper exegesis" theologians that seem to gravitate from Dallas Theological Seminary and hold court on TBN.
Although not Calvinist myself, I still believe that the strength of this text lies in the fact that Chilton shows how Revelation reflects the Old Testament. All the motifs and images in the OT and NT are brought to bear in this book. It is no wonder that this book became the last one to close out the "canon" (Revelation that is).
Although in agreement with some of the other reviewers that Chilton does become a bit "tangential" the strength of the biblical theology displayed out plays the weaknesses.
I would definitely recommend reading it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Commentary!!!
Review: Chilton is a scholar as well as a great writer. Extrabiblical proof is not the foundation being used to support his exposition of a very difficult book (many historic scholars of scripture never attempted to explain this book). Chilton uses a biblical hermeneutic in which the bible really is interpreting itself-- God's Word is soley sufficient to clearly explain the book of Revelations. In addition, it has challenged me to fully explore the intricacies of the Old Testament-- especially the liturgical and priestly aspects. Finally, after years of reading speculative commentary on the book of Revelations and "end times" dogma, I was refreshed and had my hope restored for quality Christian scholarship.
Rating:
Summary: A Challenging Read
Review: Chilton provided an essential work when he wrote this commentary on the Book of Revelation. It is NOT as easy read. It took me a couple of months to work through it. I repeat, it is not an easy read, but it is without question a rewarding one. After reading this book, I wondered how anyone could understand Revelation without reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A Challenging Read
Review: Chilton provided an essential work when he wrote this commentary on the Book of Revelation. It is NOT as easy read. It took me a couple of months to work through it. I repeat, it is not an easy read, but it is without question a rewarding one. After reading this book, I wondered how anyone could understand Revelation without reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A breath-taking, insightful and penetrating work.
Review: Chirstian readers who have assumed that they have a confident grasp of God's actions in Human History will be challenged as never before to in most cases rethink the assumptions which buttress their understanding of things eschatological. This book is especially challenging to the pessimistic school of the Christian Church which sees the redemption of the world through God's saving action in Jesus Christ as somehow derailed, with the devil in full attack mode and increasing his victories over the Church. But for those Christians who sense a huge note of optimism and victory in God's Salvation in Christ, Chilton's work will strike a resonant chord as none has before.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing, somewhat flawed, commentary on Revelation
Review: David Chilton's "Days of Vengence" is simply one of the most intricate and facinating commentaries on Revelation that I have ever read. Chilton does this by asking simple questions that many commentators who believe in fantastic future calamities involving new world orders and such seem unwilling to even acknowledge: who was the letter written to? what was the purpose of the letter? what did the author mean when he said that the things happening in the letter would happen soon? what do all the allusions to the Old Testament mean? Once someone asks these questions and looks seriously for the answers than the dispensational position concerning a "pre-tribulation" rapture seems less and less plausible. The book itself sets a standard for in-depth analysis. Chilton convincingly shows that the symbols and Old Testament allusions are placed with great care by St. John and shows how all of the symbols place themselves within the flow of salvation history. I was personally stunned by the richness with which he describes God's covenant with Israel, the "covenant lawsuit" structure of Revelation and the inaguration of the new covenant. The slight flaws of the book were the relatively few places in the book in which Chilton's Calvinist presuppositions drive his conclusions. For instance when speaking of the possibility of being erased from the Book of Life, Chilton launches into a brief and very misguided defense of the docrine of Perseverence of the Saints. The author also takes a needless detour bashing those who defend free-will by taking a tangent from one of the numerous verses that show God's soveriengty over human history in Revelation and then comparing it to some tract that he found in which the tract's author presents a position of borderline Pelagianism. This is, at best, bad straw man argumentation. I think it is excusable because the purpose of the book wasn't a defense of Calvinism, but in exposition of Revelation. These minor details stick out only because they break with the overall work's dedication to sound and detailed exposition of the letter and the Bible itself. In other words, they are not reflective of the work as a whole. If you want to read the book for free, the Institute for Christian Economics has this book and numerous others at their website:
http://www.freebooks.com/sidefrm2.htm
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