This book is the first of its kind: an innovative socio-rhetorical commentary on the Book of Revelation. Without sacrificing scholarly perspective or academic rigor, it is written to be accessible for a wide audience—including pastors, scholars, teachers, seminarians, and interested lay people. A "Suggested Reading List"—a feature of all volumes in the New Cambridge Bible Commentary—will serve as point of entry for the new serious student of Revelation and as a helpful annotated bibliography for all readers. Frequent "Closer-Look" sections examine key elements of the Roman-Greco world that bear on the text's meaning while "Bridging the Horizons" sub-chapters connect this world with the cultural, political, and religious environments of today. The entire NRSV translation is provided throughout the text as a convenience to the reader. Award-winning author Ben Witherington III brings a New Testament scholar's insight to the often opaque passages of the last book of the New Testament.