This module is delivered by Dr Grant Macaskill, lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of St Andrews. He teaches on Jesus and the Gospels, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and Enochic Judaism. Grant's research interests lie in New Testament Studies, particularly the Book of Revelation.

Grant Macaskill explains the scope of the module,
"We'll examine the Book of Revelation (The Revelation of St John) in its biblical, historical and contemporary contexts. This will involve exegetical study of the book itself, with due attention paid to the genre of 'apocalypse' and to the historical context from which the book came. Around this core we'll examine the various interpretations of Revelation that are to be found through history, up to the present day, when the book has been massively popularised (and arguably heavily misunderstood) through ecclesiastical movements and through fictional works such as the Left Behind series.

Module Outline

• `Christology and Vision' - setting these in the context of theological discussions of divine identity, drawing on Jürgen Moltmann & Miroslav Volf.
• `Letters to the Churches' - historical background and connections within `Revelation'.
• `Symbols and Critique' - understanding the symbolic language and its purpose as encouragement and political critique.
• `Culture and Politics' - examining popular understandings in Western and non-Western contexts.

(This outline is indicative and may be subject to revision.)

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the content of the Book of Revelation;
• evince an understanding of how that content operates within the generic tradition of 'apocalyptic' and of how the parts of the Book of Revelation relate to the whole;
• critically discuss a selection of diverse interpretations of the Book of Revelation encountered through history and with an  appreciation of how these relate to specific political contexts.