Review: The Joy Of Hearing: A Theology Of The Book Of Revelation By Thomas R. Schreiner

by on August 6, 2026 | Comment

The book of Revelation is a daunting undertaking to read and especially to preach. The baggage associated with it, perhaps even more in the United States since the rise of dispensationalism, makes even the most grounded and biblically informed believers afraid of trying to wade into the depths of this capstone contribution to the canon.

Thomas Schreiner’s little book on Revelation is a great way to wrap your mind around this book’s main themes in a sane and balanced way. Schreiner is a highly respected New Testament scholar at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His corpus is wide ranging, as he has tackled various theological topics, refuted the New Perspective on Paul, and most prolifically commented on massive portions of the New Testament, including Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude, and most recently Revelation.

This book’s main strength is  the way it helps readers get their bearings for the whole book of Revelation. One challenge for understanding Revelation is the sheer scope of the book combined with the volume of debates among commentators and well-known Bible interpreters. Studying Revelation quickly overwhelms us with the number of details about the text and knowing about and understanding various debates about competing interpretations.

Schreiner pays good attention to themes and bigger structures, which helps readers get a better perspective on what is happening in the whole book. He focuses on instances where the same phrases or images appear repeatedly throughout the book at important points. This approach helps give a clearer understanding that Revelation has multiple structural cues. The payoff is to show that several suggestions for the structure of the book are complementary to one another. We might confuse things greatly if we stack too many outlines on top of one another. One of my professors gave so many outlines for the book of Hebrews that I no longer had any idea how to structure the book at all. Schreiner does much better at helping to see how multiple layers of structure can fit together.

Schreiner’s chapters address some of the important recurring themes in Revelation. This book will not give an exhaustive explanation of Revelation, nor is that its aim. It does, however, help provide some clues as to important issues, passages, and indicators for which we should be looking as we read through and study this book. It familiarizes readers with bigger-picture issues, helping them navigate the main points of this book.

The chapter on the millennium shows the issues at stake regarding whether we should view Revelation 20 in postmillennial, premillennial, or amillennial fashion. Schreiner does not actually land very forcefully on one interpretation, as he seems to have some sympathy for both premillennial and amillennial interpretations. Some may find this lack of resolution frustrating. At the same time, we can gain a lot from Schreiner’s discussion as he fairly dispassionately explains the strengths and weaknesses concerning the exegetical points in each view. He suggests that amillennialism has the upper hand in cohering better with the overall shape of New Testament theology and even most things within Revelation, while premillennialism has less trouble explaining a few important details, particularly about the first resurrection, in Revelation 20. Although these issues are not insurmountable, Schreiner’s discussion is a good roadmap for whatever questions remain regarding the exegesis of this important passage.

One of Schreiner’s emphasized themes is the call for saints to endure through tribulation. He is clear that Christ provides grace to sustain us as we press ahead through an age of suffering toward the new creation. His emphasis on this theme did leave me with a few questions about how to fit this motif into interpreting the rest of Revelation. I agree that Revelation contains a clear concern for saints to endure through suffering. At the same time, I wonder if the emphasis is slightly uncalibrated.

While there is a need for endurance, even the opening verses of Revelation (1:1–20) stress the power of Christ in his kingship. The book aims to give comfort to believers who are suffering. The purpose, then, is to double down on encouragement for Christ’s people that their powerful king will sustain them through the hardest difficulties. Yes, this means that we need to endure. It is, however, more of a promise about why we will endure rather than an exhortation to do so. This is compatible with Schreiner’s points, but it seems worth emphasizing.

This theme ties into Schreiner’s take on rewards and final judgment, where I think he could likely tighten his presentation. For example, he writes, “John impresses on his hearers the need to conquer. They must hear this message and not close their ears to the words of the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit. Too often, the pastoral impetus for the book of Revelation is neglected. John wrote the book for pragmatic reasons so that believers would continue to persevere in the faith and to obey when they endure suffering, when they are tempted to compromise, when they face the pressures of everyday life” (60). Again, “The dead are judged by their works, and if the requisite works were done, their names are inscribed in the book of life (20:12–15). The necessity of good works to receive a final reward is confirmed in three other texts near the end of the book (21:8; 22:12, 15)” (100). These kinds of statements raise questions about exactly how to explain the point in greater detail.

No orthodox Christian denies that good works are necessary as part of the Christian life. Schreiner’s rejection of antinomian premises is commendable in this respect. I have no disagreement with him that we need to pursue holiness throughout the life of faith. Nevertheless, his particular way of framing suggests (perhaps unintentionally) that works function more like a condition to attain approval or reward at the final judgment. The better way of explaining this necessity is Westminster Confession 16.2: “These good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith” (emphasis added). Our works do not secure any blessings for us from God in this life or the next. They do, however, testify to the truth of our profession of faith, and they demonstrate the reality of faith in our hearts.

Christ has ultimately already weathered the final judgment for us, and we need not fear the last day. This truth alongside the magnitude of Christ’s kingship is the foundation of John’s pastoral burden in the book of Revelation. These blessings ground why we should pursue endurance as a right and needed application. But we endure because we have no reason to fear, not because we have some fear remaining about the last day. I imagine that Schreiner would affirm much of this with me, and I offer it merely as a clarifying reflection on what he wrote.

I recently began preaching through the book of Revelation, which at times has made me question my wisdom. At the same time, this biblical book has so far been greatly rewarding (at least to me) in setting sights on Christ in his power throughout this age of tribulation. Schreiner’s little introduction helped me get familiarized with some of the big picture and major themes in the book. Most of all, his book should encourage you to read or even to preach the book of Revelation. As S. M. Baugh says in his endorsement of this book, “The church has always needed the message of the book of Revelation, but it is as urgent now as ever before,” and Schreiner shines “especially in his presentation of the central truths of Revelation.”

©Harrison Perkins. All Rights Reserved.

Thomas R. Schreiner, The Joy of Hearing: A Theology of the Book of Revelation, New Testament Theology (Crossway, 2021).

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