Revelation: A Biography

FAIN: FZ-231656-15

Timothy K. Beal
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH 44106-1712)

A cultural history of the New Testament book of Revelation, describing how the book was created and has been reinterpreted and reinvented over the years.

A cultural history of the New Testament book of Revelation and the apocalyptic imaginations it has fueled, telling the story of the many, often wildly contradictory lives of this strangely familiar, sometimes horrifying, sometimes inspiring biblical vision. It is the story of how Revelation keeps becoming something new, reinventing itself, taking on new forms of life in the hearts and minds and imaginations of those who become its hosts. The book will be published by Princeton University Press in the trade series, "Lives of Great Religious Books," which publishes books by leading authors and scholars for general audiences.

Media Coverage

Five Questions with Timothy Beal (Media Coverage)
Publication: The Daily, Case Western Reserve University
Date: 8/21/2015

Revealing a Biblical History (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Jim Sweeney
Publication: Think Magazine
Date: 4/1/2016
Abstract: Article about me and my book-in-progress, Revelation: A Biography, supported by an NEH Public Scholar Award.
URL: http://http://case.edu/think/spring2016/revealing-biblical-history.html#.V-0j91exE00

"The Book at the End of the World: Scott McLemee reviews Timothy Beal's The Book of Revelation: A Biography" (Review)
Author(s): Scott McLemee
Publication: Insider Higher Ed
Date: 11/2/2018
Abstract: A favorable long review of my book in Inside Higher Ed.
URL: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2018/11/02/review-timothy-beal-book-revelation-biography

A Conversation with The Book of Revelation: A Biography Author Timothy Beal (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Daniel Robison
Publication: The Daily (Case Western Reserve University) lead article
Date: 11/1/2018
Abstract: An extensive interview with me about the book.
URL: https://thedaily.case.edu/conversation-book-revelation-biography-author-religious-studies-professor-timothy-beal/

Associated Products

“Thief in the Night of the Living Dead: Revelation, Apocalypticism, and the Emergence of Evangelical Horror Culture” (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: “Thief in the Night of the Living Dead: Revelation, Apocalypticism, and the Emergence of Evangelical Horror Culture”
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: Keynote address to the Southeast Conference for the Study of Religion, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA.
Date: 3/5/2016

“Scaring the Hell Out of Us: The Rise and Fall of Evangelical Apocalyptic Horror Movies” (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: “Scaring the Hell Out of Us: The Rise and Fall of Evangelical Apocalyptic Horror Movies”
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: Marsico Visiting Scholar Public Lecture, Denver University
Date: 2/29/2016

Revelation: A Biography (Book)
Title: Revelation: A Biography
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: This book is under contract with Princeton University Press in its "Lives of Great Religious Books" series. It is expected to be published in late 2017.
Year: 2017
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Type: Single author monograph

Panelist, "Textual Technologies: Reading and Writing the Bible with Natural Language Processing" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Panelist, "Textual Technologies: Reading and Writing the Bible with Natural Language Processing"
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: A panel discussion of work in progress on Natural Language Processing research on Bible and popular culture using Python (coding language) at the Rocky Mountains / Great Plains Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colorado.
Date: 04/02/2016
Primary URL: http://library.iliff.edu/regional
Primary URL Description: Website for the regional meeting program.
Conference Name: American Academy of Religion -- Rocky Mountains / Great Plains Regional Meeting

Three public lectures: "Apocalypse Not Now," "Cry Out and Write," and "Left Behind, Again" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Three public lectures: "Apocalypse Not Now," "Cry Out and Write," and "Left Behind, Again"
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: A series of three lectures based on forthcoming book, The Book of Revelation: A Biography (funded by an NEH Public Scholar Award) at Trinity United Methodist Church, Denver, CO on March 11, 18, and 25, 2018.
Date: 03/25/2018

The Book of Revelation: A Biography (Book)
Title: The Book of Revelation: A Biography
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: Forthcoming October 2018. From the publisher: Few biblical books have been as revered and reviled as Revelation. Many hail it as the pinnacle of prophetic vision, the cornerstone of the biblical canon, and, for those with eyes to see, the key to understanding the past, present, and future. Others denounce it as the work of a disturbed individual whose horrific dreams of inhumane violence should never have been allowed into the Bible. Timothy Beal provides a concise cultural history of Revelation and the apocalyptic imaginations it has fueled. Taking readers from the book’s composition amid the Christian persecutions of first-century Rome to its enduring influence today in popular culture, media, and visual art, Beal explores the often wildly contradictory lives of this sometimes horrifying, sometimes inspiring biblical vision. He shows how such figures as Augustine and Hildegard of Bingen made Revelation central to their own mystical worldviews, and how, thanks to the vivid works of art it inspired, the book remained popular even as it was denounced by later church leaders such as Martin Luther. Attributed to a mysterious prophet identified only as John, Revelation speaks with a voice unlike any other in the Bible. Beal demonstrates how the book is a multimedia constellation of stories and images that mutate and evolve as they take hold in new contexts, reinventing itself in the hearts and minds of each new generation. This succinct biography traces how Revelation continues to inspire new diagrams of history, new fantasies of rapture, and new nightmares of being left behind.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13250.html
Primary URL Description: Princeton University Press website for the book. A copy will be sent to NEH as soon as it is published.
Secondary URL: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Revelation-Biography-Lives-Religious/dp/0691145830/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Secondary URL Description: Amazon.com site for book (hardcover and Kindle). Note that the book is currently (11/04/2018) the #1 New Release in Biblical Hermeneutics.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 0691145830
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

"Prophecy Wonk" (Article)
Title: "Prophecy Wonk"
Author: Timothy Beal
Abstract: A first serial from my book in the Readings section of Harper's Magazine (October 2018 issue).
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://harpers.org/archive/2018/10/prophecy-wonk/
Primary URL Description: Link to online version.
Format: Magazine
Publisher: Harper's Magazine

---