Comfort and Protest: The Apocalypse of John from a South African Perspective

By the time Comfort and Protest was completed, South Africa was in a declared state of emergency. Within the context of the ongoing struggle in his country, Allan Boesak has written a powerful and urgent commentary on the Book of Revelation. He provides scriptural and historical interpretations, emphasizing that the drama which unfolds in the Apocalypse is played out in history whenever a political ruler claims the allegiance that belongs to God alone. Amid persecution and temptations to despair, Boesak provides a message of hope. He sees that, in the Apocalypse, "John longs passionately for another day, another world. He feels it so keenly that he writes: "That day has come. The church shares this longing, for the tent of God to be among the people. This is what the church has lived and died for, worked and struggled for: justice and humanity and peace and fullness of life"