Performing the Apocalypse

""I highly recommend Performing the Apocalypse. Autry makes a unique contribution to scholarly study by demonstrating how the auditory, linguistic, and grammatical features emerge throughout Revelation, drawing the audience into the dramatic character of the Apocalypse. His clear prose, apt summary and conclusion sections, and tables and charts make the dissertation accessible to scholars, students, and pastors."" --Todd R. Chipman, Dean of Graduate Studies, Spurgeon College ""This work constitutes an innovative, carefully argued, and much-needed contribution to the study of Revelation and to the broader field of biblical studies. It promises to be a valuable scholarly resource as well as a methodological model for biblical interpreters."" --John Lee, Professor of New Testament, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ""Thanks to this careful study, readers and commentators of the book of Revelation can no longer overlook its origins as a work composed for performance. Using an eclectic toolbox of methods, Autry has paved the way for others to apply those tools and discover the oral foundation of biblical books that were composed to be heard out loud, not silently read."" --Jeanette Mathews, author of Performing Habakkuk ""There is a growing awareness that the earliest audiences of the Bible experienced it as communication events, not simply words on a page. The tone, volume, pacing, and fluency of a speaker made a difference in how people understood what was read aloud. In the trajectory of this insight, Garland Autry brings together research from sound mapping, discourse analysis, and oral-tradition studies to explore the book of Revelation as an oral-aural event. Students of Revelation will gain from thinking more deeply with Autry about how the text suggests it may have been performed."" --Peter S. Perry, Affiliate Assistant Professor in New Testament, Fuller Seminary, Arizona