The New American Commentary series is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features of each volume include:
- commentary based on the New International Version (NIV) of Scripture;
- the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;
- sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;
- interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;
- readable and applicable exposition.
In the Introduction to his commentary on Revelation, L. Paige Patterson observes the widespread neglect of this closing book of the New Testament.
"Aside from a few journal articles and fewer monographs, few homiletical adventurers have evidenced the moxie to enter the eschatological lists and take on this book in the pulpit. This remains the case even though curi- osity abounds in many congregations where parishioners fervently wish that their respective pastors would explain the book to them. Among those who embark on this adventure, most sail no further than the message to the seven churches . . . thus missing the grandeur of the promises that proliferate in chapters 4-22."
Patterson writes with the strong conviction that preachers and professors can grasp Revelation and expound it fruitfully. To that end he has writ- ten this commentary, and in doing so, interacts with a wide array of interpreters of Revelation across the centuries. The reader who follows Patterson's interpretive decisions will experience a virtual hermeneutical workshop but far more than that. He will see more clearly than ever the glory and grandeur of Jesus Christ.