The End: A Readers' Guide to Revelation has gone in a different direction. The book interprets the imagery in Revelation by using a Scripture interprets Scripture methodology. When Jesus interpreted the parables he did not say what the parables meant, he identified who the characters in the parable were. A reader is able to understand a parable by knowing what the images represent. Believing that Revelation is similar to the parables in that the images intend to hide the meaning of the book from those not familiar with Scripture, A.D. Bauer suggests the Bible is the primary source for interpreting the images in Revelation. Definitions for many of the images can be found within Revelation. Other images are found elsewhere in Scripture and their meaning in that context is carried over to Revelation.

In The End, Bauer has presented a useful tool for the interpretation of Revelation by showing the origin and meaning of the images from Revelation. The book consists of three sections. The first chapter presents background material that is necessary for one to understand before reading Revelation. The second chapter is a brief overview of Bauer’s interpretation of Revelation. The third chapter is a glossary that discusses where an image is found in Revelation, where that image is found outside of Revelation and what the meaning is based on how it is defined in the biblical text. The intent of the book is not to have everyone agree completely with Bauer’s interpretation of Revelation. Rather, it is a tool designed to help people read Revelation with some measure of understanding. We have found that the glossary is helpful to anyone who is interested in studying Revelation.