Hete Deal St. John of Patmos and the seven churches of the Apocalypse – Otto F. A. Meinardus (1979)

Beschrijving

St. John of Patmos and the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse

For further NOTES See the CONTENTS andalso the PREFACE of the book!

Review: Mervyn Capel (Buyer Amazon UK 11 September 2019)

An old book, but still factually solid. The author clearly knows his subject & has written other similar books about the Apostles & the East Mediterranean.
There are few layman’s books about St John & Patmos & this is interesting from the historical, archaeological, theological & travel point of view. We learn little about John himself, but much about 1st century Anatolia & some of the earliest Christian communities there.
It has to be said that it is rather preachy towards the end, and the potted histories of the seven cities become somewhat repetitive. I rapidly lost track of the ever-changing patterns of conquest, regime change, religious suppression & earthquakes. The names of kings, bishops & martyrs flash before your eyes. (Incidentally, this period of History seems to have been plundered heavily by Shakespeare hunting names for his characters!)
Time after time we learn about how once-thriving cities are now just piles of rubble…..Oh, Ozymandius!
The photos are poorly reproduced, mostly too dark & indecipherable.
The first paperback copy I bought (not through Amazon) had 8 blank pages, so I had to seek another & ask the dealer to check it was all there.
Copies are scarce & can be expensive. Despite the fact it was a cheap, poorly produced paperback, it does the job.