Siew, Antoninus King Wai. The War Between the Two Beasts and the Two Witnesses: A Chiastic Reading of Revelation 11:1-14:5 . Library of New Testament studies, 283. London; New York: T&T Clark, 2005. xiv + 331 pp.
Siew argues that the concept of chiasm should be employed in the analysis of the structure of Revelation 11:1 – 14:5. See more at the publisher’s site and at Amazon (follow the links below).
To me it seems very surprising that Siew lets a new section begin in 11:1, and not with the seventh angel in 11:15. I look forward to reading his arguments for that.
Siew claims that a literal temple will be built before the final 3½ years, which he takes as a literal period. This is a very controversial view that I, for one, do not share.
Siew’s “main thesis as per title is that the war in heaven between Michael and the dragon results in the the war between the two witnesses and the two beasts on earth” (see his short presentation here). Without access to the book itself, I wonder whether his structural arguments may support my a-temporal interpretation. More, hopefully much more, on that later.
This volume is reviewed by Pieter G. R. de Villiers in Review of Biblical Literature (2007) (direct link here). Siew comments on de Villers’ review here: Review, My Book and The War between the Two Beasts and the Two Witnesses. See also more links below the Amazon-links.
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