No flash player!

Description

The New Daily Study Bible

New Testament
WILLIAM BARCLAY
LINDA FOSTER (EDITOR)
All titles £8.99

‘The only commentaries that I’ve used consistently are those written by William Barclay. They are absolutely fantastic and I wouldn’t give up my set for anything.’ Steve Chalke, Oasis Trust

‘William Barclay’s “magnum opus” is now able to delight and serve a new generation of Bible students and preachers.’ Ministry Today World-renowned for his thought-provoking Daily Study Bible series, William Barclay is one of the best-loved commentators on the Bible. His brilliant communication, down-to-earth approach and sheer enthusiasm inspire spirituality and faith among his readers. Over 7 million people worldwide have bought The Daily Study Bible series, in many languages.

New readers will find Barclay’s wide-ranging insight readily accessible in The New Daily Study Bible series. Barclay’s language has been sensitively updated, and out-of-date references have been removed. Readers familiar with his work will find it enhanced throughout with explanation of contexts, sources for quotations and other details. The revision involved William Barclay’s son Ronnie at all stages.

‘Paints pictures with words and draws you in’ – Steve Chalke

Millions of copies sold worldwide

EXTRACT

THE HATRED OF THE DRAGON Revelation 12:3–4
Here we have the picture of the great, flame-coloured dragon. In our study of the past history of the tradition of the antichrist, we saw that the people of the middle east regarded creation in the light of the struggle between the dragon of chaos and the creating God of order. In the Temple of Marduk – the creating god – in Babylon, there was a great image of a 'red-gleaming serpent' who stood for the defeated dragon of chaos. There can be little doubt that that is where John got his picture. This dragon appears in many forms in the Old Testament.
It appears as Rahab. 'Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?' (Isaiah 51:9). It appears as the leviathan. 'You broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan' (Psalm 74:13–14). In the day of the Lord, God with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish the leviathan (Isaiah 27:1). It appears in the dramatic picture of the behemoth in Job 40:15–24. The dragon which is the arch-enemy of God is a common and terrible figure in the thought of the middle east. It is the connection of the dragon and the sea which explains the rivers of water which the dragon pours out to overcome the woman (verse 15).
The dragon has seven heads and ten horns. This signifies its mighty power. It has seven royal diadems. This signifies its complete power over the kingdoms of this world as opposed to the kingdom of God. The image of the dragon sweeping the stars from the sky with its tail comes from the picture in Daniel of the little horn which cast the stars to the ground and trampled on them (Daniel 8:10). The picture of the dragon waiting to devour the child comes from Jeremiah, in which it is said of Nebuchadnezzar that 'he has swallowed me like a monster' (Jeremiah 51:34).
H. B. Swete finds in this picture the symbolism of an eternal truth about the human situation. In the human situation, as Christian history sees it, there are two figures who occupy the centre of the scene. There is humanity, men and women, fallen and always under the attack of the powers of evil but always struggling towards the birth of a higher life. And there is the power of evil, always watching for its opportunity to frustrate every attempt to achieve higher things. That struggle had its culmination on the cross.
© William Barclay

SUPPLY RESTRICTION IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR USA CUSTOMERS Due to international distribution agreements, we cannot supply this product to the USA.