I Will Tell You the Mystery

“Allen brings to the table John the prophet, late first-century churches, empire (both past and present), process theology, contemporary congregations, and preachers. The heated conversation that ensues unravels the strange, apocalyptically coded imagery of Revelation without domesticating the mystery it offers. Sermons that grow out of this conversation will help the church resist evil and construct a new world.”


—O. Wesley Allen Jr., Southern Methodist University“Ronald Allen prophetically urges preachers and listeners to deform their empire-oriented life and way of thinking, to reform their belief and action in divine love, abundance, justice, mutual support, and peace, and to transform contemporary forms of empire here and now together with God. Overall, I Will Tell You the Mystery is well worth reading and a significant commentary resource for preaching and for educating with the inspired lens of progressive process theology and conversational theology in the mode of mutual critical correlation and a focus on the empowerment of God’s vision throughout the book of Revelation.”


—Namjoong Kim, Claremont School of Theology


“Revelation offers readers a choice. We can align ourselves with the actions and values of empire or we can remain faithful to God and assist in creating a new heaven and earth. Allen helps preachers mine the depths of Revelation so that they can bring their communities to awareness, confession, and repentance, ultimately committing themselves to the creation of a just, sound, sustainable, peaceful world.”—Mary Donovan Turner, Pacific School of Religion