Amazon The Way It Happened From the author From the publisher Category:  Religion Publisher: Langdon Street Press ISBN-10:  1936183625 Type: Fiction Pages: 328 Copyright: December 15, 2010 ISBN-13: 9781936183623 A playful, historical romp through the ancient apocalypse that shaped Christian dreams and fears for two millennia What was John thinking when he penned the book of Revelation? Two millennia later, this famous apocalypse is still being revered literally by some Christians and discarded as the ravings of a madman by others. Author Lee Harmon strikes a perfect balance as he maneuvers in story form through the first-century drama John was really writing about. This is a serious look at the earliest Christians, presented in an entertaining way. Harmon leads us, verse by verse, through the events of Revelation, adroitly explaining the relevance of these scriptures while seamlessly weaving in a father-and-son discussion of John the Apostle's frightful letter. Meet Samuel and thirteen-year-old Matthew, two Jews living in Ephesus fifty years after the death of Christ, and share in their astonishment and horror as the prophecies of John's colorful vision are played out around them in the Roman Empire. Bare your teeth at the original beast of Revelation, his double the antichrist, and John's nemesis, the false prophet. Relive the gruesome Jerusalem war of 70 AD, the fire-and-brimstone tragedy of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the expectation of horrible massacre looming on the horizon and, finally, the Christian dream of escaping all this to live with God in a new Eden-like Jerusalem after it floats down from heaven and settles atop the war-torn rubble of mount Zion. Harmon excels at capturing the essence of that time, even as he addresses our modern-day perceptions and misconceptions of this ancient tome. Delve into this fascinating and intriguing book and--as the author promises--you will never read the Bible in the same way again. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder what on earth you've been thinking to believe the current-day interpretation of John's masterpiece. Excerpt “Matthew, put down your pad and come sit with me a while,” Samuel called to his son. “I have some news I would like to share.” “What has happened, Father?” Matthew called back over his shoulder. “Is it good news or bad?” Samuel thought a moment before answering. “It’s both good and bad,” he decided. “It’s the most wonderful and, at the same time, the most frightening news I have ever heard!” Curious, Matthew set down his wooden waxpad and writing stick and ambled over to stand by his father. A pleasant December day, unnaturally warm, the two of them enjoyed the afternoon atop the flat roof of their house before the early setting of the sun. Neither favored the dim indoors during the light of day, and the housetop made for a wonderful place to relax. “All right, tell me what you’ve heard.” “I will, Son, but let me start slowly. I have much to tell, and it’s fitting that on this day, your thirteenth birthday, you learn about these things.” Matthew silently agreed. A man now, ready to be treated as such and determined to prove his still-diminutive stature unimportant, he lifted his chin and twisted his gaze to the right, displaying a manly profile. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of metal in the sun, and focusing on the sparkle, he spied silver. There atop the short rock wall at the edge of the roof, beside his father, sat a penny! This is turning into a most wonderful birthday, he thought, pouncing boyishly. “No!” Samuel barked. His arm snaked out to ward off Matthew’s reach. “Look carefully, but do not touch!” More startled than disappointed, Matthew backed off. The excitement drained from his face as rapidly as it had arrived; he seldom heard this tone from his father. Staring now at the coin, he noted a Roman figure holding seven stars in his right hand. “Battle lines are being drawn,” Samuel said, as if this explained anything. “Our Lord, not this Roman pretender, holds the seven stars safe within his hand.”

A rewarding read!
"Lee Harmon's REVELATION: THE WAY IT HAPPENED represents an important contribution to our understanding of the mysterious Book of Revelation and early Christianity. He interprets it against the backdrop of the Jewish War in the late 60's A.D. that saw the destruction of the Temple and a huge number of Jewish deaths.

John, the author of the book of Revelation, uses Josephus' monumental account in The Jewish War. Harmon astutely observes that Christians of the time, like the Jewish people, had to reflect on what this "war to end all wars" meant for understanding history and the coming messianic kingdom. The Book of Revelation, Harmon contends, provides just this reflection, noting what has already taken place, what is currently happening and what is likely to transpire in the future. All this Harmon carefully decodes in a well argued historical manner.

The author's style is clear, lucid and interesting. His dialogue between father and son allows Harmon to explore alternate interpretations for this intriguing text. It is a challenging read -- not because of Harmon's style -- but because of the tantalizing symbolism the Book of Revelation itself uses drawing as it does on Jewish apocalyptic imagery derived from the Book of Daniel, Zechariah and especially Ezekiel.

REVELATION: THE WAY IT HAPPENED is a rewarding read and it opens up for us a new understanding of what this canonical text might mean. Finally someone has detected a plausible historical fit and this represents a superb achievement."

--Barrie Wilson, Professor, Humanities and Religious Studies, York University, Toronto, author How Jesus Became Christian.

Mr. Harmon's historical work is guided by knowledge and keen insight.
If you are a Christian who loves the Bible, wouldn't you want to know how the words of the New Testament books were heard by the ears of their earliest listeners, for whom they were written? That is the purpose for which Lee Harmon wrote his book Revelation: The Way it Happened. In my opinion Mr. Harmon succeeds in reaching this goal. He is historically accurate and true to his faith.

Revelation: The Way it Happened is history written as a novel, focusing on a First Century Judeo-Christian and his conversations with his son, upon the first publication of the Book of Revelation. The conversational tactic is sometimes didactic, but for the most part quite engaging. Its main strength is that it gives the author freedom to explore the psychology of the first recipients of this intriguing New Testament book, and to examine how they would have reacted to the words of Revelation based upon their immediate historical experience.

If I may fancy myself to have some knowledge of religion amongst First Century Jews and early Christians, then in my judgment every historical supposition of Mr. Harmon is within the realm of genuine possibility according to the best scholarship. Not once in the entire book did I jump out of my seat and shout, "No, that could not be!", and I was ready to do it. As Mr. Harmon humbly admits, there are many questions about Revelation, its setting and meaning that can never be answered with absolute authority, and sometimes my personal best guess might differ, but Mr. Harmon's historical work is guided by knowledge and keen insight.

The major point that cannot be denied is that people are most concerned with issues that arise in their own experience. For a Christian of Jewish origins in the late First Century, this means dealing with the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the reign of the Emperor Nero, and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. An early Christian would interpret the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross in the light of these events. Mr. Harmon's great strength is in associating these events with the words of the Book of Revelation. Thus, Revelation is revealed to be neither a book of crazy mystical nonsense nor an uncanny prediction of events in the distant future, but an immediate and touching response to issues of the day for early Christians. Only when one has come to this understanding can one make meaningful interpretations of the Book of Revelation for today.

I have always felt that Revelation is a Jewish book in its style and symbolism, though obviously written by a believing Christian. Mr. Harmon explains how this mixture could come to be, in a time when the lines of distinction between Jews and Christians, and between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians, were not yet clearly drawn.

There are places Mr. Harmon leads where I cannot follow. I am a believing Jew, and Mr. Harmon is a believing Christian. Despite our differences, I think that Mr. Harmon's Judeo-Christian characters are possible and believable for their time. For all those open-minded enough to imagine themselves in a different time and a different place, reading Revelation: The Way it Happened is good reading and a great source of knowledge.

--Rabbi Stephen M. Wylen, author The Jews in the Time of Jesus