THIRUVANATHAPURAM: It is her curiosity to unveil the hidden meanings of the Book of Revelation, which abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, that made Beulah Jacob, a clinical biochemist, pen ‘Great Wonders Unveiled’.
“It is a study on the Book of Revelation and is based on a lot of research,” says Beulah who took four years to complete the book.
She says it is the least read and understood book of the Bible. “I was eager to bring out its hidden meanings but initially, I didn’t know how.” During a visit to the US, she happened to meet Dr M M Ninan who was taking Bible classes in San Francisco.
“He was teaching the Book of Daniel and I realised he had indepth knowledge of the subject. I asked him how well he understood the Book of Revelation. He gave me a CD with his notes on the book,” recollects Beulah. Later she visited book shops to collect more details on the book. “After my father’s death I happened to find among his collection a book by Sale-Harrison titled ‘The Great Unveiling’. I opened it and saw the interpretation of the Book of Revelation verse by verse,” she says.
Beulah started translating it into Malayalam. “Initially I didn’t understand many things,” she says. But finally she succeeded in translating the entire book into Malayalam titled Albuthangalude Maraneekkal in 2006. Her latest book is its English version. “The Malayalam version was well-received in Kerala. This attempt in English is in compliance with the request of many who are not well-versed in Malayalam.”
In the preface, she says that what prompted her to write the book is the enigmatic nature of the Book of Revelation. “The wide use of symbolic and allegorical language makes Revelation a mystical book,” she says.
The ‘Great Wonders Unveiled’ has verse by verse interpretation of the Revelation. The verses from Revelation are written in bold italics and the others in italics. An introduction and conclusion have been added to each chapter. All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
“The Book of Revelation is a prophetic book. In the first chapter it pronounces a blessing on those who read, hear and obey what is written in it. The aim of the book is to show God’s servants things which must shortly take place. I have tried my best to interpret it as simple as possible,” says Beulah, who is the daughter of the late Rev K P Philip of the Mar Thoma Church and Dr Annamma Philip. She is married to M P Jacob and the couple has three children and six grandchildren.
Philipose Mar Chrysostom Valiya Metropolitan writes in the foreword to the book: “It is written from a common man’s perspective and is a good guide for the study of the Book of Revelation.”
The book has 22 chapters and a detailed bibliography, and is priced at Rs 210. It is available at all the leading Christian book shops.