Having spoken of the apostle john as the author of revelation, lets turn to johns location and experience when he wrote the book. John, the writer of the book of revelation, sets out to tell his readers something vital about the paradox of the days and years ahead. According to new world encyclopedia, the traditional view is that the john who wrote the book of john and the john who wrote revelation are the same guy. Although it encompasses much of prophecy, revelation is a very personal book the apostle john wrote to the seven churches regarding the vision he received from christ. Symbolic language, however, is one of the chief characteristics of apocalyptic literature, of which this book is an. Revelation introduction commentary peoples new testament. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. This summary of the book of revelation provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of revelation. We conclude the series with a look at archaeological and historical evidence relating to the last book of the bible, revelation.
If so, john penned much of the new testament, with only paul and luke writing more than him. The revelation of jesus christ was given to john by god to show his servants what must soon take place. Johns book, however, shows him working not only through the holy spirit but also and more directly through inspiration to the church leaders whom he symbolically lovingly cups in his hands. An apocalyptic letter, it relies on visions, symbols, and old testament references to reveal the ultimate fulfillment. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. The theme of the book is the conflict of christ and his church with antichristian powers the devil, the beast, the false prophet, revelation 16.
Is the book of john, john 1,2,3 and revelation all. The smell of acne face cleanser filled the room as i dove into mysterious depictions of fourfaced angels, beasts from the sea and land, of massive angels, and 100pound hailstones being hurled to the earth. Most people know what i mean when i say john is the author of the book of revelation. Then that would make john the apostle around 90 years old when the revelation to john was written in a era when most people didnt reach 60. Is john the baptist different from john of the book of. John, writer of the book of revelation revelation was written by someone called john, but it is not the same man as wrote johns gospel. Johns visions reveal that jesus has overcome evil by his death and resurrection, and will return one day as the true king of the world. There are writings in the apocrypha midtestament books, not included in the noncatholic bible which refer to john the apostle and the exile to patmos. Is this the same john who wrote the gospel account and three letters. So, the divine author of revelation is jesus christ and the human author is the apostle john.
Who did john write to in the book of revelation answers. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. The seven churches of revelation were real, physical congregations when the apostle john wrote this bewildering last book of the bible around 95 ad, but many scholars believe the passages have a second, hidden meaning. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. John the baptist was the son of elizabeth, marys cousin. To agree with bill, revelation shows that john was given a vision of the heavenly tabernacle.
Three angels broadcasting network 3abn 2,115,778 views 58. John was allegedly banished by the roman authorities to the greek island of patmos, where, according to tradition, he wrote the book of revelation. Apostle john was supposedly exiled to the greek island. The book of revelation starts with this is a revelation from jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. It is the only book of the new testament classified as apocalyptic literature rather than didactic or historical, indicating thereby its extensive use of visions, symbols, and allegory, especially in connection with future events. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos, a greek island where, by most biblical historians, he is considered to be exiled as a result of antichristian persecution under the roman emperor domitian. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos, a greek island where. But say he did at least see a vision of the heavenly tabernacle first before writing the gospel whether he wrote revelation later or not.
The john of revelation was very knowledgeable of the old testament, the activities of christ, and the mid books sometimes called the apocrypha. Some of the church fathers, late in the second century believed that this john was probably the apostle john, and for that reason sought to have the book considered as canonical. Having spoken of the apostle john as the author of revelation, lets turn to john s location and experience when he wrote the book. The apostle john, who wrote it under the inspiration of jesus christ revelation 1. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john, writing from the island of patmos, near greece. He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev. This is a fascinating book and im grateful that i got the opportunity to read it. This confirms the internal evidence of the book of revelation regarding the place where john wrote revelation. From as early as justin martyr in the second century a. For whom was the book of revelation written and why.
When was the book of revelation written by the apostle. The vision or its account may or may not have been symbolic imagery. When was the book of revelation written by the apostle john. Aug 14, 2018 the writer of revelation identifies himself as john. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant john. Mar 19, 2019 the book of revelation starts with this is a revelation from jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. It may not matter to you who wrote the book of revelation, but you cant say that it doesnt matter. To this it may be replied that no new testament writer shows a stronger jewish feeling than is found in johns gospel. This obviously lent a lot of weight to the final book of the bible, if someone as important as one of the original 12 disciples wrote it.
It seems that john received his visions and wrote his apocalypse while he was in exile on the island of patmos. You should not confine your search for book of revelation source material to the old testament. The book of revelation was likely written between a. He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from john to the seven churches in asia rev. Since the apostle john wrote it, the whole book could be taken, not just as an apocalypse conveying a message of comfort and exhortation in extreme times, but as an expression of vindicated grief. The apocalyptic book of revelation is a symbolic glimpse into. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine, john the theologian, and possibly john the apostle. Obviously, god is the ultimate author of the book of revelation.
The book of revelation also called the revelation of john or the revelation of st. Apr 24, 2016 karlo broussard gives the reasons for why the most reasonable answer to the question who wrote the book of revelation. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. The evidence against john the apostle being the author is minimal, and largely based on grammatical and writing style differences with the. I, john, your brother who share with you in jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called patmos because of the word of god and the testimony of jesus translation of the nrsv. Compare the writing styles the gospel of john and the revelation to john are written in two completely different writing styles. The author or revelation wrote in order to resolve this. Yes, they are two different people who shared a very common name. It was written neither by paul nor by the apostle john. This book cracks the mystery of the elaborate, and highly formulaic procedure john used, and gives readers the opportunity to observe how the book of revelation was written, line by line, as though they were peering.
Tradition has long held that john the apostle, whom we have seen penned the fourth gospel and the three letters attributed to him, wrote the last book of scripture. Karlo broussard gives the reasons for why the most reasonable answer to the question who wrote the book of revelation. Apr 05, 2017 22 revelations mark of the beast exposed revelations ancient discoveries duration. The book of revelation is signed by a person named john, so. John the divine is an example of apocalyptic writing a form that delivers a message using symbols, images and numbers. The apocalypse, or revelation to john, the last book of the bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ. Since the roman era, christians and historians have considered the book of revelations writer to be the apostle john, author of the gospel of joh. While i didnt always think so, the evidence now forces me to conclude that john wrote revelation around 90 a. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. The book of revelation was written to seven churches as both encouragement and challenge. He wrote it when he was about 92 years old, while a prisoner of rome on the remote desert penal colony of patmos, an island in the aegean sea. It is john, who states, salvation is from the jews john 4. For he doesnt call himself the disciple whom the lord lovedas happens often in the gospelnor does he say that he was the one who leaned on jesus breast or that he was the brother of.
The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first century, around a. This book cracks the mystery of the elaborate, and highly formulaic procedure john used, and gives readers the opportunity to observe how the book of revelation was written, line by line, as though they were peering over johns shoulder during the creation of it. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. Apr 16, 2011 obviously, god is the ultimate author of the book of revelation. The writer of revelation identifies himself as john. John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final book of the new testament.
May 27, 2011 you should not confine your search for book of revelation source material to the old testament. Parts of the old testament, particularly in the book of daniel, are also written in the apocalyptic genre. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behind the scenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek. Apr, 2011 finally, while there is little to commend the notion that a shadowy figure named john the elder wrote the book of revelation, there is ample evidence that it was written by john the apostle. While there were skeptics, even early on, about the authorship of the text most. As a teenager, i remember being a bit frightened of the book of revelation. The apocalyptic book of revelation is a symbolic glimpse.
And of course, the same god inspired both old testament prophecy and the book of. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. How similar is the book of revelation to old testament prophetic literature. According to tertullian in the prescription of heretics john was banished presumably to patmos after being plunged into boiling oil in rome and suffering nothing from it. When john wrote the book of revelation, he drew heavily from the old testament prophets, and quoted them frequently. The other john was also a cousin of jesus, through marys sister salome and so was als. The very fact that the author of the apocalypse simply calls himself john is a dead giveaway that he was well known throughout the churches in asia minor. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope. Some writers, however, have advanced the preterist from a latin word meaning that which is past view, contending that the apocalypse was penned around a. The theory in this book is solidly and expertly proven, and presented in an approachable way. I believe that the mortal wound to the head of the beast is an allusion to this event in josephus wars of the jews, book 5, chapter, paragraph 3. For john, alone and desolate on patmos, the last supper could have been the last normal moment in his life. Finally, while there is little to commend the notion that a shadowy figure named john the elder wrote the book of revelation, there is ample evidence that it was written by john the apostle. It is claimed that revelation must have been penned before a.