InterVarsity Press. [96] Her The Face of the Deep is a meditation upon the Apocalypse. One eventually achieved official recognition, becoming a shrine in the 4th century. John was caught up in the Spirit and he was instructed to write all the things he saw. Then in the ninth and tenth verses, that is, Revelation 1:9-10, John refers to himself as I., I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Purpose of Writing: The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given to John by God "to show his servants what must soon take place." This book is filled with mysteries about things to come. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. Look, I am coming soon! Here is a partial quote from the Fragment. "[85], The radical discipleship interpretation asserts that the Book of Revelation is best understood as a handbook for radical discipleship; i.e., how to remain faithful to the spirit and teachings of Jesus and avoid simply assimilating to surrounding society. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks . He then describes a series of prophetic visions, including figures such as the Seven-Headed Dragon, the Serpent, and the Beast, which culminate in the Second Coming of Jesus. The temple of the tabernacle, in Heaven, is opened (15:15), beginning the "Seven Bowls" revelation. That means John referred to himself in the first chapters and the last chapter. Today we want to look a little bit closer and learn more about the person who wrote Revelation. "Silence in heaven for about half an hour" (8:1). 17K views, 727 likes, 654 loves, 3.7K comments, 237 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from EWTN: Starting at 8 a.m. Clement of Alexandria. (22:15), Christ's reassurance that his coming is imminent. Under these conditions, a Christian named John wrote Revelation, addressing it to the seven churches that were in Asia Minor. This is a story that truly ends well for those in Christ. The only other clue to the author's identity is that he states he received his visions while on the island of Patmos (Rev. One of these he called "the sovereignty of the intellect"[105] which he saw in a technology-based totalitarian society. An angel appears, with one foot on the sea and one foot on the land, having an opened little book in his hand. After that, Lawrence thought, the book became preoccupied with the birth of the baby messiah and "flamboyant hate and simple lust for the end of the world." D. H. Lawrence took an opposing, pessimistic view of Revelation in the final book he wrote, Apocalypse. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [c] It occupies a central place in Christian eschatology. Praised for being "rich" while impoverished and in tribulation. . [citation needed], Some commentators argue that it is these purposes and not the structure that really matter. The author of the Book of Revelation identifies himself only as "John". The "star" then opens the bottomless pit. However, sometime after the child is born, he is caught up to God's throne while the Woman flees into the wilderness into her place prepared of God that they should feed her there for 1,260 days (, A Beast (with seven heads, ten horns, and ten crowns on his horns and on his heads names of blasphemy) emerges from the Sea, having one mortally wounded head that is then healed. 81. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. It seems clear that the early church attributed the book to John the Apostle. She says humanity is to look behind the symbols rather than make a fetish out of them. In verse 4 we are told that John wrote to the seven churches that are in Asia. Ken Bowers, Hiding in plain sight, Cedar Fort, 2000 p. 175. Whats very interesting about this book is that John has an encounter with Jesus again in the first chapter. Because such a view presents current problems in an eschatological context, the message of Revelation also becomes relevant to future generations of Christians who, Christ forewarned, would likewise suffer persecution. God tells us in Revelation 1:2 why he chose John to see the Revelation prophecy and to write it. Consequently, the work is viewed as a warning to not conform to contemporary Greco-Roman society which John "unveils" as beastly, demonic, and subject to divine judgment.[109]. [14] The beast with seven heads and the number 666 seem to allude directly to the emperor Nero (reigned AD 5468), but this does not require that Revelation was written in the 60s, as there was a widespread belief in later decades that Nero would return. The arguments for rejecting the apostolic authorship stem largely from the theological climate of the third century. Though the question of authorship has been much discussed, the language . Christ tells John to "write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.". However, most biblical scholars now contend that these were separate individuals since the text was written around 100 AD, after the death of John the Apostle, although many historians have defended the identification of the Author of the Gospel of John with that of the Book of Revelation based on the . The Seven Spiritual Figures. And that you may be still more confident, that repenting this truly there remains for you a sure hope of salvation, listen to a tale, which is not a tale but a narrative, handed down and committed to the custody of memory, about the Apostle John. "[67] As participatory agents in the work of salvation for all humankind, "This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. 1.10). Eusebius. Every mountain and island is moved out of place (6:14). God has nothing but the best planned for those who love him. Now the question before us is when was Revelation written and where was it written? He states that he is there for the Gospel. John was persecuted because he was fulfilling his mission, preaching the gospel and making disciples. 1. Although some date it during Neros reign (A.D. 54-68), their arguments are unconvincing and conflict with the view of the early church. This would have been shortly after the apostle John died. . Prior to him writing the book, there was a time of tremendous persecution in the church. [77], The Book of Mormon states that John the Apostle is the author of Revelation and that he was foreordained by God to write it. 1, p.240. Is the Gospel of John John the Baptist? Answer. In the last chapter, Revelation 22:8, John uses his name once again. [citation needed] The chief temptation for Christians in the 1st century, and today, is to fail to hold fast to the non-violent teachings and example of Jesus and instead be lured into unquestioning adoption and assimilation of worldly, national or cultural values imperialism, nationalism, and civil religion being the most dangerous and insidious. [122], According to James Stuart Russell, the book is an exposition of Olivet Discourse found in the Synoptic Gospels in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. [53] Nevertheless, there is a "complete lack of consensus" among scholars about the structure of Revelation. Early in chapter 1 of the book we discover the way John wrote the book. Christian tradition has considered the Book of Revelation's writer to be John the Evangelist (himself identified as John the Apostle ), purported author of the Gospel of John. [39], The Decretum Gelasianum, which is a work written by an anonymous scholar between 519 and 553, contains a list of books of scripture presented as having been reckoned as canonical by the Council of Rome (AD 382). Letters of John, abbreviation John, three New Testament writings, all composed sometime around 100 ce and traditionally attributed to St. John the Apostle, son of Zebedee and disciple of Jesus. Hendrickson. That John died in Ephesus is also stated by St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon circa 180 ce, who says John wrote his Gospel and letters at Ephesus and Revelation at Ptmos. 1995. vol. 12. Unbeknownst to him, he was writing about things that would happen thousands of years into the future. [102] Accordingly, Revelation's meaning is partially determined by the way John goes about saying things, partially by the context in which readers receive the message and partially by its appeal to something beyond logic. When you read Revelation, nowhere in the book does it state that John is in exile or imprisoned. Finally, dating Revelation during Neros reign does not allow time for Johns ministry in Asia Minor to reach the point at which the authorities would have felt the need to exile him.[12]. Irenaeus. Had he done so, he would have had to use their (Hebrew) poetry whereas he wanted to write his own. In like manner, Tertullian cites the author as the Apostle John and quotes from almost every chapter of the book. We will start with Revelation 1:4. 2. Revelation is a pastoral letter written to the church at large to real people then living (1:4, 11). Martin Luther called Revelation "neither apostolic nor prophetic" in the 1522 preface to his translation of the New Testament (he revised his position with a much more favorable assessment in 1530),[46] Huldrych Zwingli labelled it "not a book of the Bible",[47] and it was the only New Testament book on which John Calvin did not write a commentary. Whitlock wrote: "Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the Roman Empire's main rival, was part of the intellectual environment in which Christianity came into being, just as were Judaism, the Greek-Roman religion, and the worship of Isis and Mithras. [32], Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 348) does not name it among the canonical books (Catechesis IV.3336).[33]. Others have pointed to aspects of composition which have been ignored such as the similarities of prophetic inspiration to modern poetic inspiration, or the parallels with Greek drama. The spiritual decline of the the seven churches (chaps. 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. Also known as: Apocalypse of John, Book of Revelation. Geisler and Nix. This clearly reveals that the person identified as John is the author of the book. Irenaeus quotes every chapter of the book of the Revelation. But because he had, I suppose, some intelligence, he very soon ceased, and even recalled those whom he had banished. After the eighth angel has devastated the earth, the seven angels introduced in verse 2 prepare to sound their trumpets (8:6). John was part of Jesus' "inner circle" and, along with Peter and James, John was given the privilege of witnessing Jesus' conversation with Moses and . Basically, John was chosen because of his witness of the life of Christ. In this interpretation the primary agenda of the book is to expose as impostors the worldly powers that seek to oppose the ways of God and God's Kingdom. The tradition of John's exile was started by Augustine about 200 years after John lived. I guess the many symbols and images can be overwhelming and somewhat scary. First we will consider the internal and external data that helps us know that the apostle John wrote the book. John wrote in this way not merely because the Lord Jesus had ascended and gone back to the glory. John F. Walvoord. 1. He saw him in his natural form as a human; he also saw him transfigured and in all his glory. Revelation 1:4 (NASB). Divisions in the book seem to be marked by the repetition of key phrases, by the arrangement of subject matter into blocks, and associated with its Christological passages,[52] and much use is made of significant numbers, especially the number seven, which represented perfection according to ancient numerology. This list mentions it as a part of the New Testament canon. Where Did John Write Revelation? The internal evidence states that John is the author of the entire book of Revelation. on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world; . Doctrine and Covenants, section 77, postulates answers to specific questions regarding the symbolism contained in the Book of Revelation. Futurists, meanwhile, believe that Revelation describes future events with the seven churches growing into the body of believers throughout the age, and a reemergence or continuous rule of a Greco-Roman system with modern capabilities described by John in ways familiar to him; and idealist or symbolic interpretations consider that Revelation does not refer to actual people or events but is an allegory of the spiritual path and the ongoing struggle between good and evil. A Zoroastrian influence is completely plausible". Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. [79][82], Christian Gnostics are unlikely to be attracted to the teaching of Revelation because the doctrine of salvation through the sacrificed Lamb, which is central to Revelation, is repugnant to Gnostics. Such matters are eternal and outside of normal human reckoning. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. This tradition is credible because banishment was a common punishment used during the Imperial period for a number of offenses. There is both internal and external evidence that reveals that the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation while he was imprisoned on the Island of Patmos. "It is very nice if you are poor and not humble to bring your enemies down to utter destruction, while you yourself rise up to grandeur. I mentioned earlier that the book of Revelation can be scary, depending on whose side you are on. He saw Revelation as comprising two discordant halves. Later, the Ephesians claimed this fugitive had actually been the beloved disciple himself. For example, Howard-Brook and Gwyther[114] regard the Book of Enoch as an equally significant but contextually different source. [111] The eventual exclusion of other contemporary apocalyptic literature from the canon may throw light on the unfolding historical processes of what was officially considered orthodox, what was heterodox, and what was even heretical. He is the author ofThe Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. There are lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. (21:28), Description of the New Jerusalem. Over half of the references stem from Daniel, Ezekiel, Psalms, and Isaiah, with Daniel providing the largest number in proportion to length and Ezekiel standing out as the most influential. Since the early church fathers had already concluded that 1) the Apostle John was the author of Revelation, 2) the book of Revelation was written near the end of Domitians reign, and 3) that the book was written while John was on the Island of Patmos, we can conclude that Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354 430) had no influence on the authorship, dating, or Johns location while writing the book. John Walvoord makes this statement about the authorship of Revelation. An attack by them on the authorship of John intended to weaken the force of the prophecy . The author of the first letter is not identified, but the writer of the second and third calls himself "presbyter" (elder). Eusebius, in his Church History (c.AD 330), mentioned that the Apocalypse of John was accepted as a canonical book and rejected at the same time: The Apocalypse of John is counted as both accepted (Kirsopp. The Collegeville Bible Commentary Liturgical Press, 1992 p. 1296. Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 150 215) confirms that John had been on the Island of Patmos. ), "Collected New Essays in Comparative Religion", S Moyise p. 13 reports no work whatsoever done between 1912 and 1984, Ian Boxall The Revelation of St John London: Continuum & Peabody MA: Hendrickson (2006) p. 254, G. K. Beale John's use of the Old Testament in Revelation Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press (1998) p. 109, Brandon D. Smith, "The Trinity in the Book of Revelation: Seeing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Johns Apocalypse" (IVP Academic, 2022), Historicist interpretations of the Book of Revelation, Historicism (Christianity) Seventh-day Adventists, Apocalypse of John dated astronomically, Textual variants in the Book of Revelation, "Letter of Innocent I on the Canon of Scripture", "Tertullian: Decretum Gelasianum (English translation)", "Eccumenical Council of Florence and Council of Basel", "Church Fathers: Council of Carthage (A.D. 419)", "Pope Benedict: Read Book of Revelation as Christ's victory over evil International Catholic Online", Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, "Seventh-day Adventist 28 Fundamental Beliefs", "The Final Consummation: American Bah's, Millerites and Biblical Time Prophecy", "Bah' Reference Library - Some Answered Questions, Pages 45-61", "Bart Ehrman Discusses the Apocalypticist", "The Book of Revelation: Plagues as Part of the Eschatological Human Condition", Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Safety of high-energy particle collision experiments, Existential risk from artificial intelligence, Self-Indication Assumption Doomsday argument rebuttal, Self-referencing doomsday argument rebuttal, List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events, List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Book_of_Revelation&oldid=1152475333, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015, All articles containing potentially dated statements, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from September 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia with a Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. On this island in the southern part of the Aegean Sea, John had a vision of Jesus Christ and wrote the prophetic book of Revelation. [20] Revelation may instead have been composed in the context of a conflict within the Christian community of Asia Minor over whether to engage with, or withdraw from, the far larger non-Christian community: Revelation chastises those Christians who wanted to reach an accommodation with the Roman cult of empire. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [120] Richard Bauckham has argued that John presents an early view of the Trinity through his descriptions of the visions and his identifying Jesus and the Holy Spirit with YHWH. [87] Various Christian anarchists, such as Jacques Ellul, have identified the State and political power as the Beast[88] and the events described, being their doings and results, the aforementioned 'wrath'. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 4.14.2; 4.17.6; 4.18.6; 4.21.3; 5.28.2; 5.34.2. The other enemy he styled "vulgarity"[106] and that was what he found in Revelation. .[8]. Then in chapters two and three of the book of Revelation, the names of the seven churches are given and a message is given to them. The author names himself as simply "John" in the text, but his precise identity remains a point of academic debate. Irenaeus. Athanasius (AD 367) in his Letter 39,[34] Augustine of Hippo (c.AD 397) in his book On Christian Doctrine (Book II, Chapter 8),[35] Tyrannius Rufinus (c.AD 400) in his Commentary on the Apostles' Creed,[36] Pope Innocent I (AD 405) in a letter to the bishop of Toulouse[37] and John of Damascus (about AD 730) in his work An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book IV:7)[38] listed "the Revelation of John the Evangelist" as a canonical book. Those churches were strong and spiritually healthy in the mid-60s, when Paul last ministered in Asia Minor. John then refers to himself as I once again in verse 10. Against Heresies. What language would you use to describe that? A minority of senior clerics and scholars, such as Eusebius (d. 339/340), recognize at least one further John as a companion of Jesus, John the Presbyter. Praised for their works, love, service, faith, and patience. The goal today is not to give you a deep dive into the entire book, even though I will give you a brief synopsis. The Book of Revelation,[a] also erroneously called the Book of Revelations,[b][4] is the final book of the New Testament (and therefore the final book of the Christian Bible). Similar to the early Protestants, Adventists maintain a historicist interpretation of the Bible's predictions of the apocalypse. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne . John is given a measuring rod to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. What John also describes is what happens after that, and then ultimately the judgement of Satan and all who choose not to follow Christ. "Flowers preach to us if we will hear", begins her poem 'Consider the lilies of the field', "Christians should resemble fire-flies, not glow-worms; their brightness drawing eyes upward, not downward. This was part of Johns challenge, describing things thousands of years into the future with language and references of the first century AD. Eastern Orthodoxy treats the text as simultaneously describing contemporaneous events (events occurring at the same time) and as prophecy of events to come, for which the contemporaneous events were a form of foreshadow. Hendrickson. In her view, what Revelation has to teach is patience. Historical records indicate that Nero reigned from A.D. 54 to A.D. 68 and Domitian reigned from A.D. 81 to A.D. 96. That is the testimony of both the internal and external evidence. Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. At this time, the ruling Roman emperor was Domitian. In contrast, Tina Pippin states that John writes "horror literature" and "the misogyny which underlies the narrative is extreme."[103]. I am the First and the Last. In 1 John 1:1 the apostle John speaks about touching the Lord with his hands and seeing Him. In your study guide to Revelation you state that its author was unlikely to be the apostle John since in the Gospel of John and his letters he never refers to himself as John, but goes by "the elder" or "the one whom Jesus loved." Along with that textual evidence, I was wondering what other evidence supports this view. [113], Much of Revelation employs ancient sources, primarily but not exclusively from the Old Testament. 1966. p. 12. The author uses the number seven, for example, in a symbolic sense to signify totality or perfection. References to a thousand years (chapter 20) have led some to expect that the final victory over evil will come after the completion of some millennium (see Millennialism). The Revelation of Jesus Christ. For a full quote visit The Muratorian Fragment. St. John receives his Revelation, Saint-Sever Beatus, 11th century Main articles: Authorship of the Johannine works and John of Patmos The name Revelation comes from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: ( apokalypsis ), which means "unveiling" or "revelation". The interesting point is that the order is not the same. The latter not only quotes from the book but confirms that John the Apostle was on the Isle of Patmos. Writing in the second century, Irenaeus declared that Revelation had been written toward the end of Domitians reign. Notice that in the following quote Eusebius states that to do the same thing that the latter did refers to Nero. [75] The red Dragon spoken of in Revelation 12:3 "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads"[76] are interpreted as symbolic of the seven provinces dominated by the Umayyads: Damascus, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Africa, Andalusia, and Transoxania. [citation needed]. John the Baptist did not write any books that we know of -and he had his own disciples. ET on EWTN: Holy Mass and Rosary on Saturday, April 29, 2023 - Memorial of Saint. It appears that Revelation was written between A.D. 43-47. He states that he is there for the Gospel. Some of these writers have no connection with established Christian faiths but, nevertheless, found in Revelation a source of inspiration. Revelation to John, also called Book of Revelation or Apocalypse of John, abbreviation Revelation, last biblical book of the New Testament. 4, Ante-Nicene Fathers. [112], Scholar Barbara Whitlock pointed out a similarity between the consistent destruction of thirds depicted in the Book of Revelation (a third of mankind by plagues of fire, smoke, and brimstone, a third of the trees and green grass, a third of the sea creatures and a third of the ships at sea, etc.) [11] It begins with John, on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, addressing a letter to the "Seven Churches of Asia". This points to a John that had a significant place in the early church. There is some speculation that Emperor Domitian was the one that sent John to Patmos, but some evidences say otherwise. Hippolytus quotes extensively from chapters 17 and 18, attributing them to John the Apostle. In the first chapter, the risen and exalted Christ is speaking to John. A simple outline for the book of Revelation is found in Revelation 1:19. 1985. p. 755. As for the letters of Paul, they themselves show those who wish to understand from which place and for which cause they were directed.
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