The only other clue to the authors identity is that he states he received his visions while on the island of patmos rev. The revelation from jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. 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. The book of revelation, it is argued, focuses almost exclusively on a coming of christ at the end of history. Obviously, god is the ultimate author of the book of revelation. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek. Apr 24, 2016 22 revelations mark of the beast exposed revelations ancient discoveries duration. Perhaps more than any other new testament book, the date for the writing of revelation is important for interpreting the book. However, the view that the book was written later in the firstcentury, most likely in the late 80s or early 90s holds greater strength. Using visions and symbols, the writer illustrates the triumph of good over evil and the creation of a new heaven and new earth. As a teenager, i remember being a bit frightened of the book of revelation. The writer of revelation identifies himself as john. Who wrote the book of revelation in the bible answers. Early tradition unanimously identified him as john the apostle, author of the fourth gospel and three epistles.
Those holding an older view for the dating of revelation promote the late 60s as the time the book was written. This post starts a series through the book of revelation. 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. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos, a greek island where. The book of revelation is traditionally said to be written by john. This revelation was given to him by god the father, and it was communicated to the apostle john by an angel 1. 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.
The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. The revelation of jesus, the messiah a brief introduction to the subject, with some important clues to understanding key prophetic issues. The claim that revelation was written by john the apostle is simply an early patristic tradition that is contradicted by the evidence of the book itself. 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. What a thrilling ray of hope this must have generated in the hearts of those early, suffering saints. From as early as justin martyr in the second century a. Christ tells john to write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. Jul 04, 2016 before starting in revelation 1 i want to give plenty of explanations for the authorship, textual design, interpretation, date, themes, and outlines for the book of revelation. Because of this, it is concluded that the same author cannot be responsible for both books. Twice within 6 years the writer gave a 4months course of sunday morning sermons to his people on the book. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. The revelation of john is the one book in the new testament that claims john as its author. The book of revelation is one of the most complicated books of the bible, even for christians who have spent a lot of time reading the bible.
The crowned conqueror on the white horse armed with a bow, revelation 6. He had been sent there a s a punishment because he taught the word of god. Dec 10, 2015 who wrote the bibles book of revelation. He also wrote the gospel of john, as well as the epistles of 1 john, 2 john, and 3 john. John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the.
In his letters to the churches, jesus reveals that he knows and cares about us individually. He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev. Modern religious scholarship attributes the book of revelation to john of patmos, who wrote the book of revelation around the time of the roman emperor. Apr 16, 2011 the author of the book of revelation identifies himself as john, and the book has been traditionally credited to john the apostle. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Perhaps as much as any other nt book, we have evidence for an early, widespread, and consistent reception of revelation. The book written within and without, and sealed with seven seals, revelation 5. Brian chilton investigates the author of the book of revelation. Apr 07, 2018 perhaps more than any other new testament book, the date for the writing of revelation is important for interpreting the book. Rosscup comments on dr morris book the revelation record a 521pp. Christians throughout history have given almost unanimous affirmation to the identity of the books author as john the apostle, who had been exiled to the island of patmos by the authorities for preaching the gospel in asia.
Thus, revelation was not just for john and the saints of the seven churches but for other saints then and now. The first verse in the book of revelation does not say exactly who that particular john is, but it is naturally assumed to be john the apostle since it was the apostles that were given the authority by god to write scripture. If the book was written in the 90s, then the immediate background for the book is persecution of christians under domitian. The first verse in the book of revelation does not say exactly who that particular john is, but it is. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. Most people know what i mean when i say john is the author of the book of revelation. The author of the revelation i the revelation was written by a man called john. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. Due to his testimony of jesus, john was exiled from ephesus to the aegean island of patmos, off the west coast of asia minor. He wrote five books against marcion hippolytus 170235 a. The author of the book of revelation christopher l.
This very powerful and dynamic teachingtool on the book of revelation shines a light on the symbolism and the mysteries of god revealed to. This very powerful and dynamic teachingtool on the book of revelation shines a light on the symbolism and the mysteries of god revealed to mankind in this great book. Before starting in revelation 1 i want to give plenty of explanations for the authorship, textual design, interpretation, date, themes, and outlines for the book of revelation. He was a jewish christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets, and was accepted by the. 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. A simple outline for the book of revelation is found in revelation 1. Is this the same john who wrote the gospel account and three letters. He thought we can neither affirm nor deny the apostle as the writer, but the authorship of this book is the least important question regarding it. 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. 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 church does not have an official stance on who the author is. The contrast in literary form between the direct address of the letters and the symbolic drama of the remainder of the book is startling, but no more so than the fact that an apocalyptic.
Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine, john the theologian, and possibly john the apostle. Useful bible studies revelation commentary study guide. That this book was written by the apostle and evangelist john, is clear not only from the express mention of his name, and from his office, a servant of jesus christ, revelation 1. This name indicates the meaning of revelation it uncovers matters that had been hidden and discloses events that would happen long after it was written. Tradition states that john the apostle served as the pastor to the churches in ephesus. 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. Todays post looks at the evidence for and against john being the author of the book of revelation. As a final response to this objection, much of the supposed differences are overdrawn and incapable of.
Christians throughout history have given almost unanimous affirmation to the identity of the book s author as john the apostle, who had been exiled to the island of patmos by the authorities for preaching the gospel in asia. May 26, 2019 the claim that revelation was written by john the apostle is simply an early patristic tradition that is contradicted by the evidence of the book itself. Three angels broadcasting network 3abn 3,010,954 views 58. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. The book of revelation ignites a confidence in the soul of every child of god of any century. He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from john to the seven churches in asia rev. The book of revelation was most likely written during the.
The writer of the book of revelation was the apostle john not the same as john the baptist. Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first century, around a. The things john had already seen are recorded in chapter 1. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, revelation was not given to scare us. John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the apostles the first leaders of the christian church. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. Today most scholars date the book of revelation to late in the first century, during the reign of the emperor domitian. The book of revelation opens with seven letters to seven churches. King james version this book was written to encourage persecuted believers and affirm their faith that god will care for them. The book of revelation as a whole has the external form of a letter in that it begins with an opening salutation 1. 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 author of the book of revelation calls himself john rev.
These lectures have also been given in bible institute courses, illustrated with large, colored, wall charts. The writer of the book of revelation much has been written on the question who was the author of this book. Indeed, as we will see, the book speaks to our period even more than that of the seven churches. In the first chapter, the risen and exalted christ is speaking to john. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1. To enter into an extended investigation of this would greatly exceed the limits which i have, and would not comport with my design in these notes. By the time the writings that are now included in the new testament were assembled in their present form, three letters and one gospel were also attributed to john. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, who testifies to everything he sawthat is, the word of god and the testimony of jesus. 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. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. The greek name of the bible book of revelation, apoka.
Nov 14, 2017 those holding an older view for the dating of revelation promote the late 60s as the time the book was written. This work is the result of 25 years study of the book of revelation. Before we look at these letters as a whole, lets briefly look at the seven cities where the recipients lived. He lived in the city called ephesus, but was on the island called patmos when he was writing this book. For whom was the book of revelation written and why. For a start, the author of revelation nowhere claims to be the apostle john, so that last opt. As a final response to this objection, much of the supposed differences are overdrawn and incapable of proving much. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to. Revelation overview john gills exposition on the whole bible. The writer of the book of revelation calls him self john. Four times the author identifies himself as john 1. 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. Revelation overview john gills exposition on the whole.