As mentioned at the beginning of the article, revelation was not given to scare us. Thus, revelation was not just for john and the saints of the seven churches but for other saints then and now. How did john the author of the book of revelation in the holy. A wellknown reference book on new testament martyrs, written by john foxe 1515 1587, states that the apostle, as punishment for being a believer in christ, was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. The first commentary on the book of revelation to be preserved, written by victorinus, regards john the apostle as the author. 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. Revelation to john, last book of the new testament. It is clear, from the enormous difference in their use of the greek language, that the john of revelation did not write the fourth gospel commonly known as the gospel of john. 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. From the latter part of the second century it was assumed that the fourth gospel, the letters of john and the book of revelation were all written by john the son of zebedee. This is the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. By this process we have covered most of the new testament apart from johns writings.
The gospel of john, the letters of 1, 2 and 3 john, and revelation saint john the evangelist on patmos by hans burgkmair the writings of john are often assigned the latest dates of all new testament literature, with some secular scholars placing them well into the second century a. Most definitely the gospel of john was written before the destruction of jerusalem ad 70 as references are made within the book to structures existing before that siege of jerusalem. Some people in the first centuries of the christian church gaius, dionysius, marcion did not believe john was the author. The 144,000 in the book of revelation david jeremiah blog.
This has been a question at the back of my mind for some time and its great to hear your reasons for believing john to be the author. After these things i looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands revelation 7. Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first century, around a. This confirms the internal evidence of the book of revelation regarding the place where john wrote revelation. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. If revelation was written before ad 70, it is reasonable to assume that the vision given to john was meant to reveal the apocalyptic events surrounding the destruction of jerusalemevents that were still in johns future but are in our past. He was a jewish christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets, and was accepted by the. Did paul know about johns revelation before it was written. Remember, as we saw above, this is the main episode of revelation. So we can see as plain as day, even though revelations was not written yet, peter was already teaching about the new heavens and the new earth, and peter said that paul teaches about it too v16, and they knew about it not only from direct revelation they had from god, but they were both experts and teaching the book of isaiah, where the new. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine, john the theologian, and possibly john the apostle. 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. Apart from the book of revelation, john has written other bible books which are.
The author of the book of revelation christopher l. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to everything he saw. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. Gaius and dionysius, both from the third century, had a theological motive for not wanting john the apostle to be the author of revelation.
Later in the second century, the book was attributed to the apostle john. Sep 20, 2010 the person who wrote the gospel according to john and the book of revelation was beheaded. Book of revelation apocalypse written on patmos island greeka. Since john lived until the end of the first century his. How to study the book of revelation christian truth center. The book of revelation is the last book he wrote around 96 ad. How did john the author of the book of revelation in the. So far, we can only say that it looks like both were written sometime in the 60s. The writing of the new testament john and revelation.
Apr, 2011 if revelation was written before ad 70, it is reasonable to assume that the vision given to john was meant to reveal the apocalyptic events surrounding the destruction of jerusalemevents that were still in johns future but are in our past. The book of revelation john s second work, the book of revelation, was also written in aramaic. That obstacle is the date when book of revelation was written or more appropriately when the vision was seen by john. Johns disciples, likewise, did not merely translate, they also interpreted, e. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are at the present time, and the things which will take place after this in the future verse 19, emphasis added throughout. We know that the apostle john was exiled for his faith late in life revelation 1. John wrote revelation when he was a prisoner on the isle of patmos for preaching about. John was known to the people as john the baptist, and on the lords day, april 20, 33 ad, john the baptist was in spirit, dead. Was revelation written before or after the destruction of the. Apr 07, 2018 perhaps more than any other new testament book, the date for the writing of revelation is important for interpreting the book. Perhaps more than any other new testament book, the date for the writing of revelation is important for interpreting the book. The most plausible theory of johns death states that john was arrested in ephesus and faced martyrdom. Hence part of the message of revelation would apply to john s time, and part would be for future generations.
Tradition says that this was after john had been sentenced to death by. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself only as john. In the fourteenth then after nero, domitian having raised up a second persecution, he john was banished to the island of patmos, and wrote the apocalypse. When was the book of revelation written by the apostle john. Mar 21, 2007 now, although revelations was written after paul wrote most of his letters, the book of isaiah was written close to a thousand years before paul was alive, and paul makes it clear that his gift from god was to teach the old testament prophecies to the both jewish and gentile believers in christ. This, of course, does not presuppose that all the prophecies in revelation have already been fulfilled. Bible biblestudytools video when was the book of revelation written.
John was the youngest disciple of the twelve disciples of jesus who became an apostle of the church. The dating of the book of revelation now returns to affect the dating of johns gospel. Jul 04, 2016 most evidence that supports another author other than john is based on the differences between johns gospel and the book of revelation. The early 2nd century writer, justin martyr, was the first to equate the author of revelation with john the apostle. Apr 24, 2016 karlo broussard shows how the evidence that john s book of revelation is a prophecy of the impending destruction of jerusalem in 70ad is strong evidence that the book of revelation was actually. The book of revelation written on patmos greece, dodecanese. John s disciples, likewise, did not merely translate, they also interpreted, e. We read about several johns in the new testament, including john the baptist and john the apostle, the son of zebedee. Here, at the end of the book of revelation, john recorded the exact same message that he did in chapter 1. Note that each of them required some additional designation to distinguish them from others with the same name. If the book was written in the 90s, then the immediate background for the book is persecution of christians under domitian.
John is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples the other being andrew recounted in john 1. However, the view that the book was written later in the firstcentury, most likely in the late 80s or early 90s holds greater strength. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek. Listen to this report filed by john in the seventh chapter of revelation. Karlo broussard shows how the evidence that johns book of revelation is a prophecy of the impending destruction of jerusalem in 70ad is strong. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son.
Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. John the apostle was the son of zebedee and the younger brother of james, son of zebedee james the greater. 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. Revelation to john appears to be a collection of separate. In any case, there was indeed toward the end of the first century, in the city of ephesus, a christian teacher named john, whose authority was great in all of the. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john. For a free downloadable commentary and supplementary materials over the book of revelation, please click. 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. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to. The bible does not give us details on how the apostle john died, but tradition gives us a few theories. The book of revelation has been traditionally dated by scholars to have been written in or about 96 ad. Then your name will not be written into the book of life revelation. Dec 19, 20 did the apostle john write the book of revelation.
Obviously this date would completely prevent anyone from accepting the preterist theory that the events described in. The book of the revelation was written about the vision that john saw while banished to the greek island of patmos on the aegean sea. If john was much older than jesus it is more likely that john of revelation is another john. Eight reasons against john the apostle as the author of. The revelation of the lord in chapter one also teaches us much about the nature and qualifications of the one who heads the church and drives history. The evidence against john the apostle being the author is minimal, and largely based on grammatical and writing style differences with the. The book of revelation johns second work, the book of revelation, was also written in aramaic. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. Indeed, as we will see, the book speaks to our period even more than that of the seven churches. The person who wrote the gospel according to john and the book of revelation was beheaded.
Yes, revelation is physically the last book in the holy bible, but not the last book written in the bible. The book of mormon states that john the apostle is the author of revelation and that he was foreordained by god to write it. Most evidence that supports another author other than john is based on the differences between johns gospel and the book of revelation. Where did john write the book of revelation answers. Jul 31, 2018 the book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john. From ephesus he was ordered to be sent to rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. As i mentioned before, we have evidence that revelation was written considerably before the date it is often assigned in the 90s. No mention of future destruction of jerusalem, which for fullpreterists is odd, since john writes the entire book of revelation about it and the topic would be front and center on his mind that is only 24 year away. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. According to church tradition, their mother was salome he was first a disciple of john the baptist. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos, a greek island where. It is possible therefore that the disciple john could have written the book, assuming that he were around the same age as jesus.
The revelation of ezra, for example, is another revelation written by a jewish prophet not a follower of jesus very similar to johns in many ways and very grieved about the roman empire and. The island of patmos has been celebrated for almost the last 2,000 years as the place where the divine and godinspired book of revelation was written by saint john, one of the twelve apostles of jesus christ. Those holding an older view for the dating of revelation promote the late 60s as the time the book was written. 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 book of revelation often called the revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. When you read revelation, nowhere in the book does it state that john is in exile or imprisoned. Nero was the first persecutor of christians when h. The book of the revelation of jesus christ was written by john probably close to the same time he wrote the epistles which bear his name. Was revelation written before or after the destruction of. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john, who stated that he was writing from the island of patmos.
When was the book of revelation written by the apostle. For whom was the book of revelation written and why. From historical records then, it would seem that we may date the writing to within those eighteen months c96 ad to 98 ad. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Its title is derived from the first word of the koine greek text.
Since there is strong tradition that the apostle john lived till the end of the 1st century and that he wrote. If you were a religious or political prisoner because the roman emperor disagreed with you, you were released when the emperor died. Hence part of the message of revelation would apply to johns time, and part would be for future generations. One gospel, three letters, and the book of revelation are all attributed to john. Even though the book of revelation was finally included in the new testament canon because christian leaders came to think it had been written by jesus disciple, john the son of zebedee, there were outspoken dissenters against its inclusion. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. The book of revelation is cardinal to the whole issue.
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