Revelation a study guide about the book of revelation. How did john the author of the book of revelation in the. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john. He wrote it when he was about 92 years old, while a prisoner of rome on the remote desert penal. For example, important second century witnesses to the apostle johns authorship include justin martyr, irenaeus, clement of alexandria, and tertullian. That is, the book of revelation was almost certainly written by someone other than the author of the gospel according to john. Through vivid imagery, john writes revelation to reveal the end of human history, the return of.
This is the holy book of revelation, known as the revelation of st. However, the true author of revelation is god and jesus christ is the one who have the revelation to an angel to. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. The book of mormon states that john the apostle is the author of revelation and that he was foreordained by god to write it. 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.
This book was a reminder that encouraged them to remain faithful. While its helpful that the author named himself for us, the. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john, who was writing from the island of patmos. Paul spilsburys book is a close runnerup for my go to book for an introduction to revelation.
Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. 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. This revelation was given to him by god the father, and it was communicated to the apostle john by an angel. The book of revelation was likely written between a. The church fathers debated whether this john of patmos was the apostle john and concluded that. He was writing an antiroman propaganda slash rousing motivational tract. The apostle of jesus and the author of the gospel of john and the three letters of nt. The revelation of jesus christ was given to john by god to show his servants what must soon take place. The last book of the new testament is also called the prophecy book and the revelation of jesus christ. The book of revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the new testament canon, though there are short apocalyptic passages in various places in the gospels and the epistles. Justin the martyr around 100 to 165 ac, irenaeus around 140 to 220 ac and the muratori canon end of 2 nd century confirm that the apostle john is the author.
Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. John the apostle and evangelist the writer of the revelation. Revelation to john, last book of the new testament. While church tradition has attributed the gospel of john, the letters of john, and the book of revelation to the same authorjohn the apostle and son of. This post starts a series through the book of revelation. Early tradition unanimously identified him as john the apostle, author of the fourth gospel and three epistles. The author also states that he was on patmos when he received his first vision. God talked to john in his dream and gave all the revelations he wrote in the book. This book is filled with mysteries about things to come. It too would make a good companion volume as you read this challenging book. In an era in which there is much confustion as to whom this john was who wrote the book of revelation. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final book of. The revelation is the only book in the nt mentioning john as author. Justin martyr, irenaeus, clement of alexandria, tertullian, cyprian, and hippolytus came to that conclusion. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope. The early church fathers, after disputing who this john really was, finally decided to include revelation in case the author was the apostle john, son of zebedee. Pagels says the book of revelations author, who calls himself john, was likely a refugee whose home in jerusalem had been leveled by the romans in. Four times the author identifies himself as john 1.
John macarthur explains the book of revelation paperback march 1, 2007. The book of revelation by john the apostle bible probe. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. 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.
John was like a coach at halftime, if that coach was talking about forcing the opposing team to drink from a river of blood. How old would john the apostle have been if he was the author of revelation, a book written in around 90 to 95ad. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. The author of revelation uses scripture differently than does the author of johns gospel. The book of revelation presents its author as john. 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 unveils jesus christ in glory. Book of revelation explained scripture by scripture. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant john nlt. It would perhaps be best to first establish the case that the same author is responsible for all the books associated with john. 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 may not matter to you who wrote the book of revelation, but you cant say that it doesnt matter to anyone, or shouldnt.
He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev. The theological perspectives of revelation and the gospel of john are com. This revelation was given to him by god the father, and it was communicated to the apostle john by an angel 1. The author uses the number seven, for example, in a symbolic sense to signify totality. There is also a possibility that either john or paul is the man to whom paul refers in 2 corinthians 12. John macarthur explains the book of revelation kindle edition by macarthur, john f.
Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. The bulk of traditional sources date the book to the. Is john the apostle the same person as john of patmos, or. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading because the time is near. 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 is signed by a person called john, writing from the island of patmos, near greece. A blessing is pronounced on him who should read and understand the book, and special attention is directed to. The two periods most often mentioned are the latter part of neros reign a. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to.
So the author of revelation, known only as john, wrote a book about how jesus was totally going to return and annihilate those romans. Revelation overview john calvins commentaries on the bible. The author of revelation identifies himself several times as john. 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. The author of revelation identifies himself as a man named john rev 1. John the divine, although the godgiven title is at the very beginning of the text, the revelation of. Todays post looks at the evidence for and against john being the author of the book of revelation. Revelation has long been attributed to the author of johns gospel, in spite of the differences in style of writing.
If so, john penned much of the new testament, with only paul and luke writing more than him. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. The author of the book of revelation christopher l. The evidence on the other side of the equation, however, is overwhelming. Complete overview of the book of revelation is less than 7 minutes. The reason for this difference in style could possibly be that, the book of revelation was revealed to john the apostle at his old age and was possibly penned with the help of someone who was not good in greek language. Like koester, spilsbury walks you through johns revelation. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. But since eusebius wished to attribute the book of revelation to a different john than the author of the gospel, his interpretation may not have been impartial. In any case, the only other evidence for the existance for an elder john appears to be the introduction to 2 and 3 john, where the author calls himself by this title. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. Written by the apostle john, revelation was a letter to churches in asia minor who were feeling the overwhelming effects of persecution from all sides. So, the divine author of revelation is jesus christ and the human author is the apostle john.
The traditional view holds that john, the apostle, was the author of revelation. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1. He was the only one of the apostles to live to old age and transcribed most of the new testament, second to paul of tarsus. Irenaeus mentioned that john the apostle received the visions of revelation near the end of domitians rule. 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. Some of the church fathers, late in the second century believed that this john was. John mentions his name four times in the book revelation 1. Before making these two points, i need to explain the traditional view. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online.
A number of ancient church fathers, notably irenaeus, believed that the author of revelation was also the author of the gospel of john, and the epistles of 1,2 and 3 john. Author and date four times the author identifies himself as john 1. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. The announcement that the object of the book is to record a revelation which the lord jesus christ had made of important events which were shortly to occur, and which were signified by an angel to the author, john, revelation 1. To begin with, there can really be no doubt that whoever wrote the book of revelation, it was not the author of the gospel of john. Some modern scholars characterize revelations author as a putative figure whom they call john of patmos. Whoever that john was has been a subject of debate.
Most people know what i mean when i say john is the author of the book of revelation. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. John of patmos is the selfidentified author in the text of the book of revelation. Since the roman era, christians and historians have considered the book of revelations writer to be the apostle john john the evangelist, author of the gospel of john. 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. Revelation was written when christians were entering a time of persecution. It is often called the apocalypse, which is its title in greek, signifying revelation, canonical authority and authorship. John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the. Other church fathers such as dionysius of alexandria, eusebius.