It may not matter to you who wrote the book of revelation, but you cant say that it doesnt matter to anyone, or shouldnt. While the internal evidence of john the apostle being the author. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. 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. John insists that everything in his book came from christ. It would perhaps be best to first establish the case that the same author is responsible for all the books associated with john. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john. John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. Whoever wrote revelation was on patmos, and his name was john meaning the writer was a male, and was not lazarus. The church fathers debated whether this john of patmos was the apostle john and concluded that. The evidence on the other side of the equation, however, is overwhelming. 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. Revelation to john, last book of the new testament.
The author of the book of revelation calls himself john rev. 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. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. The two periods most often mentioned are the latter part of neros reign a. While its helpful that the author named himself for us, the. Four times the author identifies himself as john 1.
The author also states that he was on patmos when he received his first vision. Whoever that john was has been a subject of debate. The author of revelation identifies himself several times as john. 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. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. John wrote revelation to reveal the end of human history, the return of christ, and the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth. God talked to john in his dream and gave all the revelations he wrote in the book. Most people know what i mean when i say john is the author of the book of revelation. John the elder wrote the book of revelation, there is ample evidence that it was written by john the apostle.
John of patmos is the selfidentified author in the text of the book of revelation. How did john the author of the book of revelation in the. The church does not have an official stance on who the author is. Know that the book of revelation deals with things that are to occur after new testament times, particularly in the last days. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. The only other clue to the authors identity is that he states he received his visions while on. Before making these two points, i need to explain the traditional view. 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. John macarthur explains the book of revelation paperback march 1, 2007.
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. New testament new testament edition based on the new international version, and every prophecy of the bible. Revelation to john appears to be a collection of separate units composed by unknown authors who lived during the last quarter of the 1st century, though it purports to have been written by an individual named johnwho calls himself the servant of jesusat patmos, in the aegean sea. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. Yes, they are two different people who shared a very common name. Athanasius 367 ad in his letter 39, augustine of hippo c. The author of the book of revelation christopher l.
The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Complete overview of the book of revelation is less than 7 minutes. The bulk of traditional sources date the book to the. It is a fair statement to say that evidence that this letter was written by. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. While there were skeptics, even early on, about the authorship of the text most likely due to the apocalyptic nature of the book, the general consensus was that john the apostle was the author. He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from john to the seven churches in asia rev.
Revelation has long been attributed to the author of johns gospel, in spite of the differences in style of writing. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. The last book of the new testament is also called the prophecy book and the revelation of jesus christ. Clear explanantions for uncertain times by one of todays premier prophecy scholars, and more on. 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. Other church fathers such as dionysius of alexandria, eusebius. He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev. Some modern scholars characterize revelations author as a putative figure whom they call john of patmos. Thus we see that the canon of scripture would be incomplete without this message from jesus to his church after his return to heaven. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. 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. The authorship of the johannine works the gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelation has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad. The theological perspectives of revelation and the gospel of john are com.
The author of revelation uses scripture differently than does the author of johns gospel. John the divine, although the godgiven title is at the very beginning of the text, the revelation of. Some translations title the book the revelation of st. 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.
Is this the same john who wrote the gospel account and three letters. This post starts a series through the book of revelation. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john, writing from the island of patmos, near greece. The book of revelation presents its author as john. 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. Is john the baptist different from john of the book of. The only other clue to the authors identity is that he states he received his visions while on the island of patmos rev.
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. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. The macarthur bible studies provide intriguing examinations of the whole of scripture. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. This john was probably a jew writing in greek but thinking in hebrew or aramaic. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john, who was writing from the island of patmos. Some of the church fathers, late in the second century believed that this john was. The writer of revelation identifies himself as john. Revelation a study guide about the book of revelation. Author and date four times the author identifies himself as john 1. Early tradition unanimously identified him as john the apostle, author of the fourth gospel and three epistles. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves.
This revelation was given to him by god the father, and it was communicated to the apostle john by an angel 1. 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. 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. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. Like koester, spilsbury walks you through johns revelation. This book was a reminder that encouraged them to remain faithful. 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. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to.
While the apostle john is the writer of the book he is not the author or composer. Some scholars therefore refer to the author of revelation as john the seer or john of. Paul spilsburys book is a close runnerup for my go to book for an introduction to revelation. Book of revelation explained scripture by scripture. In an era in which there is much confustion as to whom this john was who wrote the book of revelation. So it is extremely unlikely that the same person wrote all of these books. The book of revelation unveils jesus christ in glory.
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. 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. 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. The apostle of jesus and the author of the gospel of john and the three letters of nt. This is the holy book of revelation, known as the revelation of st. Todays post looks at the evidence for and against john being the author of the book of revelation. 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. Irenaeus mentioned that john the apostle received the visions of revelation near the end of domitians rule.
John the baptist was the son of elizabeth, marys cousin. It too would make a good companion volume as you read this challenging book. This revelation was given to him by god the father, and it was communicated to the apostle john by an angel. The other john was also a cousin of jesus, through marys sister salome and so was als. Revelation was written when christians were entering a time of persecution. John macarthur takes readers through the book of revelation with its vivid imagery, assuring christians that god is in control of all past, present, and future events. However, the true author of revelation is god and jesus christ is the one who have the revelation to an angel to.
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