John the author of the book of revelation

The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john. According to new world encyclopedia, the traditional view is that the john who wrote the book of john and the john who wrote revelation are the same guy. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. The author of the book of revelation christopher l. There is also a possibility that either john or paul is the man to whom paul refers in 2 corinthians 12. John recorded the message but is not the true author of the book. The authorship of the johannine worksthe gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelationhas been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad. The theme of the book is the conflict of christ and his church with antichristian powers the devil, the beast, the false prophet, revelation 16.

However, the true author of revelation is god and jesus christ is the one who have the revelation to an angel to give to john. If so, john penned much of the new testament, with only paul and luke writing more than him. 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. New testament new testament edition based on the new international version, and every prophecy of the bible. He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from john to the seven churches in asia rev.

Although he never claims to be john the apostle, whose name is attached to the fourth gospel, he was so identified by several of the early church fathers, including justin. The early church fathers, after disputing who this john really was, finally decided. Note that each of them required some additional designation to distinguish them from others with the same name. John of patmos is the name given by some modern scholars to the author of the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming part of the new testament. The church does not have an official stance on who the author is.

The apostle of jesus and the author of the gospel of john and the three letters of nt. A blessing is pronounced on him who should read and understand the book, and special attention is directed to. Through vivid imagery, john writes revelation to reveal the end of human history, the return of. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. 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 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. John macarthur explains the book of revelation paperback march 1, 2007. 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. He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev. 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 book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. Todays post looks at the evidence for and against john being the author of the book of revelation. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself as john, and the book has been traditionally credited to john the apostle. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. The evidence on the other side of the equation, however, is overwhelming. He did mention that he faithfully served jesus, and that he had suffered for the kingdom of god. We read about several johns in the new testament, including john the baptist and john the apostle, the son of zebedee. The traditional view holds that john, the apostle, was the author of revelation. 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.

John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the apostles the first leaders of the christian church. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. Revelation to john, last book of the new testament. This post starts a series through the book of revelation. 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. Revelation was written when christians were entering a time of persecution. The last book of the new testament is also called the prophecy book and the revelation of jesus christ. Some of the church fathers, late in the second century believed that this john was. The two periods most often mentioned are the latter part of neros reign a. The book of revelation unveils jesus christ in glory. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. 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.

The book of revelation, often called the book of revelations, revelation to john, the apocalypse of john, the revelation, or simply revelation, the revelation of jesus christ from its opening words or the apocalypse, is the final book of the new testament, and therefore also the final book of the christian bible. Revelation a study guide about the book of revelation. 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. 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. Clear explanantions for uncertain times by one of todays premier prophecy scholars, and more on. Dionysius, who studied under origen, also denied the teaching of a literal millennium.

Johns book of revelation appeals not only to fear but also to hope. The author of the book of revelation identified himself by the relatively common name john. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. Some translations title the book the revelation of st. Is john the apostle the same person as john of patmos, or. 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. How did john the author of the book of revelation in the. The ancient church historian, eusebius early 4th c. 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.

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 book of revelation is signed by a person called john, writing from the island of patmos, near greece. This john was probably a jew writing in greek but thinking in hebrew or aramaic. But he didnt specifically identify himself as john the apostle. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. One gospel, three letters, and the book of revelation are all attributed to john. 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.

We know of a john mark, who penned the second gospel, and a possible john the elder although it is possible that john the apostle was also. John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final book. 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. 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. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Before making these two points, i need to explain the traditional view. The book of revelation was likely written between a. Even if he is the author only of the book of revelation, john of patmos writing had a major impact on christian tradition and history, inspiring numerous. 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. Elaine pagels on the book of revelation february 24. The only other clue to the authors identity is that he states he received his visions while on the island of patmos rev.

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. The author of the book of revelation calls himself john rev. This site includes the entire hammadi library, as well as a large collection of other primary gnostic scriptures and documents. This book was a reminder that encouraged them to remain faithful. Whoever that john was has been a subject of debate. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. Four reasons exist as to why one should accept johannine. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries.

Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. Irenaeus mentioned that john the apostle received the visions of revelation near the end of. 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. The text of revelation states that the author is called john and that he lives on the greek island of patmos, where by some, he is considered to be in exile as a result of antichristian persecution under roman emperor. The book of revelation presents its author as john. The church fathers debated whether this john of patmos was the apostle john and concluded that. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1. This obviously lent a lot of weight to the final book of the bible, if someone as important as one of the original 12 disciples wrote it. Justin martyr, irenaeus, clement of alexandria, tertullian, cyprian, and hippolytus came to that conclusion. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john, who was writing from the island of patmos. The macarthur bible studies provide intriguing examinations of the whole of scripture. Other church fathers such as dionysius of alexandria, eusebius. The revelation of jesus christ was given to john by god to show his servants what must soon take place. The author of revelation could be john or a john closely working with him.

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. Apostle john was supposedly exiled to the greek island. Some modern scholars characterize revelations author as a putative figure whom they call john of patmos. Visions, prophecy, and politics in the book of revelation by elaine pagels. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. The teaching on the millennium was based on a literal reading of the book of revelation revelation 20. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine or john the theologian.