Book of revelation for dummies cheat sheet dummies. The author of the book of revelation is the disciple of jesus. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author. Although there is some debate, the author is probably the apostle john of the sons of zebedee. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant john nlt. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. I found the nonprophets guide to the book of revelation to be stimulating in getting me to dig deeper into studying revelation. A commentary of the book of revelation bible truth. The church does not have an official stance on who the author is. Todays post looks at the evidence for and against john being the author of the book of revelation.
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. Revelation is often described as a the revelation of john meaning the revelation to john 1. Best commentaries and books on revelation logos bible. The book of revelation is a prophetic book the word apocalypse means unveiling and thats exactly what the book of revelation isit is a prophetic book that discusses the unveiling of what is going to happen in the nearing end times and what will come with the final revelation of jesus christ. Revelation is traditionally attributed to the apostle john, who also wrote a gospel and three new testament letters. This runs counter to the conclusions of most christian intellectuals, but it is a verity which has been confirmed to us by latterday revelation. 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. John recorded the message but is not the true author of the book. 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.
So, the divine author of revelation is jesus christand the human author is the apostle john. The two preceding paragraphs presented two different groups. The point of revelation according to stefanovic is to understand that even though. Although john wrote the book of revelation, the ideas in it were not johns ideas. 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. Revelation was written in the last decade of the first century ca. 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. It is a fair statement to say that evidence that this letter was written by.
The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. First, the inhabitants of the earth that render homage to the beast. The greek name of the bible book of revelation, apoka. However, johnsons book also serves as an excellent commentary and devotional book in its own right. Mar 19, 2019 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 apocalyptic book of revelation is a symbolic glimpse. The author of the revelation i the revelation was written by a man called john. John the divine, although the godgiven title is at the very beginning of the text, the revelation of. The last book of the new testament is also called the prophecy book and the revelation of jesus christ. The word apocalypse means unveiling and thats exactly what the book of revelation isit is a prophetic book that discusses the unveiling of what is going to happen in the nearing end times and what will come with the final revelation of jesus christ. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope.
The book of revelation presents its author as john. The author of revelation mentioned his name, john, four times throughout the book revelation 1. The very fact that the author of the apocalypse simply calls himself. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Revelation is a book that has been called everything from a hodgepodge of. Interpreting the book of revelation provides a concise introduction to the careful interpretive study of revelation. It is structured or arranged in a very simple way to help us get the revelation of jesus. 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. It fittingly has the last place ending the scriptures and gods revelation to man. John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the apostles the first. The book of revelation lions leopards and bears oh my. However, the true author of revelation is god and jesus christ is the one who have the revelation to an angel to. John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the apostles the first leaders of the christian church. We dont know why john was exiled to patmos, but it may have been for refusing to worship the roman emperor domitian, who had declared himself a god.
This revelation was given to him by god the father, and it was communicated to the apostle john by an angel 1. Four times the author identifies himself as john 1. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. The book of revelation was likely written between a.
Useful bible studies revelation commentary study guide. The author of the book of revelation christopher l. The revelation is a very solemn book speaking much about divine judgments but it is also a. Author of revelation 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. I found todds book to be encouraging and full of graphics and illustrations. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. 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. The author of the book of revelation, saint john the divine, offers a transcription of seven letters and later describes strange beasts, visions of judgments, governments, demonic battles, heaven, and a new world order a prophetic vision for the end of the world.
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. Four reasons exist as to why one should accept johannine authorship of revelation. He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from john to the seven churches in asia rev. Close attention is paid both to the literary form in which the theology is. Complete overview of the book of revelation is less than 7 minutes. John was told to write down what he saw in a book and to send it to seven churches in the province of asia western asia minor. John was a christian leader of jewish origin who was in exile on the roman prison island of patmos. Larkin explains the concepts of the beast and the false prophet, the seven seals and the seven trumpets, and the importance of the book of daniel in understanding the rapture. The bulk of traditional sources date the book to the. 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. Its meticulous, scholarly approach to studying linguistic structure, vocabulary, and variant readings provides and exegetical model even for those who disagree with some of the author. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to. 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 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. Justin martyr, irenaeus, clement of alexandria, tertullian, cyprian, and hippolytus came to that conclusion. The book of revelation is so easy to comprehend if you truly know and understand the books of the old testament. Early tradition unanimously identified him as john the apostle, author of the fourth gospel and three epistles.
The book of revelation has always been a hard one for me to understand until i read todd hampsons book in conjunction with it. While revelation holds mysterious and frightening images of the endtimes, the book of revelation was written to be an encouragement to christians of all times. The book of revelation is johns record of that vision revelation 1. The revelation of jesus christ was given to john by god to show his servants what must soon take place. Author of revelation the book of revelationstarts with this is a revelation from jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. Ephesus, smyrna, pergamos, thyatira, sardis, philadelphia and laodicea 1. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek. But, who was it that penned the word of revelation. Some modern scholars characterize revelations author as a putative figure whom they call john of patmos. This 1919 book serves as a study guide for the book of revelation, the bibles prophetic final chapter. Tradition has long held that john the apostle, whom we have seen penned the fourth gospel and the three letters attributed to him, wrote. He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev. Because we know in revelation chapter one jesus tells john specifically who to address the letters to, the seven jewish christian churches in asia now called turkey. The dominant trend in recent scholarship, however, has been to view the author of revelation as simply a christian prophet named john who is otherwise unknown to us.
John insists that everything in his book came from christ. Book of revelation explained scripture by scripture. Jul 04, 2016 this post starts a series through the book of revelation. The only other clue to the authors identity is that he states he received his visions while on. Many major entities and symbols in the book of revelation are introduced earlier in the bible. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. Apr 16, 2011 obviously, god is the ultimate author of the book of revelation. This is the holy book of revelation, known as the revelation of st. John wrote the book of revelations to encourage believers in seven churches to resist sin, remain faithful although persecuted, and anticipate jesuss return as king. The traditional view holds that john, the apostle, was the author of revelation.
Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. Is this the same john who wrote the gospel account and three letters. John the beloved, he who wrote the gospel of john and the three epistles that bear his name. Stylometric analysis, a process which analyses an author s style of writing, shows that the book of revelation and johns gospel display more differences to each other than any other two books. He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other new testament books were already written.
Whoever that john was has been a subject of debate. Introduction some general comments about the book of revelation and its uniqueness. 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. Apostle john was told to write the things which you see, the things which are, and the things which shall be.
The was the title given to the book in the latin vulgate 3. The holy scriptures start with a revelation on the past genesis 1 and they end with a revelation on the future. In the study of any book of the bible or any topic of scripture, a certain amount of ground work is needed for understanding, orientation, and motivation. The only other clue to the author s identity is that he states he received his visions while on the island of patmos rev. While the internal evidence of john the apostle being the author. Revelation a study guide about the book of revelation. The evidence on the other side of the equation, however, is overwhelming. This is particularly so with the book of revelation or prophecy in general. This summary of the book of revelation provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of revelation. The apostle of jesus and the author of the gospel of john and the three letters of nt. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself as john, and the book has been traditionally credited to john the apostle. The theology of the book of revelation edition 1 by richard. Other church fathers such as dionysius of alexandria, eusebius.
The seven churches of revelation click to watch video. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. The original recipients of revelation were the believers in these seven churches. 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. 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. Most people know what i mean when i say john is the author of the book of revelation. Having contrasted the followers of the lamb with the men that pay homage to beast, the book presents the reader with a definitive choice with two very different everlasting consequences revelation 14. The author of the book of revelation calls himself john rev. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. Reference to the apostles authorship is found as early as justin martyr, in his dialogue with trypho. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation.
He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant john. God talked to john in his dream and gave all the revelations he wrote in the book. So, the divine author of revelation is jesus christ and the human author is the apostle john. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. The book of revelation has always intimidated me, but i really like the author s clear explanations of the text.
This book is filled with mysteries about things to come. Jan 01, 2019 the book of revelation presents its author as john. The book of revelation was written to, for and about the christian jews in israel. The writer of revelation identifies himself as john. Revelation with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. However, the prophecies concerning the future are scattered throughout the books of the bible, and the book that focuses the most on future prophecy revelation was not easily understood due to the symbolism and the peculiar way in which its prophecies are presented. 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.
He goes through it section by section and makes the book understandable. This book is written as an aid for pastors who want to preach through the book of revelation it might make a good gift for your pastor or your church library. 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. 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.
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