Who was the john who wrote the book of revelations

The book of revelation is traditionally said to be written by john. 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. 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. The book will cover the time from the late first century when st. Book of revelation overview insight for living ministries. If so, john penned much of the new testament, with only paul and luke writing more than him. 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. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, who is the witness of all that he saw the. After reading book of revelation overview, you may wish to consider some of the following questions. Revelation 1 niv prologue the revelation from jesus. The only other clue to the authors identity is that he states he received his visions while on the island of patmos rev. The lord has given many of his prophets great views of things to come. One gospel, three letters, and the book of revelation are all attributed to john. He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ.

From the first century to the present day, almost all orthodox scholars have concluded that this means the apostle john. Book of revelation apocalypse written on patmos island greeka. While there were skeptics, even early on, about the authorship of the text most. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. 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. 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. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. This means that i therefore also believe that saint john the apostle was indeed john of patmos. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. 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. Was this person the same john that wrote 1, 2, and 3 john. Revelation, apocalypse, john, patmos, nero, domitian. 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.

Revelation 1 new international version niv prologue. The church does not have an official stance on who the author is. The bulk of traditional sources date the book to the. This will be discussed in the study of revelation and will be more.

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. That is the internal evidence of the book and the external testimony of early church fathers. 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. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. The book of revelation was written by the apostle john revelation 1.

Yes, revelation is physically the last book in the holy bible, but not the last book written in the bible. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. John wrote revelation when he was a prisoner on the isle of patmos for preaching about. It would perhaps be best to first establish the case that the same author is responsible for all the books associated with john. The author of the book of revelation calls himself john rev. John of patmos is the name given to the author of the book of revelation apocalypse of john in the new testament. The theory in this book is solidly and expertly proven, and presented in an approachable way. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine, john the theologian, and possibly john the apostle. 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. Before making these two points, i need to explain the traditional view. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to everything he saw. Yes, but i believe the apostle john is the author of both the book of john and revelations.

Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. Some modern scholars characterize revelations author as a putative figure whom they call john of patmos. For he doesnt call himself the disciple whom the lord lovedas happens often in the gospelnor does he say that he was the one who leaned on jesus breast or that he was the brother of. John wrote the apocalypse to a time as yet unknown in the future, and show how some predicted events affecting gods people have come to pass, such as the arian heresy, the barbarian invasions, the rise of islam, the greek schism, martin luther and protestantism. The book of revelation is signed by a person called john but which john.

Why was john chosen to write the book of revelation. John is also said to have lain near the fissures, holding himself up, as he dictated the book, indicating perhaps physical discomfort. John, who was exiled on the island of patmos by the romans for his testimony about jesus christ and nearing the end of his life, wrote the book in approximately a. 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. The first verse in the book of revelation does not say exactly who that particular john is, but it is naturally assumed to be john the apostle since it was the apostles that were given the authority by god to write scripture. As a writer, the theory presented for how john wrote revelation taught me invaluable lessons about literary craft, and i began to think of things from a brand new. The apocalyptic book of revelation is a symbolic glimpse. Revelation to john appears to be a collection of separate. Apostle john was supposedly exiled to the greek island. Although john literally wrote revelation, the book makes it clear that the source of the revelations is jesus revelation 1. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life 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. The book should be rightfully called the revelation according to jesus christ. 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.

For whom was the book of revelation written and why. The new testament books of john, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john and revelation are sometimes called the johannine literature and are traditionally assigned to john the son of zebedee, one of the twelve disciples of jesus. I was also wondering about the authorship of the book of revelation. The person who wrote the gospel according to john and the book of revelation was beheaded.

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. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. The opening verses of the book of revelation state that john wrote it v. And, indeed, john was said to receive his revelations from a triple fissure in the rock, through which he was spoken to by his divine being. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. When is st john believed to have written the book of revelation. Surely origen knew only one john who wrote scripture, and that was john the apostle. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. An apocalyptic letter, it relies on visions, symbols, and old testament references to reveal the ultimate fulfillment. How john wrote the book of revelation is a behindthescenes look at the literary process used to create the book of revelation. Thus, the most blessed and beautiful description we have of any disciple is that john was the one whom jesus loved. The revelation of jesus christ was given to john by god to show his servants what must soon take place. Thank you very much for your recent post about whether the apostle john was the author of the gospel of john.

Book of revelation overview church of jesus christ. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos, a greek island where. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to everything he sawthat is, the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. The apostle john, who wrote it under the inspiration of jesus christ revelation 1. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope. John mentioned this in his gospel, referring to it 5 times without mentioning his name. John, the favorite disciple of jesus christ and the author of the fourth gospel.

John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final book of. 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. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. John occupied a chief place in the heart of christ. We read about several johns in the new testament, including john the baptist and john the apostle, the son of zebedee. While he may not reveal more, the author identifies himself as john the slave of god rev.

He wrote five books against marcion hippolytus 170235 a. This is a fascinating book and im grateful that i got the opportunity to read it. The gospel of john, the epistles of john, and the book of revelations. The book of revelation was likely written between a.

Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first century, around a. The book of revelation was written to seven churches as both encouragement and challenge. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek. The early church fathers, after disputing who this john really was, finally decided. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Personally i choose to believe that st john the apostle actually wrote everything attributed to him i. 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.

Johns visions reveal that jesus has overcome evil by his death and resurrection, and will return one day as the true king of the world. Written to the book of revelation is addressed to believers, his servants, of the churches in seven cities of the roman province of asia. Note that each of them required some additional designation to distinguish them from others with the same name. Was the book of revelation written before the gospel of john. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to. 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. He was a jewish christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets, and was accepted by the. 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. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john. This is the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. This book is filled with mysteries about things to come.