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Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also called
Revelation to John or Apocalypse of John, (literally, apocalypse of John;
is the last canonical book of the New Testament in the Bible. It is the
only biblical book that is wholly composed of apocalyptic literature.
Other apocalypses popular in the early Christian era did not achieve
canonical status, except for the 2 Esdras (Apocalypse of Ezra), which is
canonical in the Russian Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches.
The book is frequently called "Revelation"; however, the title found on
some of the earliest manuscripts is "The Apocalypse/Revelation of John"
and the most common title found on later manuscripts is "The Apocalypse/Revelation
of the theologian".
Many people call The Book of Revelation "Revelations" due to the long
series of events which unfold throughout the manuscript. However, the
events are part of only one revelation (that of the End Times) – the first
sentence of the book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ ... unto his servant
John, is also sometimes used as a title.
After a short introduction (ch. 1:1–10), it contains an account of the
author, who identifies himself as John, and of two visions that he
received on the isle of Patmos. The first vision (chs. 1:11–3:22), related
by "one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,
and girt about the paps with a golden girdle", speaking with "a great
voice, as of a trumpet", are statements addressed to the seven churches of
Asia. The second vision comprising the rest of the book (chs. 4–22) begins
with "a door… opened in the sky" and describes the end of the world—involving
the final rebellion by Satan at Armageddon, God's final defeat of Satan,
and the restoration of peace to the world.
Revelation is considered one of the most controversial and difficult books
of the Bible, with many diverse interpretations of the meanings of the
various names and events in the account. Protestant founder Martin Luther
at first considered Revelation to be "neither apostolic nor prophetic" and
stated that "Christ is neither taught nor known in it" and placed it in
his Antilegomena. However, he later changed his mind, believing the book
to be divinely inspired. John Calvin believed the book to be canonical,
yet it was the only New Testament book on which he did not write a
commentary.
In the 4th century, St. John Chrysostom and other bishops argued against
including this book in the New Testament canon, chiefly because of the
difficulties of interpreting it and the danger for abuse. Christians in
Syria also reject it because of the Montanists' heavy reliance on it. In
the 9th century, it was included with the Apocalypse of Peter among "disputed"
books in the Stichometry of St. Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople.
In the end it was included in the accepted canon, although it remains the
only book of the New Testament that is not read within the Divine Liturgy
of the Eastern Orthodox Church. See Biblical canon for details.
Religious skeptics have typically been highly critical of Revelation,
often considering it the work of a mentally ill author. Typical in this
vein is nineteenth-century agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll, who famously
branded Revelation "the insanest of all books".
The author of Revelation identifies himself several times as "John" (1:1,
4, 9; 22:8). The author also states that he was in exile on the island of
Patmos when he received his first vision (1:9; 4:1–2). As a result, the
author of Revelation is referred to as John of Patmos. John explicitly
addresses Revelation to seven churches of Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (1:4, 11). All of
these sites are located in what is now Turkey.
The traditional view holds that John the Apostle — considered to have
written the Gospel and epistles by the same name — was exiled on Patmos in
the Aegean archipelago during the reign of Emperor Domitian, and wrote the
Revelation there. Those in favor of a single common author point to
similarities between the Gospel and Revelation. For example, both works
are soteriological (e.g. referring to Jesus as a lamb) and possess a high
Christology, stressing Jesus' divine side as opposed to the human side
stressed by the Synoptic Gospels. In the Gospel of John and in Revelation,
Jesus is referred to as "the Word of God". Explanations of the differences
among John's work by proponents of the single-author view include
factoring in underlying motifs and purposes, authorial target audience,
the author's collaboration with or utilization of different scribes and
the advanced age of John the Apostle when he wrote Revelation.
A natural reading of the text would reveal that John is writing literally
as he sees the vision (Rev 1:11; 10:4; 14:3; 19:9; 21:5) and that he is
warned by an angel not to alter the text through a subsequent edit (Rev
22:18-19), in order to maintain the textual integrity of the book.
A number of Church Fathers weighed in on the authorship of Revelation.
Justin Martyr avows his belief in its apostolic origin. Irenaeus (178)
assumes it as a conceded point. At the end of the 2nd century, we find it
accepted at Antioch, by Theophilus, and in Africa by Tertullian. At the
beginning of the 3rd century, it is adopted by Clement of Alexandria and
by Origen, later by Methodius, Cyprian, and Lactantius. Dionysius of
Alexandria (247) rejected it, upon doctrinal rather than critical grounds.
Eusebius (315) suspended his judgment, hesitating between the external and
internal evidence. Some canons, especially in the Eastern Church, rejected
the book, while most others included it.
Although the traditional view still has many adherents, many modern
scholars believe that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and John of
Patmos refer to three separate individuals. Certain lines of evidence
suggest that John of Patmos wrote only Revelation, not the Gospel of John
nor the Epistles of John. For one, the author of Revelation identifies
himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John
never identifies himself directly. While both works liken Jesus to a lamb,
they consistently use different words for lamb when referring to him — the
Gospel uses amnos, Revelation uses arnion. Lastly, the Gospel is written
in nearly flawless Greek, but Revelation contains grammatical errors and
stylistic abnormalities which indicate its author may not have been as
familiar with the Greek language as the Gospel's author.
According to early tradition, the writing of this book took place near the
very end of Domitian's reign, around 95 or 96. Others contend for an
earlier date, 68 or 69, in the reign of Nero or shortly thereafter. The
majority of modern scholars also use these dates. Those who are in favor
of the later date appeal to the external testimony of the Christian father
Irenaeus (d. 185), who stated that he had received information relative to
this book from those who had seen John face to face. He says that the
Apocalypse "was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day,
towards the end of Domitian's reign" (A.H. 5.30.3), who according to
Eusebius had started the persecution referred to in the book. However,
recent scholars dispute that the book is situated in a time of ongoing
persecution and have also doubted the reality of a large-scale Domitian
persecution.
Some exegetes (Paul Touilleux, Albert Gelin, André Feuillet) distinguish
two dates: publication (under Domitian) and date of the visions (under
Vespasian). Various editors would have a hand in the formation of the
document, according to these theories. The dating of the work is still
widely debated in the scholarly community.
Revelation is divided into seven cycles of events, with the number seven
also appearing frequently as a symbol within the Book of Revelation. The
chapters of Revelation present a series of events, full of imagery and
metaphor, which detail the chronology of God's judgment on the world.
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