The book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation or The Apocalypse of John , is the last and only prophetical book of the New Testament in the Bible.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ. The book was addressed to seven churches, at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

It contains an account of the author, thought by many to be John or St John of Patmos in the text, who saw a vision describing future events at 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, (see Jonadabs) and hardest to understand books of the Bible, with many ranging interpretations of the meanings of the various names and events in the account. The identity of the author is not completely clear. A traditional view is that the author of this book was John the Apostle, but other scholars doubt that. The traditional Christian view is that this John was the same as the author of the Gospel of John and 1, 2 and 3 John. However, given the book’s futurist eschatology (e.g. chs. 21-22), this view is very difficult to maintain when compared to the realised eschatology of the Johannine corpus, especially the Gospel of John itself.

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.

Traditionally the date of the writing of this book has generally been fixed at the year 96 A.D., in the reign of Domitian. Others contend for an earlier date, 68 or 69 A.D., in the reign of Nero. Those who are in favour of the later date appeal to the testimony of the Christian father Irenaeus (died 185 A.D.), who received information relative to this book from those who had seen John face to face. He says that the Apocalypse “was seen a long time ago.” Other evidence for the later date is internal: the book alludes to significant persecution, affecting the Christians of Asia Minor. This is a better historical fit for Domitian’s reign than Nero’s, Nero’s persecution was mostly confined to the territories around Rome, while Domitian’s persecution was indeed vigorously carried out in Asia Minor.