The Book of Revelation
The
Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John,
Apocalypse of John, from Greek
Αποκαλυψις
Ιωαννου, Apokalupsis Iōannou, and Revelation of Jesus
Christ 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. The book is frequently called
"Revelation"; however,
the title found on some of the earliest manuscripts is
"The Apocalypse of John" (Αποκάλυψις Ιωάννου), and the
most common
title found on later manuscripts is "The Apocalypse of
the theologian" (ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΥ). (In English,
apocalypse is often rendered as revelation and the
literal meaning of the Greek word is "unveiling".)
After a short introduction (ch. 1:1–10), the book
presents a brief account of the author. The first vision
(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", is a statement
addressed to the seven churches of Asia. The second
vision, which makes
up the rest of the book (chs. 4–22), begins with "a door
… opened in the sky" and describes what some might call
the end of the
world— or more properly, the end of the age, in which
Satan's rule through Man is destroyed by the Messiah.
These events are
foreseen: the Great Tribulation, the Campaign of
Armageddon, the Second Coming of the Messiah with the
restoration of peace
to the world and His 1,000 year reign, the imprisonment
of Satan until he is 'loosed' for the final rebellion,
God's final judgment
over Satan, the Great White throne judgment, and the
ushering in of the New Heavens and New Earth.
Alternatively, according to
the Preterist theory, the events of the latter part of
the Apocalypse of John are interpreted as being
fulfilled by events in the 1st
century.
Revelation is considered by some to be 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. 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.
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, Pergamos,
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" (Ὃ λόγος
τοῦ Θεοῦ). Explanations of the differences between
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; see also
Antilegomena. Some
canons, especially in the Eastern Church, rejected the
book, while most others included it.
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 "it 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.
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