The book of revelation is the 27th book of the new testament and the last book of the bible. John, the favorite disciple of jesus christ and the author of the fourth gospel. Certainly to god, or to john the apostle, or even to joseph smith, revelation was a plain book. The book of revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the. Revelation has long been attributed to the author of john s gospel, in spite of the differences in style of writing. 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. 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 reasons for the conclusion that the gospel of john was written after the letters of paul, the synoptic gospels matthew, mark, and luke, and many of the later letters, is based on a variety of evidences that when considered. Stylometric analysis, a process which analyses an authors style of writing, shows that the book of revelation and johns gospel display more. The reason for this difference in style could possibly be that, the book of revelation was revealed to john the apostle at his old age and was possibly penned with the help of someone who was not good in greek language. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. The seven named churches of asia, and the entire church of christ. But many from the early church believed that john the apostle wrote, and that he wrote in the time of the emperor domitian, toward the end of the first century. We may never know when the book of revelation was written, but it does seem to have been written in.
One gospel, three letters, and the book of revelation are all attributed to john. The aegean island of patmos off the west coast of asia minor. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author. As with the other new testament gospels, john was originally anonymous, so we are not constrained to looking for a date of authorship within the plausible lifespan of an apostle. If pressed, the pastor would say that revelation and john were written by the same apostle before ad 70 john. There is no need to study revelation as our pastor believes it is symbolic description of the destruction of jerusalem in ad 70. Sep 20, 2007 and revelation, was written around 95. The author of revelation identifies himself as a man named john rev 1. Did the same person write the gospel of john and the book of. Then that would make john the apostle around 90 years old when the revelation to john was written in a era when most people didnt reach 60.
Saint john the evangelist on patmos by antonio palomino, 17th century. Tradition has identified john with the disciple st. In addition to his gospel, the first, second, and third letters of john and the book of revelation are traditionally attributed to the beloved disciple. Revelation has long been attributed to the author of johns gospel, in spite of the differences in style of writing. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. It was the last book to be accepted into the new testament canon, and today a myriad of mutually contradictory endtimes speculations claim to be based on its teachings. Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first. Penned by the apostle john in the early part of the 1st century, revelation is considered the authoritative christian account of the end of the world. Below is part three of the quiz on our overview of the new testament and focuses on the gospel of john, acts of the epistles, and revelation. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. Revelation to john appears to be a collection of separate.
Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. Johns disciples, likewise, did not merely translate, they also interpreted, e. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. Compare the writing styles the gospel of john and the revelation to john are written in two completely different writing styles. The writing of the new testament john and revelation. In addition to his gospel, the first, second, and third letters of john and the book of revelation are.
In christian tradition, johns gospel has always been referred to as the fourth gospel, meaning it was composed after the other three. We read about several johns in the new testament, including john the baptist and john the apostle, the son of zebedee. An apocalyptic book describing the revelation jesus christ gave to john. See more ideas about bible, jesus christ and john the evangelist. Most definitely the gospel of john was written before the destruction of jerusalem ad 70 as references are made within the book to structures existing before that siege of jerusalem. The book of revelation is one of the plainest books god ever caused to be written. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Some scholars therefore refer to the author of revelation as john the seer or john of patmos to distinguish him from the purported. This is the holy book of revelation, known as the revelation of st. John s disciples, likewise, did not merely translate, they also interpreted, e. Brown says, in an introduction to the new testament.
He shows us that jesus, though fully god, came in the flesh to distinctly and accurately reveal god, and that christ is the source of eternal life to all who believe in him. In any case, they say it is clear that the two books had completely. 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. Traditionally, this was often believed to be the same person as john, son of zebedee, one of the apostles of jesus, to whom the gospel of john was also attributed. The book of revelation johns second work, the book of revelation, was also written in aramaic. The dating of the book of revelation now returns to affect the dating of johns gospel. Nov 14, 2019 scholars have long considered the gospel of john to be one of the latest written texts in the new testament. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself only as john. Revelation article about revelation by the free dictionary. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. The beginning of the bible genesis 111 is a prologue describing the downfall of mankind and his separation from god. Jun 01, 2009 the revelation of john, replete with visions, symbols, angels, monsters, and numerology, is unique among the writings of the new testament in the demands it places upon its interpreters. John of patmos could be the author named as john in the book of revelation, the apocalyptic.
The gospel of john, the letters of 1, 2 and 3 john, and revelation saint john the evangelist on patmos by hans burgkmair the writings of john are often assigned the latest dates of all new testament literature, with some secular scholars placing them well into the second century a. It mostly shows us the fulfillment of the major prophesies of the old testament and how the gospel of jesus was spread throughout the world. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. The book of revelation has inspired controversy ever since it was written in the first century. Did john the apostle write both the gospel of john and. So the tradition was far from universally accepted. The gospel of john was written to prove that jesus christ is the son of god. Saint john the apostle, disciple of jesus and author of several books of the. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. He was a jewish christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets, and was accepted by the. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. We do know that someone called john wrote the book of revelation because he.
Revelation, apocalypse, john, patmos, nero, domitian. Was the book of revelation written before the gospel of john. That is, the book of revelation was almost certainly written by someone other than the author of the gospel according to john. He shows us that jesus, though fully god, came in the flesh to distinctly and accurately reveal god, and that christ is the. John the book of revelation, letters seven churches, st. As an eyewitness to the love and power displayed in the miracles of jesus, john gives us an upclose and personal look at christs identity. The name revelation comes from the first word of the book in koine greek.
Eight reasons against john the apostle as the author of. Book of revelation apocalypse written on patmos island greeka. Did the same person write the gospel of john and the book. And, while some think it was written before jerusalem was destroyed ad 70, ad 8590 is a more accepted time for the writing of the gospel of john. The gospel of john, the three johannine epistles, and the book of revelation, exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistle especially the gospel and 1 john than between those and revelation. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine, john the theologian, and possibly john the apostle. Written by a christian named john, the contents of the book indicate quite clearly that the author was not the john who was one of the twelve disciples of jesus, for it contains no direct personal references of the type that one would expect from an intimate. Traditionally, the book of revelation has been dated near the end of the first century, around a. Also when scholars study the writing style of the gospel, the epistle and revelation they believe the same author probably wrote both the gospel and the epistle, but revelation was written by some one else. On the one hand, johns gospel is written in simple and fluent greek, whereas t. Most scholars therefore treat the five as a single corpus of johannine literature, albeit not from the same author. John the divine, although the godgiven title is at the very beginning of the text, the revelation of. According to some scholars the book of revelation was written by john before he wrote 1,2,3, john and the gospel of john. The book of john tells us that as believers and followers of jesus we are in the kingdom of god now.
Here, ian boxall offers a clear and lucid study of st. Who wrote gospel of john, epistles of john and the revelation. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around ad 5 require the gospel of john to have been written, copied, and circulated before then. The revelation of st john the divine article about the. We do know that someone called john wrote the book of revelation because he actually signed the book. The revelation of john the divine the argument it is manifest, that the holy ghost would as it were gather into this most excellent book a sum of those prophecies, which were written before, but should be fulfilled after the coming of christ, adding also such things as should be expedient, as well to forewarn us of the dangers to come, as to.
When you read revelation, nowhere in the book does it state that john is in exile or imprisoned. The island of patmos has been celebrated for almost the last 2,000 years as the place where the divine and godinspired book of revelation was written by saint john, one of the twelve apostles of jesus christ. The author names himself as john in the text, but his precise identity. John the book of revelation, letters seven churches. The book of revelation john s second work, the book of revelation, was also written in aramaic. The book of revelation written on patmos greece, dodecanese. Featuring captivating, apocalyptic imagery, the revelation of saint john is one of the most widely read biblical texts in the world. Scholars have long considered the gospel of john to be one of the latest written texts in the new testament. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament.
Traditionally, both books have been identified as coming from the same person, john the son. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. But since eusebius wished to attribute the book of revelation to a different john than the author of the gospel, his interpretation may not have been impartial. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. No mention of future destruction of jerusalem, which for fullpreterists is odd, since john writes the entire book of revelation about it and the topic would be front and center on his mind that is only 24 year away. Did the same john write the gospels and revelation. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote the gospel of john.
Is the book of john, john 1,2,3 and revelation all. This would push the date for the gospel of john out to ad 64 or 65. The early2ndcentury writer, justin martyr, was the first to equate the author of revelation with john the evangelist. Gospel of john, acts, the epistles, and revelation an. The consensus of biblical scholars is that the apostle john wrote neither the gospel that now bears his name, nor revelation. Revelation names its author, whereas the gospel of.
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. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. When was the book of revelation written by the apostle. The gospel of john is the latestwritten of the four biographies of jesus that have been preserved in the new testament.
Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to. It is contended that the gospel of john has a much smoother style of greek than. The revelation of john, replete with visions, symbols, angels, monsters, and numerology, is unique among the writings of the new testament in the demands it places upon its interpreters. The gospel of john appears to have been written during the early part of the second century. Revelation of saint john, by saint john free books.
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. The gospel of john is the latest written of the four biographies of jesus that have been preserved in the new testament. As i mentioned before, we have evidence that revelation was written considerably before the date it is often assigned in the 90s. In any case, the only other evidence for the existance for an elder john may be the introduction to 2 and 3 john, where the author calls himself this.
John john, saint, one of the twelve apostles, traditional author of the fourth gospel, three letters, and the book of revelation see john, gospel according to saint. Note that each of them required some additional designation to distinguish them from others with the same name. John found expression in the book of revelation, also called the apocalypse, the last of the 27 canonical books. Christians and historians have considered the book of revelations writer to be the apostle john john the evangelist, author of the gospel of john.
The tradition of johns exile was started by augustine about 200 years after john lived. Book of revelation apocalypse written on patmos island. Who wrote gospel of john, epistles of john and the. Jan 18, 2019 the gospel of john was written to prove that jesus christ is the son of god. Apr 30, 2017 the revelation of jesus christ to john as written in the holy bible. No one signed the gospel now known as johns gospel and it was not even attributed to the apostle john until later in the second century.