Encyclopedia
The book of
Revelation or
The 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. The book is frequently called "The book of Revelations" or simply "Revelations"; 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" . 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 , 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 , 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 begins with "a door … opened in heaven" 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 considered Revelation to be "neither apostolic nor prophetic" and stated that "Christ is neither taught nor known in it" .
John Calvin believed the book to be canonical, yet it was the only New Testament book he did not write a commentary on.
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.
Authorship
Authorship discussed in the text
The author of Revelation identifies himself several times as "John" . The author also states that he was in exile on the
island of Patmos when he received his first vision . 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 . All of these sites are located in what is now
Turkey.
Traditional views held that
John the Apostle — considered to have written the Gospel and epistles by the same name — was exiled on Patmos in Aegean archipelago during the reign of Emperor
Domitian, and that he 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 and possess a high
christology . What is most telling, however, is that only in the Gospel of John and in Revelation is Jesus referred to as "the Word of God" .
Authorship - early views
A number of Church Fathers weighed in on the authorship of Revelation. Justin Martyr avows his belief in its apostolical origin.
Irenaeus 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 rejected it, upon doctrinal rather than critical grounds.
Eusebius suspended his judgement, hesitating between the external and internal evidence. Some canons, especially in the Eastern Church, rejected the book, while most others included it.
Authorship - modern views
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. Proponents of the single-author view explain these differences in various ways, including but not limited to factoring in underlying motifs and purposes, authorial target audience and the author's collaboration with and/or utilization of different scribes. A natural reading of the text would reveal that John is writing literally as he sees the vision and that he is warned by an angel not to alter the text through a subsequent edit , in order to maintain the textual integrity of the book.
Dating
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. Those who are in favour of the later date appeal to the external testimony of the Christian father
Irenaeus , who 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" , 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, as there is no reference to such a persecution before Eusebius.
Realized vs future
Some theologians argue that the Gospel of John contains a realized
eschatology which contradicts the futurist eschatology contained in Revelation . Against this view, however, stands the proposition that, properly interpreted, even realized eschatology is not
fully-realized eschatology: God's kingdom has been initiated but is not entirely implemented.
Chronology of Revelation
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.
Exact interpretations of the Chronology of Revelation vary extensively. Literal biblical scholars often see the events portrayed as a "laundry list," to be checked off one by one as the time of Revelation grows near. Others feel that the many images in Revelation are figurative or perhaps even commentaries on the world during the time when Revelation was written.
Major schools of interpretation
There are several schools of thought concerned with how the symbolism, imagery, and contents of the book of Revelation should be interpreted.
- The Biblical prophecy school of thought holds that the contents of Revelation, especially when interpreted in conjunction with the Book of Daniel and other eschatological sections of the Bible, constitute a prophecy of the end times. This school can be further subdivided into the preterist view, which sees the book concerned with 1st-century events; the futurist view, which applies most of the events in the book into the end times ; and the historicist view, which regards the book as spanning history from the first century through the second coming.
- A second Biblical Prophecy school of thought exists, believing that Revelation is a rewriting of the various prophetic books of the Old Testament and that it was originally located at the end of the Old Testament with several other, since removed, prophetic books. This school also maintains that many of these same prophetic books are merely different rewrites of each other .
- The historical-critical approach, which became dominant among critical scholars of religion since the end of the 18th century, attempts to understand Revelation within the genre of apocalyptic literature, which was popular in both Jewish and Christian tradition since the Babylonian diaspora, following the pattern of the Book of Daniel. There is further information on these topics in the entries on higher criticism and apocalyptic literature.
- The long-standing and highly controversial view of the esoteric schools is that Revelation, like all scriptures, bears seven levels of meaning, the lowest being the literal or "dead-letter." Those who are instructed in the esoteric knowledge enter gradually into more subtle levels of understanding. From this perspective, it can be understood that Revelation, as a very difficult scripture to grasp intellectually, is more directly concerned with guiding those who have some degree of esoteric knowledge, which requires going beyond the use of the intellect. The Gnostic Kabbalist believes that Revelation is a very profound book of Kabbalistic symbolism, written by a Kabbalist, for Kabbalist disciples. With the Kabbalah in hand, the disciple can more easily grasp the simultaneous presence of multiple levels of meaning contained in one symbol or allegory. This view is held by schools related to teachers such as H.P. Blavatsky, Eliphas Levi, Rudolf Steiner and Samael Aun Weor.
- Recently, aesthetic and literary modes of interpretation focus on Revelation as a work of art and imagination, viewing the imagery as symbolic depictions of timeless truths and the victory of good over evil.
- Neo-Ebionites and other Neo-Essenes regard Revelation as a description of the Destruction of The Temple in 70 and the subsequent Imperial Roman persecution of Jews and Christians.
- The "Patristic Interpretation", or the view held by St. Augustine, Jerome, and other early Church Fathers, views Revelation as an attempt to describe a spiritual reality and heavenly worship and compare it to the liturgy of the Christian Church. Although all but forgotten today, this interpretation is alluded to in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and has been avidly promoted by modern theologians such as Scott Hahn.
These schools of thought are not mutually exclusive, and many Christians adopt a combination of these approaches in the manner they find most meaningful. However, certain tendencies may be observed. The Biblical Prophecy school of thought is popular among Protestant fundamentalists, other evangelicals , and amongst
Rastafarians, who interpret the book very differently from fundamentalist Christians but definitely belong to the Biblical Prophecy school. Members of more mainline and liberal churches tend to prefer the historical-critical and aesthetic approaches. Moreover,
Roman and
Orthodox churches have delimited their own specific positions on Revelation.
Interpretative views of Revelation as biblical prophecy
The Preterist view
The view of Preterism holds that the contents of Revelation constitute a prophecy of events that were fulfilled in the
1st century. This view depends critically on an early date of Revelation,
c. 68, since any later date makes the "prophecy" postdate the events prophesied. Even accepting that date leaves a narrow margin of one to two years before the fulfillment occurs. Preterist interpretations generally identify Jerusalem as the persecutor of the Church, "Babylon", the "Mother of Harlots", etc. They see Armageddon as God's judgment on the Jews, carried out by the
Roman army, which is identified as "the beast". Some preterists see the second half of Revelation as changing focus to Rome, its persecution of Christians, and the fall of the
Roman Empire. It sees the Revelation being fulfilled in 70, thereby bringing the full presence of God to dwell with all humanity.
The futurist view
The futurist view assigns all or most of the prophecy to some future time, shortly before the second coming. Futurist interpretations generally predict a
Great Tribulation, a seven year period of time when believers will experience worldwide persecution and be purified and strengthened by it, then a resurrection of the dead and a
Rapture of the living, whereby all true Christians are gathered to Christ at the time God's kingdom comes on earth.
Pretribulationists believe that all Christians then alive will be taken bodily up to meet Christ before the Tribulation begins. One or two variants of this interpretation portray Israeli Jews as collaborators with the
Antichrist;
Pat Robertson was sharply criticized for actually saying that "The Antichrist is probably a Jew alive in Israel today." Midtribulationists believe that the rapture of the faithful will occur halfway through the tribulation, after it begins but before the worst part of it occurs.
Posttribulationists believe that Christians will not be taken up into Heaven, but gathered and received into the Kingdom at the end of the Tribulation.
The futurist view was first proposed by two Catholic writers, Manuel Lacunza and Ribera. Lacunza wrote under the pen name "Ben Ezra", and his work was banned by the Catholic Church. It has grown in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries, so that today it is probably most readily recognized. Books about the "
rapture" by authors like Hal Lindsey, and the more recent
Left Behind novels and movies, have done much to popularize this school of thought.
The
Rastafarians hold a futurist view of the book of Revelation, relating it both to 20th-century events such as the crowning of
Ethiopian Emperor
Haile Selassie and the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War, and also to future events such as the second coming of Selassie on the day of judgment.
The various views on tribulation are actually a subset of theological interpretations on the Millennium, mentioned in Revelation 20. There are three main interpretations: Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism.
Premillennialism believes that Christ will return to the earth to reign for a thousand years after Satan has been bound. Thus Christ returns before the thousand years mentioned in chapter 20. There are generally two subclasses of Premillennialism: Dispensational and Historic. Premillennialism is thought to be the oldest millennial view in church history.
Amillenialism believes that the thousand years mentioned are not a literal thousand years, but is figurative for what is now the church age: the time between Christ's first ascension and second coming. This view is often associated with Augustine of Hippo.
Postmillenialism believes that Christ will return after a literal/figurative thousand years, in which the world will have essentially become a Christendom.
The historicist view
The historicist view regards the prophecy as spanning the time from the end of the first century through the second coming of Christ.
Politically, historicist interpretations apply the symbols of Revelation to the gradual division and collapse of the
Roman Empire, the emergence of a divided Europe in the West and a Muslim empire in the East, and the collapse of the Eastern Empire while Europe attempts to reunite and recreate the Roman Empire.
Ecclesiastically, historicist interpretations see Revelation as teaching that the Church would expand, despite persecution, until it "conquered" the whole world—but in the process, would gradually evolve into an
apostate system within which true Christians would be a persecuted minority. The apostate Church is associated with the symbols of the "Mother of Harlots" and with "Babylon". It is seen as an "Antichrist system" which exists for much of history rather than expecting a single "Antichrist" in the last days, as futurist interpretations do.
According to historicist interpretations, the second coming of Christ occurs about the time that a partly reunited Europe starts to wage war against Israel. This view is held mainly by Fundamentalist Protestant Christians. The exact constitution of this confederacy differs between interpretations: in some it is mainly composed of
Eastern European countries, notably
Russia; in others,
Western European; some include
Britain, while others suggest that Britain and former
Commonwealth nations will oppose the confederacy. In all historicist interpretations, Christ defeats this confederacy, rescues Israel from certain destruction, judges apostate Christianity and vindicates the true believers, and sets up a kingdom on earth.
The earliest Christian writers adopted a historicist viewpoint, though at such an early date, the distinction between historicist and futurist views was less pronounced. Historicist interpretations tend to be millenarian, emphasizing the literal reign of Christ on earth, and as that doctrine receded in importance, so too did the historicist focus in interpretation. Today, historicist interpretations are favored in the most ardently millenarian sects.
Some Protestant writers today use this school of interpretation as the foundation for an anti-Catholic polemic, but it should be noted that such is not an inherent property of historical interpretations. Many Catholic writers in the fourth and fifth centuries applied the notion of future apostasy to their own church, in various ways. Some argued that an apostasy would arise within the church. Others argued that this had already happened, and cited one or another sect which arose over some theological dispute. What differs between interpretations is the identity of the
apostasy.
The spiritual or idealist view
The Spiritual view does not see the book of Revelation as predicting specific events in history. Rather it sees the visions as expressing eternal spiritual truths that find expression throughout history. Only in the last few chapters are specifically predictive eschatological issues taken up.
The Eastern Orthodox view
Eastern Orthodoxy has an interpretation that does not fit well into any of the above classifications. It treats the text as simultaneously describing contemporaneous events and as prophecy of events to come, for which the contemporaneous events were a form of foreshadow. It rejects attempts to determine, before the fact, if the events of Revelation are occurring by mapping them onto present-day events, taking to heart the Scriptural warning against those who proclaim "He is here!" prematurely. Instead, the book is seen as a warning to be spiritually and morally ready for the end times, whenever they may come , but they will come at the time of
God's choosing, not something that can be precipitated nor trivially deduced by mortals.
The Anglican view
The Anglican/Episcopal view is that this book should be seen as a book of hope and also a book of warning. It gives hope to those Christians who are being persecuted, assuring them that their suffering is not in vain. It also warns those non-Christians of the coming events and what will happen to them. Revelation is an example of typical Jewish Apocalyptic literature. It uses symbolic imagery to communicate hope to those in the midst of persecution. The events which occur in Revelation are ordered according to literary, rather than strictly chronological patterns.
The Mormon view
Within
Mormonism or The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Book of Revelation is considered to reveal important prophecy about the last days, the millennium, judgment, the destruction of Babylon , and the triumph of Christ's forces of good. The
Book of Mormon prophet Nephi foresaw that John would see "many things which thou hast seen...which...thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them."
Distinctive LDS views of the Book of Revelation involve primarily the nature of a divine inheritance in the afterlife for those who overcome by faith in Jesus Christ, exemplified in the following verses:
- "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
- "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
- "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and ...I will write upon him my new name."
- "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
The Esoteric view
The esoterist views the Book as delivering both a series of warnings for humanity and a detailed account of internal, spiritual processes of the individual soul. The seven seals are the seven chakras and the consequence of opening them is the unleashing of the physiological forces that reside there. The Second Coming is thus a personal event, the integration of your spiritual self with your animal self, resulting in a fully conscious human.
Some scholars have noted the similarities of the myth of Revelation about a rider on a white horse with the
Buddhist and
Hindu myths of Kalki who is considered the last avatar in the cycle of ages and is also associated with the end of time.
Alternative schools of interpretation
Zodiacal interpretation
The Zodiacal Interpretation of the Book of Revelation contends that the language of the
Zodiac is a key to understanding the vision of John. In this interpretive view, John's vision is seen to refer to Cosmological events in time that can be understood through an understanding of astrological knowledge.
Historical-critical interpretation
The historical-critical interpretation takes as axiomatic some qualities that would be considered commonplace in a non-Christian or non-Rastafarian context, first of all that Revelation is a
text, which is embodied and transmitted in manuscripts, which have their own histories. Such texts are subject to changes, such as miscopying, repetition of lines already entered, excision, interpolation or emendation. Motivations for such changes run the whole gamut of human motivations, and need also to be assessed in their historical context.
The acceptance of Revelation into the canon is itself the result of a historical process, essentially no different from the career of other texts. The eventual exclusion of other contemporary apocalyptic literature from the canon may throw light on the unfolding historical processes of what was officially considered orthodox, what was heterodox, what was even heretical.
The historical-critical interpretation also elucidates a central, pastoral message from Revelation relevant to the modern world. While interpretation of meanings and imagery is limited to what the historical author intended and what his contemporary audience inferred, a message to Christians not to assimilate into the Roman Imperial Culture was John's central message. Thus, his letter is pastoral in nature; though the symbolism of Revelation is to be understood entirely within its historical literary and social context. Critics study the conventions of apocalyptic literature and events of the
1st century to make sense of what the author may have intended.
During a discussion about Revelation on 23 August 2006,
Pope Benedict XVI remarked: "The seer of Patmos, identified with the apostle, is granted a series of visions meant to reassure the Christians of Asia amid the persecutions and trials of the end of the first century."
Nevertheless, many interpretative questions remain: Is the structure of the book linear, resumptive, or thematic? How does the imagery relate to historical events? Did the author intend one or multiple meanings in the text? The plurality of answers to these questions is plain to see both from the text of this article and scholarly opinion. Historical-criticism does not sit well within this plurality, but contemporary approaches to biblical texts, notably the literary-critical method, revel in this uncertainty. Different questions are asked, and as a result, the focus shifts from author to reader. What does it matter who wrote Revelation? Why can't the structure be linear, resumptive
and thematic simultaneously? What stops the imagery relating to just 1st-century events and not 21st-century events as well? Fundamentally, what stops Revelation having more than one valid meaning?
Footnotes
References
", Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet Aeon Books hardcover ISBN 0-945747-99-3
- Bass, Ralph E., Jr. 2004. Back to the Future: A Study in the Book of Revelation Greenville, SC: Living Hope Press.
- Gentry, Kenneth L., Jr. 1998. Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation Powder Springs, GA: American Vision.
- Gentry, Kenneth L., Jr. 2002. The Beast of Revelation Powder Springs, GA: American Vision.
See also
Directly related
...
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- Fifth Monarchy Men
- Laodicean Church
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
-
General
External links
Commentaries on Revelation:
- Courtesy of the Sunnyside Church of Christ
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- Commentary and chronological depiction.
- Esoteric viewpoint .
Online translations of the Book of Revelation:
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-
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- Apocalypse of John: text, introduction, context
- - Article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
- , analyzing the literary structure.
- by John Salza. cf. ; ; .
- cf. and the Hebrew word , for the Old Testament concept of a "continual" or "perpetual" sacrifice; The better "sacrifices" of ; ; ;
- Martin Luther: cf. by Dave Armstrong ;; Pope Gregory I .
- Contemporary Marian visionary explicates in "A Time of Fire~A Way of Fire" that the Book of Revelation contains, in symbolic language encoded in the text, some of Jesus' most important teachings on personal and global transformation which were revealed only to his closest disciples.
- Revelation: Historic and interpretive investigation
