Heidtmann 1

William Heidtmann
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103-H
10/2/2016
Topic Proposal The Unexplored John-re
Introduction/Overview
For the Extended Inquiry Project this semester, I have chosen to address the topic of John of
Patmos, the biblical character known for being the writer of the book of Revelation in the. While much
is known about Revelation itself - it was written at the end of the 1st Century AD (~95 AD) on the
island of Patmos (hence John of Patmos) - almost nothing is known about who John of Patmos actually
was. The traditional belief is that John of Patmos was synonymous with John the Apostle (author of the
Gospel of John), supported by the fact that John the Apostle's presence in that area would be entirely
plausible. However, more contemporary scholars are highly skeptical and argue that John of Patmos
was a completely separate individual, pointing to writing styles as evidence (patheos.com).
Research thus far has more decisively split the issue. Despite the traditional belief of John's
identity and the Internet's assumption of it (type John of Patmos into Google), the first Bible studied
so far (NRSV, Abingdon Press) has listed the idea of both John's being the same person as very
unlikely and a referenced Bible dictionary (Harper's Bible dictionary) stated that ...it is reasonably
clear that the author of the Fourth Gospel was not the author of Revelation. This view stems from the
idea that the Gospel of John and Revelation have very different writing styles. However, some sources
do point to the possibility of John the Apostle being exiled to an island as a result of his Christian
beliefs after the events of the Bible. He would've been in his late 90s at this time, but this neither
confirms nor denies his presence. Some sources claim the traditional view, some claim the
contemporary view, and some refuse to take a side. This division leaves this topic wide open for
discussion and more research.
This further research will entail analysis of many different versions of the Bible for crossreferencing and comparing styles of certain sections from both the Gospel of John and Revelation.
Also, detailed timelines of known events from the 1st century AD (like the one found at
historycentral.com) will help me to gain a more detailed view of what may have been likely to occur.
Finally, a study of treatment of Christians following the events of the Bible will help to determine
whether or not John (the Apostle) could reliably have been at the required location at the required time.
I am attempting to complete this project from a referential and historic point of view rather than
a religious one, to avoid bias and provide a clear and accurate (but not catastrophic) sequence of events
(i.e. my conclusion won't be one that could harm the foundations of a person's faith). The data may
show that the two Johns discussed are the same, it may show that they are not the same, and it may
show that the world will never know. My research will eventually lead to one of these outcomes.
Initial Inquiry Question
Up to now, my research has mainly been led by the question: Who was John of Patmos?
While this seems like a narrow enough question to guide my research, to find more specific
information I will have to narrow down my search with other, less general questions. Among these are:
What writing styles describe the two books at hand?, What happened to the disciples after the events
of the Bible?, and What happened to Christians in Rome during the mid-1st century AD. These all
will help to synergetically bring answer to the question above, after a close analysis.
My Interest in the Topic
I have always found the mysteries of the Bible - or any ancient text, for that matter - to be an

intriguing area of study (It's why I enjoyed The DaVinci Code so much). Much of the historical
context from certain sections of the Bible is not clarified, and since the naming system was much
different back then (surnames were not in use yet, people were named [first name] of [location of
birth]), discrepancies tend to make themselves known during the course of one's reading. While I do
not remember precisely how I came about the topic of John of Patmos, I do remember that it was
during research of another unanswered question about the person known as The Beloved Disciple. I
do not need to find definite answers to these questions to aid my faith, but think that uncovering lessknown facts and evidence could help lead to better understanding of the Bible as a whole.
Next Steps
My next steps of research will include comparison of multiple reputable timelines of history to
create one complete version, a study of writing style for the coming comparison of the Gospel of
John and Revelation, and a study of Christians treatment shortly after the events of the Bible. I have
had some luck with the library's EBSCO system in finding academic articles relating to the connection
between the two Johns, and I hope to gain access to a few detailed history novels through the library.

William Peer Review Comments:

Overall, you did a good job of following the directions. You gave a summary of what the source was talking about by
highlighting the main points. You did not go too in depth to what the writer/author/journalist was attempting to convey,
which was good because you were paraphrasing. Also, you clearly highlighted the credibility of the source. The credibility
was clear and you evaluated the sources. You also stated if there was bias in a source, which is good because it shows that
you are truly dissecting the content and the origin of the information presented. Also, you specifically stated how you were
going to use this source. It was clear and concise, which is important because it also gives you a sense of direction as to
what approach you will take to tackle your research question. You are specific in the approach you will take with the
sources, which is also important. Overall, good job!

and will make increasing use of biblegateway.com for my studies of specific verses.