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THE BOOK OF REVELATION

(APOCALYPSE OF JOHN)

INTRODUCTION

A distinctive, astounding, and unique biblical text full of mysteries of heaven is

Revelation or Apocalypse. Revelation is a comprehensive written message that gives a discourse

to seven Christain communities of the Roman province of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. In this

book, the author narrates his prophetic ecstasies. He wrote whatever he heard, seen, and

understood during this course. Some critics, such as Margaret Barker, say that these visions are

of Christ himself (1:1), which in return was passed onto John by Him (Barker). In the New

Testament standard, this is the only book that tells the literary genre of apocalyptic literature.

Although in Gospels and the Epistles at different places, there are many short apocalyptic

passages present. The still existing second-century Christian writings, this book's work is the

most quoted, which is very admirable in the view of difficulties come across during beatifying

process. For reconstructing the original reading of The Book of Revelation, there is

approximately 230 Greek palimpsest. But the significant texts used are found in Codex

Sinaiticus (4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (5th century), and Codex Ephraemi (5th century). In

Codex Vaticanus, Revelation is missing.

Language, Purpose, And Style:

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Aramaic was the language of Jerusalem Christians, whereas most of their scripts were

written in Hebrew. Margaret Barker thinks it is unconvincing that Revelation was written in

Greek. She thinks that either Aramaic or Hebrew was its original language, and later on, it was

translated into Greek. In the entire New Testament, there is inadequate Greek in Greek

manuscript.

The purpose of the book was to prevail over the spiritual deterioration that was affecting

God's people, strengthen the determination of faithful who were being oppressed, probably

during Roman emperor Domitian's reign (81-96 AD). And mainly to instill hope in God's final

triumph and his believers over the forces of evils, and like Christ rest of His believers will also

become victorious over the evil.

Revelation is a kind of 'pastoral letter' that was publically read in the Churches of Asia

Minor during formal settings (Faley). The prophetic and apocalyptic style was used for writing

the text in a book. Thus apocalyptic, prophetic, and epistolary are three literary forms used in the

book (Thompson). Many scholars suggest that there exists a unity between both form and

content of the book.

Sources:

The Old Testament is the most apparent source of the Book of Revelation. Ezekiel and

Daniel's books were also used to extract significant material, and from Zechariah, Isaiah,

Jeremiah, Joel, Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Psalms to a lesser degree (Flegg).

Some say almost 24 authorized Septuagint books are the source of Revelation. But the Old

Testament's influence is the most as in the entire book; there are 126 verses out of 404 which are

not cited in the Old Testament. Some critics say that the author was familiar with the apocalyptic
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literature of Jewish (Guthrie). But the conventional view is that author himself is accountable for

all text in the book.

Date and place:

The satisfactory solution to the date of The Book of Revelation is as early as the reign of

Claudius (41-54 AD) and as late as the reign of Nerva (96-98) or of Trajan (98-117 AD). There

is another viewpoint that says that The Book of Revelation is an amalgam of two earlier

apocalypses. But most widely view is that it was written at the end of the Domitian reign

(Guthrie). It is also stated that earlier it was written in Aramaic or Hebrew and later translated

into Greek.

Generally, scholars believe that the Revelation was written in Asia Minor along its west

coast. At the same time, others argue that it was scripted on Patmos' island or produced at

Ephesus. And according to some views at the very early period, its first form was written in

Palestine (Faley).

Authorship:

The author of this book, The Book of Revelation, calls himself John. He considers

himself a member of the group at Patmos, a Roman penal colony, who were oppressed for their

faith (Faley). But there is no clue that this John is the Apostle. Rather than Greek, he has

reasonable control over Hebrew and Aramaic. His writing is jaggy. There was an almost

unanimous agreement in the early centuries of Christianity among the Fathers of Churches that

the writer of the fourth Gospel and the three Epistles, John the evangelist, was the writer of this

book too. Thus, to witness Revelation's apostolic authorship, there is an excellent patristic

merging (Flegg). Therefore, the arguments and scholarship denying the authorship of John the

Apostle is not strong enough to overthrow the orthodox tradition.

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CANONICAL STATUS

The Book of Revelation had a stamp of inspiration from its earliest days. The Muratorian

Canon shows that towards the end of the second century, there were no conflicts over The Book

of Revelation in the Roman church. Until the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the

fifth century both in the East and the West, Revelation was cited and agreed upon as scripture.

"There is no need to cite further evidence in support, for there are few books in the New

Testament with stronger early attestation," as stated by Donald Guthrie (Guthrie).

LITERARY STRUCTURE

The Book of Revelation is divided into four sections. There is a vision in each section,

which sets the reminder tone of that division.

Part One (Chapters 1-3): In 1:1-7, there is an introduction which is followed by the

introductory vision of 1:8-20. In Chapters 2 and 3, there are seven letters to the seven Churches:

Ephesus 2:1-7; Smyrna 2:8-11; Pergamum 2: 12-17; Thyatira 2:18-29; Sardis 3: 1-6;

Philadelphia 3: 7-13; Laodicea 3: 14-22. This chapter is known as "The Seven Letters to the

Seven Churches" due to seven letters' prominence (Sena).

Part Two (Chapters 4-11):. In chapters 4 and 5, there is an inaugural vision, the opening

of the seven seals in chapters 6 to 8:1, in chapters 8:2-11:20, the sounding of the seven trumpets.

Since it ends with the Ark of the Covenant is made visible for all to see (11.19), this has

sometimes been called "The Apocalypse for the Jews." (Sena).

Part Three (Chapters 12-20): There is again an inaugural vision in chapter 12 which

begins the seven signs (12:1,3; 13:13, 14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20). Since it ends with Christ being

proclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16) over all the world's peoples, this section is

often called "The Apocalypse for Gentiles." (Sena).

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Part Four (Chapters 21-22): There is once more an inaugural vision of the new heaven

and the new earth and the New Jerusalem (21:1-8). A description of the New Jerusalem follows

it (21:9-22:5); a conclusion of authentication, warning, and hope (22:6-21). This section often

goes by the name of "The New Jerusalem" because of the New Jerusalem prominence (Sena).

The beginning of Revelation starts from chapter 1:9 and continues till chapter 22:5, and it

forms the body of the book. It leads up to a title, an introductory salutation to the Seven

Churches, and a preface. Then it leads to an epilogue, and for the recipients, there is a final

salutation. In two ecstasies (1:10; 4:2), John received two divine links. Then in the virtue of the

command given to him, he united them into one work. In the first ecstasy, there were voices

behind him which were heard by the Prophets. These voices were commanding him to write

what he is about to see. In the second ecstasy, the same voices told him to come up to heaven. A

visual phenomenon is accompanied by the voices this time. During the first ecstasy, there is a

vision that puts John face to face with a personage standing in the middle of seven golden

candlesticks, a symbol used for the seven Churches. This person is the resembling the Son of

God. In the second ecstasy, the soothsayer has a sensation of standing in heaven. He was

standing before the throne of God and before Jesus Christ. People remember John as a high

priest wearing a mitre by Polycarp of Ephesus (Bergsma and Pitre).

The Book of Revelation's main plot is a battle between good and evil, God and Satan,

and their believers. Following a series of events, we reach the main problem: the defeat of evil

and the establishment of a New Jerusalem and return to paradise. Jesus is the protagonist,

whereas Satan is the ultimate adversary, the antagonist. Using archetypal imageries and

symbolism, the author conveys his messages. The Book of Revelation often has been regarded as

a mysterious book, quite beyond the comprehension of the average lay reader.
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INTERPRETATIONS

Ranging from simple to complex, The Book of Revelation has given a variety of

interpretations. Following are the categories in which interpreters of the book lie: Historicists:

they interpret Revelation as a sequence of events from the time of the Apostle to the

consummation of history; Preterists (from Latin praeter meaning 'past' or 'beyond'): they

interpret the book concerning the apostolic era (1st century AD). According to them all the

events stated in the book already took place, such as the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD). The

Futurists: Their interpretation is related to the events that will take place in the future and the

advent of Christ. The Idealists: review Revelation as symbolic pictures of such timeless truths

as the struggle between good and evil and the good's win. Lastly, there is a Poetic view: they say

that author of Revelation has described through his power of artistry the sure triumph of God

over evil forces (Beasley-Murray).

STORYLINE OF THE BIBLE

The all-powerful God created the universe. God created human beings in His image to

live joyfully in His presence, in humble submission to His gracious authority. We suffered due to

the consequences of our rebellion against God and were punished by physical death and the

wrath of God. To display His glory in a fallen world, he chose the nation of Israel and initiated

His rescue plan. The Bible describes how God acted mightily on Israel's behalf, rescuing His

people from slavery and then giving them His holy law. But God's people – like all of us – failed

to reflect the glory of God rightly. Then God sent Jesus Christ to renew people and restore His

people. The laws given to Israel were truly obeyed by Jesus. He suffered the consequences of

human rebellion by His death on a cross. But three days later, God raised Him from the dead.

The Bible promises that Jesus Christ will return to this earth as the conquering King. Only those

who live in repentant faith in Christ will escape God's judgment and live joyfully in God's
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presence for all eternity. God's message is the same to all of us: repent and believe before it is too

late. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him

from the dead, and you will be saved (Nicodem).

So Bible has a diverse collection of writings. Over nearly 2,000 years, about forty human

authors wrote sixty-six books in Bible. It has two main sections: Old Testament and New

Testament. Old Testament is written in Hebrew, while New Testament was written in Greek. The

Old Testament tells us about the early development of humanity, sense of self, and intimate,

personal connection with the creator. Then it move towards the group of people known as

"people of God." They developed a "covenant" with God as to what God would do to protect

them and what was expected of them in terms of honoring the will of God. Ten commandments

are handed down to people by God. They were known as Hebrews.  The essential lesson to be

learned from this, echoed throughout the Old Testament, is that when people put their own

interests above their promise to God, they will ultimately suffer. 

The new Testament is the part of the Bible produced by people who think that Jesus is the

savior predicted in Isaiah. Much of its work is drawn from the Old Testament. It reports the

activities and challenges of the communities of Jews who believed in Jesus as Savior (Nicodem).

THEOLOGY OF BOOK

The Book of Revelation is a biblical book of profound theology. It has a theocentric

vision of the coming of the universal kingdom of God. It is a book of Christain theology in final

form. It has many theological ideas, such as the Trinity, Christology, eschatology, Ecclesiology,
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Mariology, Liturgy, Angelology, and the Christian meaning of history. Some of the key

theological ideas mentioned in this book are as follows:

1. Trinity: One of the most fabulous perfuse themes of Revelation is the Triune

nature of God. Various names, titles, and designations are used to describe the

three divine persons depicted in this book. Along with their complementary

functions, they show a close relationship with each other.

God the Father- God the Father is the Sovereign Almighty God, who remains on the

throne directing the universe's affairs. Almost 124 titles, separate names, and designation are

used for the God the Father in the Revelation. The word "GOD" is used seventy-four times in the

book (Bauckham).

God the Son- In Revelation, there are about eighty references to Jesus Christ by various

designations, though He is never called theos (God). 'the lamb' used twenty-eight times is the

most common. On the second, 'Jesus' or 'Jesus Christ' is used twelve times.

God the Holy Spirit- It has received less attention in Revelation than Father and the Son.

They are referred eightness times in the book, four of which are expressed symbolically. The

Spirit is an integral part of the triune Deity from whom grace and peace are communicated to the

readers and hearers of the Book of Revelation (1:4-5). He also plays an essential role in

establishing God's rule. In Revelation, the Spirit is never portrayed as sitting on a throne, ruling,

or receiving worship and adoration. But it should not be interpreted to imply that He is not

ontologically equal with God.

2. Christology: There is high Christology in The Book of Revelation. The author

believes in the dual nature of Jesus as God and Man. Jesus, besides being the Son

of God (2:18, 27; 3:5, 21; 14:1), is 'one like a son of man' (1:13;14.14), that is, as
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a human being. He redeemed people to God from every nation by His blood (5:9;

12:11), and He has washed us from our sins in His own blood (1:5; 7:14). He died

and returned to life (1:18; 2:8) as the Firstborn from the dead (1:5). He shares

God's throne (3:21; 22:1, 3). The crucified and resurrected Lamb upon the throne

is a clear proclamation of the divinity of Christ and His unity with the Father

(Flegg).

Christ as Lamb is the most common designation for Jesus in Revelation. Various titles

or names are given to Christ throughout the book. He is called faithful and true witness (1:5;

3:14); the first and the last (1:17); the true one (3:7); the Amen (3:14); the beginning of God's

creation (3.14); the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5); the root David (5:5); one whose blood

ransomed men for God (5:9); Lamb (7:10); Messiah (11:15;12:10); the bright morning star

(22.16); the Alpha and Omega (22:13); the King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16), Word of

God (6:6; 19:13), ruler of kings on earth (1:5); one like a Son of Man (1:13); the Son of God

(2:18); the holy one (16:6); one who shall reign forever and ever (11:15); one who has authority

to open and to close (3:7-8), Lord (22:20), etc. Columba Graham Flegg affirms that nowhere in

the New Testament is the divinity of Christ more comprehensively expressed than in Revelation

(Flegg).

3. New creation and new paradise: Inside the final chapter of Revelation, we see a

photo of paradise, an increased and superb version of the original paradise

wherein the human race started, whole with a heavenly river of the water of

lifestyles, having on its banks the tree of lifestyles, seemingly not a solitary boom

but extra like a wooded area. To have access to this garden is the privilege of all

believers. The picture given is of a paradise of pleasure and peace which shall by
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no means stop. There is a new creation for the first heaven and the first earth had

passed away, and the sea, which symbolizes chaos and evil, is no more (21:1-2).

There is now a new world. The New Jerusalem is not an earthly city but God's

city (Barker).

Thus the book of Revelation is the consummation of human existence, human

aspirations, human history, and culture, and is a fitting conclusion to the entire Bible, and the

faithful ones of God are given a glimpse of the glory which is to be.

PERSONAL REFLECTION ON THE BOOK

The Book of Revelation has a message relevant for every age. Irrespective of the original

historical context, it contains many spiritual truths. Thus it has a permanent value. There is

greater flexibility in the application presented by the ideas in the book. The book is of

encouragement and exhortation. This book brings Optimism to people who are combating the

great forces of evil with apparently little success. The book issues a powerful challenge to

endurance to people who are inclined to forsake their faith because the odds against them seem

to be too great.

This book instills courage, hope, and consolation. This message of hope pertains to

every Christain generation. The image of Lamb presents hope and victory. Revelation reminds

one of the perennial struggles between good and evil and that ultimate victory belongs to God

and the righteous. The Last Judgment is an essential part of the great drama of life, and there are

rewards and punishment. The catastrophes, earthquakes, hail, fire, plagues, lightning, and

disintegration of the heavens show that God is in control. He is the thrifty one, and his enemies

will be defeated. Evil will have no absolute power over the people, even though for a time, it

may seem to have gained the upper hand (Sweet).

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The Book of Revelation is relevant for all Churches. It has a message for individual

Christians who are exemplary and those who have been once sincere believers but have grown

tepid in their faith. Finally, the book has a message for all States and governments that they

should base their policies on sound moral principles that have their foundation in God's law and

not be agents of the evil one (Rom 13:1-7).

CONCLUSION

It has often been said that Revelation is one of the most debated and obscure books of the

New Testament with expressions and categories that are strange and even disturbing: wars,

bloodshed, beasts, dragons, harlots, jarring images, and frightening contrasts (Faley). Because of

its apparent obscurities and remoteness from current thought and expression methods, it is a

book neglected by many Christians. But in its earliest history this was not the case. In New

Testament, it was the most encouraging book. It depicted a God-centred view of history and

final redemption. As it defends itself against the problems of everyday faith, so it is apologetic.

It presents a well-developed doctrine on the Holy Trinity, Christology,Eschatology,

Ecclesiology, Angelology, and Divine Worship, so it is theological. This book has done an

excellent job of linking the Old Testament and New Testament. Therefore, as Columba

Graham Flegg says, we may call Revelation the great crown and climax of the Holy Scripture,

and without this book, the Christian scripture would be incomplete. Consequently, our

understanding of the Christian faith would be equally incomplete (Flegg). And Margaret Barker

adds: "If 'apocalyptic' was the mother of all Christian theology,' then the Book of Revelation

should be put at the center of New Testament study (Barker). Revelation reminds us that there is

indeed hope beyond the momentary trials and struggles of this life. One day the darkness will

pass away, and we will all dwell in perpetual light.

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Theme verse of Revelation "Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the

things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. (Re 1:19)".
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Bibliography

Barker, Margaret. Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show to His Servants

What Must Soon Take Place (Revelation 1.1). A&C Black, 2000.

Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation. Cambridge University Press,

1993.

Beasley-Murray, George Raymond. The Book of Revelation: Based on the Revised Standard

Version. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2010.

Bergsma, John, and Brant Pitre. A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament.

Ignatius Press, 2018.

Faley, Roland James. Apocalypse Then and Now: A Companion to the Book of Revelation.

Paulist Press, 1999.

Flegg, Columba Graham. An Introduction to Reading the Apocalypse. St Vladimir’s Seminary

Press, 1999.

Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction. 4th ed. rev., 2nd pr., Apollos, 1991.

Nicodem, James L. Epic: The Storyline of the Bible. Moody Publishers, 2013.

Sena, Patrick J. The Apocalypse: Biblical Revelation Explained. Alba House, 1983.

Sweet, John. “Revelation.” Early Christian Thought in Its Jewish Context, 1996, p. 160.

Thompson, Leonard L. The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and Empire. Oxford University

Press on Demand, 1990.

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