Posted on Feb 05, 2025 by Mike LeDuke
The Book of Revelation
Have you ever read Revelation?
The book astonishes and takes your breath away. Dragons fly through the sky, a woman gives birth and attempts to protect her child from a dragon, and multiple unknown creatures attempt to overtake the globe. After reading Revelation, it isn’t uncommon to feel overwhelmed.
But where did it come from? Revelation, similar to the epistles of Paul and Peter, was really a letter. Because of that, it includes its author: “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9). Yet, which John was this?
Church tradition ascribes it to the same John as it ascribes the gospel. This parallel makes sense textually as Revelation shares a number of themes and ideas with the gospel of John. Both create a dichotomy of light versus darkness. Both portray Jesus as the lamb. Both refer to Jesus as “the word.” Further, the book notes that revelation was given during a time of persecution. The same verse quoted above has John describing himself as their “brother and partner in the tribulation.” Historically, persecutions against Christians were somewhat limited, at least in the first century. Nero persecuted the early church briefly, and mostly in Rome, and later, Domitian initiated a more widespread assault. Again, tradition holds that John the apostle was in Patmos specifically because he was exiled by Domitian. That identification seems reasonable, considering that Nero’s persecution really laid the groundwork for later attacks, like that of Domitian.
If this is the case, then Revelation was the last book of the Bible to be written. In fact, some Christian groups originally questioned whether or not it should be included in the canon, perhaps because of this later attribution. Nevertheless, the book was eventually included, and as a result, has provided believers with incredible pictures to consider, and ultimately, a picture of a restored earth, which has encouraged people for centuries.
Though this series of posts has only briefly considered the history of the Bible, it has given an overview of where these books originated. In an age when many are attempting to say that the Bible was simply written by people, this series has attempted to show these were people through whom God wrote His word. It has looked at the biblical text, history, and tradition. By bringing these together, I hope that you feel as though the word of God is something that can be believed, and not only believed, but lived. It isn’t just a book. It’s a message from God for you.
— Jason Hensley, PhD.
