Authorship
The author claims to be John (Rev 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8); since he does not identify himself more directly, he may be the best-known John, i.e., the apostle. This fits early church tradition. Noting the very different style of the Gospel attributed to the apostle John, however, a third-century elder argued that this author was a different John. Scholars today sometimes support that same position. The stylistic differences between the Gospel and Revelation are real, but many can be explained by the different genres.
Date
Early Christian tradition supports a date of writing in the time of Domitian, probably in the AD 90s; most scholars prefer this date. Some interpreters date Revelation to the time of Nero or his successors in the 60s, given likely echoes of Nero in the book. Against this earlier dating, churches are now established, and some have lost their initial zeal in major cities of the province (1:4); the temple may be already desecrated (cf. 11:2); a return of Nero may be expected (cf. 13:3; 17:10–11), and this expectation continued throughout the first century; and the emperor’s power appears more stable (cf. 13:7–8) than it was among Nero’s successors.
Genre
One could explain most individual images in Revelation on the basis of earlier Biblical prophets (with numerous echoes especially of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah). Many of these images that are dominant, however, are the same images popular in post-OT apocalyptic works such as 1 Enoch, 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. Throughout history, God often communicated with people in ways that were intelligible in their particular cultures, albeit with numerous limitations (e.g., prohibiting divination). Many apocalyptic motifs found in 1 Enoch and these other ancient Jewish works were developed from OT images. Jewish mystics and apocalyptic visionaries sought to cultivate visions of heaven; early Christians clearly experienced visions as well (Ac 2:17; 2Co 12:1–4), although they did not regard all revelations as genuine (Rev 2:20; 1Jn 4:1–6).
Biblical prophets had often prophesied against the nations. Well before John’s day, Daniel’s prophecy concerning four kingdoms (Da 2:37–45; 7:3–12) had become very popular, and Jewish interpreters in this period regarded Rome as the fourth kingdom. Expecting God’s imminent kingdom, some apocalyptic seers prophesied Rome’s demise, whereas revolutionaries took up arms to try to overthrow Rome, leading to Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70. Even Diaspora Jews in many cities suffered from the resentment that followed, and subsequent revolts by Jews in Egypt and Cyrene also led to the destruction of the Jewish communities there. Works that could be understood as prophesying destruction against Rome were politically sensitive, and the circles that produced such works would be quickly repressed.
Structure
Revelation includes an introduction (ch. 1), letters to seven churches (chs. 2–3), and then three sets of seven judgments, with interludes that especially provide a heavenly perspective (chs. 4–16). Each of these sets of judgments (seals, trumpets and bowls) apparently climaxes with the end of the age. Prophecies against Rome (chs. 17–18) seem to precede prophecies of the end (chs. 19–22), although some argue plausibly that the period depicted in 20:1–6 rehearses from another perspective the same period surveyed in the sets of judgments in chs. 4–16. (This matter remains debated.)
Some view the three series of seven judgments as consecutive; others, noting that each set climaxes in the end of the age (6:12–14; 11:15, 18; 16:17, 20), view them as concurrent. The period in chs. 4–16 may be the 1,260 days of 11:3; 12:6, 14; 13:5, although the meaning of this period is debated. (Those who view it as symbolic usually interpret it as the period between Jesus’ first and second comings [see the article “Time in Revelation”]). John may report the visions in the sequence in which he saw them, but every time he notes “And I saw/heard,” he is receiving a new image, which need not always follow chronologically what precedes.
Interpreting Revelation
Several major categories of approaches to Revelation exist:
First, the idealist approach finds timeless principles in the book of Revelation, though it often ignores specific applicability to first-century situations.
Second, the historicist approach argues that Revelation provides a detailed map of history from its own day until Jesus’ future return. The connections, however, do not fit very well. This was one of the most popular approaches in church history (especially the nineteenth century), but it is not very popular today.
Third, the preterist approach understands Revelation in its first-century setting. The most thoroughgoing preterists, however, apply all of it to only the first century, ignoring any future prophecies. Yet a first-century audience, familiar with apocalyptic literature, would likely have understood at least some of Revelation (especially 20:11–22:5) as pointing to the future. Ancient apocalyptic literature often did address the future, sometimes partly and sometimes in great detail.
Fourth, the futurist approach looks for predictions about the future in Revelation. This approach is much more popular today than it was in most of history. The most thoroughgoing futurists, however, often ignore ways in which the message was contextualized for its original first-century audience.
Many scholars prefer a more eclectic approach, starting with the first-century application (like preterists), looking for enduring principles (like idealists), and recognizing some future elements (like futurists). How much of the book relates specifically to the past (beyond passages such as chs. 2–3; 12:5) and how much specifically to the future (beyond passages such as 20:11–22:5) remains a matter of debate.
Prophecy miscalculations have littered history. For example, Saint Martin of Tours was certain that the final antichrist was already alive—though Martin died in 397. Others predicted the antichrist’s coming for the years 1000, 1184, 1186, 1229, 1345, 1385, and so forth. Thomas Müntzer took part in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1524, expecting this to bring about the final judgment; but after 6,000 peasants died he was captured and executed. In those days, end-time miscalculations often died hard—literally.
Similarly, early Baptist leader Thomas Helwys, persecuted by King James I, believed that he and his followers were experiencing the final “great tribulation.” Just before the turn of the twentieth century, on Dec. 31, 1899, full-page advertisements in major U.S. newspapers warned that Christ was about to return. Three million copies of a book suggesting that the church might be raptured in 1988 sold that year; the next edition, produced in 1989, failed to sell so many copies. Others predicted the Lord’s return for 1993, 1994, 2000, and so forth.
Some popular prophecy teachers have interpreted Revelation based on newspaper headlines, assuming that it addresses only the current generation. Because they have been doing this for more than a century, they have had to reinterpret Revelation and other Biblical prophecies on a regular basis. Thus, e.g., North American interpreters applied “kings from the East” (16:12) to the Turkish Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I—even though the churches of Asia Minor (1:4) would hardly have regarded Turkey as to their east! These Western interpreters applied the phrase to imperial Japan until the end of World War II, to Communist China for much of the rest of the twentieth century, and to Iraq during the first Gulf War with Saddam Hussein. If we pay attention to first-century background for Revelation, as we do for other Biblical books, however, John’s image probably had more to do with the ancient Parthians (see the article “Parthia”).
John wrote this book in Greek and explicitly addressed churches in Asia Minor (1:4), just as Paul explicitly addressed churches in Philippi, Thessalonica and elsewhere. Thus we should pay attention to what Revelation would have meant in its explicit setting. Reading it this way helps us understand the points the book is making so we can apply them with greater confidence to analogous kinds of situations.
Symbolism was common in OT poetry and thus in preexilic prophecy (e.g., Jdg 5:4; Ps 18:4–19; Joel 3:12–13), but it is even more common in subsequent Jewish apocalyptic visionary literature. That Revelation recycles in fresh and symbolic ways many OT images is undeniable (e.g., the plagues, the locusts, and the lamb; also 6:13; 12:1); certainly few interpreters think that Revelation was simply commenting about Moses’ plagues on Egypt centuries earlier. It is clear that Revelation uses symbols and sometimes even explains them (see 1:20). Consistency with Revelation’s most obvious uses of symbolism invites us to be open to symbolism elsewhere in the book. As often in antiquity, Revelation also appears to use some symbolic numbers (seven being a particular favorite).
Setting
Domitian was likely the emperor during the time that Revelation was written (see Date). Domitian expelled astrologers from Rome and also repressed monotheists there, such as Jews and Christians. His example would have allowed those governors who so desired to take similar actions in provinces. Like the earlier emperors Caligula and Nero, Domitian wanted to be worshiped while alive, reportedly with the title “lord and god.” No one took down names of people absent from public festivals, but if Christians were accused of subversion, their loyalty could be tested by a demand of worship to Caesar (see the article “The Imperial Cult”).
Possibly some members of synagogues in Smyrna and Philadelphia expelled Jewish believers and additionally slandered them to Roman authorities as subversive (cf. 2:9–10; 3:9). (In the early second century, synagogue members in Smyrna reportedly favored harsh treatment for the bishop of Smyrna.) In the early second century, a governor ordered those Christians brought before him to offer incense to the emperor’s image; those who refused were executed. Such policies, not instituted under Trajan (the emperor at that time), may have started earlier, in the time of Domitian.
Most churches, however, were not facing persecution (apparently Ephesus, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea). Their temptation, by contrast, was to compromise with the same world system that was killing their brothers and sisters elsewhere.
Message
Revelation contrasts Babylon the prostitute, which ultimately embodies the spirit of this age, with new Jerusalem the bride, which embodies the hope of the world to come. One lives either for this age or, with faith, for the greater promise of the world to come. Revelation’s description of Babylon fits Rome—a city on seven hills, a maritime power trading in the same goods described, ruling the kings of the part of the earth where John’s audience lived. Jewish people often compared Rome with Babylon, the first of Daniel’s four empires, which also destroyed the temple and subjugated God’s people. But while Rome was the Babylon of John’s day, the spirit of Babylon, the ethos of evil empire and the world system, preceded Rome and outlived it. Since John’s day empires have risen and fallen, but God’s kingdom has been spreading, as John envisioned, among all peoples.
Revelation thus invites its audience to an eternal perspective on the world. It invites us to worship with the hosts in heaven. It invites us to count as triumph our sufferings in this world that will be rewarded in the coming one (e.g., 11:7; 12:11; 13:7; 15:2). The world considered martyrdom folly; in light of eternity, it is a price well paid. Revelation thus comes as a comfort to the suffering churches (such as Smyrna and Philadelphia) but a warning to the compromising and dead churches (such as Thyatira and Sardis). Judgments are warning signs inviting the world to turn from the greater judgment to come (9:20–21; 16:9).
Revelation frequently depicts the Lamb, Jesus, in terms that the OT reserved for God. The Father and Son are the book’s central figures, and they constitute the foundation for hope throughout the book. The world is clearly in worse condition than it acknowledges, but those who trust Christ’s sacrifice for them have the promise of life forever with him in a restored creation. ◆
Quick Glance
Author:
The apostle John
Audience:
Seven churches in western Asia Minor
Date:
About AD 95
Theme:
John writes to encourage the faithful to stand firm against persecution and compromise in the light of the imminent return of Christ to deliver the righteous and judge the wicked.