Bible Dictionary Project

The Book of Revelations

The book of revelations is a combination of three literary genres: epistle, apocalypse, and prophesy. One of Christ’s twelve disciples, Apostle John, who wrote it, was responsible. The book of Revelations was composed between 85 and 95 A.D., roughly, and its purpose is to inspire and offer hope to all Christians to believe in the second coming and victory of Jesus Christ. Additionally, it forewarns Christians of the final judgment that will take place after Jesus’ return. The book’s themes are; God’s judgment on evil, the establishment of God’s Kingdom as set in motion by Jesus Christ, perseverance among Christians, good versus evil, violence, amazement among other themes. The major event in the book is the revelation of the Kingdom of heaven to John through visions. After the visions, John resolves to narrate what he was shown in the visions to the seven churches through writing. The entire book narrates about the past, the present and the future of God’s kingdom. The major invents the descriptions of what is to come on the Day of Judgment. Key personalities in the book of revelations include John as the narrator, Jesus Christ, the great multitude that would be converted on the day of tribulation.

Person: John

Apostle John is the key person in the book of revelations which he wrote himself. He was born at around AD 2 considering that he wrote the book when he was about 92 years old. He was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He was a young brother to James son of Zebedee and the most loved disciple of Jesus. John must have born in Galilee where Jesus found him and his brother, James fishing with his father. Among the dining moments in John’s life is him abandoning his father and his fishing job to follow Jesus. The two brothers were cousins to Jesus. He writes the book of revelations while a prisoner of Rome. He was taken the prisoner for preaching about Jesus by fortunately enough he did not die through martyrdom like most the apostles. Apostle John is considered the last prophet of the new testament for foreseeing the second coming of Jesus. Besides the book of revelations, Apostle John wrote several other books in the New Testament which include, the Gospel of John, and 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. He was the youngest and most loved disciple of Jesus. It is likely that because of the great love that Jesus had for John contribute a lot in Him revealing only to John to foresee His second coming and nobody else.

Place/Setting

The book of Revelations was written between AD 94 and AD 96 by Apostle John while in exile on the isle of Patmos. It was written during the times of Christian persecutions, and this is the reason that exiled John. There was a heightened tension in the land at the time the book was written. Christian persecutions were on a high level during the reign of the Roman Empire. The book was written to the seven churches of that were in the Roman province of Asia. The churches were namely the Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These are among the first churches that strengthened the spread of Christianity across nations. The economic activities in these places were mainly farming and fishing. The Roman Empire was dominated by the Jews who disregarded Christianity and found it an offense to spread Christianity. Patmos, the exile in John wrote the book was somehow tolerant to Christianity unlike the rest of the Roman Empire. The book of revelations is a continuation of the old prophecy in the old testaments such as Isaiah that had prophesied the coming of the Messiah, and now that such prophecy had been fulfilled, revelation comes to reveal the way forward after Jesus had accepted to heaven.

Works Cited

JACKSON, W. (2017). When Was the Book of Revelation Written?. Christian Courier. Retrieved 2 May 2017, from https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1552-when-was-the-book-of-revelation-written

Revelation Summary. (2017). Biblehub.com. Retrieved 1 May 2017, from http://biblehub.com/summary/revelation/1.htm

Wellman, J. (2017). What Books Of The Bible Did John Write?. Christian Crier. Retrieved 1 May 2017, from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/08/20/what-books-of-the-bible-did-john-write/