by Keith Pratt

Created on: March 10, 2009   Last Updated: March 13, 2009

BACKGROUND

The Revelation of John is part of a group of writings known as "apocalyptic" literature. The base Greek word is "apocolypsis" which translates in English as "revealing" or "unveiling". A key element for any apocalyptic writing is that the world is beyond any hope of salvation and therefore must be destroyed. At the time of it's writing (late in the 1st Century CE), there were many authors who saw an end of the world either out of conviction or hope. Among the events that fostered this belief were:

The Romans destroying the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE;The persistent rumors that Nero (54-68 CE) was not dead but just outside the Roman Empire raising an army with plans to retake his position as Ceasar. The destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

The consensus among Bible Scholars for many years was that Revelation was written in response to oppression of Christians by the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96 CE). Recent studies indicate there was little persecution of Christians by Domitian. An alternate theory is that it was written due to internal conflicts with a strong rival to Orthodox Christianity known as Gnosticism (from the Greek word "gnosis" meaning "to know" or "knowledge"). The Gnostics were not as well organized as the Orthodox Christians but had a significant and growing following. Among their teachings were:

A god, by it's very nature, is impossible to kill. Therefore, Jesus could not die on the cross.The reason evil exists in the world is because the earth was created by an inferior god. Jesus came to show those willing to follow Him the way to the true God.

Such ideas appealed to many believers and were a threat to what could be termed as the Orthodox Christians. Thus, Revelation may have been written to hold the Orthodox faithful together.

At the time the Bible was being put together at the time of Emperor Constantine in the mid to late 300s, Revelation was already seen as a very controversial writing. It can be argued the book was included due to the guiding hand of God. It can also be argued that it was added to fulfill a need to have an ending in anticipation of Jesus' return. The Revelation of John was chosen over the Revelation of Peter or the Revelation of Paul (among others) because it came closest to supporting the dominant Orthodox Christian viewpoint.

Soon after the New Testament was canonized Revelation was an all but forgotten book until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s. As people

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>