John of author of Revelations " the Divine" and "John the Revelator" redirect here. For other uses of John the Divine, see John the Divine (disambiguation). For other uses of John the Revelator, see John the Revelator (disambiguation). For other people called John, see Saint John (disambiguation).

John of Patmos

St. on Patmos by Hieronymous Bosch, circa 1489

Seer, Theologian, Eagle of Patmos, and Prophet

Died Patmos (?)

Major works

Part of a series of articles

John in the

Johannine literature

o First o Second o Third  Revelation

Authorship

 Apostle  Evangelist  Patmos  Presbyter  whom loved

Communities

 Twelve Apostles  Early Church

Related literature

 Apocryphon  Acts 

See also  Holy Spirit in  Johannine Christianity  John's vision of the Son of Man 

 v  t  e

John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine or John the Theologian; Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Θεολόγος) is the name given to the author of the Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic text forming the final chapter of the . The text of Revelation states that the author is called John and that he lives on the Greek island of Patmos, where, by some, he is considered to be in exile as a result of anti-Christian persecution under the Roman emperor .[1][2] Traditionally, the writer of Revelation could not have been , nor could he have written the . Scholars now know the author as John the Elder and many modern scholars believe it was written by an otherwise unknown author, to whom they have given the name John of Patmos.[3][4]

Book of Revelation The author of the Book of Revelation identifies himself only as "John".[5] Traditionally, this was often believed to be the same person as John, son of , one of the apostles of Jesus, to whom the Gospel of John was also attributed.[5]The early 2nd century writer, , was the first to equate the author of Revelation with John the Apostle.[6] Other early Christian writers, however, such as Dionysius of Alexandria and of Caesarea, noting the differences in language and theological outlook between this work and the Gospel,[7] discounted this possibility, and argued for the exclusion of the Book of Revelation from the canon as a result.[8] The assumption that the apostle John was also author of the Book of Revelation is now widely rejected in modern critical scholarship.[9] The early Christian writer Papias appeared in his writings to distinguish between John the Evangelist and John the Elder,[10] and many biblical scholars now contend that the latter was the author of Revelation.[11][12][13] Island of Patmos John is considered to be exiled to Patmos, undergoing a time of persecution under the Roman rule of Domitian. :9 states: "I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation... was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus ." Adela Yarbro Collins, a biblical scholar at Yale Divinity School, writes: Early tradition says that John was banished to Patmos by the Roman authorities. This tradition is credible because banishment was a common punishment used during the Imperial period for a number of offenses. Among such offenses were the practices of magic and astrology. Prophecy was viewed by the Romans as belonging to the same category, whether Pagan, Jewish, or Christian. Prophecy with political implications, like that expressed by John in the book of Revelation, would have been perceived as a threat to Roman political power and order. Three of the islands in the Sporades were places where political offenders were banished. (Pliny Natural History 4.69–70; Tacitus Annals 4.30)[14]

See also

 Authorship of the Johannine works References

1. Souvay, Charles. "Patmos." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 12 Jan. 2009 2. Phillips, J. B. "Book 27 - Book of Revelation". 12 January 1962. People, Places, Customs, Concepts, Journeys - the New Testament with integrated notes and maps 1962. 3. Stephen L Harris, Understanding the Bible, (Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985), 355 4. Ehrman, Bart D. (2004). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford. p. 468. ISBN 0-19-515462-2. 5. ^ Jump up to:a b "Revelation, Book of." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 6. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 81.4 7. Ben Witherington, Revelation, (Cambridge University Press) page 2. 8. Ehrman, Bart D. (2000). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 432. ISBN 0-19-515462-2. 9. Larry Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003) page 49. 10. Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2006) 11. Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Wm B. Eerdmans Publications) page 10. 12. Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. p. 355 13. Ehrman, Bart D. (2004). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford. p. 468. ISBN 0-19-515462-2. 14. Adela Collins. "Patmos". Harper's Bible Dictionary. Paul J. Achtemeier, gen. ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985. p. 755.