Revelation

Overview

Who

Written by "His servant John" (1:1), who writes, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation" (1:9). From early times he has been held to be the apostle John; some scholars think he was a different John.

Written to "The seven churches which are in Asia" (1:4): Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea (1:11).

When

Traditional view: About AD 95-96, near the end of the emperor Domitian's reign, as early church writers report.

Scholarly view: Most scholars also date it about AD 95; some date it about AD 68-69, soon after Nero's death.

Where

Written to The seven churches of the Roman province of Asia, in western Asia Minor (1:4, 1:11).

Written from "The isle that is called Patmos" (1:9), where John was "for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Why

"To shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass" (1:1); to tell each church "what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (2:7) and promise reward "To him that overcometh" (2:7, 3:21); and to bless "he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book" (22:7).

John was a "companion in tribulation" (1:9). At Pergamos, Antipas had been "slain among you, where Satan dwelleth" (2:13), and Smyrna was told, "the devil shall cast some of you into prison" (2:10).

Outline

1. 1:1-20 The vision of the Son of man
2. 2:1-3:22 Letters to the seven churches
3. 4:1-5:14 The throne and the Lamb
4. 6:1-8:5 The seven seals
5. 8:6-11:19 The seven trumpets
6. 12:1-14:20 The woman, the dragon and the beasts
7. 15:1-16:21 The seven vials
8. 17:1-19:10 The fall of Babylon
9. 19:11-20:15 The rider on the white horse and the judgment
10. 21:1-22:21 A new heaven and a new earth

Key themes

• "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord" (1:8).
• "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" (5:12).
• "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ" (11:15).
• "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (21:4).
• "Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (22:20).

From the book's own text; symbols are explained only where the book or other Scripture names their meaning. Authorship and dating views summarized from standard introductions.