John of Patmos

Island of Patmos

John is considered to have been exiled to Patmos during a time of persecution under the Roman rule of Domitian in the late 1st century. 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 Christ."

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)

According to Tertullian (in The Prescription of Heretics) John was banished after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it.

Book of Revelation

The author of the Book of Revelation identifies himself only as "John". Traditionally, this was often believed to be the same person as John the Apostle (John, son of Zebedee), one of the apostles of Jesus, to whom the Gospel of John was also attributed. The early-2nd-century writer Justin Martyr was the first to equate the author of Revelation with John the Evangelist.

Other early Christian writers, such as Dionysius of Alexandria and Eusebius of Caesarea, noting the differences in language and theological outlook between this work and the Gospel, discounted this possibility, and argued for the exclusion of the Book of Revelation from the canon as a result. The early Christian writer Papias appeared in his writings to distinguish between John the Evangelist and John the Elder, and many biblical scholars now contend that the latter was the author of Revelation. The majority view of modern scholarship is that the author of the Book of Revelation is not the same person as John the Apostle or John the Evangelist.

References

References

1. {{bibleverse. Revelation. 1:9
2. Souvay, Charles. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11547a.htm "Patmos."] ''The Catholic Encyclopedia.'' Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 12 Jan. 2009
3. (12 January 1962). "Book 27 - Book of Revelation".
4. (1985). "Understanding the Bible". Mayfield.
5. Ehrman, Bart D.. (2004). "The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings". Oxford.
6. [[Adela Yarbro Collins. Collins, Adela]]. (1985). "Patmos" [In] Paul J. Achtemeier [Ed.]. (1985) ''Harper's Bible Dictionary''. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row. p. 755.
7. Litfin, Bryan. ''After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles''. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015
8. [[F. L. Cross. 9780192802903.
9. [[Justin Martyr]], ''[[wikisource:Ante-Nicene Christian Library/Dialogue with Trypho. Dialogue with Trypho]]'', 81.4
10. [[Ben Witherington III
11. Ehrman, Bart D.. (2000). "The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings". [[Oxford University Press]].
12. [[Richard Bauckham. 0802863906, 9780802863904.
13. [[Robert H. Mounce]], ''[https://books.google.pl/books?id=06VR1JzzLNsC&source=gbs_navlinks_s The Book of Revelation]'' (Wm B. Eerdmans Publications), [https://books.google.pl/books?id=06VR1JzzLNsC&pg=PA10&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false page 10].
14. [[Stephen L Harris. Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. p. 355
15. Ehrman, Bart D.. (2004). "''The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings''". Oxford.
16. Hart, David Bentley. (2023). "The New Testament: A Translation". Yale University Press.
17. Hodgkins, Christopher. (2019). "Literary Study of the Bible: An Introduction". Wiley.
18. Fletcher, Michelle. (2017). "Reading Revelation as Pastiche: Imitating the Past". Bloomsbury Publishing.