In respect to the authorship of this book, it is to be observed that the writer styles himself John, but does not call himself an apostle (Rev 1:4; Rev 1:9; Rev 22:8). Hence some have attributed the book to another John, usually designated the presbyter. But there is no direct evidence that this was the case; while on the other hand Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, all ascribe it to the Apostle. We are disposed, therefore, to abide by the ancient opinion that the book was written by the beloved disciple. Ecclesiastical tradition clearly favors this view, while the objections from alleged internal evidence, so earnestly urged by recent German critics, do not appear sufficiently strong to overturn it.
But the entire question of authorship is more curious than profitable. The book may not have been written by an apostle, and yet be equal in authority to any acknowledged production of an apostle. Luke was only an evangelist; and yet his writings are infallibly true and correct in every particular, because they proceeded from the Holy Spirit. The question whether the Apocalypse was written by an apostle or not, is of trifling importance as long as its inspiration is maintained. If any imagine that, in attempting to destroy the directly apostolic authorship, they lessen the value or disturb the canonical credit of the book, they are mistaken.
The canonical authority of the book has been called in question, both in ancient and modern times. But the external evidence in favor of its authenticity and genuineness is overwhelming, while internal circumstances amply confirm it.
The style, language, and manner of the book cannot be mistaken. In dignity and sublimity it is equal to any of the New Testament writings, if not superior to them all. The variety and force of the images impress the mind of every reader with conceptions of a divine origin. Surely no uninspired man could have written in such a strain.
There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining the time and place at which it was written. The prevalent opinion is, that the book was written A.D. 96 or 97, at Patmos or Ephesus, after Domitian’s death, i.e. under Nerva. There is no definite external evidence on this point, and, judging from internal circumstances, some writers assign it to the time of Nero, and the locality of Patmos, A.D. 67 or 68. Sir Isaac Newton fixed upon this date.
The books of the New Testament, like those of the Old, were designed to promote the instruction of God’s people in all ages. They were adapted to teach, exhort, and reprove all mankind. They do not belong to the class of ephemeral writings that have long since fulfilled the purpose for which they were originally composed. Their object was not merely a local or partial one. So of the Apocalypse. It is suited to all. ’Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy.’ But this general characteristic is perfectly consistent with the fact that it arose out of specific circumstances, and was primarily meant to subserve a definite end. When first written, it was destined to suit the peculiar circumstances of the early Christians. The times were troublous. Persecution had appeared in various forms. The followers of Christ were exposed to severe sufferings for conscience sake. Their enemies were fierce against them. Comparatively few and feeble, the humble disciples of the Lamb seemed doomed to extinction. But the writer of the Apocalypse was prompted to present to them such views as were adapted to encourage them to steadfastness in the faith—to comfort them in the midst of calamity—and to arm them with resolution to endure all the assaults of their foes. Exalted honors, glorious rewards, are set before the Christian soldier who should endure to the end. A crown of victory—the approbation of the Redeemer—everlasting felicity—these are prepared for the patient believer. In connection with such representations the final triumph of Christianity and the Messiah’s peaceful reign with his saints, form topics on which the writer dwells with emphatic earnestness (See Rev 1:1-3; Rev 2:1; Rev 3:22; Rev 22:6-7; Rev 22:10-17). The suffering Christians of primitive times may have sorrowfully thought that they should never be able to stand the shock of their bitter and bloody assailants, the power and policy of the world being leagued against them—but the statements of the writer all tend to the conclusion that truth should make progress in the earth, and the church, emerging out of all struggles, wax stronger and stronger. If such be the primary and principal aim of the book, it follows that we should not look in it for a history of the kingdoms of the world. To compose a civil history did not comport with the writer’s object. The genius of Christ’s kingdom is totally different from that of the kingdoms of the world. It advances steadily and silently, independently of, and frequently in opposition to them. Hence the Apocalypse cannot contain a history of the world. It exhibits a history of the church, specially of its early struggles with the powers of darkness and the malice of superstition. Trials impending over the church, and judgments over her enemies—these form the burden of the prophecy.
The body of the work is contained in Rev 4:1 to Rev 22:6, and is almost entirely a series of symbolic representations. To this is prefixed a prologue (Revelation 1-4). A brief epilogue is subjoined (Rev 22:6-21). The prologue is of considerable length, embracing separate epistles to the seven churches in Asia Minor, peculiarly fitted to admonish and console amid the sufferings which were impending. After the prologue or introduction, we come to the body of the work itself, commencing with the fourth chapter, Revelation 4. With regard to the symbolical predictions of which this part of the work consists, the mere statement of the various conflicting theories which have been propounded would occupy a large volume. We cannot therefore enter upon a subject so extensive, but must content ourselves with referring the reader to the works in which the interpretation of these prophecies is discussed in all its bearings.
Revelation, Book of. This book, frequently called by its Greek name, the Apocalypse, was written by John the apostle and the evangelist, about a.d. 95. "This is the last and the most mysterious book of the Bible. It is the divine seal of the whole. It is for the New Testament what Daniel is for the Old Testament. It gathers up all the former prophecies and extends them to the remotest future. It represents the church in conflict with the great secular powers. It unrolls a sublime panorama of Christ’s victorious inarch through the world’s history till the appearance of the new heaven and the new earth, when the aim of creation and redemption shall be fully realized. The theme is the divine promise, ’ I come quickly,’ with the corresponding human prayer, ’Even so, come, Lord Jesus.’ It gives us the assurance that the Lord is coming in every great event, and overrules all things for his glory and the ultimate triumph of his kingdom."—Schaff.
REVELATION, BOOK OF.—Whatever perplexities may still attend the interpretation of the Apocalypse, there can be no question as to the place which it assigns to Jesus Christ, or the copiousness and variety of the references which the writer makes to His Person and His work. For him the fact of Christ conditions the whole of human history. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8), and He is the Bridegroom-Judge, whose eagerly expected coming will bring to a close the history of the world that now is. And what is true of the world’s history is also true of the book itself; its whole contents are a ‘revelation’ (Apocalypse) of Jesus Christ (Rev 1:1), a revelation which proceeds from Him, and is mediated ‘by his angel’ to ‘his servant John.’
It will be convenient to examine the references and the doctrine which lies behind them in the order of our Lord’s experience, beginning with His life on earth. In the first place, it is noteworthy that the human name ‘Jesus,’ borne by Christ when He was on earth, which is rare in the writings of St. Paul and absent from those of St. Peter, occurs here nine (or ten) times. The martyrs are ‘the witnesses of Jesus’ (Rev 17:6); their witness is ‘the testimony of Jesus’ (Rev 1:1 etc.); and it is by this simple human name that the Divine Speaker describes Himself (Rev 22:16). In this usage we may see an indication of authorship by one who had ‘known Christ after the flesh,’ to whom the name He had then borne was both familiar and dear. If authoritative criticism no longer permits us to see direct allusions to either the birth or the ascension of Jesus in the story of the ‘man-child’ contained in ch. 12, His death by crucifixion is very pointedly alluded to as an historical fact (Rev 11:8), His victory in Rev 3:21 (‘as I also overcame’), and His resurrection in Rev 1:5; Rev 1:18. His twelve Apostles find mention in Rev 21:14, and there are echoes of His teaching as recorded in the Gospels in Rev 3:5; Rev 3:10, Rev 7:17, Rev 21:6 and Rev 21:23.
These recollections of Jesus of Nazareth have not been obliterated by the vision of the exalted Christ; rather are the two elements held together in a singular harmony of conviction. Passing to the second, we find that the richness of the conception of Christ which marks the Apocalypse may be gauged by the variety and significance of the aspects in which He is presented—the Word, the Lamb, the Shepherd, the Bridegroom, the Judge, the King of kings. Here only outside the Fourth Gospel does Christ receive the deeply significant title of ‘the Word of God’ (Rev 19:13), and the idea of pre-existence which the name carries with it also lies behind the declaration twice repeated, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end’ (Rev 1:17, Rev 21:6). But the commonest and the most characteristic title of Christ in this book is ‘the Lamb’—a title which is used by the writer with great freedom, as though it had come to have for him almost the force of a proper name (cf. Rev 21:9; Rev 21:23; Rev 21:27, Rev 22:3). The use of the name is, however, rooted in the conviction of the redemptive efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice; it suggests the aspect of His work which is most prominent to the mind of ‘John.’ It should be noted that the word itself is not identical with that applied to Jesus in John’s Gospel (Joh 1:29; Joh 1:36); it is a diminutive and a neuter; but the meaning is the same, and the sacrificial reference is indubitable. The Lamb stands ‘as though it had been slain’ (Rev 5:6); He is hailed as One who has ‘redeemed us to God by his blood’ (Rev 5:9); the adoring saints in heaven are those ‘who have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ (Rev 7:14, cf. Rev 1:5). These latter passages emphasize the ethical consequences of the Atonement, and trace them to the ‘blood’ of Christ in the same way as the First Epistle of John. The spiritual principle of the Atonement is suggested by the figure of the Lamb itself, in which are combined the attributes of lamb-like character—meekness, gentleness, and purity—and the sacrificial function historically associated with a lamb. At the same time, ‘the Lamb,’ originally a figure for Christ in the sacrificial aspect of His work, takes on, besides, attributes which belong to Him in other of His functions, and so we read of ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ (Rev 6:16), of ‘the Lamb’s book of life’ (Rev 21:27), of kings making war with the Lamb and being overcome by Him (Rev 17:14), of ‘the marriage of the Lamb’ (Rev 19:7), and, finally, of the Lamb as ruler of the heavenly city (Rev 22:3), as at once the temple of it and ‘the light thereof’ (Rev 21:23-24). Thus, while every aspect of the work of Christ, whether in earth or heaven, finds adoring record here, there is a subtle recognition of the fact that all the forms of His relation to men spring out of the fundamental function of redemption.
The writer of the Apocalypse, therefore, holding firmly to the humanity of the Jesus whom probably he had known in the flesh, yet ascribing to Him as the Lamb funetions of redemption, government, and judgment, offers to Him throughout his book the homage which is due only to ‘God manifest in the flesh.’ This is seen alike in the titles, the functions, and the attributes assigned to Him. Every detail of description serves only to enhance the dignity and the glory of His Person. He is ‘the Lord of lords and King of kings’ (Rev 17:14, Rev 19:16). To Him is attributed all the honour and authority pertaining to the Messiah and more. Angels who refuse worship offered to themselves (Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8) unite with all ereation to worship God and the Lamb (Rev 5:11-13). His existence reaches back before the beginning of things created. Himself the principle from which all creation issues (Rev 3:14; cf. Col 1:15, Pro 8:22), He is the absolutely Living One from whose lips are heard words which can be spoken by God alone: ‘I am the first and the last, and the Living One’ (Rev 1:17, cf. Rev 1:8). He holds the keys of Death and of Hades (Rev 1:18)—keys which, according to the later Jewish tradition, were held by the hand of the Almighty alone. In the vision of the Son of Man which introduces the Letters to the Seven Churches, the writer takes one after another of those phrases which had been consecrated from old times to the description of the Most High God, those attributes in which He had been apparelled by prophets and psalmists, and lays them simply upon Christ as upon One whose right to bear them was beyond question. The description of ‘the Ancient of Days’ (Dan 7:9) is transferred to Him, as well as the power to ‘search the heart and the reins,’ which is the peculiar attribute of Jehovah (Rev 2:23, cf. Psa 7:9). It is not strange, therefore, that to this Divine Figure is committed the unfolding of the Book of human Destiny (Rev 5:5), the waging of the final conflict with evil, and the holding of the Divine assize.
This complete and unhesitating attribution of Divine rank and authority to Jesus Christ is the more remarkable when we give due weight to the intense Hebraism of the writer. A Jew of the Jews, his mind saturated with Hebrew thought, a true son of the race to which monotheism had become a passion, and the ascription of Divine honour to any other than God a horror and a blasphemy, the author nevertheless sets Jesus side by side with the Almighty. One meaning of the phenomenon is plain. It offers the most striking proof of the impression made by Jesus upon His disciples, one which had been sufficient to revolutionize their most cherished religious belief; for them He had the value of God. And the special aspect of His Person and work which is emphasized, as we have seen, in the Apocalypse, gives the clue to the explanation of this exalted Christology. The kernel of experience from which the process starts is indicated in the declaration: ‘He hath loosed (v.l. ‘washed’) us from our sins.’ John and those in whose name he wrote had found the sin-barrier between them and God removed, and the sin-dominion over them broken; and this experience they traced to Jesus, to what He had lone for them in dying, and in them as living again. And if, along with this their indubitable experience of forgiveness of, and deliverance from, sin, we take the universal conviction of their time, expressed in the question of the Pharisees, ‘Who can forgive sins save God only?’ we have little difficulty in perceiving the avenue along which the gaze of the Apocalyptist travelled till it beheld the throne of God as a throne which was shared also by ‘the Lamb.’
C. Anderson Scott.
By: Crawford Howell Toy, Kaufmann Kohler
Jewish Origin.
The last book in the New Testament canon, yet in fact one of the oldest; probably the only Judæo-Christian work which has survived the Paulinian transformation of the Church. The introductory verse betrays the complicated character of the whole work. It presents the book as a "Revelation which God gave . . . to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass," and at the same time as a revelation of Jesus Christ to "his servant John." According to recent investigations, the latter part was interpolated by the compiler, who worked the two sections of the book—the main apocalypse (ch. iv.-xxi. 6) and the letters to the "seven churches" (i.-iii. and close of xxii.)—into one so as to make the whole appear as emanating from John, the seer of the isle of Patmos in Asia Minor (see i. 9, xxii. 8), known otherwise as John the Presbyter. The anti-Paulinian character of the letters to the seven churches and the anti-Roman character of the apocalyptic section have been a source of great embarrassment, especially to Protestant theologians, ever since the days of Luther; but the apocalypse has become especially important to Jewish students since it has been discovered by Vischer (see bibliography) that the main apocalypse actually belongs to Jewish apocalyptic literature.
The Letters to the Seven Churches:
The first part (i. 4-iii. 22) contains a vision by John, who is told by Jesus to send a letter to the seven angels of the seven churches in Asia (founded by Paul and his associates), rebuking them for the libertinism that has taken hold of many "who pass as Jews, but show by their blasphemy and licentiousness that they are of the synagogue of Satan" (ii. 9, iii. 9, Greek). These seven churches were those of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Owing to their heathen associations many of their members had lapsed into pagan or semipagan views and practises, under the influence of heretic leaders. Of these one is singled out by the name of Nicolaites (ii. 6, 15; comp. Acts vi. 5), called also Balaam (ii. 14, 
="Nicolaos"), because, like Balaam, he seduced the people to idolatry and fornication by his false prophecies and witchcraft (Num. xxv. 1; xxxi. 8, 16). Another singled out was a woman, probably a prophetess, called Jezebel (ii. 20) on account of her idolatrous practises (I Kings xviii. 19, xxi. 25). Evidently the seed sown by Paul and his associates, who in their antinomian Gnosticism boasted of having penetrated "the deep things of God" (I Cor. ii. 10), had borne evil fruit, so that the seer of Patmoscalls these heretics "false apostles and liars" (ii. 2), and their teachings "the depths of Satan" (ii. 24).
How much local cults, as that of Esculapius in Pergamos ("Satan's seat"; ii. 13), had to do with these heresies it is difficult to say; certain it is that many were "polluted" by pagan practises (ii. 13, 26; iii. 4). All the more severely does the seer condemn the Pauline teaching as "the teaching of Balaam" (comp. II Peter ii. 15; Jude 11; Sanh. 106b; Giṭ. 57a; see Balaam). On the other hand, Jesus, through John, promises to the poor, the meek, and the patient toilers of the churches who refuse to partake of the meals of the pagans that "they shall eat of the tree of life" in paradise (ii. 2, 7); to those who are to suffer from the pagan powers that they shall, as true "athletes" of this world, be given the "crown of life" (ii. 10); to him "that overcometh" in the contest (comp. the rabbinical term, "zokeh") will be given a lot or mark ("goral") bearing the Ineffable Name, and he shall "eat of the hidden manna" (ii. 17; comp. Tan., Beshallaḥ, ed. Buber, p. 21; Ḥag. 12b; Apoc. Baruch, xxix. 8; Sibyllines, ii. 348); or, like the Messiah, he will "rule them [the heathen] with a rod of iron" and be given the crown of glory (ii. 26-28; the "morning star," taken from xxii. 16, if it is not the error of a copyist); those who "have not defiled their garments" "shall be clothed in white raiment," and their names shall be written in the book of life and proclaimed before God and His angels (iii. 4-5); while those who stand the test of Satan's trials shall be spared in the great Messianic time of trial and become pillars in the temple of the "new Jerusalem" (iii. 10-13, Greek), or shall partake of the Messianic banquet, sitting by (scarcely "in") the seat of Jesus (iii. 21).
Jewish Point of View of Writer.
Obviously, the writer of these visionary letters to the seven churches of Asia was in his own estimation a Jew, while believing in Jesus as the risen Messiah. He beheld him in his vision as "the faithful witness" (martyr) who is next to God, "who is, was, and will be" ("come" is the emendation of the late compiler), his seven angelic spirits standing "before his throne" (i. 4-5); "the Son of man" grasping seven stars in his right hand, while out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword (i. 13-16; ii. 1, 12 [taken from the apocalypse, xiv. 14]; iii. 1); who "holds the keys of hell and of death" (i. 18); who is "the holy and true one" that "holds the key of David" (iii. 7, with reference to Isa. xxii. 22); who is called also "the beginning of the creation of God" (iii. 14). However, the identification of "him who was dead and became alive again" with God, who is the First and the Last, the ever-living Almighty (i. 17; comp. i. 8 and ii. 8), is the work of the late compiler. The close of the visionary letters is found at xxii. 16, where Jesus is represented as saying, "I am the root and the offspring of David" (comp. Isa. xi. 1, 10), "the bright and morning star" (after Num. xxiv. 17 and [probably] Ps. cx. 3; comp. LXX.). To find in these chapters traces of a persecution of the early Christians by the Jews, as do most modern exegetes, is absurdly illogical. On the contrary, the writer condemns the anti-Jewish attitude of the Pauline churches; the document is therefore of great historical value. It is important in this connection to note the Hebraisms of the whole of this part of the book, which prove that the writer or—if he himself originally wrote Hebrew or Aramaic—the translator could neither write nor speak Greek correctly. As to the relation of this to the apocalypse which follows see below.
The Main Apocalypse:
The succeeding part (iv.-xx. 8) contains several Jewish apocalypses worked into one, so altered, interpolated, and remodeled as to impress the reader as the work of the author of the letters to the seven churches. In the following the attempt is made to acquaint the reader with the contents of the two original Jewish apocalypses, as far as they can be restored, the Christian interpolations and alterations being put aside.
First Jewish Apocalypse: After the introductory verses, part of i. 1, 8 ("I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was and will be ["will come" is a Christian alteration], the Almighty") and part of i. 12-19, the apocalyptic seer describes (iv. 1 et seq.) how he was carried up by the spirit (with the angel's word, "Come down hither," compare the expression "Yorede Merkabah"), and how he saw "a throne set in heaven and One sitting on the throne," after the manner of Ezek. i. 26-28. "Round about the throne were twenty-four seats, and upon these I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had golden crowns on their heads": obviously heavenly representations of the twenty-four classes of priests serving in the Temple (Ta'an. iv. 2; I Chron. xxiv. 7-18; Josephus, "Ant." vii. 14, § 7; comp., however, Gunkel, "Schöpfung und Chaos," pp. 302-308, and Isa. xxiv. 23 [Bousset]). After a description of the four "ḥayyot," taken from Ezek. i. 5-10, 18 and combined with that of the seraphim in Isa. vi. 2-3, the text continues, "They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts [
Ch. v.: The seer then describes how he saw at the right hand of God a scroll written within and without and sealed with seven seals (it was customary for the last will to be sealed with seven seals and opened by seven witnesses; see Huschke, "Das Buch mit den Sieben Siegeln," 1860; Zahn, "Einleitung in das Neue Testament," ii. 591), which none in heaven, on earth, or beneath the earth was found worthy to open until one of the twenty-four elders pointed out that "the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, had merited to open the book and loose its seven seals." Then the lion (the Christian reviser rather awkwardly substituted "the slain lamb") suddenly appeared, with seven horns and seven eyes, standing between the throne and thefour ḥayyot and the twenty-four elders; and he stepped forth and took the scroll while the ḥayyot and the elders prostrated themselves before him, saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book and open the seals thereof; for . . ." The remainder has been worked over by the Christian reviser.
Ch. vi. 1-12: At the opening of the first seal by the Messiah the seer hears the thunder-call of one of the four ḥayyot, and sees a white horse appear, with a rider holding a bow (representing, probably, Pestilence); at the opening of the second seal, a red horse, with a rider armed with a great sword (representing War); at the opening of the third seal, a black horse, with a rider holding a pair of balances to weigh flour, bread having become scarce (signifying Famine); at the opening of the fourth seal, a "pale" horse, the rider thereof being Death. These four are to destroy the fourth part of the earth by the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. What plague is ushered in at the opening of the fifth seal is no longer stated; apparently it is persecution of the saints, as the text continues: "I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony they gave" (as martyrs; see Ḳiddush ha-Shem). "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth." And white robes were given them, and they were told to rest for a while until the number of the martyrs was full (comp. Apocalypse of Baruch, xxx. 2; IV Esd. iv. 36).After this the seer beholds a great multitude of people of every land and language, both Jews and proselytes, also arrayed in white robes, standing before the throne; and he is told that, "having undergone great tribulation, they have made their robes white by the blood of the martyrs" (of course, not "of the lamb," as the Christian reviser has it); and that now they serve God in the heavenly temple day and night, and the Shekinah dwells with them (vii. 9-17, which part is misplaced).
Ch. vi. 12-17: At the opening of the sixth seal "the birth-throes of the Messianic time" appear, as depicted in Joel iii. 3-4; Isa. ii. 10, xxiv., xxxiv. 4; and Hosea x. 8. Fear of the great day of God's wrath (Mal. iii. 2) and of the wrath of His anointed (Ps. ii. 12) seizes the whole world.
Opening of the Seventh Seal.
Ch. viii. 1-13: The opening of the seventh seal forms the climax. The awful catastrophe is marked by "silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." The four angels that hold the winds at the four corners of the earth are told to check the blowing of the winds on land, on sea, and on the trees until an angel has sealed upon the forehead, with the seal of the living God, the 144,000 servants of God, that is, 12,000 of each of the twelve tribes of Israel (Dan as idolater is excluded, and Levi takes his place along with the two sons of Joseph), in order to guard them against the impending destruction (vii. 1-8). The seven trumpets of the seven angels before God usher in seven great calamities: the first four involve a world conflagration ("mabbul shel esh") that burns up the third part of the land and dries up a third part of the sea and the rivers, and an eclipse of sun, moon, and stars (viii. 2-12; comp. Sibyllines, iii. 80-90, 540); the remaining three, who are announced by an angel flying through the midst of heaven (viii. 13), bring even greater woes; first the torment of locusts, described in all its fierceness in the apocalyptic chapters of Joel (i. 6, ii. 2-9), coming forth from the abyss over which the angel Abaddon (Destruction; comp. Job xxviii. 22; comp. "Ẓefoni," Joel, ii. 20; Suk. 52a) alone has power (ix. 1-12); secondly, the letting loose from the banks of the Euphrates of the four kings (
; not "angels," 
), with numberless hosts of wild Parthian horsemen wearing breastplates of fire and brimstone, and riding on horses that have heads of lions and tails of serpents, and out of whose mouths come fire, smoke, and brimstone (comp. Nahum ii. 4-5, iii. 3). As with the former plagues, a third part of mankind is killed; they were prepared for this task from the beginning of the world. "And yet," closes the seer, "the rest of the men which were not killed repented not, but continued to worship demons, idols of gold and silver, bronze, stone, and wood, practise witchcraft, and commit murders, fornications, and thefts" (ix. 13-21; see Sibyllines, ii. 255-262, iv. 31-34; and compare the four kings of the mighty hosts upon the banks of the Euphrates in the Midrash of Simeon ben Yoḥai, in Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 81).
The third and last wo, announced in xi. 14 (x.-xi. 13 interrupts the connection), is no longer given in what follows xi. 15a; for the Christian reviser changed the text which originally described the last judgment passed upon the non-repentant people, "the kingdoms of this world," and instead speaks of their having "become kingdoms of Christ." Only verse 18, telling of "the wrath of God that has come upon the nations that shall be destroyed as they have destroyed the land," contains traces of the former contents of the chapter; although possibly part of xiv. 1-5, referring to the 144,000 of Israel who had been saved, and the proclamation to all the nations to "fear God and worship Him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the fountains of water," "for the hour of His judgment has come" (xiv. 6-7), formed part of the original Jewish apocalypse; also xi. 16-18, the song of praise by the twenty-four elders before God and the vision of the reappearance of the Ark of the Covenant (xi. 19; comp. Yoma 53b, 54a).
In all probability this apocalypse was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, at a time of persecution, when many Jews died as martyrs, though many others yielded; hence only 12,000 of each tribe are to be selected.
Moses and Elijah.
The Second Jewish Apocalypse: Far more powerful, and expressive of intense hatred of Rome, the Babel-like destroyer of Judea, is the second Jewish apocalypse, or series of apocalypses, written during the siege and after the destruction of Jerusalem, and contained in ch. x. 2-xi. 13, xii. 1-xiii. 18, and xiv. 6-xxii. 6. After the manner of Ezek. ii 8-iii. 3, the writer represents his vision as having been received in the form of a book, which he is to eat with its bitter contents. In imitation of Ezek. xl. 3 and Zech. ii. 5-6, the angel gives him a measuring-rodthat he may measure the site of the Temple and the altar, which is to remain intact, while the rest of the Holy City is doomed to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles (the Roman soldiers) for forty-two months (Dan. vii. 25, viii. 14, xii. 7). He is then told that during this time there shall be two prophets, witnesses of the Lord (Moses and Elijah), who shall again manifest their power of restraining the heavens from giving rain (I Kings xvii. 1), of turning the water into blood, and of striking the land with plagues (Ex. vii.-x.); and whosoever shall attempt to hurt them will be devoured by fire from their mouths (II Kings i. 10). But they will finally fall victims to the beast that ascends out of the abyss to make war upon them. After their dead bodies have been lying for three and a half days in the streets of the Holy City, which shall have become a Sodom and Gomorrah, and the people of all tongues and of all nations have looked upon them and rejoiced at the death of the prophets that had chastised them (by their preaching of repentance), refusing to give them burial, God's spirit will again imbue them with life, and they will, to the astonishment of the people, rise and ascend to heaven; and in the same hour a great earthquake will cause the death of 7,000 people (xi. 1-13). Of this eschatological feature no trace is found in rabbinical sources, except the appearance of Moses and the Messiah during the war of Gog and Magog (Targ. Yer. Ex. xii. 42). Possibly this is the older form of the legend of the Messiah ben Ephraim or ben Joseph being slain by Gog and Magog, based on Zech. xii. 10-11 (comp. Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 80).
Then follows (xiii. 1, 12a, 5b, 10) the description of the beast (after Dan. vii. 4-7; comp. vii. 8, xi. 36). It bears (in "Augustus Divus") the name of blasphemy, and its mouth speaks blasphemy against God and His Shekinah on earth and in heaven (i. 5-6, misunderstood by the Christian translator). It has power over all nations and tongues, and over all those whose names are not written in the book of life (the awkward addition "of the lamb" betrays the Christian hand) from the foundation of the world, and it makes war upon the "saints" (the Jewish people, as in Daniel). For forty-two months (the three and a half years of Daniel) will its power last, trying the patience of the saints.
Vision of the Seven Plagues.
But then (xiv. 6-7) an angel in the midst of heaven announces good tidings to the people on the earth, saying, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea." Here follows (xv. 5-xvi. 21) the vision of the seven angels coming out of the Temple with "seven golden vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever and ever." The first angel pours out his vial upon the earth and there falls an evil and grievous sore (comp. Ex. ix. 8) upon the men who bear the mark of the beast and worship his image (an allusion to the cult of the emperors and to the Roman coins). The second angel pours out his vial (comp. Ex. vii. 19) on the sea, which turns into blood, so that all living things therein die. The third pours out his vial upon the rivers, and they become blood, the angel of the waters praising the justice of God ("ẓidduḳ ha-din"), which makes those drink blood who have shed that of the saints and prophets. The fourth pours out his vial upon the sun, which becomes a fire to scorch the people who blaspheme and repent not. The fifth pours out his vial upon the seat of the beast (Rome), and its empire becomes full of darkness; yet the people repent not. The sixth pours out his vial upon the great Euphrates (comp. Sanh. 98a), and it is dried up, so as to prepare the way for the kings of the East (the Parthians) to gather in Armageddon ('Ir Magdiel, symbolic name for Rome; xvi. 13-15 is an interpolation; see Targ. Yer. to Gen. xxxvi. 43; Pirḳe R. El. xxxviii.; Gen. R. lxxxiii.). The seventh pours out his vial into the air and causes an earthquake which splits the great city (Rome) into three parts, and the cities of the nations fall, and islands and mountains are removed, and Babylon (Rome) takes from the hand of God the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath (comp. Jer. xxv. 15).
Rome the Great Harlot.
In ch. xvii.-xix., in imitation of Isaiah's and Ezekiel's vision of Tyre (Isa. xxiii. 17; Ezek. xxvii.-xxviii.), the apocalyptic writer then proceeds to dwell on the judgment held over the great harlot that sits upon the many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk. He then sees in the wilderness "a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast full of names of blasphemy [idolatry] and having [seven heads and] ten horns [comp. Dan. vii. 7], herself arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones, and holding in her hand a golden cup full of the filthiness of her fornication" (the picture is taken probably from the Syrian representations of Astarte riding on a lion with a cup of destiny in her hand). Greatly astonished at this sight, he learns from the interpreting angel (verses 5-14 and 16 are later insertions which anticipate the interpretation) that "the many waters" are the many nations given into the power of the beast, and that the woman is the great city (of Rome) which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Then he beholds (xviii. 1-8) one of the glorious angels descending from heaven, and crying out (in the words of the ancient seers—Isa. xxi. 9, xxiv. 11-13), "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and has become the habitation of demons," for all the nations have drunk of the glowing wine of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her (Isa. xxiii. 17; Jer. xxv. 15, 27). "Go out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues" Jer. li. 6, 9); "for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities" (Ps. cxxxvii. 8; Jer. l. 15, 29). In rhythmic sentences, taken from the Bible, the voice is heard saying: "Fill her cup double of what she offered you, and give her as much torment and grief as she has had glory and pleasure." All that is said of Babel (Isa. xlvii. 7-9; Jer. l. 32-34) is applied to her; and Ezekiel's lamentation over the fall of Tyre (xxvi. 16-xxvii. 36) is repeated by the kings of the earth overthe fall of Babylon (Rome). "Alas, alas, Babylon the great, mighty city! in one hour is thy judgment come!" is the refrain (xviii. 10, 19). The rhythmic form in which the whole is composed indicates a Hebrew author, whereas the Christian interpolations always spoil both context and rhythm.
Finally (xviii. 21-24), an angel casts a large stone into the sea (comp. Jer. li. 63-64), saying, "Thus shall Babylon be cast down forever and no longer be found"; her musicians shall no longer be heard in her (comp. Ezek. xxvi. 14); nor shall any craftsman be seen; nor shall "the sound of a millstone" or "the voice of bridegroom and bride be perceived"; nor shall "the light of a candle" shine in her (comp. Jer. xxv. 10).
The Beast, the Dragon, and the Messiah.
In order to understand the relation between the prophecy concerning the beast and Rome and the visions of the dragon and the Messiah (the Christian "lamb") which precede and follow, it is necessary to bear in mind that since the days of Pompey Rome was in the eyes of the Jewish apocalyptic writers the fourth beast in the Daniel apocalypse (see Dan. vii. 7), the last "wicked kingdom" whose end is to usher in the Messianic kingdom (Cant. R. ii. 12; Gen. R. xliv. 20; Lev. R. xiii.; Midr. Teh. Ps. lxxx. 14; see Romulus). Rome was found to be alluded to in Ps. lxxx. 14 (A. V. 13), in the words 
("the boar out of the wood"), the letter 
("Rome") stand out in transposed order (comp. Enoch, lxxxix. 12, where Esau is spoken of as "the black wild boar").
The identification of Rome with Babylon is found also in the Jewish Sibyllines, v. 159, and the identification with Tyre in Ex. R. ix. 13—facts which indicate the lines of Jewish apocalyptic tradition. "The wild beast of the reeds" (Ps. lxviii. 31 [R. V. 30]) has also been identified with Rome (see Midr. Teh. Ps. lxviii. [ed. Buber, p. 15]). But in order to account for the delay of the Messiah, who was to "slay the wicked by the breath of his mouth" (Isa. xi. 4), a cosmic power in the shape of an Ahrimanic animal, the dragon, was introduced as the arch-enemy plotting the destruction of the Messiah, the Antichrist who with his hosts hinders the redemption ("me'aḳḳeb et ha-ge'ullah"; Sauh. 97b; Nid. 13b; comp. II Thess. ii. 6-7). To this end the author used a mythological story (xiii. 1-6), borrowed from Babylonia, as Gunkel (l.c. pp. 379-398) claims, from the Apollonic myth, as Dieterich ("Abraxas," 1891, pp. 117-122) thinks, or from Egypt, as Bousset suggests. He sees (xii. 1-6) Zion in the garb of "a woman clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet, and twelve stars on the crown of her head," while about to give birth to a child destined to "rule all nations with a rod of iron" (Ps. ii. 9), pursued by a seven-headed dragon; the child (the future Messiah) is carried up to the throne of God (that is, he is hidden), and she flees to the wilderness, where a place is prepared for her by God to be nourished in for 1,260 days (three and a half years; comp. xi. 3, xiii. 5, and Dan. vii. 8, xi. 25). Compare with this the Talmudic legend of the Messiah babe carried off by the storm (Yer. Ber. ii. 5a). Here follows a similar story from another hand (xii. 7-15), telling of a battle raging in heaven between Michael, the "Synegor" (= "pleading angel") of Israel (Midr. Teh. Ps. xx.), and Satan, the "Kategor" (= "Accuser"), which ends in the casting down of the old serpent with his hosts—a victory brought about by the merit of the Jewish martyrs, which silenced the Accuser.
It was thereafter, says the second version, that the woman (Israel) was pursued by the serpent; but she was carried by a great eagle into a safe place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for "a time, two times, and a half time" (three and a half years; comp. Dan. vii. 25); "and when the dragon cast forth a flood of water to drown her, the earth opened her mouth to swallow the water." Finally, unable to slay the woman with her Messiah babe, the dragon made war with the remnant of her seed, the pious ones "who observe the commandments of God."
Interpolations.
The prophecy concerning Rome seems to have received many interpolations and alterations at the hands of Jewish and Christian compilers. Both "the second beast, the false prophet who aids in the worship of the image of the emperor (xiii. 11-17), and the interpretation of the seven heads (xvii. 8-11) are later insertions. The number 666 (
; xiii. 18), also, is scarcely genuine, inasmuch as the number 256 represents both the beast and the man (
and 
) as stated in the apocalypse. For the second beast, called Beliar, comp. Sibyllines, ii. 167, 210; iii. 63-90.
The story of the Messiah hidden with God in heaven is continued in xiv. 6-20, a passage which has but few traces of the Christian compiler's hand. Announcement (not of "good tidings") is made to the nations: "Fear God the Creator, for the hour of His judgment is come" (xiv. 6-7). Then "the Son of man coming on the cloud" (comp. Dan. vii. 13) appears, a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand, and a voice calling forth from within the Temple, "Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the harvest of the earth is come"; "Tread ye the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the grapes are ripe" (comp. Joel iv. 13); and he "thrust the sickle, and gathered the clusters of the vine of the earth and cast them into the wine-press of the wrath of God" (comp. Isa. lxiii. 1-6); and as the wine-press was trodden, outside the city (comp. Zech. xiv. 4), there came blood out of the wine-press, reaching even to the bridles of the horses, for the space of 1,600 furlongs (comp. Enoch, xciv. 9, xcix. 6, c. 3).
The same scene is depicted in ch. xix. 11, 16 (also altered by the Christian compiler), where the seer beholds "upon a white horse" him who is "to judge and to make war"; his eyes are a flame of fire, and on his (triple ?) crown the Ineffable Name is written; he is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood (Isa. lxiii. 3), and his name is. . . . Heavenly hosts follow him on white horses, and out of his mouth goes a sharp sword with which he shall smite the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron (comp. Ps. ii. 9) and tread the wine-press of the wrath of the Lord of Hosts (Isa. lxxiii. 6); and on his vesture and thigh is written, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." The closing scene is describedin xix. 17-18, 21: A voice ("of an angel standing in the sun"—certainly not genuine) calls, in the words of Ezek. xxxix. 17-20, all the fowls and beasts together for the great sacrifice ("supper") of God, at which they are to eat "the flesh of kings, of captains, and mighty men, of horses and of those who ride on them, and the flesh of all men both free and bond, small and great, . . . and the fowls were filled with their flesh."
Then the writer dwells, in ch. xx. 1-5, on the judgment passed in heaven upon the dragon, Satan, the primeval serpent, who is, like Azazel in Enoch, bound and cast into the abyss, there to be shut up for a thousand years, the seventh millennium which the Messiah shall pass together with the elect ones. Here the original apocalypse probably told of the resurrection of the "saints who had died in the Lord" (xiv. 13), and of the triumphal song they sang at the union of the Messiah, the bridegroom, and the daughter of Zion, the bride (xv. 2-4, xix. 1-8).
Gog and Magog.
After the lapse of the seventh millennium (comp. "Bundahis," xxix. 8) the old serpent is again letloose to deceive the nations of the earth, and the numberless hosts of Gog and Magog beleaguer the Holy City. Then Satan is cast forever into Gehenna (comp. ib.), and "seats of judgment" (Dan. vii.) are set for all the dead who rise to be judged (xx. 7-15). Then all whose names are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. "All the cowardly and faithless ones who yield to abominable rites, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars, shall meet the second death" (comp. Targ. Yer. to Deut. xxxiii. 6) "and be cast into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (xxi. 8). There shall be "a new heaven and a new earth" (Isa. lxv. 17); the old ones shall disappear, and God's Shekinah shall be with men: they shall be God's people, and "He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more sorrow or pain" (comp. Enoch, xc. 29; IV Esd. vii. 26; Apoc. Baruch, iv. 3, xxxii. 2; Ḥag. 12b; Ta'an. 5a).
Then (xxi. 9-27) in place of the old the seer beholds the new Jerusalem come down from heaven, prepared "as a bride adorned for her husband" (Isa. lxi. 10), in all the glory and splendor described in Isa. liv. 11-12, lxii. 6, with the twelve gates mentioned by Ezek. xlviii. 31-35, for the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve foundation-stones (the twelve names of the Apostles merely betray the Christian reviser's hand) are to be of precious stones, corresponding to the twelve on the high priest's breast-plate (comp. Ezek. xxxix. 10), the twelve gates, of twelve pearls; and the city with its streets, of pure gold, transparent as crystal (the same dreams of a golden Jerusalem with gates of pearls and precious stones are indulged in by the Rabbis; see B. B. 75a). No temple shall be there, as the Lord of Hosts will be its temple (comp. Ezek. xl. 35). The words "and the Lamb" (xxi. 22), "and the Lamb is the light thereof" (xxi. 23; comp. xxii. 5, taken from Isa. lx. 19) are Christian interpolations. Verses 24-27 are taken from Isa. lx. 2, 11; lii. 1 (comp. Ezek. xliv. 9), only so modified as to avoid the mention of "the night," while, instead of the passage concerning "the uncircumcised," it is said that "whosoever worketh abomination and falsehood may not enter; only they who are written in the book of life."
The Throne of God.
Finally, the seer beholds (xxii. 1-5) a crystal-like river of water flow forth from the throne of God (comp. Ezek. xlvii. 12 and Sanh. 100a, where the river is said to issue from the Holy of Holies). Jewish Gnostics (Ḥag. 14b) also spoke of the white marble throne and the "waters" surrounding it, exactly as "the sea of glass" near "the white throne" is described in Rev. iv. 6, xx. 11. On either side of the river he sees the tree of life (Enoch, xxv. 4-6) "bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations." "There shall be no more curse" (comp. Zech. xiv. 11, 
), for the servants of the Lord "shall see His face" (comp. Isa. xl. 5), and they shall reign for ever and ever" (comp. Dan. vii. 27).
The whole apocalypse, of which xxii. 10-15 is the conclusion, is, like the shorter one which precedes it, in every part and feature (except where altered by the Christian compiler) thoroughly Jewish in spirit and conception, as was fully recognized by Mommsen ("Römische Gesch." v. 520-523). It presents the development of the whole eschatological drama according to the Jewish view. It is Hebrew in composition and style, and bears traces of having originally been written in Hebrew, as is shown by the words 
; 
(angels) mistaken for 
(Kings; ix. 14); 
(is worthy); and others. The two apocalypses appear to have been, like that in Matt. xxiv., or like the Epistle of James and the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, in the possession of Essenes who joined the Judæo-Christian Church after the destruction of the Temple (comp. Rev. xxi. 22, showing that the author did not believe in the future restoration of the Temple). Hence it was easy for a member of the early Church to adapt the whole to the Christian view by substituting or inserting frequently, but not always skilfully and consistently, "the Lamb" for "the Messiah," and by occasionally changing or adding entire paragraphs (v. 9-14; vii. 9-10; xi. 82; xiv. 2-5; xvi. 15; xix. 7-10; xx. 6; xxi. 2; xxii. 7-10, 16-17, 20)
Possibly the seer of Patmos when writing the letters to the seven churches, or one of his disciples when sending them out, had these apocalypses before him and incorporated them into his work. This fact would account for the striking similarities in expression between the first three chapters and the remainder. Attention has been called also to the fact that the name "The Word of God" given to the Messiah by the Christian writer in Rev. xix. 13 corresponds exactly to the "Logos" of the Gospel of John i. 1 and "the Lamb" of John i. 29. To this may be added the conception of the Antichrist, dwelt upon alike in Revelation and in I John ii. 18, iv. 3, and II John 7. Owing to these and other similarities John the Presbyter, author of the letters to the seven churches and perhaps of the Secondand Third Epistles of John (see introductory verses), was identified with John the Apostle, the assumed author of the Fourth Gospel. Under his name these books passed into the canon, notwithstanding the fact that the views held by the writer of the Book of Revelation differed widely from those expressed in the Gospel and in the Epistles. The Epistles are, like the Gospel, Pauline in spirit and written for Pauline churches; the Book of Revelation remains, under its Christian cloak, a Jewish document.
Bibliography:
Bousset, Die Offenbarung Johannis, Göttingen, 1896 (written from an apologetic point of view and without familiarity with the rabbinical sources);
H. Gunkel, Schöpfung und Chaos, 1895, pp. 379-398;
P. Schmidt, Anmerkungen über die Komposition der Offenbarung Johannis;
E. Vischer, Die Offenbarung Johannis, Leipsic, 1886;
Fr. Spitta, Die Offenbarung des Johannis, Halle, 1889;
Weiss, Die Offenbarung des Johannis, ein Beitrag zur Literatur- und Religionsgesch. Göttingen, 1904;
J. Wellhausen, Skizzen und Vorarbeiten, 1899, iv. 215-234.
REVELATION, BOOK OF.—This single representative of the literature of apocalypse (Gr. apokalypsis, whence the alternating name, ‘The Apocalypse’) preserved in the NT belongs to a large group of Christian writings of a similar sort. It was characteristic of the early Church to build up a literature about the names of the various Apostles. Normally this literature consisted of a narrative, an apocalypse, and some form of doctrinal writing; as, for example, the Gospel of Peter, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the Preaching of Peter. With the exception of the present book, no Christian apocalypse is held to be even possibly authentic.
1. Canonicity.—The Revelation was not universally accepted by the early Church as canonical. There is no evidence of its existence worthy of consideration in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, although it is just possible that Papias may have known of it. By the middle of the 2nd cent., however, Revelation is well known, and is declared by Justin to he by the Apostle John (Dial. lxxxi. 15). It is also used, among others, by Melito, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, and attributed to the Apostle John by the first-named as well as by Irenæus. The fact that it appears in the Canon of the Muratorian Fragment is evidence that by the middle of the 2nd cent. it was accepted in the West. After its defence by Hippolytus its position was never seriously questioned except in the East. Jerome is, in fact, the only Western theologian of importance who doubts it, and he puts it among those books which are ‘under discussion,’ neither canonical nor apocryphal.
In the East, as might be expected, it was rejected by Marcion, and, because of disbelief in its Apostolic authorship, by Dionysius of Alexandria (middle of the 3rd cent.). Palestinian and Syrian authors (e.g. Cyril of Jerusalem) generally rejected it, in large measure because of the struggle with the Montanists, by whom Revelation was used as a basis of doctrine. It does not appear in the lists of the Synod of Laodicea, the Apostolic Constitutions, Gregory of Nazianzus, Chrysostom, the Chronography of Nicephorus, the ‘List of the Sixty Books,’ or in the Peshitta version of the NT. It was included by the Gelasian Decree at the end of the 5th cent. as canonical, and was finally recognized by the Eastern Church. Yet as late as 692 a Synod could publish two decrees, the one including the Apocalypse in the Canon, the other excluding it. It was not held in high repute by the reformers Carlstadt, Luther, Zwingli, all of whom doubted its Apostolicity, or apparently by Calvin, who omitted to comment upon it. At most, the first two of these theologians were apparently inclined to recognize a division of sacred writings similar to that of Jerome.
2. Authorship.—The title, ‘Revelation of John,’ which occurs in several MSS, including the Codex Sinaiticus, is an obvious expression of a belief regarding authorship. This John was believed by many in the early Church to be the Apostle. Whether this view was correct or not is to-day a subject of lively debate. The book itself contains little internal evidence serving to substantiate this claim, for the author simply states that he is named John (Joh 1:1; Joh 1:4; Joh 1:9; john 22:8). Justin (Dial. lxxxi. 15) distinctively states that Revelation is by ‘John, one of the Apostles of Christ,’ and Tertullian along with the Western Church generally held to its Apostolic authorship. Eusebius, however, suggests that it may have been written by John ‘the Presbyter,’ mentioned by Papias but otherwise unknown. At the present time the belief is divided as to whether the author of Revelation is John the Apostle or John the Presbyter. The chief argument against the view that the author is John the Apostle lies in the differences existing between Revelation and the Gospel and the Epistles of John, both in style and in method. Notwithstanding the use of the term ‘Logos’ (19:13), these divergences are too obvious to need specifying. If Johannine authorship be assigned the Gospel and Epistles, it is difficult to claim it for Revelation; but, on the other hand, it is difficult to believe it to be either pseudonymous or written by the mysterious John the Presbyter. As the case now stands, criticism seems to have reached an impasse, and the plain reader may best use the book in disregard of questions of authorship,—a procedure the more justifiable because its teaching is independent of personal matters.
3. Date.—Although the fixing of the date of Revelation presupposes conclusions as to its composition and purpose, it may here be said that in all probability the book reached its present form in the latter part of the reign of Domitian (a.d. 81–96).
4. Composition.—The prevailing hypotheses may be grouped in three classes.
(1) The currently accepted view that it was written entirely by the Apostle John. Such a view is, however, open to serious objections, because of the similarities, if not identities, existing between Revelation and other apocalyptic literature of the period, as well as because of the evidences of composite character of the writing, implying sources of different origins and dates, such as the various breaks in the process of the vision (the lack of any single historical point of view is seen by a comparison of Rev 12:3; Rev 13:1; Rev 17:3, in an effort to identify historically the two breaks, or in a comparison of Rev 11:1-13 with Rev 17:11).
(2) The view that the work, while essentially a literary unit, is a Christian redaction of a Jewish writing. This view would attribute to the Christian redactor the first three chapters and important sections like Rev 5:9-14; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 13:11 ff; Rev 22:6-21, in addition to separate verses like Rev 12:11; Rev 14:1; Rev 14:5; Rev 12:13; Rev 12:15; Rev 16:15; Rev 17:14; Rev 19:9-10; Rev 19:13 b, Rev 20:4-6; Rev 21:5-8. The difficulties with this position are not only those which must be urged against any view that overlooks the evidences of the composite authorship of the work, but also the impossibility of showing that ch. 11 is Jewish in character.
(3) Theories of composite origin.—These are of various forms—(a) The theory according to which an original work has been interpolated with apocalyptic material of various dates (Rev 7:1-17; Rev 11:1-13; Rev 12:1-17; Rev 13:17) and subjected to several revisions. (b) The view that Revelation is a Christian book in which Jewish apocalypses have been framed. (c) The theory according to which Revelation is composed of three sources, each of which has subdivisions, all worked together by a Christian redactor. (d) Notwithstanding the difficulty in determining the sources, critics are pretty thoroughly agreed that, as the book now stands, it has a unity which, though not inconsistent with the use of older material by its author, is none the less easily recognized. Some of this older material, it is now held, undoubtedly represents the general stream of apocalyptic that took its rise in Babylonian mythology. The structural unity of the book appears in the repetition of sevenfold groups of episodes, as well as in a general grammatical and linguistic similarity. In achieving this remarkable result, the redactor so combined, recast, and supplemented his material as to give the book an essentially Christian rather than Jewish character.
5. Analysis.—As it now stands, literary and critical analyses do not altogether coincide, but until criticism has finished its task, literary analysis must be of primary Importance. Authorities here differ, but the following analysis does not differ fundamentally from that of other writers.
i. Introduction (ch. 1).
ii. The message of the Spirit to the Seven Churches (chs. 2, 3).
iii. The period of struggle and misery (chs. 4–7).
iv. The final Messianic struggle (chs. 8–14).
v. The victory of the Messiah (chs. 15–20).
vi. The vision of the Messianic Kingdom (chs. Rev 21:1 to Rev 22:5).
vii. Epilogue (Rev 22:6-21).
6. Interpretation.—No Biblical writing, with the possible exception of the Book of Daniel, has been so subjected to the vagaries of interpreters as Revelation, (a) On the one extreme are those (‘Futurists’) who have seen in its pictures a forecast of universal Christian history, as well as all the enemies of Christianity, both within and without the Church. To such interpreters the book has been a thesaurus of that chiliastic doctrine which the Greek as well as the modern scientific attitude of mind has found so repugnant. (b) At the other extreme there are those interpreters who see in Revelation simply a reference to the historical conditions of the first century of the Christian era. (c) There is a measure of truth in each of these two methods, but the real method of interpretation must be independent of dogmatic presuppositions. As narrative matter must be interpreted by the general principles applicable to all literature of its class, so must Revelation be interpreted in accordance with the general principles applicable to apocalypses as a form of literary expression. The fundamental principles of such interpretation involve the recognition of the facts—(i.) that apocalypses are the outgrowth of definite historical situations; (ii.) that they attempt to stimulate faith by an exposition in symbolic terms of the deliverance which God will give His suffering people from actually existing sufferings; (iii.) that the message of deliverance gains authority because of its claim to superhuman origin reinforced by pseudonymous authorship; (iv.) that the deliverance which is thus supernaturally portrayed is dependent upon the introduction of a new age whose conditions are set miraculously by God rather than by evolving historical forces, and is not described with the same detail as are the conditions from which God is to deliver His people.
An application of these principles to the interpretation of Revelation demands (1) that an historical interpretation be given the pictures describing the miseries of the Church. The conditions of such interpretation are most naturally fulfilled in the persecution under Domitian (81–96), although there may be references to that under the dead Nero. The persecuting force is clearly Rome, as represented both by the Emperor and by Emperor-worship, whatever the origin of the pictures with which the oppression of the Church is set forth. A point of departure for the identification of the historical figures who are to be subjected to the Messianic punishment might be thought to be the number of the Beast—666—that is to say, the Emperor Nero, who was expected to return from the dead (see Beast [in Apoc.
A further difficulty in formulating precisely the historical situation, arises from the fact that the author, though producing a book of great literary unity, has embodied sources which refer to conditions of different times. Thus Rev 11:1-13 would naturally infer the existence of the Temple, which was destroyed in 70; ch. 13 may have come from the days of Caligula; Rev 17:10 most naturally implies some time in the reign of Nero; Rev 17:11 apparently implies Domitian, the eighth emperor; Rev 17:8 would also argue that the book was written during the period that believed in Nero redivivus. The redactor (or redactors) has, however, so combined these materials as to give a unified picture of the approaching Messianic struggle.
(2) On the other hand, the deliverance of the Church is, like all apocalyptic deliverances, miraculous, and described transcendentally. Besides the martyrs, the only identification possible in this connexion is that of the conquering Lamb with Jesus the Christ. The fall of Rome is foretold definitely in ch. 17, but the seer is true to the general apocalyptic form in that he makes Rome and its religion the agents of Satan. The ultimate victory of the Church is similarly portrayed as the victory of God, and is identified with the return of Jesus to establish His Messianic Kingdom.
Such a method of interpretation, based upon general characteristics of apocalypses, preserves the element of truth in both the futurist and the historical methods of interpretation, the pictures of persecution symbolizing actual historical conditions, but the forecast of deliverance reverting to the general Messianic expectation of events lying outside of history.
The sublime theme of Revelation thus becomes evident—the victory of the Messiah over the Roman Empire, together with the miseries to be inflicted on His enemies and the blessings to be enjoyed by His followers.
7. Religious value.—If properly interpreted, Revelation is of really profound religious value. It cannot serve as a basis of theology, but, like any piece of imaginative writing, will serve to stir the emotion and the faith of the Christian. Its literary form is so remarkable, the passages descriptive of the triumph of the Messianic Kingdom are so exquisite, its religious teaching is so impressive, as not only to warrant its inclusion in the Canon, but also to make it of lasting value to the devotional life. More particularly the Letters to the Churches are of value as criticism and Inspiration for various classes of Christians, while its pictures of the New Jerusalem and its insistence upon the moral qualifications for the citizens of the Messianic Kingdom are in themselves notable incentives to right living: Stript of its apocalyptic figures, the book presents a noble ideal of Christian character, an assurance of the unfailing justice of God, and a prophecy of the victory of Christianity over a brutal social order.
Shailer Mathews.
Protestant name for the Apocalypse.
Apocalypse, from the verb apokalypto, to reveal, is the name given to the last book in the Bible. It is also called the Book of Revelation.Although a Christian work, the Apocalypse belongs to a class of literature dealing with eschatological subjects and much in vogue among the Jews of the first century before, and after, Christ. AUTHENTICITYThe author of the Apocalypse calls himself John. "John to the seven churches which are in Asia" (Ap., i, 4). And again, "I, John, your brother and your partner in tribulation . . . was in the island which called Patmos, for the word of God" (i, 9). The Seer does not further specify his personality. But from tradition we know that the Seer the Apocalypse was John the Apostle the son of Zebedee, the Beloved Disciple of Jesus. At the end of the second century the Apocalypse was acknowledged by the historical representatives of the principal churches as the genuine work of John the Apostle. In Asia, Melito, Bishop of Sardis, one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, acknowledged the Revelation of John and wrote a commentary on it (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., IV, 26). In Gaul, Irenaeus firmly believes in its Divine and Apostolic authority (Adversus Haer., V, 30). In Africa, Tertullian frequently quotes Revelation without apparent misgivings as to its authenticity (C. Marcion, III, 14, 25). In Italy, Bishop Hippolytus assigns it to the Apostle St. John, and the Muratorian Fragment (a document about the beginning of the third century) enumerates it along with the other canonical writings, adding, it is true, apocryphal Apocalypse of St. Peter, but with the clause, quam quidam ex nostris in ecclesia legi nolunt. The Vetus Itala, moreover, the standard Latin version in Italy and Africa during the third century, contained the Apocalypse. In Egypt, Clement and Origen believed without hesitation in its Joannine authorship. They were both scholars and men of critical judgment. Their opinion is all the more valuable as they had no sympathy with the millennial teaching of the book. They contented themselves with an allegorical interpretation of certain passages but never ventured to impugn its authority. Approaching more closely the apostolic age we have the testimony of St. Justin Martyr, about the middle of the second century. From Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., IV, xviii, 8), as well as from his dialogue with the Jew, Tryphon (c. 81), held in Ephesus, the residence of the apostle, we know that he admitted the authenticity of the Apocalypse. Another witness of about the same time is Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, a place not far from Ephesus. If he himself had not been a hearer of St. John, he certainly was personally acquainted with several of his disciples (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., III, 39). His evidence however is but indirect. Andreas, Bishop of Caesarea, in the prologue to his commentary on the Apocalypse, informs us that Papias admitted its inspired character. From the Apocalypse undoubtedly Papias derived his ideas of the millennium, on which account Eusebius decries his authority, declaring him to have been a man of limited understanding. The apostolic writings which are extant furnish no evidence for the authenticity of the book. ARGUMENTS AGAINST ITS AUTHENTICITYThe Alogi, about A.D. 200, a sect so called because of their rejection of the logos-doctrine, denied the authenticity of the Apocalypse, assigning it to Cerinthus (Epiphanius, LI, ff, 33; cf. Iren., Adv. Haer., III, 11, 9). Caius, a presbyter in Rome, of about the same time, holds a similar opinion. Eusebius quotes his words taken from his Disputation: "But Cerinthus by means of revelations which he pretended were written by a great Apostle falsely pretended to wonderful things, asserting that after the resurrection there would be an earthly kingdom" (Hist. Eccl., III, 28). The most formidable antagonist of the authority of the Apocalypse is Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, disciple of Origen. He is not opposed to the supposition that Cerinthus is the writer of the Apocalypse. "For", he says, "this is the doctrine of Cerinthus, that there will be an earthly reign of Christ, and as he was a lover of the body he dreamed that he would revel in the gratification of the sensual appetite". He himself did not adopt the view that Cerinthus was the writer. He regarded the Apocalypse as the work of an inspired man but not of an Apostle (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., VII, 25). During the fourth and fifth centuries the tendency to exclude the Apocalypse from the list of sacred books continued to increase in the Syro-Palestinian churches. Eusebius expresses no definite opinion. He contents himself with the statement: "The Apocalypse is by some accepted among the canonical books but by others rejected" (Hist. Eccl., III, 25). St. Cyril of Jerusalem does not name it among the canonical books (Catech. IV, 33-36); nor does it occur on the list of the Synod of Laodicea, or on that of Gregory of Nazianzus. Perhaps the most telling argument against the apostolic authorship of the book is its omission from the Peshito, the Syrian Vulgate. But although the authorities giving evidence against the authenticity of the Apocalypse deserve full consideration they cannot annul or impair the older and unanimous testimony of the churches. The opinion of its opponents, moreover, was not free from bias. From the manner in which Dionysius argued the question, it is evident that he thought the book dangerous as occasioning crude and sensual notions concerning the resurrection. In the West the Church persevered in its tradition of apostolic authorship. St. Jerome alone seemed to have been influenced by the doubts of the East. THE APOCALYPSE COMPARED WITH THE FOURTH GOSPELThe relation between the Apocalypse and the Fourth Gospel has been discussed by authors, both ancient and modern. Some affirm and others deny their mutual resemblance. The learned Alexandrine Bishop, Dionysius, drew up in his time a list of differences to which modern authors have had little to add. He begins by observing that whereas the Gospel is anonymous, the writer of the Apocalypse prefixes his name, John. He next points out how the characteristic terminology of the Fourth Gospel, so essential to the Joannine doctrine, is absent in the Apocalypse. The terms, "life", "light", "grace", "truth", do not occur in the latter. Nor did the crudeness of diction on the part of the Apocalypse escape him. The Greek of the Gospel he pronounces correct as to grammar, and he even gives its author credit for a certain elegance of style. But the language of the Apocalypse appeared to him barbarous and disfigured by solecisms. He, therefore inclines to ascribe the works to different authors (Hist. Eccl., VII, 25). The upholders of a common authorship reply that these differences may be accounted for by bearing in mind the peculiar nature and aim of each work. The Apocalypse contains visions and revelations. In conformity with other books of the same kind, e.g. the Book of Daniel, the Seer prefixed his name to his work. The Gospel on the other hand is written in the form of an historical record. In the Bible, works of that kind do not bear the signature of their authors. So also as regards the absence of Joannine terminology in the Apocalypse. The object of the Gospel is to prove that Jesus is the life and the light of the world, the fullness of truth and grace. But in the Apocalypse Jesus is the conqueror of Satan and his kingdom. The defects of grammar in the Apocalypse are conceded. Some of them are quite obvious. Let the reader but notice the habit of the author to add an apposition in the nominative to a word in an oblique case; e.g. iii, 12; xiv, 12; xx, 2. It further contains some Hebrew idioms: e.g. the Hebrew word equivalent to erchomenos, "the one that is to come", instead of esomenos, i, 8. But it should be borne in mind that when the Apostle first came to Ephesus he was, probably wholly ignorant of the Greek tongue. The comparative purity and smoothness of diction in the Gospel may be adequately accounted for by the plausible conjecture that its literary composition was not the work of St. John but of one of his pupils. The defenders of the identity of authorship further appeal to the striking fact that in both works Jesus is called the Lamb and the Word. The idea of the lamb making atonement for sin by its blood is taken from Isaias, liii. Throughout the Apocalypse the portraiture of Jesus is that of the lamb. Through the shedding of its blood it has opened the book with seven seals and has triumphed over Satan. In the Gospel Jesus is pointed out by the Baptist as the "Lamb of God . . . him who taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Some of the circumstances of His death resemble the rite observed in the eating of the paschal lamb, the symbol of redemption. His crucifixion takes place on the selfsame day on which the Passover was eaten (John xviii, 28). Whilst hanging on the cross. His executioners did not break the bones in His body, that the prophecy might be fulfilled: "no bone in it shall be broken" (John 19:36). The name Logos, "Word", is quite peculiar to the Apocalypse, Gospel and first Epistle of St. John. The first sentence of the Gospel is, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". The first epistle of St. John begins, "That which was from the beginning which we have heard . . . of the word of life". So also in the Apocalypse, "And his name is called the Word of God" (xix, 13). TIME AND PLACEThe Seer himself testifies that the visions he is about to narrate were seen by him whilst in Patmos. "I John . . . was in the island which is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus" (i. 9). Patmos is one of the group of small islands close to the coast of Asia Minor, about twelve geographical miles from Ephesus. Tradition, as Eusebius tells us, has handed down that John was banished to Patmos in the reign of Domitian for the sake of his testimony of God’s word (Hist. Eccl., III, 18). He obviously refers to the passage "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus" (i, 9). It is true that the more probable meaning of this phrase is, "in order to hear the word of God", etc., and not "banished because of the word of God", etc., (cf. i. 2). But it was quite natural that the Seer should have regarded his banishment to Patmos as prearranged by Divine Providence that in the solitude of the island he might hear God’s word. The tradition recorded by Eusebius finds confirmation in the words of the Seer describing himself as "a brother and partaker in tribulation" (i, 9). Irenaeus places the Seer’s exile in Patmos at the end of Domitian’s reign. "Paene sub nostro saeculo ad finem Domitiani imperii" (Adv. Haer., V. 4). The Emperor Domitian reigned A.D. 81-96. In all matters of Joannine tradition Irenaeus deserves exceptional credit. His lifetime bordered upon the Apostolic age and his master, St. Polycarp, had been among the disciples of St. John. Eusebius, chronicling the statement of Irenaeus without any misgivings, adds as the year of the Seer’s exile the fourteenth of Domitian’s reign. St. Jerome also, without reserve or hesitation, follows the same tradition. "Quarto decimo anno, secundam post Neronem persecutionem movente Domitiano, in Patmos insulam relegatus, scripsit Apocalypsim" (Ex libro de Script. Eccl). Against the united testimony of these three witnesses of tradition the statement of Epiphanius placing the Seer’s banishment in the reign of Claudius, A.D. 41-54, appears exceedingly improbable (Haer., li, 12, 33). CONTENTS(1) THE SEVEN CHURCHES1:1-3. Title and description of the book. The revelation made by Jesus the Messias to John.1:4-9. Salutation. Salutation prefatory to the seven Epistles, wishing the churches the grace and the peace of God and Jesus.1:9-20. The vision of Jesus as the Son of man. The portrait is taken from Daniel 10 and Henoch 46. Cf. the phrases, "one like the son of man" (Apocalypse 1:13, Daniel 10:16 and 7:13); "girded with gold" (Apocalypse 1:13; Daniel 10:5); "eyes like flames of fire" (Apocalypse 1:14; Daniel 10:6); "a voice like that of a multitude" (Apocalypse 1:15; Daniel 10:6); "I fell down like one senseless" (Apocalypse 1:17; Daniel 10:9); "and he touched me" (Apocalypse 1:17, Daniel 10:18); "hair white like wool" (Apocalypse 1:14; Daniel 7:9; Henoch 46:1).2:1-3:22. The Epistles, to the seven Churches. The Churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The Epistles are short exhortations to the Christians to remain steadfast in their faith, to beware of false apostles and to abstain from fornication and from meat offered to idols.(2) THE BOOK WITH THE SEVEN SEALSChapters 4 and 5. The vision of God enthroned upon the Cherubim. The throne is surrounded by twenty-four elders. In the right hand of God is a scroll sealed with seven seals. In the midst of the Cherubim and the elders the Seer beholds a lamb, "agnus tamquam occisus", having on its throat the scar of the gash by which it was slain. The Seer weeps because no one either in heaven or on earth can break the seals. He is comforted on hearing that the lamb was worthy to do so because of the redemption it had wrought by its blood. The portrait of the throne is taken from Ezechiel 1. Compare in both accounts the description of the four beasts. They resemble a lion an ox, a man, and an eagle. Their bodies are full of eyes (cf. Revelation 4:8; and Ezekiel 10:12). The twenty-four elders were probably suggested by the twenty-four courses of priests ministering in the Temple. The lamb slain for the sins of mankind is from Isaias 53.Chapters 6 and 7. The seven seals and the numbering of the Saints. At the opening of four seals, four horses appear. Their colour is white, black, red, and sallow, or green (chloros, piebald), They signify conquest, slaughter, dearth and death. The vision is taken from Zach., vi, 1-8. At the opening of the fifth seal the Seer beholds the martyrs that were slain and hears their prayers for the final triumph. At the opening of the sixth seal the predestined to glory are numbered and marked. The Seer beholds them divided into two classes. First, 144,000 Jews, 12,000 of every tribe. Then a numberless multitude chosen from all nations and tongues.Chapters 8 and 9. The seventh seal. After the interval of about half an hour, the seventh seal is broken; seven angels issue forth, each one holding a trumpet. The sounding of the first four trumpets causes a partial destruction of the elements of nature. One-third of the earth is burned, as also one-third of the trees and all the grass. One-third of the sea becomes blood (cf. Exodus 7:17). One-third of the rivers is turned into water of wormwood. One-third of the sun, moon, and stars is obscured, causing one-third of the day to be dark (cf. Exodus 10:21). At the sounding of the fifth trumpet locusts ascend from the abyss. Their work is to torment men for five months, They are specially charged not to touch the grass. Their shape is that of horses (Joel 2:4) their teeth like those of lions (Joel 1:6), their hair like the hair of women. They have the tails of scorpions where with to chastise man. The command over them is held by the Angel of the Abyss, named Abaddon, the destroyer. At the sound of the sixth trumpet the four angels chained at the Euphrates are let loose. They lead forth an army of horsemen. By the fire which the horses spit out and by their tails which are like serpents, one-third of mankind is killed. After the sixth trumpet there are two digressions. (1) The angel standing on the land and the sea. He swears that at the sound of the seventh trumpet the mystery will be completed. He hands to the Seer a little book. When eaten by him it is found sweet to taste, but bitter when once devoured. Taken from Ezech., ii. 8; iii, 3. (2) The contamination of the court of the Temple by the heathens. It lasts three and a half years. Taken from Dan., vii, 25; ix, 27; xii, 7-11. During that time two witnesses are sent to preach in Jerusalem. They are the two olive-trees foretold by Zach., iv, 3,11. At the end of their mission they are slain by the beast. They are raised to life after three and a half days (= years). The seventh trumpet is now sounded, the nations are judged and the kingdom of Christ is established.(3) THE DIVINE DRAMAFirst Act. Chapters 12-14. The lamb, the woman, and her seed; and opposed to them, the dragon, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the land. The main idea is taken from Gen., iii, 15. "I will put enmities between thee (the serpent) and the woman, and thy seed and her seed". The woman is arrayed in heavenly splendour; a crown of twelve stars on her head and the sun and the moon under her feet (cf. Gen. xxxvii, 9, 10). She is in travail. Her first-born is destined to rule all the nation (Psalm 2:8, 9). She herself, and her other seed, are persecuted for three and a half years by the great dragon who tries to kill them. The great dragon is Satan (Genesis 3:1). He is cast out of heaven. With his tail he drags after him one-third of the stars. Taken from Dan., viii, 10. The fallen stars are the fallen angels. The beast from the sea is in great part taken from Daniel’s description of the four beasts. It arises from the sea (Dan., vii, 3); has seven heads marked all over with blasphemies. It had also ten horns, like the fourth beast of Daniel (vii, 7); it resembled a leopard, the third beast of Daniel (vii, 6), it had feet like a bear, the second beast of Daniel (vii, 5); and teeth like a lion, the first beast of Daniel (vii, 4). The great dragon gives full power unto the beast, whereupon all the world worship it (viz. those whose names are not contained in the book of the lamb). The followers of the beast have its mark on their head and hand. The beast from the land has two horns like a ram. Its power lies in its art of deceiving by means of tokens and miracles. Throughout the remainder of the book it is called the false prophet. Its office is to assist the beast from the sea, and to induce men to adore its image. The first act of the drama concludes with a promise of victory over the beast by the lamb of God.Second Act. Chapters 15-16. The seven vials. They are the seven plagues preceding the destruction of the great city, Babylon. They were for the greater part suggested by the Egyptian plagues. The first vial is poured out on the earth. Men and beasts are smitten with ulcers (Exodus 9:9-10). The second and third vial upon the seas and rivers. They become blood (Exodus 7:17-21). The fourth vial upon the sun. It burns men to death. The fifth vial upon the throne of the beast. It causes great darkness (Exodus 10:11-29). The sixth vial upon the Euphrates. Its waters are dried up and form a passage for the kings of the East (Exodus 14). The seventh upon the air. Storm and earthquake destroy Babylon.Third Act. Chapters 17-18. The great harlot. She is seated upon the scarlet beast with the seven heads and ten horns. She is robed in scarlet and decked with gold. On her head is written: Mystery, Babylon the great. The kings of the earth commit fornication with her. But the day of her visitation has come. She is made a desolate place, the habitation of unclean animals (Ls., xiii, 21, 22). Her fall is lamented by the rulers and merchants of the earth.Fourth Act. Chapters 19-20. The victory over the beast and the great dragon. A knight appears mounted on a white horse. His name is "The word of God". He defeats the beast and the false prophet. They are cast alive in the pool of fire. Their defeat is followed by the first resurrection and the reign of Christ for a thousand years. The martyrs rise to life and partake with Christ in glory and happiness. During these thousand years the great dragon is held in chains. At their completion he is once more set at large to torment the earth. He deceives the nations Gog and Magog. These two names are taken from Ezech., chaps. xxviii, xxxix, where however Gog is the king of Magog. At last he also is east for all eternity in the pool of fire. Hereupon the general judgement and the resurrection take place.Fifth Act. Chapters 21-22. The new Jerusalem (cf. Ezechiel 40-48). God dwells in the midst of His saints who enjoy complete happiness. The new Jerusalem is the spouse of the lamb. The names of the Twelve Tribes and the Twelve Apostles are written on its gates. God and the lamb are the sanctuary in this new city.Epilogue. Verses 18-21. The prophecy of the book is soon to be fulfilled. The Seer warns the reader not to add anything to it or take away from it under pain of forfeiting his share in the heavenly city. PURPOSE OF THE BOOKFrom this cursory perusal of the book, it is evident that the Seer was influenced by the prophecies of Daniel more than by any other book. Daniel was written with the object of comforting the Jews under the cruel persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Seer in the Apocalypse had a similar purpose. The Christians were fiercely persecuted in the reign of Domitian. The danger of apostasy was great. False prophets went about, trying to seduce the people to conform to the heathen practices and to take part in the Caesar-worship. The Seer urges his Christians to remain true to their faith and to bear their troubles with fortitude. He encourages them with the promise of an ample and speedy reward. He assures them that Christ’s triumphant coming is at hand. Both in the beginning and at the end of his book the Seer is most emphatic in telling his people that the hour of victory is nigh. He begins, saying: "Blessed is he that . . . keepeth those things which are written in it; for the time is at hand" (i. 3). He closes his visions with the pathetic words: "He that giveth testimony of these things saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus". With the coming of Christ the woes of the Christians will be avenged. Their oppressors will be given up to the judgment and the everlasting torments. The martyrs that have fallen will be raised to life, that they may share the pleasures of Christ’s kingdom, the millennium. Yet this is but a prelude to the everlasting beatitude which follows after the general resurrection. It is an article of faith that Christ will return at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. But the time of His second advent is unknown. "But of that day and hour no one knoweth, no, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36). It would appear, and is so held by many that the Christians of the Apostolic age expected that Christ would return during their own lifetime or generation. This seems to be the more obvious meaning of several passages both in the Epistles and Gospels (cf. John 21:21-23, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The Christians of Asia Minor and the Seer with them, appear to have shared this fallacious expectation. Their mistaken hope, however, did not affect the soundness of their belief in the essential part of the dogma. Their views of a millennial period of corporal happiness were equally erroneous. The Church has wholly cast aside the doctrine of a millennium previous to the resurrection. St. Augustine has perhaps more than any one else helped to free the Church from all crude fancies as regards its pleasures. He explained the millennium allegorically and applied it to the Church of Christ on earth. With the foundation of the Church the millennium began. The first resurrection is the spiritual resurrection of the soul from sin (De Civ. Dei Lib. XX). Thus the number 1,000 is to be taken indefinitely. STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK AND ITS LITERARY COMPOSITIONThe subject-matter of the Apocalypse required a threefold division. The first part comprises the seven exhortatory letters. The leading idea in the second part is the wisdom of Christ. It is symbolized by the book with seven seals. In it are written the eternal decrees of God touching the end of the world, and the final victory of good over evil. No one except Jesus, the lamb slain for the sins of the world, is worthy to break the seals and read its contents. The third part describes the power of Christ over Satan and his kingdom. The lamb defeats the dragon and the beast. This idea is developed in a drama of five acts. In five successive scenes we see before us the struggle, the fall of Babylon the harlot, the victory, and final beatitude.The third part is not only the most important, but also the most successful from a literary point of view. The drama of the lamb contains several beautiful thoughts of lasting value. The lamb, symbolizing gentleness and purity, conquers the beast, the personification of lust and cruelty. The harlot signifies idolatry. The fornication which the rulers and the nations of the earth commit with her signifies the worship they pay to the images of Caesar and the tokens of his power. The second part is inferior in literary beauty. It contains much that is taken from the Old Testament, and it is full of extravagant imagery. The Seer shows a fanciful taste for all that is weird and grotesque. He delights in portraying locusts with hair like that of women and horses with tails like serpents. There are occasional passages revealing a sense of literary beauty. God removes the curtain of the firmament as a scribe rolls up his scrolls. The stars fall from the heavens like figs from the fig-tree shaken by the storm (vi, 12-14). On the whole, however the Seer shows more love for Oriental splendour than the appreciation of true beauty.INTERPRETATIONIt would be alike wearisome and useless to enumerate even the more prominent applications made of the Apocalypse. Racial hatred and religious rancour have at all times found in its vision much suitable and gratifying matter. Such persons as Mohammed, the Pope, Napoleon, etc., have in turn been identified with the beast and the harlot. To the "reformers" particularly the Apocalypse was an inexhaustible quarry where to dig for invectives that they might hurl then against the Roman hierarchy. The seven hills of Rome, the scarlet robes of the cardinals, and the unfortunate abuses of the papal court made the application easy and tempting. Owing to the patient and strenuous research of scholars, the interpretation of the Apocalypse has been transferred to a field free from the odium theologicum. But then the meaning of the Seer is determined by the rules of common exegesis. Apart from the resurrection, the millennium, and the plagues preceding the final consummation, they see in his visions references to the leading events of his time. Their method of interpretation may be called historic as compared with the theological and political application of former ages. The key to the mysteries of the book they find in 17:8-14. For thus says the Seer: "Let here the mind that hath understanding give heed".The beast from the sea that had received plenitude of power from the dragon, or Satan, is the Roman Empire, or rather, Caesar, its supreme representative. The token of the beast with which its servants are marked is the image of the emperor on the coins of the realm. This seems to be the obvious meaning of the passage, that all business transactions, all buying and selling were impossible to them that had not the mark of the beast (Ap., xiii. 17). Against this interpretation it is objected that the Jews at the time of Christ had no scruple in handling money on which the image of Caesar was stamped (Matthew 22:15-22). But it should be borne in mind that the horror of the Jews for the imperial images was principally due to the policy of Caligula. He confiscated several of their synagogues, changing them into heathen temples by placing his statue in them. He even sought to erect an image of himself in the Temple of Jerusalem (Jos., Ant., XVIII, viii, 2).The seven heads of the beast are seven emperors. Five of them the Seer says are fallen. They are Augustus Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The year of Nero’s death is A.D. 68. The Seer goes on to say "One is", namely Vespasian, A.D. 70-79. He is the sixth emperor. The seventh, we are told by the Seer, "is not yet come. But when he comes his reign will be short". Titus is meant, who reigned but two years (79-81). The eighth emperor is Domitian (81-96). Of him the Seer has something very peculiar to say. He is identified with the beast. He is described as the one that "was and is not and shall come up out of the bottomless pit" (xvii, 8). In verse 11 it is added: "And the beast which was and is not: the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction". All this sounds like oracular language. But the clue to its solution is furnished by a popular belief largely spread at the time. The death of Nero had been witnessed by few. Chiefly in the East a notion had taken hold of the mind of the people that Nero was still alive. Gentiles, Jews, and Christians were under the illusion that he was hiding himself, and as was commonly thought, he had gone over to the Parthians, the most troublesome foes of the empire. From there they expected him to return at the head of a mighty army to avenge himself on his enemies. The existence of this fanciful belief is a well-attested historic fact. Tacitus speaks of it: "Achaia atque Asia falso exterrit velut Nero adventaret, vario super ejus exitu rumore eoque pluribus vivere eum fingentibus credentibusque" (Hist., II, 8). So also Dio Chrysostomus: kai nyn (about A.D. 100) eti pantes epithymousi zen oi de pleistoi kai oiontai (Orat., 21, 10; cf. Suet., "Vit. Caes." s.v. Nero, 57, and the Sibyliine Oracles, V, 28-33). Thus the contemporaries of the Seer believed Nero to be alive and expected his return. The Seer either shared their belief or utilized it for his own purpose. Nero had made a name for himself by his cruelty and licentiousness. The Christians in particular had reason to dread him. Under him the first persecution took place. The second occurred under Domitian. But unlike the previous one, it was not confined to Italy, but spread throughout the provinces. Many Christians were put to death, many were banished (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., III, 17-19). In this way the Seer was led to regard Domitian as a second Nero, "Nero redivivus". Hence he described him as "the one that was, that is not, and that is to return". Hence also he counts him as the eighth and at the same time makes him one of the preceding seven, viz. the fifth, Nero. The identification of the two emperors suggested itself all the more readily since even pagan authors called Domitian a second Nero (calvus Nero, Juvenal. IV, 38). The popular belief concerning Nero’s death and return seems to be referred to also in the passage (xiii, 3): "And I saw one of its heads as it were slain to death: and its death’s wound was healed".The ten horns are commonly explained as the vassal rulers under the supremacy of Rome. They are described as kings (basileis), here to be taken in a wider sense, that they are not real kings, but received power to rule with the beast. Their power, moreover, is but for one hour, signifying its short duration and instability (xvii, 17). The Seer has marked the beast with the number 666. His purpose was that by this number people may know it. He that has understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. A human number, i.e. intelligible by the common rules of investigation. We have here an instance of Jewish gematria. Its object is to conceal a name by substituting for it a cipher of equal numerical value to the letters composing it. For a long time interpreters tried to decipher the number 666 by means of the Greek alphabet, e.g. Irenæus, "Adv. Haer.", V, 33. Their efforts have yielded no satisfactory result. Better success has been obtained by using the Hebrew alphabet. Many scholars have come to the conclusion that Nero is meant. For when the name "Nero Caesar" is spelled with Hebrew letters, it yields the cipher 666.The second beast, that from the land, the pseudoprophet whose office was to assist the beast from the sea, probably signifies the work of seduction carried on by apostate Christians. They endeavoured to make their fellow Christians adopt the heathen practices and submit themselves to the cultus of the Caesar. They are not unlikely the Nicolaitans of the seven Epistles. For they are there compared to Balaam and Jezabel seducing the Israelites to idolatry and fornication. The woman in travail is a personification of the synagogue or the church. Her first-born is Christ, her other seed is the community of the faithful.In this interpretation, of which we have given a summary, there are two difficulties:In the enumeration of he emperors three are passed over, viz. Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. But this omission may be explained by the shortness of their reigns. Each one of the three reigned but a few months. Tradition assigns the Apocalypse to the reign of Domitian. But according to the computation given above, the Seer himself assigns his work to the reign of Vespasian. For if this computation be correct, Vespasian is the emperor whom he designates as "the one that is". To this objection, however, it may be answered that it was the custom of apocalyptic writers, e.g., of Daniel, Enoch, and the Sibylline books, to cast their visions into the form of prophecies and give them the appearance of being the work of an earlier date. No literary fraud was thereby intended. It was merely a peculiar style of writing adopted as suiting their subject. The Seer of the Apocalypse follows this practice. Though actually banished to Patmos in the reign of Domitian, after the destruction of Jerusalem, he wrote as if he had been there and seen his visions in the reign of Vespasian when the temple perhaps yet existed. Cf. II, 1, 2.We cannot conclude without mentioning the theory advanced by the German scholar Vischer. He holds the Apocalypse to have been originally a purely Jewish composition, and to have been changed into a Christian work by the insertion of those sections that deal with Christian subjects. From a doctrinal point of view, we think, it cannot be objected to. There are other instances where inspired writers have availed themselves of non-canonical literature. Intrinsically considered it is not improbable. The Apocalypse abounds in passages which bear no specific Christian character but, on the contrary, show a decidedly Jewish complexion. Yet on the whole the theory is but a conjecture. (See also APOCRYPHA)-----------------------------------C. VAN DEN BIESEN Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
See Apocalypse.
As its title suggests, the book of Revelation reveals things that might otherwise remain unknown. The revelation came from God and the risen Christ by way of the book’s writer to first century Christians, and it concerned things that were soon to take place (Rev 1:1). The traditional view is that the person named John who wrote the book was the apostle John, though no statement in the book makes this identification certain.
Background to the book
The church of the first century was persecuted almost from the beginning. Persecution at first came mainly from the Jews, but as the century progressed, civil authorities also turned against the Christians. The two main periods of persecution from the Roman Emperors came in the sixties under Nero and in the nineties under Domitian. It was during this latter period that John, having been imprisoned for his Christian testimony, received the revelation recorded in this book (Rev 1:9-10).
Patmos, the place of John’s imprisonment, was an island off the coast from Ephesus in the west of Asia Minor. Upon receiving the revelation, John wrote it in a book, then sent it with a messenger to the mainland to deliver to a group of seven churches in Asia Minor. The order in which the churches are listed probably represents the order in which they were visited by the messenger who delivered the letters. From these centres the message would no doubt spread to other churches of the region (Rev 1:11; for map see ASIA).
By this time the government was enforcing Emperor worship as a settled policy, with the result that Christians were being imprisoned, tortured and even killed (Rev 2:10; Rev 2:13; Rev 6:9-11). People in general were becoming anti-Christian. To make matters worse, false teachers were troubling the churches by encouraging Christians to participate in pagan religious practices (Rev 2:14; Rev 2:20-21). Some Christians were renouncing their faith, others losing heart. Many were confused, for it seemed that Jesus Christ, the almighty king whom they expected to return in triumph, was either unable or unwilling to save them from the power of Rome.
Through John, Jesus reassured the suffering Christians that he was still in control, though he did not want them to build up any false hopes. He gave no guarantee of quick relief. Rather he prepared them for greater endurance, by revealing the extent of the troubles yet to come and the eternal reward for those who stood firm for him. In God’s time he would return to punish all enemies, save his people, and bring in a new and eternal era.
Interpretation of the book
The book of Revelation belongs to a category of literature known as apocalyptic. (The name comes from the Greek apokalypsis, the word translated ‘revelation’ in Rev 1:1.) In apocalyptic literature God gives revelations to people by means of strange visions explained by angels. The visions often feature fearsome beasts and mysterious numbers, and are usually concerned with great conflicts out of which God and his people triumph (see APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE).
Because Christians of the first century were familiar with apocalyptic literature, they would have readily understood Revelation, but Christians of a different era and culture usually find the book difficult to interpret. Some interpret it as applying wholly to the time of John; others interpret it as applying wholly to the future, when God will bring the world’s history to an end. Some see the book as a continuous history of the world from John’s time to the end; others see it not as a record of historical events but as a presentation of the victory of the gospel in symbolic pictures. There are countless variations in the interpretation of the book, both as a whole and in its details.
In an attempt to solve the difficulties of the book of Revelation, some people simply choose the scheme of interpretation that suits them and reject the rest. But this is not the best way to understand the book’s message. The book is not a collection of puzzles designed to amuse Christians in their spare time by giving them mysteries to solve. It is a book given to strengthen and guide Christians in a time of persecution. The pictures are taken from life under Roman rule as the Christians of John’s time knew it, but the principles are applicable in any era.
Anti-Christian persecutions and divine judgments have been repeated throughout the church’s history, from John’s time to the present. But in every era Christians have triumphed through their troubles because of Christ’s victory on the cross (Rev 12:11). Opposition will continue till the world’s last great crisis comes and Jesus Christ returns. In that day the triumphant Saviour will banish evil, save his people, and bring in a new age of peace and joy (Rev 19:13-16; Rev 22:1-5).
Contents of the book
John begins by greeting the seven churches to whom the book is sent (1:1-8), then describes his vision of the risen and exalted Christ, who is Lord of all the churches (1:9-20). Then follow the seven letters. Each of the letters consists of a greeting from the risen Christ, a statement concerning the state of the church, a warning, an instruction and a promise (2:1-3:22). John then has two visions. In the first the Almighty is seated upon his throne and is worshipped as the Creator (4:1-11). In the second the Lamb is victorious out of death and is worshipped as the Redeemer (5:1-14).
After this are three series of judgments, each based on the symbolic number seven. In the first series a seven-section scroll is unrolled section by section by breaking one seal for each section. As the scroll is unrolled, each section reveals a vision relating to some aspect of suffering and judgment. There is an interval before the breaking of the final seal, when further visions reassure the faithful. No matter what they suffer, God will preserve them for his heavenly kingdom (6:1-8:5).
In the second series of judgments, each of the seven visions is announced by the blowing of a trumpet. Again there is an interval before the final vision, when further visions reassure the faithful of victory. They may suffer persecution, and perhaps martyrdom, but because of Christ’s victory they are triumphant (8:6-11:19).
Before the third series of judgments, John receives a number of visions to show the conflict and ultimate triumph that God’s people can expect. One vision is of a dragon that tries to destroy a woman and her child (12:1-17); another is of a beast that rises out of the sea to fight against God and his people (13:1-10); and a third is of a beast that rises out of the earth in support of the previous beast (13:11-18). However, the redeemed, not the beasts, are the victors (14:1-5), while the wicked suffer destruction (14:6-20).
The third series of judgments then follows, with seven angels pouring out seven bowls of God’s anger upon a rebellious world (15:1-16:21). The overthrow of this rebellious world is then pictured in the destruction of a prostitute (17:1-18) and the burning of Babylon (18:1-19:5). The triumph of God and his people is pictured in a wedding feast, the victorious reign of Jesus Christ, the defeat of Satan and the last great judgment (19:6-20:15).
Finally, John has a vision of a new heaven and a new earth, where God dwells with his people in a new order of existence (21:1-22:5). In view of the salvation and judgments that lie ahead, the book urges Christians to be faithful to God, and urges others to accept God’s offered mercy (22:6-21).