![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Marko-Marina-Staff-Writer.png\" "\\"Dr")
<\/span><\/p>\nWritten by Marko Marina, Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n Author | Historian | BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n \nDate written: August 25th, 2023<\/p>\n\nDate written: August 25th, 2023\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n Who wrote the Book of Revelation?<\/strong> At first glance, <\/span>Revelation<\/span> might seem like a fantastical account penned by a visionary mystic. Its pages are alive with surreal imagery\u2014beasts, angels, heavenly battles, and cosmic cataclysms\u2014depicting a world teetering on the brink of ultimate transformation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But who is the mastermind behind this apocalyptic narrative? Was it the apostle John<\/a>, a prophet, or an early Christian writer seeking to convey profound spiritual truths?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s begin by looking at the traditional theory regarding the authorship of Revelation<\/span>! <\/span><\/p>\n According to the Church’s prevailing theory, the author of the Book of Revelation was John, one of Christ’s apostles. The earliest external evidence dates back to the 2nd century CE and comes from Justin Martyr, who identifies John as the author in his Dialogue with Trypho<\/a>.<\/p>\n This theory was accepted later by other 2nd and 3rd-century Church writers such as Irenaeus (<\/span>Against the Heresies, <\/span>4.20.11.), Tertullian<\/a> (<\/span>On Prescription Against Heretics<\/span>, 36), and Clement of Alexandria (<\/span>The Rich Man’s Salvation<\/span>, 42).<\/span><\/p>\n In other words, the traditional paradigm holds that the apostle John wrote both the Gospel of John <\/a>and Revelation.<\/p>\n How old was John when he wrote the <\/span>Revelation<\/span>? Since John was believed to be among the youngest Jesus’ disciples, and the <\/span>Book of Revelation <\/span>was written at the end of the 1st century, he would have to be quite old when he wrote it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, modern scholarship has cast severe doubts on the traditional theory<\/b>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let’s take a look at the external attestations! <\/span><\/p>\n Unlike the New Testament Gospels<\/a>, the authorship of <\/span>Revelation <\/span>sparked serious controversies within the Church as early as the 3rd century CE. The main problem was that the <\/span>Gospel of John <\/b>and the <\/b>Book of Revelation differ considerably<\/b>\u00a0in style and theology. How could that be if the same person wrote them?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The earliest instance of a substantial objection to the<\/span> Book of Revelation <\/span>arises with Gaius in the early third century. He dismisses the book based on the argument that it was a fabrication by the heretic Cerinthus.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n In the middle of the 3rd century, Alexandrian Bishop Dyonisius raised further objections.<\/span><\/p>\n He emphasized in one of his letters: \u201cBy the phraseology also we can measure the difference between the Gospel and Epistle and the Revelation. The first two are written not only without any blunders in the use of Greek but with remarkable skill regarding diction, logical thought, and orderly expression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As it turns out, modern scholarship concurs with the bishop\u2019s analysis. In the <\/span>Introduction to the New Testament<\/span><\/a>, Delbert Burkett concludes:<\/span> \u201cMost scholars today, therefore, attribute the Revelation and the Gospel to different authors, neither of which was the apostle John.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Who wrote the Book of Revelation? The evidence based on the external attestation does not support the same author for both Gospel and Revelation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings<\/a> by Dr. Bart Ehrman, it is rightly pointed out that\u00a0“almost all of the ancient apocalypses were written pseudonymously in the name of a famous person from the past.”<\/span><\/p>\n However, the <\/span>Book of Revelation <\/span>is a rare exception! In the first place, <\/span>the author of <\/b>Revelation <\/b>identifies himself as “John”<\/b> (1,1; 22, 8).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, the author doesn’t place the composition of his book centuries in the past. Instead, John puts its narrative in his own time. He also names the intended recipients of his vision as “the seven churches in Asia” (1,4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, he does provide us with some information about himself. He is the “brother” of these Christians in Asia, and he relates to their hardships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He composes his message while situated on the<\/span> island of Patmos<\/b> (Western coast of Asia Minor). That is the reason why he is often called <\/span>John of Patmos<\/b>. Unfortunately, given his readers’ familiarity with him, he refrains from delving further into his identity.<\/span><\/p>\n But he never claims to be Jesus’s apostle<\/b>! Quite the contrary! In his recent study <\/span>Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Bart notes that throughout the narrative, John indicated he was not among the twelve apostles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Chapter 4, John witnesses the vision of twenty-four “elders” encircling God’s throne, engaging in ceaseless worship day and night.\u00a0<\/p>\n This passage suggests that the twelve patriarchs of Israel and the twelve apostles of Jesus are symbolically represented in John’s imagery and that John is not a part of this group.<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t Miss Bart Ehrman’s New Webinar: <\/b><\/p>\n “Will You Be Left Behind? A History of The Rapture”<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n 50-minute lecture by critically acclaimed Biblical Scholar & 6 NYT best-selling author, Dr. Bart Ehrman, to be turned into an online course<\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> JOIN BART NOW!<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> Based on everything we know about the apostle John, it is doubtful that he could be the author of <\/span>Revelation.<\/span><\/p>\n Modern research indicates that only a tiny percentage (5-10%) of individuals in ancient times were literate, typically belonging to the wealthy upper class with access to education, a fact which casts doubt on most of the tradional authors of the New Testament<\/a> except Paul – who was well educated.<\/p>\n![\"Who](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Who-Wrote-the-Book-of-Revelation.png\" "\\"Who")
<\/span><\/p>\nThe Gospel of John and the Revelation: Traditional Theory<\/h2>\n
What the Early Church Said about John’s Authorship<\/h2>\n
The Internal Evidence and the Identity of John<\/h3>\n
John of Patmos Never Claims to be Jesus’s Apostle <\/h4>\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Will-You-Be-Left-Behind-Online-Course.png\" "\\"Will")
<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\nCould John, the Son of Zebedee Even Read and Write? <\/h5>\n