Post by Josh on Aug 18, 2009 19:05:24 GMT -8
There are different theories as to which "John" authored Revelation. I'm in favor of the opinion that all the Johanine writings (The Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation) have a common author, John the son of Zebedee, one of the 12 apostles.
The biggest argument against John the disciple as the author of the book of Revelation is that Revelation's Greek is different (inferior) to the other "Johanine" books.
However, I believe this can be explained by the conditions under which the book of Revelation was written. Isn't it likely that John, exiled on the island of Patmos, would have written the book down hastily after experiencing the harrowing vision? Is it surprising that the book would be less polished and edited?
In support of John as author, I would point out that while there are differences in quality between Revelation and the other Johanine books, I am told that the word usage in Revelation is more similiar to the other Johanine books than it is to any other book in the New Testament.
There are also common motifs, themes, and phrases that occur in both Revelation and the other Johanine books, which are evidence of shared authorship. One examples is the reference to Jesus as the "word of God" (John 1:1, 19:13)
That said, the authorship isn't as important to me as the dating of Revelation.
The biggest argument against John the disciple as the author of the book of Revelation is that Revelation's Greek is different (inferior) to the other "Johanine" books.
However, I believe this can be explained by the conditions under which the book of Revelation was written. Isn't it likely that John, exiled on the island of Patmos, would have written the book down hastily after experiencing the harrowing vision? Is it surprising that the book would be less polished and edited?
In support of John as author, I would point out that while there are differences in quality between Revelation and the other Johanine books, I am told that the word usage in Revelation is more similiar to the other Johanine books than it is to any other book in the New Testament.
There are also common motifs, themes, and phrases that occur in both Revelation and the other Johanine books, which are evidence of shared authorship. One examples is the reference to Jesus as the "word of God" (John 1:1, 19:13)
That said, the authorship isn't as important to me as the dating of Revelation.
