A Study about the Author of the Book of Revelation

Subject Areas : Christianity

Azadeh  Rezaei ¹ (comparative religions and mysticism, faculty of theology, Islamic Azad Un iversity, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.)
Fatemeh  Lajevardi ² (Department of Religion and Mysticism, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.)

Received: 2021-04-24 Accepted : 2021-04-24 Published : 2021-02-19

Keywords: apocalypse, Pseudepigraphy, Book of Revelation, John, Jewish prophets,

Abstract :

The Apocalypses, as the writings which narrate the revelations about the occurrences of the finality of the world, have much in common in Judeo and Christian traditions in terms of form and content. One of their common features is pseudepigraphy, i.e. the attribution of the Jewish apocalypses to the most prominent Jewish figures including Moses, through which the real authors could have accentuated on the authority of their works. The authors of the Christian apocalypses, like their Jewish counterparts, attributed their works to the prominent Christian figures. Meanwhile, the Book of Revelation is one of the most significant Christian apocalypses that its author explicitly refers to his name, John, as the author of it. Thus, since the early centuries of Christian history, many discussions have been made concerning the identity of the author by the Christian thinkers, which have even continued until today. This article is seeking to present a clear picture of the identity of the author according to some historical accounts, the ideas of the early Christian thinkers and the ideas of the modern scholars. The present study indicates that John was one of the early Christian prophets who was engaged in his religious ministry in Asia Minor.

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