Bible Authenticity

In the 3rd century African bishop Dionysius asserted that the Greek syntax, vocabulary, subject matter, style and themes of Revelation were so different from John’s gospel and letters, that Revelation had to have had a different writer. Modern skeptical scholars hold the same view. The Greek used in Revelation is quite different from the Greek used in John’s gospel and letters., so many skeptical scholars assert that the apostle John wasn’t the writer. Who wrote the book of Revelation?

EVIDENCE OF THE APOSTLE JOHN’S WRITERSHIP

The internal and external evidence debunks the theory that the apostle John wasn’t the writer, as we can see from the following:

1. “I am John, your brother, and as a follower of Jesus I am your partner in patiently enduring the suffering that comes to those who belong to his Kingdom. I was put on the island of Patmos because I had proclaimed God’s word and the truth that Jesus revealed” (Revelation 1:9 GNB). The writer identifies himself as the John with whom his contemporary readers are very familiar with. The apostle John being on the penal isle of Patmos very late in the 1st agrees with what is otherwise known about the apostle John.
2. “The revelation of Jesus Christ . . . He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John”  (Revelation 1:1 NAB). John is identified in third person as being the human recipient of the revelation.
3. “Write down the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these”  (Revelation 1:19 LSB). John is told to write down the revelation that he has seen, which places him as the writer.
4. ‘I, John, am the one who was hearing and seeing these things” (Revelation 22:8 LSB). John identifies himself by name for the 3rd time in Revelation.
5. Revelation has many ideas and themes in common with John’s gospel and letters. Only John’s gospel and Revelation refer to Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1; Revelation 19:13), and “the Lamb” (John 1:29; Revelation 5:6,13; 7:10,14; 22:7,9; 21:9; 22:1).
6. The word “witness” is one of the apostle John’s themes, appears about 180 times in the New Testament, about 80 of which are in John’s writings (48 in John; 12 in 1 John; 5 in 3 John; 14 in Revelation).
7. Writers are well known to use different styles when dealing with different subject matter. John’s gospel consists mostly of historical narratives, and his letters provide Christians truths and counsel. In the Revelation, he records what he was shown in apocalyptic visions. These are strangely esoteric, making the content of Revelation starkly different from John’s other writings. This, in itself, accounts for the different subject matter, syntax, and vocabulary.

CONCLUSION

We have examined powerful evidence in favor of John being the writer, notwithstanding the great differences between Revelation and john’s other four Biblical writings.

For more information, see the following related articles on this website:

https://bibleauthenticity.com/the-early-acceptance-of-revelation. read more