Background to the book of Revelation or questions that need to be addressed
Who wrote the book of Revelation & who received the book of Revelation?
-> The apostle John wrote the book to the 7 churches in Asia Minor (Rev. 1:4) located in present day Turkey
Where was John when he wrote the book of Revelation & why was he there?
-> John was exiled on the island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9b) about 65 miles from the coast of Ephesus or modern day Turkey
-> John was exiled for faithfully preaching God’s Word & proclamation of Jesus (Rev. 1:9c)
When was the book of Revelation written?
-> Early date (before AD 70): no mention of the capture of Jerusalem &destruction of the Temple by the Romans in AD 70
-> Late date (~AD 95) based primarily on a quote from the church father, Irenaeus writing in AD 180 who said “for it was seen not very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign” end of his reign in AD 96
What is the main purpose of the book of Revelation?
-> To unveil or reveal God’s full plan through Jesus Christ and provide comfort to His people as well as warning to those who oppose Him
How should we interpret or understand the book of Revelation?
-> Try to understand the main message to its original audience (or historical context) realizing that Revelation uses several literature genres: 1) a letter, 2) prophecy of predicting the future & proclaiming God’s present message, 3) an apocalypse, an unveiling or revealing