Introduction

Although St. John the Apostle wrote the fourth gospel and three epistles, he never identified himself as the author of those. But in the Apocalypse (otherwise known as the Book of Revelation) he clearly identified himself as the author (Apoc 1:1, 4, 9 and 22:8). He wrote the book in the island of Patmos (Apoc 1:9), where he was banished by Emperor Nero.

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Notwithstanding the fact that St. John identified himself as the author, some scholars doubted the identity of the author of the Apocalypse. They say, for example, that the author must be a different “John,” not necessarily St. John the Apostle. The reason is because the Greek idioms in the Apocalypse differ significantly from those in the fourth gospel and in the letters of St. John. Also, some of the key concepts discussed in the gospel and other writings of St. John, such as life, truth, grace, etc., are absent in the Apocalypse.

However, arguments against the Johannine authorship based solely on differences in style are weak when one considers that the author is writing a book of a different literary genre – that is, allegorical prophecy instead of historical narrative. Since the Apocalypse belongs to a different literary genre, then it could also explain the lack of the same theological concepts that are found in the fourth gospel.

In spite of their differences, there are stylistic similarities between the Apocalypse and the gospel of St. John. For example, only in the Apocalypse and the fourth gospel is our Lord called the Logos, or the “Word.” (John 1:1; Apoc 19:13) The same may be said of the word “Lamb” (John1:29; 1:36; Apoc 5:6; 21:14), and the “spring of water” (John 4:10-13; Apoc 7:17). The allusion to Mary as “woman” in the Apocalypse 11:19-12:1-6, reminds us of the “woman” in St. John’s gospel (John 2:4; 19:26). Then, the frequent use of contrast in the Apocalypse, such as the beast vs the lamb, the harlot vs the Bride (of Christ), is a literary feature that may also be noted in the gospel of St. John, which contrasted light vs darkness, life vs death, good vs evil (John 3:16-21; 5:19-47). These similarities indicate unity of authorship.

But the main reason for attributing the authorship of the Apocalypse to St. John the Apostle is the testimony of the early Fathers. For example:

Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165), in the Dialogue with Trypho, Ch. 81, says, “And further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem.” (The “thousand year” reign of Christ is cited in Apoc 20:1-6.)

Irenaeus (A.D. 125-200), in Against Heresies, Book IV, Ch. 20, par. 11, says: John also, the Lord's disciple, when beholding the sacerdotal and glorious advent of His kingdom, says in the Apocalypse: “I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And, being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks One like the Son of man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle; and His head and His hairs were white, as white as wool, and as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like fine brass, as if He burned in a furnace. And His voice [was] as the voice of waters; and He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and His countenance was as the sun shining in his strength.” (Revelation 1:12) Note that St. Irenaeus pointed to John the Apostle, not some other John, as the writer of the Apocalypse. This testimony is valuable because it came directly from the tradition of St. John, since Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John.

The most probable date for the writing of the Apocalypse is between A.D. 58 - 64, when John was banished by Emperor Nero to the island of Patmos. Although very many scholars insist a late date (A.D. 96) for the writing of the Apocalypse, their idea was based solely on an ambiguous text by St. Irenaeus and is not very decisive. What is more important is that the Temple of Jerusalem was still standing when John wrote his visions, because he was given instructions to measure it (in Apoc 11:1). Since the Temple was not destroyed until A.D. 70, St. John must have been writing before A.D. 70, not after it.  

Also, the Muratorian Fragment, which contains the oldest known list of most of the books of the New Testament, contains the following text: “the blessed apostle Paul himself, following the example of his predecessor John, writes by name to only seven churches” (Lines 47-50). Since St. Paul followed John’s example in writing letters to seven churches, this implies that, at the latest, the Apocalypse was finished before Paul wrote his last letter. But we know that St. Paul was beheaded in A.D. 65. Therefore, the Apocalypse must have been finished before that year. 

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