Apocalypse of John

 The final book of the New Testament is distinctive and in a class of its own. Its name comes from the everyday ancient Greek apokalypsis (apocalypse), meaning "uncovering," "disclosure," or, as its English title suggests, "revelation."

 The book purports to tell, in highly symbolic language and the form of a particular  biblical genre found in passages from the books of Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel, a series of visions of one John of Patmos concerning the end of the world and the Second Coming, or return of Jesus to rule over creation. This is the promised setting aright of all things promised to the apostles.

 Revelation explores the Christian view of eschatology, or the theology of "last things," also known as the end of the world as we know it. The work expands on the Christian break with the Saducees of Jesus' time, who did not believe in an afterlife. It also expands on the Pharisees' belief in an end-times resurrection of the dead, based on passages such as Daniel 12:2: "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."

 The symbolism and images are not meant for the 21st century reader; they will be puzzling and should not be taken literally. However, written near the end of the fierce persecutions of Christians by Emperor Domitian (AD 81–96), the author's message that not even the most powerful men are ultimately in charge: only God is the sovereign of history. Thus, the intended readership of persecuted Christians had a reason to hope that, in then end, God and their Way, would prevail.

 The author of the book calls himself John, a man exiled to the rocky island of Patmos, a Roman penal colony, because of his Christian faith. He does not explicitly identify himself with the apostle John -- although many Christian Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries did (and some explicitly did not). Most likely, given similar concerns in the gospel of John and Revelation, along with some distinct dissimilarities in vocabulary, grammar, and style, the author was a disciple of John, writing in his style and inspired by his teaching.

 Without going into detail, Revelation can be seen as having an epistolary prologue and epilogue, between which are: 

• letters to the churches of Asia (1:4–3:22), offering specific encouragement to those persecuted communities;
• a vision of heaven, with the presence of God and "the Lamb" (the risen Christ who was offered as a sacrifice, albeit with seven horns and seven eyes), (4:1–5:14);
• a series of violent catastrophes unleashed on humanity, with references to seven seals, trumpets, and plagues (6:1–16:21);
• the punishment of Babylon (a stand-in for the Roman Empire) and the destruction of pagan nations (17:1–20:15);
• and a happy ending of a new creation (21:1–22:5).

 Although a broad variety of symbolic colors, metals and garments appear in Revelation, the easiest symbols to decrypt are numbers. In ancient Jewish and rabbinical numerology 4 stands for the world, 6 for imperfection, 7 for totality or perfection, 1,000 is immensity.

 The number 12 deserves special attention. It references Israel’s tribes or the apostles. Historically, however, it draws from the duodecimal number system used in Abraham's Asian Mesopotamia, with 12 taking the place of our 10. Thus when Revelation speaks of 144,000 saved, it means a huge number (12 x 12 x 1000), rather than what we moderns, with a global population in the billions and cities with millions of residents, might deem a relatively small number of people.

 Similarly, Revelation's harsh-sounding cries for vengeance on the lips of Christian martyrs are a fact literary device. The author is evoking the reader's likely feeling of horror for apostasy and rebellion against the Way of Christ.

 To Christians of that time, falling away from the faith, repentance, and forgiveness of baptism was an irreversible abandonment of the faith. It wasn't until after Domitian's persecution that churches allowed members who fell into sin -- including especially apostasy to avoid execution -- forms of prayerful post-baptismal repentance and signs of forgiveness that evolved into confession and absolution.

 In all, Revelation offers a very suitable -- if challenging to read -- message for 21st century believers who face the greed and materialism that is literally killing our planet, along with the recent surges of authoritarianism and hatred around the world. God will prevail. The Messianic kingdom that seems nowhere in evidence will arise when we least expect it.