The book of Revelation, explained simply

Who wrote it

The writer calls himself John and says he received these visions on Patmos, a small island off the coast of modern Turkey. Christian tradition from the second century onward identified him as John the apostle, one of Jesus' twelve closest followers. Many scholars, ancient and modern, doubt this, because the Greek style is very different from the Gospel of John. They think he may have been another John, a respected Christian prophet known to the churches. No one knows for certain.

When

Most scholars date it to around AD 95, near the end of the Roman emperor Domitian's rule. Some argue for an earlier date in the late 60s, around the time of the emperor Nero. Either way, it comes from the Roman Empire, where small Christian groups lived alongside emperor worship, local festivals to other gods and powerful trade networks. Some believers faced pressure, mockery or worse. How widespread this persecution was is debated.

Who it was written to

Seven real churches in the Roman province of Asia, in what is now western Turkey: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. It was meant to be read aloud to them.

Why it was written

Revelation pulls back the curtain on the writer's world to show that the Roman Empire, for all its power, is not the final word. It urges believers to stay faithful and not give in, and pictures a future where God puts evil to an end and makes everything new. As the last book of the Bible, it echoes the opening pages of Genesis, ending with a renewed creation, a tree of life and God living among people.

Big themes

God, not empire, is truly in charge · Faithfulness under pressure · Judgment on evil and injustice · A new heaven and a new earth

How it is laid out

A vision of Jesus and messages to seven churches (1-3)

God's throne, the Lamb and the sealed scroll (4-7)

Seven trumpets of warning (8-11)

The dragon, the beasts and the faithful (12-14)

Seven bowls and the fall of Babylon (15-18)

The final battle and the last judgment (19-20)

Everything made new (21-22)

A tip for reading it

Revelation belongs to a kind of ancient writing called apocalypse, which means unveiling. It speaks in symbols, a bit like a political cartoon. So the Lamb is a picture of Jesus, numbers like seven usually stand for completeness, and many scholars think Babylon stands for Rome. The book also contains disturbing scenes of war, plague and punishment that are not easy to read. The visions often circle back over the same ground rather than running in strict order, and Christians have long disagreed about whether they describe the first century, the far future, or patterns true in every age. So it can help to read it for its big picture rather than as a timetable.