In the article, Who wrote the Bible? (Part 4) , the last paragraph states that it seems implausible that the same John that wrote the Gospel also wrote the Revelation because, (1) The Greek style is different, (2) He mentions himself repeatedly in the Revelation but not in the Gospel, and (3) He doesn’t call himself an apostle but only a prophet. Also, as indicated by this article, many believe that the book of the Revelation was written about 95-100 A.D.
John the Apostle is traditionally believed to have written the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and the Revelation. While the Greek style differs little between the first four, the difference is dramatic in the Revelation. This however, does not indicate that it was not written by John for two reasons, the second which is a bit more complicated than the first.
The first reason the Greek style does not necessarily indicate another author is that several of the New Testament writers used secretaries to write their works. While the words may belong to the author, the style would be the secretary’s particular style. Thus, John COULD have used a secretary, especially in view of his advanced age at the time (he would have been around 100 years old in the traditional view).
The second reason is that the Revelation was probably written much earlier than the Gospel or John’s three epistles. The text of the Revelation indicates a rougher Greek than the Gospel or the epistles. If all were written by John personally, then it would indicate that the Revelation was written EARLIER and that his Greek had improved over time. This is precisely what a number of credible scholars now believe.
The dating of the book of Revelation was traditionally based upon Irenaeus’ account of John. The passage from Irenaeus which supports this conclusion is somewhat ambiguous in its translation, allowing for a much earlier date for the writing of the Revelation. Additionally, internal dating for the book of Revelation indicates that the Temple was still standing at the time, and refers to other earlier contemporary items which would indicate an earlier date for the book.
Thus, it seems more probable that the Revelation was written between 45-68 A.D. as a warning to Christians of the coming judgment on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The poorer Greek style of the Revelation is then realized as the writing of someone learning his Greek, and John’s references to himself were a stage of growth of one who was learning to glorify Christ and humble himself, which he later learned to tone down in the Gospel bearing his name.
While the Greek style between the Gospel and the Revelation differs, the majesty and glory given to God and the style used for that follow the same unique pattern, indicating at least to some that both were written by the same individual.
Contrary to the article, John does not call himself a prophet in the Revelation. An angel (messenger) in Revelation 22:9 says that he (the angel) is one of John’s brethren the prophets, which does not indicate that either John nor the angel felt that John was a prophet particularly. Besides that, apostles functioned as evangelists, teachers, and even prophets at various times. John’s reluctance to call himself a prophet or an apostle may have been the same as the reluctance to name himself in a gospel that was written to glorify Jesus: humility.
Additionally, the uniquely apocalyptic language of the Revelation may have required the authority of John’s name for acceptance by the Christians in and around Jerusalem to warn them of the impending doom upon Israel (which corresponds to Matthew 24 and Luke 21), whereas the Gospel did not require the same namedropping for acceptance by the larger Gentile audience to which it was intended.
For more references to the dating of the book of Revelation, see the Preterist Archive.
John McCormick