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Bible chapter guide
Revelation 1
John, exiled on the island of Patmos, hears a voice like a trumpet on the Lord's day and sees one like a son of man among seven golden lampstands, with eyes like fire and a voice like rushing waters, who tells him to write to the seven churches of Asia.
Summary written for the Labs; read the chapter itself for the full text.
See it in the Labs
- The Seven ChurchesThe Seven ChurchesOpen
- The Seven ChurchesPatmos: John's vision · The Seven ChurchesOpen
- The Bible Time MapJohn on Patmos · The Bible Time MapOpen
- The Bible Time MapPatmos · The Bible Time MapOpen
- The Seven ChurchesThe whole circuit · The Seven ChurchesOpen
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How sure can we be?
- Textually stated
John names the seven churches in this order.
Revelation 1:11 lists Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, and the letters of chapters 2–3 follow the same order.
- Strongly supported
The island of Revelation 1:9 is today's Patmos.
The name has never changed and the island is unambiguous; Pleiades 599872.
- Strongly supported
"Washed us" or "loosed us" from our sins? (Revelation 1:5): The two Greek words differ by one letter. KJV follows "washed us from our sins in his own blood"; the 和合本 reads 「用自己的血使我們脫離罪惡」, "loosed". The Pulpit Commentary calls both readings very well supported, though the evidence leans to "loosed".
- Plausible
John of Patmos is the apostle John, son of Zebedee.
Justin Martyr (Dialogue 81) and Irenaeus say so; Revelation itself never claims to be by an apostle, and Dionysius of Alexandria (in Eusebius, History 7.25) argued from its style that it was another John.
- Plausible
Revelation was written about AD 95, late in Domitian's reign.
Irenaeus (Against Heresies 5.30.3, c. AD 180) says John saw the vision “towards the end of Domitian's reign”; most scholars follow him. The letters assume settled churches with a history, which suits a later date.
- Plausible
An island of exile
Tertullian, Eusebius and others speak of John's exile; Roman relegation to islands is well attested (e.g. Tacitus, Annals 3.68), though no source names Patmos as a penal island.