Religion and Theology

There have been a lot of views regarding the authorship of John, as scholars then and now have been arguing as to who was really the author of this book. Some contend that it was the Gnostic Cerinthus, while others argued it was John the brother of Jesus. While the book of Revelation was generally accepted as part of the Holy Bible, it remains controversial among many Christian intellectuals largely in view of its authorship. The writer of this prophetic book though, identified himself four times throughout the scripture as John. In chapter 1 1 it says, He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. Again in verse 4, he identified himself as John in his address to the seven churches. For the third time, he again identified himself as John who was in exile in Patmos. Finally, in 22 8, he identified himself as John who saw those things that he wrote.

Generally however, the authorship of the book has been ascribed to John the apostle of Jesus. Names such as Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen were just some of those that held this view. Hence, since it was John the apostle who was largely credited as the writer of this prophetic book, so this paper assumes it was indeed John the apostle who wrote it.

There were three identities by which we can know him. First, he identifies himself as a servant of God 11, second, as a brother of his readers in suffering and kingdom 19, and finally as prophet, 22 9 says he was with his brothers the prophets.  In terms of faith the man was obviously spiritually mature and deeply a believer of Jesus Christ. He identifies himself as one his brothers in their sufferings, reflecting that he was among the persecuted Christians. Given his relationship with his brothers it is quite safe to assume that he was a Christian Jew as his culture seemed to be the same with his brothers.

Date and place of authorship
Harrington and Harrington (1993) asserts that the strongest evidence for the date of revelation is the testimony of Irenaeus that the book was written in the reign of Domitian (p. 9) in 81-96 C.E. The issues facing the author and his listener was the wide spread persecution believed to have been orchestrated by the tyrannical Domitian in view of the imperial cult which he has fostered. What is going on in his church however may be difficult to determine since most of the literature talked of the wide spread persecution of Christians. So it was more likely that his church was also suffering from oppression and persecution. As to date of the activity however, there was no specific date mentioned but as Elwell (1996) stated, it is the eternal climax of the redemptive history as previewed by John (Bakers Evangelical Dictionary). Thus, while the date of actual activity may be unclear, it was quite evident that the John was standing near or at the end of time. The religious circumstances that provide the occasion for the writing of this document was obviously the visions which John has seen v.1, and it from there he wrote everything that he has seen and heard.

The epistle was written in Patmos. John narrates in verse 9 I John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God. In Johns introduction in 14, the community to which the epistle was directed was the seven churches situated in key cities in Asia. Each church according to the John faces different weaknesses which warrant for the writing of the epistle (1 4, 5). This influences what he says and does in a way that his writing was in the tone of warning and at the same time, of rewarding. Verse 8 for instance, strongly asserts that those who cowardly, unbelieving, the vile, the sexually immoral, the murderers, those who practice magic arts, idolaters, and all liars will not inherit it, rather their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

The concerns of the writer
The concern of people to whom he was speaking was diverse. There were those that were faithful such as the believers in the church of Philadelphia, but many as Boring (1989) noted were struggling with the issues of how the Christian witness could be made real and viable within the political and cultural life of a sophisticated urban population (p. 87). The audience of the people that John was writing was the seven spirits wherein his message come from, and Jesus Christ who is now presented in 21 1-9 as the who seated on the throne and the one who sees the struggle of his people for the sake of their faith, vv. 4, 5.

The author of revelation is communicating his message by calling on his reader to reevaluate their spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ as they have been found by the Holy Spirit guilty of sin. But in 21 1-9, the author has communicated his message by drawing on the prophecy of Isaiah. Here, he was emphasizing that his message was not a mere vision. It was a fulfillment of a prophecy made by Isaiah. From the way it looks, the author was drawing connection between Isaiahs prophecies and the coming of kingdom of God which was hereby identified by John in 21 1-9 as the new heaven or the new earth or the New Jerusalem or the Holy City. By this connection, John seemed to be telling the people that they better listen to the message because in the same way the Messiah has come to save his people, this time he will fulfill that salvation but he will also deny those who rejected him and those who are unbelievers. So it was a case of direct rebuked as well a message of encouragement.

The passage was a combination of narrative and epistolary. Kovacs Rowlands and Callow (2004) pointed out that the letter was similar to epistolary noting that during this time, epistolary was widespread (p. 52). The writing indeed was full symbolic actions and the use of metaphors and comparison. The writer draws a comparison of the old world with the new earth, the old earth being full of sin and chaos, and the new world of joy and peace. The symbolical description of John of the New Jerusalem in v.2 as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband was, as Dean (2009) suggests, the ushering of the restored order of creation, fulfilled with the reunion of heaven and earth into that perfect relationship as it was first found and only found in the Garden of Eden (p. 292).

The overwhelming theme of the passage is the coming down of the new earth or the New Jerusalem. While this was the focus of the activity, it was only reserved for them who overcomes v.7 the world, but those who will not will never inherit it. John seemed to have added particular emphasis on who will enter the new earth or the Holy City obviously to address the spiritual problems that each church was confronting, in connection with their faith in Jesus Christ. Thus in v. 7 he declares He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Verse by verse Analysis of Revelation 21 1-9
It is quite obvious that 21 1-9 is part of the larger context of the prophecy regarding the last days. Verse 1 for example is connected with Isaiahs prophecy in 65 17-25. The term new heaven and new earth as Isaiah stated, refers also to the New Jerusalem or the Holy City which was the heavenly place God reserves for the faithful.  Verse 2 describes the New Jerusalem as bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  The symbolic statement implies that it refers to the literal City of God described by John in vv. 10-14. This passage depicts the Holy City as the bride, the wife of Lamb. Verse 3 states Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. This official pronouncement that Gods dwelling place is now ready to accept the faithful believers connects to Jesus sixth words on the cross in John 19 30 declaring it is finished which means the work of salvation have been completed. Those who believe him and who put their trust on him can now enter the kingdom of God.

In verse 4 it says He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away is a symbolic divine gesture that in the new earth or the New Jerusalem, there is no more sorrow, no more pain, no more suffering, no more death but all peace and joy and abundance. This was confirmed by the statement in verse 6 which says to him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life is a metaphor concerning mans relationship with God. Verse 5 was again another declaration. God said, I am making everything new Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. First, God declares everything will be new. This declaration correspond to the Old Testament wherein God did not allow Israelites above 20 years old to enter the Promised Land. Those 20 years and below represents purity and they were not contaminated by the adult Israelites sins. Second, the angel commanded John to write the message to emphasize for those to whom the message was written.

In verse 6, John records another divine declaration. He wrote, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. This declaration implies important spiritual truth about Gods promise. It implies eternity for the faithful. Here the spring of the water of life seemed to be the replacement of the tree of life mentioned in the Garden of Eden. What is important however is, the believer can live eternal life with God as promised in various biblical text such as John 316, 17 Luke 19 6 and so on. Verse 7 which say, He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son was a confirmation and encouragement that sacrifices and hardship caused by the widespread persecution on account of the believers faith will earn them entry into the kingdom of God. Verse on the other hand was terrifying. It says But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liarstheir place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. The passage simply says that these kinds of people will never ever inherit kingdom. The passage connects to the warning earlier in the seven churches to wake up and repent of their sins in chapters 1-3. Finally, verse 9 tells us about the content of the seventh bowls held by the seventh angel.  Verse 9 says it contains the seventh plagues but the focus was shifted to the heavenly activity right after its contents were poured out by the angel. As we see it,  God allows John to have a close preview of the City of God which he later described in greater details in the succeeding verses.

Conclusion
Revelations 21 1-9 depict Gods consistency in his plan of salvation for the human race. In this passage, God explicitly revealed to John the blue print of the end of time wherein he has seen clearly, that God has reserved a particular world for those who remain faithful till the end. The passage connects with the statement of Jesus Christ in John 14 1, 2 where he promised that in his fathers house where many rooms and he is going there to prepare a place for them. Finally, the passage was part or the beginning of the culmination of the activities that started in chapter 4 where the angel revealed to John what is going to take place soon. The importance of all this revelation however is for everyone of us to be seriously concern on importance on our faith in God knowing that soon, we will all face God for judgment. The new heaven and the new earth is open for everyone, but everyone who wants to enter should be willing to face what ever it may costs him or her.