Few today would contest the claim that the book聽of Revelation聽has always been one of the most controversial books in the New Testament聽canon, and its reception by the early church was equally complicated. The story of Christ鈥檚 revelation聽to the Apostle聽John聽and its eventual acceptance into the New Testament聽canon聽of scripture is a fascinating one.
John opened the letter by stating his name and mentioning that he was in exile on the island of Patmos because of his Christian beliefs.
The process of mixing symbolic and literal images quickly becomes confusing and ultimately divisive. Few, if any, readers could come to a consensus or unity of faith. This study suggests that all of John鈥檚 images are symbolic and not literal, except for Christ鈥檚 direct comments and instructions to John.
The concept of parallelism聽maintains that John鈥檚 vision聽doesn鈥檛 necessarily relate events in chronological order but repeats the same theme three times, describing it with different illustrations each time, much like looking at different sides of the same building.