Apocalypticism was introduced into Asia Minor after 70 ce (the fall of Jerusalem), and c. 80–90 a prophetic circle was formed near Ephesus. Its leader was John, a prophet, who might well have been the author of Revelation, which is deeply steeped in apocalyptic traditions. The “Johannine circle” bearing the tradition of John, the Apostle of the Lord, and from which emerged the Gospel and letters bearing his name, might have been a continuation of the prophetic conventicle of Ephesus in which John was prominent. The various writings do not have to be consistent except in their basic faith in Jesus Christ; and, as the situations to which they addressed themselves were different, different styles and content were required. The seer was probably involved in an actual historical situation in the late 80s under Domitian, a time when there was open conflict between the church and the Roman state. There is a tradition supported by Irenaeus, a 2nd-century bishop of Lyons, that in this persecution punishment was death or banishment. John’s prominence might have led to banishment to Patmos, an isle off the coast of Asia Minor, from his homeland in or around Ephesus. From Patmos he wrote a circular letter to the churches in Asia.

Though the style of Revelation is certainly eclectic in form and content, containing elements of a heavenly epistle and with more than three-fourths of the rest made up of prophetic-apocalyptic forms from varied sources, it reflects a systematic and careful plan. Even the apocalyptic, however, is “anti-apocalyptic” in that the seer’s message is open and the mysteries serve not to conceal but to heighten what is seen and to be expected. Apocalyptic schemata and motifs are, however, used toward this purpose, and allegorical incorporation of sources is more a demonstration of the true, ultimate message than a literary device. Blurred images (e.g., God, Christ, and angels; chiliastic [1,000-year] eras and temporal duplications; as well as interpretations) are part of the apocalyptic style, but a current concrete historical situation is the foundation. Revelation is written in fantastic imagery, blending Jewish apocalypticism, Babylonian mythology, and astrological speculation. It is pictorial, dramatic, and poetic.

Revelation contains long sections characterized by Greek that is grammatically and stylistically crude, strangely Hebraized to give a unique, almost Oriental, colour. This may have been deliberate. Although Revelation is replete with Old Testament allusions, there are no direct quotations, and this may reflect the seer’s conviction that the work is a direct revelation from God. In other sections the poetry of Revelation might stem from the seer’s experience in the heavenly throne room of God, from hearing the hymns of the angelic host, or from his recollection on Patmos of the liturgical practice of the church. The image of the Bride and wedding feast together with the “Come, Lord Jesus!” have associations with the eucharistic liturgy of the early church.

The recapitulations of the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls may be deliberate schematization. The purpose of such repetition and increasing revelation can be a way of heightening enthusiasm to encourage the church.

Mysterious numbers and divisions (such as 7, 3, 12) recur and are part of the theme of assurance, because God has numbers in their order as a sign of his plan of salvation, turning chaos to orderly cosmos. The mysterious name of the first beast, 666, in 13:18, can be calculated by “gematria,” assigning their numerical values to letters of the word and summing them up. The most adequate solution is Nero (the numerical value of the Hebrew letters for Caesar Neron equals 666), a demonic Nero redivivus (revived), who returns from the dead as Antichrist. Astronomy and astrology have also been applied to Revelation in terms of the signs of the zodiac or a calendar of feasts and seasons as keys to understanding its structure, because it is God who orders the times and seasons.

Two witnesses described in chapter 11 have been assumed to be Elijah and Moses, Peter and Paul, or simply two examples of martyrs through whom God shows his punishment of the wicked and vindication of the righteous to his glory. There are strong martyrological themes throughout Revelation, and it seems to stand on the border line of the point at which the word witness (martys) became a technical term for a witness unto death, or martyr. The cosmic battle in heaven is fought by those willing to give their lives, who mix their blood with the blood of the Lamb, whose blood “ransomed men for God.” The writer of Revelation based his hope for the church on perseverance, on endurance even to death, and on what the future will bring when the church will live with the glorified Christ, slain as a lamb. The harlot of Babylon will be destroyed and the church will endure; Babylon falls and the new Jerusalem, the city of God that is to come, is depicted in all its glory. These are the hopes to strengthen the persecuted church, assurance that God will soon triumph. With trumpet call and heavenly voices there is the joyful promise that “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”