But here arises the greatest difficulty, which theologians have not yet solved. That elder, a presbyter, the author of the Gospel of John and the Epistles of John, wrote something other than the Apocalypse. It is clear that either there was another co-author here, or, at least, many years passed between the writing of one and the other, perhaps some significant events took place. The most important thing is what can be said with certainty: both the Apocalypse and the Johannine writings – the epistles and the Gospel – came out of the same circle. This is evidenced by a very important dictionary feature, a common phraseology: the opposition of light and darkness, the name "Lamb of God", which is very often repeated both in the writings of John and in the Apocalypse, make them related. It is conceivable that these writings came from the circle of John's disciples, and I believe that he may well have written the Apocalypse himself, precisely at the time of the Jewish war. Here in the text there are no signs that the Temple has been destroyed. John could have written this soon after the beginning of the persecution of Nero, after the first Christian sacrifices in the circus arena in Rome, after other tragic events of Nero's time.

Where he wrote this is evident from the book itself: it speaks of the island of Patmos. The dating of the book is still disputed, but it was written at least not earlier than the Nero persecution in 64 and not later than the Domitian time - 95. Somewhere at this time, give or take 10-15 years, the book appeared. It is important for us that this book was written by the prophet John, one of the disciples of the Lord, written by inspiration and recognized by the Church as an adequate expression of our common faith, as the word of God. And whether it was written by John alone or by another John—I think that there were many disciples of Christ who could bear this common name—is another question. After all, in the times of the Gospel, in addition to the seventy disciples, He had five hundred more. It is known that there was a certain disciple Aristion, there was John the presbyter – all the disciples of the Lord.

1

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. And He shew, sending it through His angel to His servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and what he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy, and keepeth that which is written therein; for the time is at hand.

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is, and was, and is to come, and from the seven spirits that are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is a faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him, Who loved us, and washed us from our sins with His blood, 6 and made us kings and priests to His God and Father, glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.

7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him; and all the families of the earth shall weep before him. Yes, amen.

8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, who is, and was, and is to come, the Almighty.

9 I, John, your brother, and partaker in tribulation, and in the kingdom, and in the patience of Jesus Christ, was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the spirit on the Sabbath day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; 11 Write the things which thou seest in a book, and send them to the churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.

16 And he held seven stars in his right hand, and out of his mouth went forth a sharp sword on both sides; and His face is like the sun, shining in its power. 17 And when I saw him, I fell down at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, and said unto me, Fear not; I am the First and the Last, 18 and the living; and he was dead, and behold, he is alive for ever and ever, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and death. 19 Write therefore what thou hast seen, and what is, and what shall come to pass after this. 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou hast seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden candlesticks, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou hast seen are the seven churches.

Comment

So, let's start reading. Open. 1, 1 is the name. "The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him" is a special phrase that means that it is a revelation that comes through Christ, because He Himself was the highest revelation of the Divine in the world. "Soon" is a purely apocalyptic biblical term. For God, this can mean a thousand years or tens of thousands of years. The history of the world, which dates back hundreds of millions and billions of years, in comparison with the history of mankind, shows how brief everything that happened. And if God says "soon," then even if all this happens in a million years, from the divine point of view it will be "soon."

Open. 1, 1–2. Christ sent "through His angel to His servant John" – this is not necessarily meant to mean the appearance of an Angel, as we usually imagine it; An angel always designates any intermediary between heaven and earth. "Slave" means a minister, and we must understand this word in connection with the fact that Christ says, "You are not slaves, but sons." And the ancient biblical term "ebed", "slave", means "servant", "servant", "youth", as it is sometimes translated into Slavonic. And this brings a completely different shade, a different semantic coloring, because for us a slave is always something humiliating, and Christ rejects such a name for us, but we use the words "servant of God", putting into them the old biblical meaning – "God's servant". Next comes a small introduction.

Open. 1, 3. This is a kind of dedication to readers. "Prophecy" in this case does not simply mean a prediction of the future, although some believe that the Apocalypse is reduced to simply such a prediction and, therefore, was not written for all times, but only for a certain time, say, for our own or later. But "prophecy," from the biblical point of view, is the proclamation of God's will through man, which is why it is said here — "those who keep what is written in it," that is, in prophecy. After all, no prediction can be observed, it is precisely the will of God, expressed in words.

Open. 1, 4–5. Continuation of the initiation. Asia is a Roman province that covers most of Asia Minor; Why does the author address the seven churches? There are many more churches in Asia, they were planted by the apostles Peter and Paul. But in order to depict the fullness of the universal church, John takes the seven churches, the seven main churches of Asia Minor. Seven is an ancient sacred number that denotes completeness. Obviously, these are the churches that are more subordinate to him, in which he asceticized, with which he was familiar. "From Him who is, and was, and is to come" is a continuation of the interpretation of the name of God given in the book of Exodus. When Moses asked the Lord, "What is your name?" The Lord said: "I am Who I will be." This strange phrase for us is translated as "Being". "I am Who I am," that is, "Time, eternity, all existence belongs to Me." And the Apostle John attaches to this definition of God, who owns the past, present, and future, that is, everything that exists in the world, an eschatological meaning; the future belongs to God in some special, specific sense, the future that He will possess completely, over which He will reign.