Introduction to the Book of Revelation

Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.... And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

— A revelation from Jesus Christ to Moroni between 400 and 421 AD found in Ether 4:13-14, 16

[§1] The Apostle John and His Authorship of the Book of Revelation

The Revelation of St. John the Divine is the formal name for the last book of the New Testament.¹ John the Divine is also known as John the Beloved² and a son of thunder.³ In John's gospel, he modestly refers to himself in the third person⁴ as the other disciple⁵ and the disciple whom Jesus loved.⁶ John's name in Hebrew means Jehovah is gracious, or he that is favored of God.⁷

Before John was born,⁸ he was foreordained⁹ to be the only person¹⁰ authorized by God to write¹¹ the apocalypse¹² for the benefit of the ancient and modern world.¹³ The eschatological visions of Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, and Zechariah‒as well as Nephi in the Book of Mormon‒reveal only visionary fragments when compared to the fulness of visions found in the Book of Revelation. Having been foreordained to receive and record these visions, John was born with family connections and in circumstances that allowed him to fulfill this sacred mission.¹⁴ For example, John and Jesus were probably first cousins¹⁵ through John's mother, whose name was Salome.¹⁶ The mother of Jesus had a sister named Salome.¹⁷ If Salome was both Mary's sister and John's mother, then John the Beloved and Jesus Christ were first cousins. The connection is not certain,¹⁸ but if true this would explain why Salome traveled with and supported her nephew Jesus in his ministry.¹⁹ Her support of Jesus also gave aid to her son John and his older brother James.²⁰

James and John were the sons of Salome and their father Zebedee.²¹ Until their call to the ministry they worked as fishermen in the thriving business of their wealthy father.²² Two other future apostles, Peter and Andrew, were also partners in the same business.²³ The demands of this fishing business probably made it impractical for John²⁴ and the others to be formally educated at rabbinical schools.²⁵ Their lack of formal education and Galilean dialect sometimes led to unfair prejudices against them.²⁶

John met the Savior for the first time when he observed Christ's baptism.²⁷ Before this, John was a disciple of John the Baptist,²⁸ along with Peter, James, and Andrew.²⁹ After Christ's baptism, the four men traveled with Jesus for a short time before returning to their occupation as fishermen.³⁰ Several months later,³¹ however, Jesus called Peter and Andrew, and then James and John, to be fishers of men.³² After their formal call, the four men remained the constant companions of the Savior throughout his mortal ministry.³³

John may have been the youngest³⁴ of Christ's original twelve apostles.³⁵ Despite his apparent youth, John was taken into Christ's innermost circle of apostles with Peter and James.³⁶ They alone were privileged to witness several sacred events, including Christ's transfiguration and his atonement in the garden of Gethsemane.³⁷

When the Savior was arrested at Gethsemane, John followed from a distance.³⁸ He gained access to the palace where Jesus was taken³⁹ probably because John was personally acquainted with Caiaphas,⁴⁰ the Jewish high priest.⁴¹ These circumstances suggest that John was the only disciple to observe Christ's illegal trial before the Sanhedrin.⁴² The trial was conducted by Caiaphas,⁴³ after initial questioning by his father-in-law, Annas.⁴⁴

Just before Jesus died, he spoke to John from the cross and entrusted John with the care of his mother, Mary.⁴⁵ Entrusting Mary to John's care was unusual, if not unprecedented, since Mary had other sons‒the half-brothers of Jesus‒who were then living.⁴⁶

After Christ's death, John served in the First Presidency of the ancient church with his fellow apostles, Peter and James.⁴⁷ John was also the last living apostle to minister among the ancient saints.⁴⁸ He lived through deadly persecutions, including several attempts on his life.⁴⁹ He survived the physical threats on his life because the Lord promised John that he (John) would tarry in the flesh until Christ's Second Coming.⁵⁰

John was translated so that he could not die a mortal death.⁵¹ His translated condition allowed him to fulfill his mission as a flaming fire and ministering angel until Christ's Second Coming.⁵² This includes John's ministry among the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel, which John symbolically describes in Revelation chapter 10 as the little book mission.⁵³

Since John had a translated body, he truly was divine when he received and wrote the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation.⁵⁴ The word Divine was added to the title of John's book as an appellation no later than the twelfth century.⁵⁵ It means theologian,⁵⁶ revelator⁵⁷ or one who foresees.⁵⁸ John was both a seer and a revelator,⁵⁹ who foresaw future events through divine means.⁶⁰

In the Book of Revelation, John dutifully recorded the events of his apocalyptic visions in the Greek language, which was the universal language of his day.⁶¹ Today, people can read and study the Book of Revelation in many languages and through many social media platforms. The words of John the apostle, the revelator, and the Divine, exist in this day to unveil Jesus Christ in the lives of individual people and to prepare every person for Christ's future unveiling at the Second Coming.