John of Patmos

Revelation opens with a chain of revelation from God through Jesus Christ and an angel to His servant John. John addresses seven churches in the Roman province of Asia and describes himself as their brother and partner in tribulation, kingdom, and patient endurance in Jesus. He was on Patmos, a small Aegean island, 'because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus' when he received the opening vision of the risen Christ. He was commanded to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches. Throughout the book John functions as visionary witness, sometimes overwhelmed by what he sees and twice needing correction when he falls before an angel. The text does not call him 'John the apostle.' Early Christian tradition strongly associated Revelation with the apostle John, while questions about authorship have existed since antiquity. AVWJ can acknowledge that tradition without presenting the identification as an explicit statement of Scripture.