The Apocalypse
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(revelation) — a prophetic book, the last of the New Testament books. The book was written by St. John the Theologian on the island of Patmos, to which he had been exiled by Domitian for his testimony concerning Jesus Christ; it consists of 22 chapters. On a certain Lord’s day, John was in the Spirit, and in this supernatural state of vision the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him and commanded him to describe, for the seven churches of Asia Minor, the visions that appeared to him (1:9–19), revealing to him the future fate of the Christian Church in various symbolic images.
The purpose of the revelation is to comfort believers amid persecution and dispel their anxious fears for the future of Christianity, against which both Jews (11:1–17) and pagans (11:18–19, 20) and false teachers (13:11–19) are arrayed on every side. Its subject is the war of the serpent, the ancient tempter, against the Lamb the Redeemer, the Lamb’s complete and final victory, and the future renewal of the whole world. The book concludes with the words: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”