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It’s not just about the end of the world -

Many people believe the Book of Revelation is just an apocalyptic account of what’s about to come. But the author of the book, John, was more preoccupied about the second coming of Christ.

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It’s not just about the end of the world -

John lived through a tragic episode of history in 70 CE, when the Romans pretty much wrecked Jerusalem. Jesus was supposed to return and kick the Romans' butt and take revenge for his death and the persecution of Christians.

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It’s not just about the end of the world -

This sort of anti-Roman propaganda kept Christians believing that their lord and savior would return in their lifetime. Indeed, how do you keep Christians motivated to, well, remain Christians? Tell them a fascinating story.

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The Apocalypse could be the script of a horror movie -

Some parts of the Book of Revelation are seriously violent. This is particularly true for the Apocalypse. Let’s start with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. More specifically, the horses they were riding.

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -

Revelation 9:17-19 offers some insight as to how these “horses” looked like: “The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.” Scary, right? But there’s more!

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -

“The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.” No one would want to mess with those horses!

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It gets really bad for humankind -

They get boiled alive by the Sun, are hit by giant hailstones, and then the Sun goes black and the Moon turns to blood. Oh, and then the stars fall from the sky and there is an earthquake as well. Bad times, indeed!

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It gets even more bizarre -

There's an account of locusts whose “faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.” They also had a sting like scorpions but were not allowed to kill anyone. Instead, they would torture people for five months. How twisted is that?

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Revelation made it to the Bible because of one man -

It took a few years for an official collection, known as the Bible, to be put together. Among the many books considered, there was, of course, the Book of Revelation. Athanasius was one the most influential priests in the process.

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Revelation made it to the Bible because of one man -

While many other scholars and priests dismissed Revelation, Athanasius saw it as a powerful weapon to use against anyone who would go against the Church. Despite being deposed and exiled five times during his career as a bishop, his opinion was somehow credible enough for the book to be included in the New Testament.

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Who wrote the Book of Revelation? -

There is some debate as to which John actually wrote Revelation. There are actually five men named John in the Bible, one of them Jesus’ apostle and the author of one of the Gospels.

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Who wrote the Book of Revelation? -

The use of similar words has contributed to the case for those who believe the author of the Book of John and the Book of Revelation are the same. But not everyone shares that opinion.

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Who wrote Revelation, after all? -

In addition to other theological differences, John the apostle mentions his own name several times in his book, but doesn’t do so in Revelation, which, well, was just not his style apparently.

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Who wrote Revelation, after all? -

Both authors refer to Jesus as the lamb, but they use different Greek words for the animal. Plus, the Greek itself is written in a much more polished way by the apostle. The author of Revelation doesn't seem to be a native speaker.

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The author was not your average Christian -

Christianity was divided into many factions back then, and John was likely a Jew who saw Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

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John’s hardline views -

The author gives numerous hints in the book. For instance, he was not in favor of gentiles (non-Jews) becoming followers of Jesus without following the rules set out in the Torah.

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John’s hardline views -

John certainly was not a fan of churches accepting gentiles either, and even called one a "synagogue of Satan."

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666 has nothing to do with Satan -

Most of us associate the number 666 with the devil. But Revelation 13:18 reads: "This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."

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666 has nothing to do with Satan -

But this is not the number of the devil. It is, in fact, the number of a person, as described in Revelation. Scholars believe that the person is Emperor Nero.

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How was the calculation made? -

This was obtained using the Hebrew numerology of gematria (a Jewish form of numerology that assigns values to letters).

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Why Nero? -

Nero was really, really mean to Christians. Burn-Christians-alive type of mean. So he was a prime candidate for the title of the beast.

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And how about the mark of the beast? -

The mark of the beast mentioned in Revelation 13:16-17 is believed to be a reference to Roman coins or imperial stamps.

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When doomsday didn’t come -

There have been numerous failed predictions of the Apocalypse based on Revelation. These included that of Scottish mathematician John Napier, who predicted the world would end in 1688 or 1700.

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When doomsday didn’t come -

Then German clergyman Johann Bengel predicted that the world would start to go downhill in 1836.

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Failed doomsday predictions -

But there are also more modern examples, such as the Branch Davidian cult, whose members tragically died in what became known as the Waco massacre in Texas, in 1993. More recently, end-times conspiracy theorist David Meade also missed the doomsday date in both 2017 and 2018.

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There’s more apocalyptic books -

There are other Jewish apocalyptic writings. IV (or 4) Ezra, also known as the Apocalypse of Esdras, gives the Book of Revelation a run for its money.

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You can visit the place where Revelation was written -

John's location can be found in Revelation 1:9. He was supposedly writing from the Greek island of Patmos.

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You can visit the place where Revelation was written -

There is actually a cave, surrounded by a monastery, that is believed to be the place where the author penned the book. Though there is actually no proof, it was deemed important enough to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Revelation influenced America's Middle East policy -

Evangelicals have a big influence in US politics and many see the state of Israel as part of the prophecy set out in Revelation. After all, before Jesus returns, Jewish people have to return to Israel and consequently accept Christ as their savior.

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Different interpretation of events -

Preterism views the events in Revelation as something that had already happened when it was written. This would have happened sometime between the ministry of John the Baptist and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

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Different interpretation of events -

Those who have a futurist interpretation, however, believe the apocalypse is yet to come. And then we have historicism, which interprets the events as already happening. After all, the horsemen brought conquest, war, famine, and death. Coincidence?

Sources: (Grunge)

See also: The Book of Revelation: one of the oldest records of apocalyptic predictions

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