The Revelation was given in Patmos, one of the group of the Sporades, a small, rocky, and irregularly shaped island, some ten miles long by five miles wide, lying in the Ægean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, about sixty miles from Ephesus and thirty-five miles from Miletus,[37] to which John was banished “for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. According to tradition offenders of rank were banished to this island under the Roman Empire to work in the mines and marble quarries; and the Apostle John perhaps shared in this harsh lot during his imprisonment, as asserted by Victorinus in his commentary, the earliest work on the Apocalypse, written [pg 033] toward the close of the third century. The chief feature of the modern island is the Monastery of St. John, founded in A. D. 1088, which lies a mile and a half south of La Scala, the landing place; while halfway up the hillside a grotto, known as the cave of the Apocalypse, is pointed out as the traditional place where the visions of the book were seen. The natural scenery of the island is rugged and the view of the sea and of the neighboring islands very fine, which may have contributed somewhat to the imagery of the book, as has been suggested by different travelers.[38] The content of the visions was doubtless committed to writing soon afterward, and probably while John was still a prisoner in Patmos, though the general work of authorship may have been done later at Ephesus.[39]
7. The Canonicity.
The right of the Book of Revelation to a place in the New Testament Canon is well attested both historically and by internal evidence. The historical evidence is especially complete, and is regarded by some as stronger than that of any other book in the New Testament:[40] the objections have all arisen from the internal evidence, which has been differently estimated by different minds.
The Historical Evidence covers the question both of authorship and of canonicity,—for these cannot well be separated, since the apostolic authorship carried with it for the early church the canonicity also—and it may be briefly stated as follows, viz:—
(1) Papias (circ. A. D. 130). Bishop of Hierapolis, “the hearer of John”, and “the companion of Polycarp”, regarded it as authoritative, and is the first to attest it, though he does not affirm its apostolicity. We are indebted for his testimony to Andreas of Cappadocia (about the end of the fifth century), who refers to Papias along with Irenæus and others, and quotes from a work by Papias his comment on Rev. 12:7-9. In this early witness of its canonicity we can scarcely conceive of [pg 034] Papias being mistaken, and his testimony is of great value.
(2) Justin Martyr (circ. A. D. 140) says it was written by “a certain man whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ”. This testimony is within fifty years of the later date assigned to the book, and seventy-five years of the earlier one, and is therefore of special importance; and there is no hesitancy in affirming that the author was “one of the apostles of Christ”.
(3) According to Eusebius, Melito, Bp. of Sardis (circ. A. D. 170), wrote a lost work on “the Revelation of John”; also two other bishops, Theophilus of Antioch, and Appolonius of Ephesus (both before the close of the second century), cited from it in their writings.
(4) In a letter from the churches of Lyons and Vienne (circ. A. D. 177) the Revelation is cited, and is described as “sacred Scripture”.
(5) Irenæus (circ. A. D. 180) defends its apostolic authority, and asserts frequently and positively that the Apocalypse was written by “John, a disciple of the Lord”.