John the Apostle

===Book of Revelation===
According to the [[Book of Revelation]], its author was on the [[Patmos|island of Patmos]] "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus", when he was honoured with the [[vision (religion)|vision]] contained in Revelation.<ref>{{bibleverse|Rev.|1:9}}</ref>

The author of the [[Book of Revelation]] identifies himself as "Ἰωάννης" ("John" in standard English translation).<ref name="ODCC Revelation, Book of">"Revelation, Book of." Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref> The early 2nd-century writer [[Justin Martyr]] was the first to equate the author of Revelation with ''John the Apostle''.<ref name="Justin">Justin Martyr, ''Dialogue with Trypho'', 81.4</ref> However, most biblical scholars now contend that these were separate individuals since the text was written around 100 AD, after the death of John the Apostle,<ref name="John"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D.|author-link=Bart D. Ehrman|title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford |location=New York |isbn=0-19-515462-2 |page=468 }}</ref><ref name=CHistoryIII39 /> although many historians have defended the identification of the Author of the Gospel of John with that of the Book of Revelation based on the similarity of the two texts.<ref>{{cite book|quote=other contemporary scholars have vigorously defended the traditional view of apostolic authorship.|page=26|title=The Book of Revelation For Dummies|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2011|isbn=9781118050866|first1=Richard|last1=Wagner|first2= Larry R.|last2=Helyer}}</ref>

[[John the Presbyter]], an obscure figure in the early church, has also been identified with the seer of the Book of Revelation by such authors as [[Eusebius]] in his ''Church History'' (Book III, 39)<ref name="CHistoryIII39">{{cite web|url= https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm |title=Church History, Book III, Chapter 39 |work=The Fathers of the Church |publisher=NewAdvent.org |access-date=22 June 2020}}</ref> and [[Saint Jerome|Jerome]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=saint|first1=Jerome|title=De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men) Chapter 9 & 18|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm|publisher=newadvent.org|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref>

John is considered to have been exiled to [[Patmos]], during the persecutions under Emperor [[Domitian]]. Revelation 1:9 says that the author wrote the book on Patmos: "I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, ... was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." [[Adela Yarbro Collins]], a biblical scholar at [[Yale Divinity School]], writes:
{{blockquote|Early tradition says that John was banished to Patmos by the Roman authorities. This tradition is credible because banishment was a common punishment used during the Imperial period for a number of offenses. Among such offenses were the practices of magic and astrology. Prophecy was viewed by the Romans as belonging to the same category, whether Pagan, Jewish, or Christian. Prophecy with political implications, like that expressed by John in the book of Revelation, would have been perceived as a threat to Roman political power and order. Three of the islands in the [[Sporades]] were places where political offenders were banished. (Pliny ''Natural History'' 4.69–70; Tacitus ''Annals'' 4.30)<ref>Adela Collins. "Patmos". ''Harper's Bible Dictionary''. Paul J. Achtemeier, gen. ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985. p755.</ref>}}

Some modern critical scholars have raised the possibility that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and John of Patmos were three separate individuals.<ref>[[C. Wilfred Griggs|Griggs, C. Wilfred]]. "John the Beloved" in [[Daniel H. Ludlow|Ludlow, Daniel H.]], ed. ''Selections from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism: Scriptures of the Church'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: [[Deseret Book]], 1992) p. 379. Griggs favors the "one John" theory but mentions that some modern scholars have hypothesized that there are multiple Johns.</ref> These scholars assert that John of Patmos wrote Revelation but neither the Gospel of John nor the Epistles of John. The author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself directly. Some Catholic scholars state that "vocabulary, grammar, and style make it doubtful that the book could have been put into its present form by the same person(s) responsible for the fourth gospel."<ref>Introduction. Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible: Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of All the Ancient Sources: including the Revised New Testament and the Revised Psalms. New York: Catholic Book Pub., 1992. 386. Print.</ref>