This book is sometimes called "The Revelation of St. John the Divine,"
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ," "The Revelation,"
"The Apocalypse," "The Revelation of John," or "The Revelation to John." It is the final book in the
Christian Scriptures (New Testament) and thus concludes the Bible. The
Greek title of the book translates as the "Apocalypse of John." The
Greek word "apokalypsis," from which the English word apocalypse was
derived, means "revelation, disclosure or unveiling."
Opinions differ about the significance of this book:
Many Christian liberals and progressives point out that Jewish
apocalyptic writings were quite common during the 1st centuries
BCE and CE, and always referred to
a massive, imminent change expected to occur in the author's very near future.
Such Christians often interpret the prophecies in Revelation to refer only to
the world during the late 1st century and early 2nd century CE.
Many
conservative Christian individuals and groups have used the contents of
this book to predict a wide range of
dates for the end of the world in their future.
So far, they have one factor in common: none have come true.
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