Theories on the composition of the Revelation of John

Adapted from my handwritten notes.

Aune (1) Single author, twelve semi-related tracts from the 50s and 60s CE, some possibly before they followed Jesus. (2) Same author, combined the tracts with minimal changes and bridges to connect them. (3) Same author, added 1-3 and 22, final book.

Beale Unified book.

Bousset (1) Parts of 7, 11-14, 17-18, 21-22. (2) Rest added, final book. (My notes are a bit sparse here, so I may not be representing this one correctly.)

Charles (My notes are also unclear here. The only thing I know for sure is Charles thought the author or editor of the Revelation was ‘stupid’, ‘ignorant’, and ‘celibate’.)

Erbes (1) Christian apocalypse, circa 40 CE, most of 12-13 and part of 14. (2) Apostle John, 62 CE, added large parts to the book. (2) Some other insertions and redactions, including most of 15-19, circa 80 CE, final book.

Ford (1) John the baptizer, 4-11. (2) John’s student, some knowledge of Jesus, 12-22. (3) Christian redactor, added 1-3 and some parts, final book.

Koester (1) Pre-70 parts of 7, 10-13, 17-18, 20-21. (2) Post-70 filled out 4-22, maybe parts of 1. (3) Domitian’s time or later, 1-3 and 22, final book.

Rauch (1) Jewish author, 62 CE, large parts of 4-7, 8-9, 11, 14, 16, 19-21, not all in order. (2) Expanded with five fragments of text, some as old as the 40s CE. (3) Christian redactor, 79-81 CE, added 1-3 and 22.

Rousseau (1) Five plagues from 16. (2) Post-70 Jewish (i.e. non-Christian) redactor added the ‘three woes’ in 9 and 11. (3) Jewish redactor added parts of 4, 7-8, 10, 22. (4) Christian redactor, part of 1, filled out 4-11 and 15-22. (5) Christian redactor added 1-3, parts of 21-22. (6) Added 12-14 and parts of 22, final book.

Sabatier (1) Jewish oracles in 11-14, 16-22, around 70 CE. (2) Christian redactor added the rest, around 96 CE, final book.

Smalley Unified book.

Stierlin A nightmare. I won’t type the full summary. Just trust me with this citation from Aune: ‘virtually worthless for scholarship’ and ‘difficult to justify’, because Stierlin ‘essentially atomized the text’ and ‘[ancients] simply did not work in the way that Stierlin’s reconstruction requires’.

Vischer (1) Jewish apocalypse in Hebrew. (2) Christian redactor added 1-3, parts of 5-7, 9, 11-21, most of 22, translated to Greek, final book.

Völter (1) John, 65 CE, parts of 1, 4-9, 11, 14, 19. (2) Same author, 68 CE, added parts of 10, 17-18, 11 arranged in that sequence. (3) Cerinthus, 69-79 CE, added parts of 12-13, 14, 15-16, 19-21. (4) Redactor, 81-96 CE, moved 17-18 to current position, with many other additions. (5) Redactor, 90-96 CE, filled out text, final book.

Weizsäcker (1) Seals, trumpets, bowls. (2) Same author, added the rest by using other sources, final book.

Weyland (1) Jewish apocalypse in parts of 10-15, 19-21. (2) Rest from a second Jewish apocalypse, but redacted by a Christian, final book.