There has been some confusion over this, due to the fact that John does not designate himself as an apostle and when mentioning them does not include himself in that group. Rather he claims to be a prophet and his book to be a prophecy. However, the early church as well as early theologians claim the author as John the Apostle. In 480 AD five passages written by Iraneous mentioned John specifically as the author, and in the middle of the 2nd century Justin Marty quoted verbatim "attributing the authorship to John, an apostle of Christ." (Tenney). In researching the fourth gospel and the book of Revelation similarities do occur showing the book to be written by the same person. A prime example being that the only mention of Jesus as logos in the entire bible exists in these two books. If this book was not written by John the Apostle, it was written by a John never before heard of or mentioned. Given these facts and the past statements of christian writers it is highly likely that the book of Revelation was in fact written by the apostle John, and is agreed upon by most scholars today. The word revelation or apocaylpse has two distinct meanings. In Latin "Revelatio" means unveiling and in Greek "apokalypsis means the removing of a veil. The purpose of this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ and the final judgement of the word of God. "The coming of sin into the world, the establishment of the economy of redemption, has necessitated the making known of truths not made known by general revelation. Therefore, God has given the special revelation brought to us in the Holy Scriptures. The scriptures reiterate the truths proclaimed in nature, in history, and in man himself; and, in addition thereto, declare the salvation which God has provided for mankind in Jesus Christ." (Unger 922). In retrospect, revelation unveils God's future plan for the earth and is written to be understood. Clearly the book of Revelation is the ultimate battle between good and evil.
