We know him by the books that he wrote and the stirring phrases which seem to leap out at us across the centuries: “In the beginning was the Word ......”; " In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”; “I saw a new heaven and a new earth ......”. He is the author of the book of Revelation and the Gospel which bears his name – Yochanan. He is also known as the “Beloved Disciple,” the youthful disciple “whom Jesus loved.” His thoughts and writings have changed the world more than most people realize, and it is high time that we consider the life of this remarkable individual in the light of what we know about the history and culture of his age. What we may discover may surprise us.
When examining the book of Revelation, we should recall that Yochanan the Priest began as a disciple of Yochanan haMatbil and may have been part of the Essene community in the desert of Qumran. For this reason, he would have been very attentive to the flight of the church into the desert, and his prophecies (assuming a very early date) would surely have encouraged the “Nazarenes” who fled Jerusalem. We should also consider that the Essene documents, the Dead Sea Scrolls, contain an apocalyptic work, which in many ways resembles the book of Revelation. It is called “The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness,” and it details a series of conflicts to be fought in the end of days between the people of God and the forces of evil – often identified as Rome. There is a certain mystical quality which links the Revelation of Yochanan with the Gospel of Yochanan, as well as with the Essene writings. For instance, it is interesting that the Essenes of old were referred to as celibate, and the multitude of the 144,000 described in Revelation are also celibate (Rev. 14:4). There is even a certain linguistic flavor that suggests that Revelation was originally a Hebrew document, subsequently translated into Greek.
But the most compelling evidence that this book was written by a priest and not by a Galilean fisherman are the many amazingly accurate references in the book to the Jewish Temple. In fact,the entire book is cast against the Temple worship, and in particular, the liturgy of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The twenty-four elders of Revelation 4:4 correspond to the twenty-four courses of the Temple priesthood, and the fact that they “bow down” (Rev. 4:10) relates to the fact that the priests prostrate themselves when the Divine Name was pronounced. The “silence in heaven for a half an hour” (Rev. 8:10) reflects on the fact that when incense was offered in the Temple, the people vacated the court and bowed in silent prayer.
But with all of Yochanan’s emphasis on Temple worship, the culmination of the book is a vision of the new Jerusalem, in which there is no Temple. The text stresses, however, that “.... the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple” (Rev. 21:22). This is the culmination of Isaiah’s ancient prophecy “that the whole earth will be full of the glory of the Lord.” (Isaiah 6:3).
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Personal Commentary
I am deeply indebted to Dr. Ken Hanson for his insights into who this somewhat mysterious character of the Bible is. During the course of this commentary, aided by Dr. Hanson’s research, we will point out several things that will show that Yochanan was not a Greek philosopher by any means, but a Jewish priest. As Dr. Hanson points out, once we understand this basic element of truth, we are open to a much greater understanding of the Word of God. This is one of the best examples I know of to demonstrate just how badly we need to be familiar with the Jewish roots of our faith.
