John The Revelator

Probably not John the apostle, certainly not John the elder (writer of John and epistles), nor John the Baptist. John was a common name, used of many leaders of the early church. The style of Revelation is so different compared to any other NT writing, on the surface I would need some evidence that it was another John who wrote it.

The evidence comes from an early church tradition (Justin Martyr), who claims that the author of Revelation is the same as the apostle John. However, there is an alternative tradition (Tertullian) that says that the apostle John died as a martyr before the time of John of Patmos. Given the mixed tradition, and the huge difference between writing styles, I think that John the Prophet is someone else.

Hebrew—Yohan. John is a prophet of Asia Minor, connected with the seven churches that he sends the letter to.

Amazingly enough, the Anchor Bible commentary recommends John the Baptist as the author of Revelation. I find this amazing. Yes, there is a lot of connection to the Hebrew Scriptures, but John the Baptist? Who didn't have this much information about Jesus? Who died before Jesus died? I don't think so.