I have found Elaine Pagels writing an interesting introduction to a subject I know little about. Pagels is a well known and respected Biblical scholar. She introduces us to The Book of Revelation written by John of Patmos which is filled with violence and damnation. I was interested to know the history behind such warnings of approaching apocalypse. In this respect Pagel's book does not disappoint. Her writing is somewhat dry, and I might have enjoyed the book more if the historical background and characters were fleshed out and made more human and interesting.
John of Patmos was writing some time after the Jewish war with Rome when the great temple was destroyed. He fled to the island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey. What surprised me was the amount of bickering amongst the early Christians. I did not know there were so many off-shoots and interpretations of the teachings of the early church fathers. John (who was not one of the original apostles) was angry at the gentile converts, mainly those followers of Paul of Tarsus, who seemed to be able to coexist with the Romans. John's brand of Christianity strictly followed Jewish dietary rules and dogma. There was so much anger in this man and his writing. The actual book of Revelation would rival a modern video game for the violence of its imagery.
It turns out there are many Books of Revelation, a number found at Nag Hammadi in the Egyptian desert in1945, along with the Gnostic Gospels (which is a fascinating story itself). How this particular book of John's became appended to the Bible forms a major thesis of the book. It all comes down to politics and the power of early bishops and their jockeying for supremacy and wealth in the ancient world. So it is a story not unlike today's: politics, politics, politics.
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