Stage 1

In stage one, ‘John of Patmos’ wrote a series of apocalyptic tracts across 60–90 CE, reacting to socio-political events. His predictions borrowed extensively from the Hebrew Bible, mixing and reimagining many elements from his sources. His later tracts assume a degree of familiarity with his earlier ones. John was not a Christian during this time.

Stage 2

In stage two, John decided to consolidate his tracts into a single document, around 85–100 CE. He drafted up a larger apocalyptic framework, with a complete narrative of its own, and decided on points to insert his tracts. The result was about double the length of the tracts on their own. Though he did make small modifications to his tracts for their new contexts, and likewise made adjustments to the apocalypse in the process of inserting the tracts, many of his editorial seams are still apparent. John had also become a Christian by the time wrote his apocalypse, so he made several interpolations to his tracts to accommodate his new christology.

Stage 3

In stage three, John had become more familiar with Christianity at large. Seeing that letters attributed to exalted leaders were recognized as having immense authority by other Christians, he decided to transform his own apocalypse into an epistle, around 95–110 CE. This included an epistolary salutation and conclusion, as well as exhortations directed at the reader. John made further modifications to his earlier material, and inserted several other passages to expand on his ideas. He also appears to have become familiar with the Gospel of Matthew, with its influences found in this layer. John’s christology had developed extensively, leaning into the identification of Jesus not only as the Anointed One, but as a preexistent being, God’s first creation.