As humans read any novel of literature work, it is important to understand the historical context to be better prepared to analyze the meaning of the work. Since Revelation is the last book of the Bible and one of the most difficult to understand, the modern reader must primarily understand how the historical context contributes to the unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism in writing. In order to primarily begin to understand the Book of Revelations, we must first recognize the author. The author of the book of Revelations is “a Christian from Ephesus known as John the Elder, who was exiled to the island of Patmos as a martyr for his Christian faith” (PBS). Ephesus was both the capital of the Roman province of Asia and one of the earliest