Die Offenbarung Johannis – Eine astronomisch-historische Untersuchung (The Revelation to John - An astronomic historical Investigation) is the title of the German edition of the 1905 book by the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n astronomer Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov

Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov

Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov was a known Russian revolutionary who spent about 25 years in prison before turning his attention to various fields of science.- Revolutionary activities :...

.

In the month of March in 1907 the Russian astronomer Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov

Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov

Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov was a known Russian revolutionary who spent about 25 years in prison before turning his attention to various fields of science.- Revolutionary activities :...

 (Николай Александрович Морозов, 1854–1946) published the book "Revelation within Thunderstorm and Tempest. History of the Apocalypses Origin." (After an intervention of the Orthodox clergy, the book was placed on the index in the following year.) In his book Morozov makes the case that the Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

 is describing the astronomical constellation over the island of Patmos

Patmos

Patmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,984 and an area of . The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level. The Municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of Arkoi ,...

 on Sunday, September 30, 395 (Julian year). Morozov presumes that the highly educated John was capable to calculate the Saros cycle

Saros cycle

The saros is a period of 223 synodic months , that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One saros after an eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon return to approximately the same relative geometry, and a nearly identical eclipse will occur, in what is referred to as an eclipse cycle...

 and, therefore, did observe the sky on this day in attendance of a solar eclipse.
(This eclipse did occur indeed - over South America, however).

Morozov's claims

1. The weekday of the event is named explicitly:

• Rev. 1,10: I was in the Spirit on Sunday...

2. The description of the skies starts quite systematically at the pole with a constellation named Throne (today: Ursa Minor):

• Rev. 4,2: And a throne was set in heaven...

3. The text continues mentioning the Milky Way and the signs of the zodiac

Zodiac

In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...

 denoting the four seasons: Lion, Taurus, Sagittarius and Eagle (today: Aquarius):

• Rev. 4,6-7: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

4. The four horses were interpreted by Morozov as traditional metaphors for the planets Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Saturn. The constellations Sagittarius, Perseus, Libra and Scorpion were sitting on them:

• Rev. 6,2: And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow;
• Rev. 6,4: And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
• Rev. 6,5: And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
• Rev. 6,8: And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.

5. Sun and Moon were named explicitly. The only female character within the zodiac is Virgo:

• Rev. 12,1: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

6. As a Harlot, the planet Venus will be blamed, eventually. Venus, the symbol of female eroticism, united with the red star Antares (Anti-Mars) within the constellation Scorpion:

• Rev. 17,3-4: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.

The description within the Book of Revelation matches exactly the
Constellation for the Julian date 30-9-395.
! width="3%" |
! width="15%" |Figure of Rev.
! width="12%" |Assignment
! width="15%" |Constellation
! width="10%" |~Right asc.
! width="8%" |Body
! width="15%" |Right ascension
! width="10%" |Declination
|-
| 1
| Sun
| Woman (dress)
| Virgo
| 12h - 14h
| Sun
| 12h 27m 56s
| -3° 02.9
|-
| 2
| Moon
| Woman (feet)
| Virgo
| 12h - 14h
| Moon
| 12h 19m 00s
| -2° 50.5
|-
| 3
| White horse
| Bow
| Sagittarius
| 16h - 18h
| Jupiter
| 17h 56m 56s
| -24° 01.5
|-
| 4
| Pale horse
| Death
| Scorpion
| 14h - 16h
| Saturn
| 14h 40m 40s
| -13° 45.5
|-
| 5
| Dark horse
| Balances
| Libra
| 12h - 14h
| Mercury
| 13h 52m 38s
| -14° 54.5
|-
| 6
| Red horse
| Swordsman
| Perseus / Aries
| 00h - 02h
| Mars
| 00h 59m 38s
| +3° 31.2
|-
| 7
| Woman / Whore
| Red beast
| Antares, Scorpion
| 14h 55m
| Venus
| 14h 54m 50s
| 18° 22.9>
Right ascension

Right ascension

Right ascension is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. The other coordinate is the declination.-Explanation:...

 and Declination

Declination

In astronomy, declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, but projected onto the celestial sphere. Declination is measured in degrees north and...

 for the island of Patmos at 15:00 UTC on this day were calculated using the program Yoursky. (Due to precession R.A. of the stars has been shifted since 395).

Sun, Moon and the 3 outer and 2 inner planets will produce 3.732.480
combinations within the 12 signs of the zodiac (12⁵ × 5 × 3).
Therefore, an accidental match is quite unlikely.

At this point criticism on Chronology

Chronology

Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...

 begins: Common understanding says, referring to
Irenaeus

Irenaeus

Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...

 (Haer. V,30,3), that the Revelation to John has been written down near the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian

Domitian

Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...

(81-96).
Consequently, either the Revelation has been dated some three centuries too old, or the reign of Domitian has.

Literature

• Nikolai A. Morozov: "The Revelation to John - An astronomic historical Investigation" (Die Offenbarung Johannis – Eine astronomisch-historische Untersuchung, 223 pages, Stuttgart 1912.)
• Nikolai A. Morozov: "Revelation within Thunderstorm and Tempest. History of the Apocalypses Origin." (Откровение в грозе и буре. История возникновения Апокалипсиса. СПб.: Былое, 1907.)