The Onomastic Thread: Names and Naming in the Apocalypse of John

The Apocalypse of John is knit together with an onomastic thread, woven around nodes of names and name-centred actions. This article analyses John’s use of names—including human, angelic, divine, and demonic ones—along with essential name-based activities, like writing, inscribing, branding, and blaspheming. Through this analysis, the article illuminates the key roles played by names and onomastic actions in Revelation and shows how names function as a central, though underappreciated, motif in John’s text. After analysing human names, divine and angelic names, and the names of divine enemies in Revelation, the article examines the actions done to, by, with, and because of names. Finally, it concludes by exploring the implications of John’s ‘onomastic thread’, including how names function as a symbolic currency in Revelation.