Sitting at the edge of the Christian canon the Book of Revelation has puzzled readers for centuries. Even early interpreters wondered whether it should be called a "revelation" given its otherworldly imagery and puzzling pronouncements. Understood within the tradition of Jewish apocalyptic writing and in relation to its first-century Roman context, Revelation can be understood as an "unveiling" of what John, the author, believes to be the corrupt, even evil, nature of Roman power. However, in calling his audience to resist the "whorish" appeal of Rome, John engages and even replicates the dominant social discourses of his day.