Most modern scholars believe that Revelation was written after Ad 96 largely because the leader during that time was Domitian. This is documented by early historian, Irenaeus in Eusebius’s 5th book, chapter 8.
The view we will take in this article is that Revelation was written around AD 65 and was written to warn and encourage the Christians that Paul’s vision would soon happen. This would indicate that Revelation was meant to point to the fall of Jerusalem and not only an event 2000 years from then.
I will attempt to address why Revelation was written before AD 70 by using scripture and an assortment of other historians.
Concerns With Irenaeus & Evidence of Domitian’s Reign in AD 69
First, I’d like to point out some concerns with Irenaeus and using his one statement to determine the date of Revelation. The following is the excerpt from book 5 which is used to date Revelation:
“We, therefore, do not venture to affirm anything with certainty respecting the name of antichrist. For were it necessary that his name should be clearly announced to the present age, it would have been declared by him who saw the revelation. For it has not been long since it was seen, but almost in our own generation, about the end of Domitian’s reign.”
– Irenaeus, Works of Eusebius, Book 5, Chapter 8
While I will not fully discredit Irenaeus, one important fact to note is that Irenaeus lost credibility because he also stated that Jesus did ministry from the age of 30 to 50. This historical fact drastically changes history and makes many wonder why such an important fact is different.
Even if we say Irenaeus is correct, according to Frank Viola, Domitian was actually the emperor for a six month period between AD 69 and AD 70. This is verified by Ancient.eu:
“In December of 69 CE while Vespasian was battling in the eastern provinces in an attempt to secure the throne away from Emperor Vitellius, Domitian was in Rome with his uncle Flavius Sabinus. When Vitellius’s forces besieged Rome and set fire to the temple where Domitian was hiding, he was able to escape with a friend across the Tiber to safety.”
“When Flavian forces entered the city, Domitian returned to Rome becoming, albeit temporarily, the representative of the Flavian family; he was even hailed by Roman citizens as ‘caesar.'”
“Domitian remained unharmed in Rome, but on December 18 he took refuge in the Capitol with his uncle Flavius Sabinus, escaping into hiding when the Capitol was stormed by supporters of Vitellius. On the entry of his father’s supporters into Rome two days later he was saluted as Caesar, and he became praetor next year.”
10 Scripture Based Facts That Point To A Pre-70 AD Writing Of Revelation
The earliest dating of the New Testament is called the Syriac Manuscripts. These manuscripts state that Nero was the one who threw John on the Island of Patmos. Since Nero ruled from 54 – 68 AD, it stands to reason that Revelation was written prior to AD 70.
Revelation 17:10
“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”
Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius/Caligula, and Claudius had all fallen by this time. The remaining one is Nero, and the other who is yet to come would be Galba who only reigned for 6 months. Indicating this was liking written during the time of Nero.
Revelation 1:7
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
I want to place a focus on the part where it says “and they also which pierced him.” The life span of the adults who pierced him must make sense for this timeline to be accepted. According to John 19:34, Jesus was pierced by a “soldier” which is translated stratiōtēs meaning a common soldier. This would lead one to believe that the person who pierced Jesus was at least 20 years old (because that was the minimum age of a soldier at that time). When we know that Jesus died around 33 AD and the verse above refers to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, we can agree that about 37 years passed. If we do the math, any soldier between the ages of 20 and 30 would most likely be alive to “see him”.
While the average life expectancy during that time was 35, we have to keep in mind that included children who often died before ten. This skews the true demographic for those who made it past adolescence. With that in mind, most people could live to at least their 40’s or 50’s. Placing the date of revelation even at AD 90 would make these young soldiers at least 110 which is unheard of for that time.
Revelation 6 and 7
These passages depicts a large amount of persecution at the hands of the jews. If Revelation was dated after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 95, The majority of Jews would have been murdered and extremely spread thin. It’s estimated that 1.1 million people (a majority being Jews) died from either violence or famine. The reason the number is so high is due to Passover celebrations happening at that time which brought in Jews from all the known region. It thus makes no sense to say Jews were still persecuting Christians in AD 90 or after.
In the letters to the seven churches, the influence of the Judaizing heretics is mentioned. However, nearly all of them died in the fall of Jerusalem pointing to the fact that this must have been written prior to AD 70.
Revelation 11
This passage is written as if nothing has happened to the temple. One would think that the temple, being so important to history, would be mentioned if it had just been destroyed roughly 26 years prior.
Revelation 1:1, 1:3, 22:10, and 22:20
Each of these verses speak of how soon these things will take place. If we agree that the fall happened only five years after Revelation was written, this would make sense unlike 2,000 plus years. (see number 9 below for more on this)
Revelation 10:11
When we take a look at Jerome, an early church father, we see that he describes John as feeble and could almost not speak in AD 96. This doesn’t make sense when paired with Revelation 10:11 which indicates that God had much more planned for John.
Daniel 12:4
God tells Daniel to “conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time.” John, in a clear reversal, was told to unroll the scroll because the time was near. From Daniel to the fall was only 500 years and that was considered the “end of time.” So why would 5 years from Revelation to the fall not be considered soon?
7 Churches
Perhaps the most logical to myself is the existence of only 7 churches in Asia Minor after what is known as the “great expansion.” This makes no sense unless Revelation was written prior to AD 70 when the Church didn’t have it’s rapid expansion due to the massive persecutions from Roman emperors.
Using the scripture based evidence above and including the thoughts in the beginning, It seems logical and accurate to date Revelation prior to AD 70, and I would even state it was written around AD 65.
I’d love to hear your comments, challenges, and objections in the comments below!
Credit:
Ancient.Eu
Britannica.com
The End Times Podium
Understanding The Whole Bible, Doctor Jonathon Welton