When was Revelation written? There are only two possibilities for Revelation to have been written during a period of Roman persecution of Christians: during the reign of Nero (65-66 AD) or in the reign of Domitian (90s AD). Kenneth Gentry’s book Before Jerusalem Fell makes a strong case for Revelation being written during Nero’s reign. If Revelation was written during the reign of Nero prior to the destruction of the Jewish Temple, then Revelation can readily be seen (and somewhat easily understood!) as John's parallel to the "Mt. of Olives Discourse", dealing with the same sequence of events in a series of 7 highly-symbolic visions.

 

External Evidence (from sources outside the Bible)

 

1. One early church writer, Irenaeus, seems to indicate it was written in Domitian’s reign, though there are difficulties with translating the text, and he has a reputation among scholars as being unreliable regarding historical details.

 

2. Other factors would point to Revelation being written in Nero’s reign:

 

• John is on Patmos at the time of writing Revelation. (1:9). Tertullian and Photos speak of John being banished to Patmos during Nero’s reign.

• Clement of Alexandria affirms that John wrote Revelation, that all apostolic revelation ended in Nero’s reign, and that John went from Patmos to Ephesus “after the death of the tyrant”. He also gives some details of John’s many activities during the remainder of his life (such as chasing someone on horseback) that befit someone younger than the 75+ years of age John would have been when Domitian reigned).

• The Shepherd of Hermas, apparently written before 70 AD when some apostles were still alive, seems to have borrowed freely from the language and imagery of Revelation.

• The Roman writer Tacitus tells of Nero’s intense hatred and persecution of Christians (from 64-68), when Peter and Paul were martyred; the persecution under Domitian, by contrast, seems to have been much less severe.

 

Internal Evidence (Key passages of Revelation which point to a pre-70 AD writing and 1st Century fulfillment of most of Revelation):

 

1. Note the imminence (‘near’, ‘soon’) of the events described in Rev.1:1 and 3. Also note that this imminence is restated in Rev. 22:6-7, 10, 12, 20. If Revelation was written after 70 AD and is describing events primarily in the distant future, its message of comfort and hope for God’s actions ‘soon’ against the enemies of the 1st-century Christians was misplaced, even deceptive. If, however, Revelation was written during Nero’s reign and describes the events of the immediate future involving Nero’s persecution and suicide, the Jewish revolt, and the destruction of the Temple, ending the Old Covenant era, Revelation comes alive with relevance for the Christians of that time.

 

2. Rev. 1:7 is based on Zech.12:10, and, paralleling Mt. 24:30, places the focus on that generation and that “land”.

 

3. Rev. 3:10 speaks of  “the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world...” (Gk, ‘oikumene’ = Roman world, as in Lk.2:1, Acts 11:28, 24:5) ...to test those who live on the earth/land” (Gk. ‘ge’ =land, and routinely referring in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament commonly used in Jesus’ day to ‘The Promised Land’). This occurred in 68 AD, when Nero killed himself and the Roman Empire was then convulsed with civil wars, threatening its very survival. These events bolstered the Jewish rebels in their false belief that God was on their side, and made them even more resolute in their defiance of Rome, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

 

4. In Rev. 6 peace is taken from the Land, and Ezek.14:21 is fulfilled again (cf.v.8) regarding unfaithful Jerusalem. Soon the inhabitants of the land would be judged and the Christian martyrs would be avenged. The heavenly imagery parallels Mt. 24:29. The “kings of the land” will hide from God’s wrath (the wrath of the Lamb!), as in Lk.23:28ff, quoting from Hosea 10:8 about Israel. The “sealing” of chapter 7 mirrors Ezekiel 9 prior to the Babylonian conquest.

 

5. Rev.11: 1-2 suggests that the Jewish Temple was still existing as John writes (before it was destroyed in 70 AD).

 

6. The time periods of 42 months/1260 days (Rev.11:3, 13:5) = Nero’s persecution from Nov. 64 to his death in June 68, and/or some segment of the Jewish revolt, which began in 66 AD and ended in 70 AD).

 

7. Numerous ancient writers refer to a common rumor after Nero’s death that he would return to reign again, which is possibly reflected in Rev.13:3, 12, 14, though these passages may refer more generically to the fear that the Roman Empire died with Nero’s suicide, but then was revived under Vespasian.

 

8. The number 666 in Rev. 13:18 also points to Nero. The numerical value of Nero’s name in Greek does not equal 666, but for anyone who substituted the numerical value of his name in Hebrew, it does! Furthermore, a very early manuscript of Revelation has the number 616, the value of Nero’s name in Greek, suggesting that the danger associated with identifying Nero had then passed, so the identity of the Beast could be more openly made known.

 

9. Reference to the present reign of a 6th emperor (17:10) also points to Nero rather than Domitian.

 

10. Also, compare Rev. 22:10- “do not seal up...the time is near” (if still waiting for it to be fulfilled 2000+ years later?) with Dan.12:9, where “sealed until the time of the end” would be only the  c.500 years until the coming of Jesus to earth in the 1st century. Rev. 22:10 would clearly seem to suggest a time period of less than 500 years, and, in fact, so ‘near’ as to be expected in their lifetime.