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Revelation – The Date
There are two main dates for Revelation: (1) the early, A.D. 64-68 during Nero’s reign; the late date , A.D. 91-96 while Domitian was Caesar. The majority date the book of Revelation in the A.D. 90’s because Domitian exiled John to Patmos according to tradition. Those who take the early date often emphasize the internal evidence that Jerusalem is the topic.
There is a minority view that settled on a middle date, during the reign of Vespasian in A.D. 70 before the destruction of Jerusalem. Internal evidence for this is 17:10:
5 kings have fallen (Aug-Nero)
1 is (Ves)
1 is to reign short time (Titus)
8th (Domitian)
As with everything else in Revelation, there is controversy in this interpretation, such as do we start with Augustus or Julius Caesar?
One of the strongest evidences for the late date is the external evidence that Domitian exiled John to Patmos. Domitian ruled A.D. 81-96. But what if Domitian served temporarily as Emperor in A.D. 70 when he father was away from Rome? Wouldn’t this help harmonize the internal and external evidence and there make dating Revelation in A.D. 70 possible?
“He was in Rome when Vitellius perished and found himself in charge until Vespasian reached Rome some ten months later (Oct. 70). However, his first taste of real power was brief and he was soon relegated to a position of comparative inferiority” (From the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary).
“Selwyn, Christian Prophets, 212-21, held that Rev. 4-22 was written in Rome under Galba in 68-9 and caused the author’s banishment, by Domitian, in the early part of 70 to Patmos, where he then wrote chapters 1-3 as a covering letter to the Asian churches. This is by no means impossible. Yet the continuity of ch.1 with 4.1ff. and the unemended state of 17.10 (‘one is now reigning’) militate against it” (John A. T. Robinson, Redating The New Testament).
If Domitian exiled Domitian during the reign of Vespasian (A.D. 69-79), then both the tradition and literal explanation of 17:10 could be true. Regardless of which date, the overall truth is the same. God wins. And because God wins, we win.
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