Before Jerusalem Fell

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CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA
Titus Flavius Clemens (c. A.D. 150-215) was a presbyter in the
church of Alexandria from about A.D. 189 until his death. He
possessed an eclectic richness of information derived from broad
reading, and he is known as the father of Alexandria Christian
philosophy. 1 Clement of Alexandria almost universally is cited by
late date advocates as supportive of their view. 2
The statement from Clement that is deemed useful is found in
his Quis Saluus Diues (i.e., Who is th Rich Man that sAall be Saued?),
Section 42.
And to give you confidence, when you have thus truly repented, that
there remains for you a trustworthy hope of salvation, hear a story
that is no mere story, but a true account of John the apostle that has
been handed down and preserved in memory. When after the death
of the tyrant he removed fkom the island of’ Patmos to Ephesus, he
used to journey by request to the neighboring districts of the Gentiles,
in some places to appoint bishops, in others to regulate whole churches,
in others to set among the clergy some one man, it may be, of those
indicated by the Spirit. 3
The critical phrase here is “after the death of the tyrant he removed
from the island of Patmos to Ephesus.” The Greek of that phrase is:
1. Philip Schaff, Histo~ of ths Christian Church, 8 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
[1910] 1950) 2:783.
2. See for example, R. H. Charles, T/u Rswlation of St. John, 2 VOIS. International
Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920), pp. xcii-xciii; Henry Barclay
Swete, CornmsntaU on Rsvdation (Grand Rapids: Kregel, [1906] 1977), p. xcix; Donald
Guthne, New T~tum-nt Introdudion, 3rd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press,
1970) , pp. 956-957.
3. G. W. Butterworth, Clement ofA/exandna (London: Heinemann, 1919), pp. 356tY
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