JERUSALEM; ROME; REVELATION - The Preterist Archive

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REVELATION AND JERUSALEM JOHN’S APOCALYPSE WRITTEN BEFORE 70 A.D. 1. The human Author of the last book of the Bible - written under the infallible guidance of God the Holy Spirit 1 - was “John.” This apparently means ‘John the Apostle’ - an eye-witness of Christ’s Own resurrection. Revelation 1:2,5,18 f. 2. Internally, John’s authorship is attested by the book of Revelation itself. 2 And externally, John’s authorship (and indeed even the Apostle John’s authorship) seems to be upheld by many of the early Church Fathers. Such would include: Justin Martyr, Melito of Sardis, Theophilus, Irenaeus, the Old Latin translation, the Muratorian Canon (= Caius?), Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Origen, Methodius, Pamphylius, Athanasius, Gregory Nyssa, Jerome, Augustine, Theodoret, Basil, Gennadius, and many others. 3 3. The book of Revelation itself makes it clear that God in Christ (through His Spirit) is Himself the Primary Author 4 of that document. However, under that Triune God, the Apostle John is the sole ‘secondary author’ - and therefore the (one and only) human author of the book of Revelation. Indeed, most scholars have never even questioned the Apostle John’s authorship of the last book of the Bible. 4. The approximate date of John’s oral reception of this ‘revelation’ from Jesus Christ and apparently also of John’s inscripturation of the book 5 - was probably around 69 A.D. After that time, John reputedly lived on until about 100 A.D. 5. The book of Revelation itself seems to suggest an inscripturation date after Nero’s A.D. 64 burning of Rome 6 (yet probably before the subsequent burning of Jerusalem by the Romans in the middle of 70 A.D.). 7 So too do the early ‘Introductions’ to the Syriac and Old Latin translations of that book. 6. The A.D. 140 Papias and the A.D. 150 Justin Martyr, while seeming to assert the Johannine authorship of the book of Revelation, unfortunately say nothing at all about the date of its composition. However, an inscripturation date of approximately 69 A.D. for the Apocalypse is certainly suggested by the 165 A.D. Melito of Sardis, as well as by the 170 A.D. Muratorian Canon (of Caius?). See sections 18 to 32 below. 7. Now the 185 A.D. Irenaeus (see sections 64 to 167 below) does not give any inscripturation date for the Johannine Apocalypse. The 200 A.D. Tertullian, however (see section 282 below), clearly seems to favour an early date of A.D. 64-69 for John’s Revelation. 8. From 225 to 300 A.D., scholars like Clement of Alexandria and Victorinus of Pettau and Methodius of Tyre and Eusebius of Caesarea - while claiming that John indeed suffered under Domitian’s A.D. 93 to 96 persecution - do not allocate a specific date for the inscripturation of his Apocalypse. See sections 283 to 288 below. - 8 -
9. In A. D, 380, however, Epiphanius 8 - therein later to be followed by Apringius and Beatus and Grotius and Hammond - suggests a date as early as 54 A.D. 9 Indeed, it is really only with and after the apocryphal ‘Acts of John’ ( sic) and Eusebius and the 385 A.D. Jerome and subsequent scholars, that the ‘late date’ (of A.D. 96) became the prevailing popular opinion as to the time when the last book of the Bible is thought to have been written. * * * * * * * 10. According to the internal evidence, John wrote the book of Revelation from the island of Patmos to the seven congregations in or near Ephesus in the Presbytery of Asia Minor. John had left Jerusalem for Ephesus, perhaps even before the mid-sixties. Later, leaving Ephesus, John received and inscripturated the contents of the book of Revelation while exiled on the island of Patmos. 10 11. This exile probably took place during the Neronian persecutions from 64 to 68 A.D., or shortly thereafter. Consequently, the book of Revelation could well have been written, as we are claiming, during A.D. 69. 12. By that time, Nero’s persecutions seem to have spread even as far as Smyrna and Pergamos, 11 and were soon about to come “upon all the World.” 12 When the book of Revelation had finished being inscripturated, 13 the city of Rome itself had probably not yet completely ‘collapsed’ (during its Civil Wars of 68 to 69 A.D.). Cf. perhaps Revelation chapters 16 to 18, and especially the latter chapter. Indeed Jerusalem had almost certainly not yet fallen to Titus (which it did not do till August A.D. 70). Cf. especially, perhaps, Revelation chapter 11. 13. The book of Revelation, then, was apparently written during A.D. 69. Many consider it to contain probable references to the previous (A.D. 68) death of Nero - as well as to the popular “magical” expectation that he would soon ‘revive’ and rule again. 14 Indeed, ‘Nero’ was later widely regarded 15 as having revived to rule anew - in the different persons of subsequent tyrants like Domitian (and through the medium of the Domitianic persecutions of A.D. 69 to 71 and 93 to 96). See, right now, especially sections 115 to 116 below. 14. Moreover, in the book of Revelation, 16 we find predictions of progressive ‘fall-ings’ of the Roman ‘Babylon’ by fire and brimstone. The predictions seem to be referring (at least primarily if not most importantly) to the burning of Rome by Nero in the year A.D. 64 - as well as to the subsequent repeated burnings and other calamities which kept on coming over that city (and which reach their later final consummation in the postmortal fires of hell itself). Indeed, it is even significant that persecuted Christians were falsely accused of the crime of arson (as well as of many other crimes) against Rome. 15. Again, the ‘fifth king’ mentioned in the book of Revelation 17 may well refer, at least initially, to Nero. So too, the number of the beast ‘666’ is computed by many to be a reference to the incendiary arsonist Kesar Neron 18 - even though together with the Westminster Standards we ourselves see it as referring centrally to the later Romish Papacy. - 9 -
Page 1 and 2: JERUSALEM; ROME; REVELATION JOHN’
Page 3 and 4: FOREWORD Jesus and Josephus and Sue
Page 5 and 6: did not forsake Him. For He appeare
Page 7: divine prophecies that God’s Spir
Page 11 and 12: 23. Then, in 66.5 A.D., the Hebrew
Page 13 and 14: 39. We claim, then, that the Apostl
Page 15 and 16: Domitilla either to the island of P
Page 17 and 18: 71. Naturally, greater weight shoul
Page 19 and 20: 86. It was apparently not John’s
Page 21 and 22: 101. Indeed, Irenaeus does not ment
Page 23 and 24: Claudius (cf. Acts 11:28 & 18:2), A
Page 25 and 26: 133. “The astrologers also urged
Page 27 and 28: 148. This Historians’ History of
Page 29 and 30: 162. Tacitus (writing probably arou
Page 31 and 32: Empire - from Jerusalem in the East
Page 33 and 34: 186. “The Synoptic Gospels were c
Page 35 and 36: east side, nor the Danube on the no
Page 37 and 38: illiant success...and the glory of
Page 39 and 40: 221. Very significantly, the Bible
Page 41 and 42: horribly disfigures the body, broke
Page 43 and 44: marriage to her uncle Herod. Therea
Page 45 and 46: 261. Almost prophetically, the fina
Page 47 and 48: 272. See once again the etching of
Page 49 and 50: 284. The 295 A.D. Victorinus, in hi
Page 51 and 52: comes on the clouds too] throughout
Page 53 and 54: Origen (230), Commodian (240), Cypr
Page 55 and 56: 315. The book seems to fall, natura
Page 57 and 58: 329. He, the Lamb of God, had come
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Jesus called the greatest tribulati
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353. This seems to go hand in hand
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367. This conglomerate Roman beast
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380. At the great Protestant Reform
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east ‘Babylon.’ “Three unclea
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408. Revelation chapter eighteen gi
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420. The resurrection of the dead-i
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433. In summary, then, this is how
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Scripture alone would be the chief
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17) Rev. 17:9-11. 18) Rev. 13:13-18
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8].... But I cannot readily admit t
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85) I Pet. 5:13 cf. Rev. 14:8 & 16:
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131) Rev. 3:1-4. 132) Cf. Our secti
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176) Rev. 12:1 cf. Gen. 1:26-28 & P
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221) Rev. 17:10. 222) Rev. 7:12. 22
Page 89 and 90:
267) Rev. 21:1 cf. II Pet. 3:10-2 c
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