Christians in the book of Revelation were being pressured to worship the secular ruling power (13:4, 15-16; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). The seeds of emperor worship were to some degree evident in Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Caligula, but it was not until Domitian that the Imperial Cult was enforced.
When Domitian revived the Imperial Cult, he required his subjects to address him as dominus et dues noster (“our lord and god”).1 The first Imperial Cult temple in Ephesus was established in the year 89 under Domitian’s rule. In fact, it was during this period that “in some areas – especially in Asia Minor – governors and other local officials demanded public participation in the cult as evidence of citizens’ loyalty and patriotism.”2
Condition of the Churches
A Christian named Antipas had already suffered martyrdom in Pergamum (2:13) and members of the church at Smyrna were soon to face imprisonment and potentially the death penalty (2:10). Spiritual stagnation was a problem in many of the Asian congregations (2:4, 5; 3:1-3, 15-17), and the church of Laodicea was wealthy at the time (3:17). These conditions are more conducive to the period of Domitian’s reign.
If Revelation had been written during Nero’s reign (54-68) and prior to the Jewish war that led to Jerusalem’s destruction (66-70), it approximates the time period of Paul’s letters to Timothy (also sent to Ephesus). But the respective situations addressed by John and by Paul are very different.
o To Ephesus of Paul’s day: charge some not to teach any other doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3-5); to Ephesus of John’s day: you are standing against evil, false apostles, and deeds of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:1-7).
o To Ephesus of Paul’s day: pray “for kings and all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life” (1 Tim. 2:1-2);3 to Ephesus of John’s day: governing authorities are disrupting our quiet and peaceable life (Rev. 1:9; 17:1-6; 18:21-24; 19:1-2; 20:4).
o To Ephesus of Paul’s day: perilous times are coming (2 Tim. 3:1); to Ephesus of John’s day: perilous times are here (Rev. 1:9; 6:9-11).
o To Ephesus of Paul’s day: “all desiring to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted [future tense]” (2 Tim. 3:12); to Ephesus of John’s day: persecution is now happening and will get worse (Rev. 1:9; 6:9-11; 16:6; 17:6; 20:4).
o To Ephesus of Paul’s day: “There will be a time [in the future] they will not endure sound teaching …” (2 Tim. 4:3a); to Ephesus of John’s day: you are resisting false teachings and practices (Rev. 2:1-7).
o To Ephesus of Paul’s day: only “some” [τινες] have turned away from apostolic instruction and purity of love [ἀγάπη] (1 Tim. 1:5-6); to Ephesus of John’s day: you (collectively) have abandoned your first love [ἀγάπη] (Rev. 2:4).
At the end of 2 Timothy, Paul names seventeen coworkers that would have been known by Timothy and the Ephesian brethren, but he does not mention John. Polycarp of Smyrna (69-155) was personally acquainted with John4 but knew of Paul only through Paul’s writings. In Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians (dated ca. 110), he indicates that when Paul wrote his letter to the Philippi saints around 62, the church did not even exist in Smyrna as it did later in John’s day (11.3).
Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake in 60 (cf. Tacitus, Annals 14.26-27), and a couple of years later, when Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians, the nearby Laodicea church appears to have been spiritually healthy and thriving (Col. 2:1-2; 4:13-16). But by the time Revelation was written, the Christians in Laodicea were financially prosperous with no financial needs, while spiritually lukewarm and in danger of divine expulsion (Rev. 3:14-22).
The Temple of God
John is called upon to measure “the temple of God and the altar and worshipers,” while the “holy city” is trampled for “forty-two months” (Rev. 11:1-2). If this is taken as a reference to the literal Jewish temple in Jerusalem, a date before mid-70 would be implied. However, since the book of Revelation is filled with signs and symbols, the most natural interpretation of this passage is metaphoric, not literal (note 3:12; cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21). If the physical temple in Jerusalem was still standing and was to be measured by John, how could he have accomplished this while banished on an island in the Aegean Sea over 600 miles away? Moreover, how else could worshipers be “measured” other than spiritually? This is a vision of the future. In the sixth century BC, when Ezekiel saw his vision of the temple being measured (Ezek. 40:1–42:20), the literal temple and city had already been destroyed by the Babylonians fourteen years earlier (Ezek. 40:1).
The Succession of Kings
In Revelation 17:9-11 eight kings are mentioned, and the one who appears to have been reigning at the time of writing was number six. If this passage is taken literally and the succession of kings begins with the first recognized emperor, an earlier date is then suggested. However, this argument is not decisive. Are the kings in this vision past, present, or future? Is the count to begin with Romulus (the first king), Julius Caesar (the first dictator), Augustus (the first emperor), or Caligula (the first persecutor)? Should the comparatively insignificant rulers, who were in power for only brief periods (68-69), be counted or not? [Note: Suetonius included Julius Caesar, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius in his Lives of the Caesars]. Should the respective numbers be interpreted literally or symbolically? Whatever position one wishes to take, it can be made to fit.
If the kings represent kingdoms (cf. Dan. 7:17, 23), this could be an overview of (1) Babylonian; (2) Medo-Persian; (3) Grecian, followed by four smaller kingdoms into which Alexander’s empire divided: (4) Macedon-Greece, (5) Pergamon-Asia Minor, (6) Ptolemaic-Egypt, (7) Seleucid-Syria; then (8) Rome. If Roman emperors: (1) Augustus (30 BC–AD 14); (2) Tiberius (14-37); (3) Caligula (37-41); (4) Claudius (41-54); (5) Nero (54-68); (a) Galba (7 months); (b) Otho (3 months); (c) Vitellius (8 months); (6) Vespasian (69-79); (7) Titus (79-81); and (8) Domitian (81-96).5
If the numbers are used symbolically, “seven kings” represent the totality of Roman emperors, the sixth indicates the empire has not yet reached its consummation (note 666 in 13:17-18),6 thus seven (completion) is “not yet come,” and eight (a divine number beyond perfection) represents a regime that parodies Christ as the supreme ruler of God’s kingdom (cp. 1:8; 17:8).7
CONCLUSION
Internal evidence places the most probable context of Revelation toward the end of the reign of Domitian, 95-96. This conclusion is supported by the weight of early testimonies,8 and the vast majority of modern scholars across the wide range of theological perspectives concurs.
Why does it matter? The age-old promise of Christ’s return and future judgment offers reassurance to believers and sustains hope (Acts 23:6; 24:15; 26:6-8; 2 Cor. 4:14; Phil. 3:10-11; 1 John 3:2-3), “awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Tit. 2:13). Teaching otherwise, claiming it has already happened (hyper-preterism compelled to reject the Domitianic date), causes unnecessary apprehension and discord (2 Thess. 2:1-2; 2 Tim. 2:15-18) and counters the persistent admonition to be prepared, watchful, and alert (Matt. 24:36, 44; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:1-11; 2 Pet. 3:10-18).
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars: Domitian 8.13; 13.1-2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 67.4.7; 67.13.4; Pliny the Younger, Pan. 33.4; 52.2; Martial, Epigrams 10.72. Coinage depicts Domitian enthroned as “father of the gods,” and worshiping him was promoted more by his subjects in the East than by his own decree (R. E. Brown, Introduction to the NT 806 n. 77).
2 S. L. Harris, Understanding the Bible (7th ed.) 518. See Pliny the Younger, Epistles 10.96.
3 Unless noted otherwise, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
4 Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 3.3.; Tertullian, De praes. haer. 32.2.
5 After Nero’s death, rumors spread that he was not dead and would return (Nero redivivus). If this is alluded to in Rev. 13:3, 12; 17:8 and Domitian is understood as reviving Nero’s persecutions, support seems to be given to the later date. See Sibylline Oracles 4:137-139; 5:94-110, 214-227, 361-385; Dio Chrysostom, “On Beauty” in Discourse 21.10; also Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars: Nero 57.1; Tacitus, Histories 2.8; Cassius Dio, Roman History 66.19.3. If reference to “kings” is literalized, this reaches back to the pre-empire and pre-republic Roman Kingdom (ca. 753-509 BC), reportedly ruled by a succession of seven kings, followed by the expansion of Roman dominance across the entire Mediterranean world (see P. Matyszak, Chronicle of the Roman Republic 14-47).
6 The number “six” is short of the symbolic number “seven” and therefore short of perfection; by tripling it (666) the symbol of imperfection and fallibility is intensified. Despite the exalted claims of divinity and mighty displays of power, the ferocious enemy of God’s people (led by “a man” professing to be a god) is far removed from anything truly divine. See K. L. Moore, “The Number 666,” Moore Perspective (27 Jan. 2021), <Link>.
7 See C. A. Davis, The College Press NIV Commentary: Revelation 323-24.
8 Note Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 5.30.3; Victorinus, Comm. Apoc. 10.11; Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.18; Clement of Alexandria, Quis div. 42; Origen, Matt. 16.6; et al.
*Prepared for the 2024 FHU Lectures.
Supporting the earlier date, with no apparent agenda, see John A. T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1976); Jonathan Bernier, Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Composition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022).
Addendum: I was asked, if the book of Revelation was written after Jerusalem’s destruction, why is this historic event not mentioned therein? The most reasonable answer is one of relevance. How would it have benefitted suffering Christians in western Asia Minor to recount the destruction of the Jewish capital, over 600 miles away and nearly three decades removed from the event? In the case of Jerusalem’s fall, the Romans were the victors. But the message of Revelation concerns the fall of the Romans.
Related Posts: When Was Revelation Written? (Part 1)
Image credit: https://eyeofprophecy.com/2019/02/09/dont-seal-the-book-of-revelation/
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