Provenance and Destination
John writes from the Mediterranean island
of Patmos (1:9), a rugged, rocky island about 40 miles (24 kms) southwest of
Ephesus in the Aegean Sea, used by the Romans as a place of exile (see Pliny, Natural History 4.23). The document is
written to the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia in the cities of
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (1:4,
11; 2:1–3:22).
Date of Writing
The two main proposals for dating
Revelation center on the respective reigns of Nero (54-68) and Domitian (81-96). The key pieces of evidence are as follows:
1. Persecution
of Christians. The Christians to whom Revelation is addressed seem to have
been suffering severe and widespread persecution that would eventually worsen
(1:9; 2:10, 13; 3:10; 6:9; 16:6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2; 20:4). Nero’s persecution
lasted from 64 to 68, but it was primarily confined to the city of Rome. The
persecution of Domitian was most intense from 95 to 96, and though the strongest
evidence for it comes from later writers,1 the imposition of emperor
worship during this time (see below) adds more credence to this potential setting
than do the alternatives.
2. Emperor
Worship. 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.2
3. 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 churches (2:4, 5; 3:1-3, 15-17), and the church
of Laodicea was wealthy at the time (3:17).3 These conditions are
more conducive to the period of Domitian’s reign.
4. The
temple of God. John is called upon to measure “the temple of God” (11:1-2).
If this is taken as a reference to the literal Jewish temple in Jerusalem, a
date before 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. Some see a prophecy of the AD 70 destruction of
Jerusalem in the allusion to the “holy city” being trampled for “forty-two
months” (Rev. 11:2). However, when Ezekiel saw his vision of the temple being
measured (Ezek. 40:1–42:20), the temple and the city had already been destroyed
by the Babylonians fourteen years earlier (Ezek. 40:1).
5. The
succession of kings. In 17:9-11 eight kings are mentioned, and the one that
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 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 (e.g. 68-69), be
counted or not? Should the respective numbers be interpreted literally or
symbolically?
Internal evidence places the most probable
context of Revelation toward the end of the reign of Domitian, i.e., 95-96. This
conclusion is supported by the weight of early testimonies, viz. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 5.30.3; Victorinus, Apoc. 10.11; Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.18; Clement of Alexandria,
Quis div. 42; Origen, Matt. 16.6.
-- Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 See Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.18.4; Sulpicius Severus, Chronicle 2.31; Paulus Orosius, Book 7
of Historiarum lib. Vii, adv. paganos.
Even though the most definitive information comes from Orosius in the year 417,
his history is substantially based on the much earlier works of Justin and
Eutropius (see M’Clintock and Strong 7:455-56), and he also had access to other
documentation that is no longer extant.
2 According to the Latin writer
Suetonius (Dom. 13.1-2), Domitian
required his subjects to address him as dominus
et dues noster (‘our lord and god’). See also Dio Cassius 67.4.7; 67.13.4;
and Pliny the Younger, Pan. 33.4;
52.2. 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” (S.
L. Harris, Understanding the Bible
[7th ed.] 518).
3 Laodicea was destroyed by an
earthquake in 60 (cf. Tacitus, Annals
14.26-27), and it is commonly assumed that an extensive period of time would
have been necessary for the city to be rebuilt and become prosperous. This
assumption, however, is tentative at best, since the residents of Laodicea were
wealthy enough to rebuild the city without aid from the Roman government. Nevertheless,
the fact that a congregation was in existence in Smyrna may be suggestive of a
later date (see D. A. Carson and D. J. Moo, An
Introduction to the NT 710).
Related Posts: Introducing Revelation Part 1, Part 3
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