All Doves:

The vast majority of scholars choose between two dates for John's writing "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" made to him by the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The early view is held to have been during the reign of Nero, which is dated to be 64-70 AD.

2. The later view is that it was written during the reign of Domition, which is dated to be around 95/96 AD.

Most people are oblivious to why this is even an issue for Christians or readers of the Bible but it is very important for a number of reasons which become obvious as we read.  To determine which view is correct, we need to consider the external evidence (outside the Bible itself) and the internal evidence (from within the book of Revelation itself).

Both lines of evidence really do point to the Domition date of 95/96 AD.

As to the early view, there are only three external sources; the first is an ambiguous one-line reference in the Syriac translation of the New Testament in 550 AD.  The other two external witnesses of the early date exist are: Arethaus (around 900 AD) and Theophylact (around 1107 AD).  Both far more recent than others noted in this post.

This sums up all of the existing external evidence, the chief source material for the early dating of Revelation to 65 AD.  As the reader can see there is not a lot to base an early writing. 

Here follows the external support for the late dating of 95/96 AD.  This is considered to be an unbroken line of support for the later date, by some of the greatest, most reliable names in church history, beginning at 150 AD.  Moreover, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen all support the later date position.  Furthermore, we have testimony by the following church leaders who actually report that Emperor Domition banned John the Revelator to the island of Patmos, and these include:

    Hegesipns - 150 AD
    Irenaetus - 180 AD
    Victorinus - 300 AD
    Eusebius - 300 AD
    Jerome - 400 AD
    Sulpicius Severus - 400 AD
    The Acts of John - 650 AD
    Primasius - 540 AD
    Orosius - 600 AD
    Anderas - 600 AD
    Venerable Bode - 700 AD

At this point, let us take a look at the internal evidence from the Bible itself.  It becomes apparent that the Bible is far more revealing than you might think.  The internal evidence of the book of Revelation support the later date of its writing during the reign of Domition.  One of the key internal arguments for the late date of Revelation is the condition of the seven churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2-3.  The churches show all the characteristics of being a second-generation church.  The period of Paul's missionary work appears to lie in the past.  The clue on the date of Revelation can be seen from specifically, three churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, and Laodicea.

If John wrote Revelation in 64-67 AD, then the letter to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 overlaps with Paul's two letters to Timothy, who happened to be the pastor of Ephesus, at the same time Paul wrote to him.  In fact, if John wrote Revelation in 64-67 AD, then Paul likely wrote 1st Timothy after John to the church.  Yet, Paul makes no mention of the loss of the churches first love or the presence of the Nicolatians at Ephesus in any of his correspondence with Timothy.  Neither does he mention these problems in his Ephesians Epistle, which was probably written in 62 AD.  Jesus' statement to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:2 that it had guarded itself well against error simply does not fit the tenor of what we actually know of this church in Nero's day -(Acts 20:19-20; 1st Timothy 1:3-7; 2nd Timothy 2:17-18).

Those who believe the early date of Revelation's writing often respond on the point by suggesting that error can erupt in a church very quickly.  As an example, they sometimes cite the churches of Galatia, who Paul says were "so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel."  -(Galatians 1:6).

But there is a great difference between the condition and maturity of the Galatian churches after Paul's brief visit there on his missionary journey, and the church of Ephesus, where Paul wintered for three years, where Apollos taught, where Priscilla and Aquilla ministered, and where Timothy pastored for several years.

Moreover, Revelation 2:1-7 makes no mention of the great missionary work of Paul in Asia Minor. On his third missionary journey Paul headquartered in Ephesus for three years and had a profound ministry there.  If John wrote in 64-67 AD, the omission of any mention of Paul in the letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor is inexplicable.  However, if John wrote 30 years later to the second generation of individuals in the churches, the omission is easy explainable and understood.

Apparently the church of Smyrna did not even exist during Paul's ministry.  Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna, and he was a direct disciple of John the Revelator.  In his letters to the Philippians, written in about 110 AD, Polycarp says that the Smyrnaeans did not know the Lord during the time Paul was ministering.  Here is a quote from Polycarp:  "But I have not observed or heard of any such thing among you, in whom he blessed Paul labored, and who were his letters of recommendation in the beginning.  For he boasts about you in all the churches - those alone, that is, which at the time had come to know the Lord, for we had not yet come to know him." 

Polycarp is saying that Paul praised the Philippian believers in all the churches, but that during Paul's ministry in the 50's and 60's, the church of Smyrna did not physically exist.  It is the internal facts, that confirm the later dating of Revelation.

The church of Laodicea is the only one of the seven churches (with the exception of Sardis) that receives no commendation from Jesus Christ.  In his letter to the Colossians, probably written in 60-62 AD, Paul indicates that the Laodicean was an active group -(Colossians 4:3).  He mentions the church three times in his Colossians Epistle -(2:1; 4:13,16).  For the church to depart so completely from its earlier acceptable status that absolutely nothing good could be said about it would certainly take more than two to seven years to take place.

John describes the church in Laodicea as flourishing economically.  Jesus quotes the church as saying, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing."  And yet, the city had suffered devastation in the earthquake of 60 AD.  After the earthquake, the Laodiceans refused all aid and assistance from Rome, preferring to rebuild their devastated city from their own resources.

Tracitus, the Roman historian, in his 'Annals' (14:27), describes this church's independent spirit: "In the same year, Laodicea, one of the famous Asiatic cities, was laid in ruin by an earthquake, but recovered by its own resources, without assistance from ourselves."  The extent of the damage to Laodicea and the length of time it took to reconstruct the city are strong evidence of the late date of John's writing the Revelation.

Most of the main ruins that survive today in Laodicea are from the buildings constructed during the time of the earthquake reconstruction.  The great public building destroyed in the earthquake were rebuilt at the expense of individual citizens and were not finished until about 90AD.  The completion date on the stadium can be precisely dated to the latest part of 79 AD, and the inscription on several other buildings dated to the same period.  New gates and fortifications seem to have culminated for the rebuilding of Laodicea.  It is likely that the great triple gate (Syrian Gate) and towers were not finished until 88-90 AD.

Since the rebuilding of Laodicea after the earthquake occupied a complete generation, it is highly problematic to claim Laodicea was rich, wealthy, and in need of nothing in 64-67 AD.  Significant archeology has been conducted at Laodicea.  During those years the city was in the early stages of a rebuilding program that would last another 25 years.  However, if Revelation was written in 95/96 AD, the description of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22 would fit the situation exactly.  By this time the city was completely rebuilt with its own resources, enjoying prosperity and prestige and basking in the pride of its great accomplishments.

Revelation 1:9 states that when John received the Revelation from the Lord, he was exiled on the tiny island of Patmos.  Church history testifies that Paul was executed in Rome near the end of Nero's reign.  Those who hold to the early date for the writing of Revelation maintain that during this same time Nero banished John to Patmos.  But there is a problem in that premise.  Why would Nero execute Paul and banish John?

This seems inconsistent with the practices of the two emperors.  Paul's and John's writings seem to indicate that they were persecuted under different rulers.  Moreover, we have no evidence of Nero ever using banishment for Christians.  This is important since Nero's preferred method was torture and he killed Christians.  Domition was the second Roman emperor after Nero is his method to persecute Christians was banishment as one of his favorite modes of punishment.  So John's exile to Patmos is much more likely to have taken place during or under Domition than Nero.

Taking into account all of the relevant external evidence and the internal evidence we find the greatest support for the view that the Apostle John penned the book of Revelation in the year 95/96 AD, while in exile on the tiny island of Patmos by the Roman emperor Domition.  The internal evidence is corroborated by archeology, history, as well as John's disciple Polycarp's own correspondence.

This offers conclusive evidence of a much later date for the writing of the book of Revelation, but even more than that, it destroys the argument for Preterism, where they argue that all prophecies were fulfilled by 70 AD, and that the Lord returned in 70 AD.  Preterism, itself, acknowledges that given a late date for the writing of the book of Revelation, their position goes up in smoke. 

The folks that hold to or believe in Preterism, even the Pre-Wrath position believes that all prophecy had been fulfilled in 70 AD.  These folks cannot produce a single bit of tangible evidence to support this view, or even more important, produce some sort of evidence the Lord Christ Jesus returned at that time.  There are dozens of questions that people would want answers to if Jesus second coming occurred in 70 AD.

May the Lord fill your life this week with His peace, love, and rest!

Pastor Bob