The date of the Book of Revelation has a great impact on our understanding of the Bible. Not just on the Book of Revelation, but in many other Biblical books, too. There are basically two views of when the Revelation was written. The “late view,” which places it about 95 AD, and the “early date,” which places it before 70 AD.

My conviction is that John wrote the book of Revelation prior to the destruction of the temple, probably somewhere around 65 or 66. The temple was destroyed 70 AD and that is what Jesus prophesied. Revelation also deals with the death of Nero Caesar and that was in 68.

The more popular view is that John wrote the Book of Revelation after the destruction of the temple. In fact, 25 years after during the close of the reign of the emperor Domitian. And so there’s about a 25 or 30 year gap between the two views of the early date and the late date.

The date of Revelation is an important issue. We’ve got to recognize that the letters in the New Testament are written to particular churches regarding particular situations. They’re called occasional epistles because they’re dealing with certain occasions for the life of the people of that day. The Book of Revelation is written in letter format, although it’s distinctly different from most of the Pauline epistles.

The issue of the date of Revelation is very important because a letter is being written or actually, seven letters are being written to churches. Then those letters are dealing with issues that those churches are dealing with. We need a proper time frame to understand those issues. We need to understand what John is doing in the book of Revelation when he writes to those seven churches there regarding issues that they’re facing and problems in their own churches.

Is John dealing with something that is off in the far distant future, even in the future from our time, or is he writing to about something in the near future for those particular seven churches that he was writing to?

To understand, we need to know Revelation’s date, even though it’s only 25 years separating the two possible options. Twenty five from 70 AD or a little earlier to 95 AD. Enormous events transpire during that period. For instance, in 70 AD, in about August, the temple of Israel, which was the second temple of Israel, was destroyed. The first was destroyed in the Old Testament.

About 500 BC, the second temple was rebuilt and it was the temple Jesus ministered in. The period from about 500 BC to 70 AD is called Second Temple Judaism. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD. and it’s never been rebuilt since. So from 70 AD onwards, Judaism was changed. In fact, Judaism changed from biblical Judaism based on scriptures including Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, those books that deal with the form of worship of Israel in the tabernacle, and then after that in the temple. Judaism changed from Biblical Judaism to Rabbinic Judaism and that that’s a radical change for Israel. No longer is Judaism rooted in the particular Mosaic revelation as it had been historically, but now it’s rooted in a rabbinic tradition. That’s a huge change for Judaism. Some historians even called Titus, the general who actually destroyed the temple, the greatest ever religious reformer because he so changed and impacted Judaism with the destruction of the temple.

So in 70 AD, this enormous event that changes Judaism occurs. Therefore, what we are witnessing is the end of the old covenant economy that had governed the people of God throughout the Old Testament period, even into the New Testament period. Jesus ministered in the temple and even Paul minister in the temple with preaching and so we have something of enormous significance for redemptive history occurring in 70 AD.

If the Book of Revelation was written before that, and I believe it is, it could be the case that the prophecies, those dramatic prophecies of judgment deal with that great catastrophic event. However, if the Book of Revelation was written afterwards at 95 AD, about 25 years after the temple vanished from the scene of earth history, then it would not be as practical to argue that the Book of Revelation was dealing with the destruction of the temple.

The Book of Revelation deals with events that are going to impact the lives of the seven churches of the first century. It deals with events that are changing the way God is worshiped and even the structure of God’s people. God, through Titus and through the Roman emperors, destroys the temple and formally and officially closes the old covenant economy. This event is referenced all over the New Testament.

“The early date of Revelation is now accepted by perhaps the majority of scholars.” Phillip Schaff’s editorial note to Warfield’s “Revelation” article in Schaff, Encyclopedia 3:2026 This was in the 1800’s before Darbyism.

Late date advocate William Milligan stated, “Recent scholarship has, with little exception, decided in favor of the earlier and not the later date.” Milligan, Lectures On The Apocalypse p. 75 (1892

What I’d like to do now is turn from the idea that it is important to determine the date to the proof of the date. What I want to focus on are three key pieces of the evidence that are found within the Book of Revelation itself. Those pieces of evidence deal with architectural issues, sociological issues, and political issues. I’ll explain what that means is I work through these one by one.

Let’s first deal with the architectural evidence for the early date of Revelation. When we look into the Book of Revelation, we find in Revelation 11:1,2 that John is commanded to act, to do something and notice what he’s commanded to do. “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months,” (Revelation 11:1,2)

So what we have here is that the Jewish temple is still standing when John is writing the Book of Revelation. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD, but if it’s still standing at this time, then John wrote it prior to 70 AD. We need to consider the question as to whether or not that’s what he’s referring to. And in Revelation 11:1-2, what temple is John Speaking of? Well, notice that John specifically declares the events of Revelation are soon to occur. In fact, he opens the book the very first words of the book state, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John,” (Revelation 1:1). John opens the book saying these events are shortly to take place.

He is not writing about a temple 2000 or 3000 years in the future. According to his own introduction, he is writing about a temple, but it must be a temple who’s destruction lies in the near future. And so this is a dogmatic statement. It’s clear, it’s an opening to the whole book. And when we look at this statement regarding that temple, we found that the temple there is in the holy city. It is in a holy city when John writes. Jerusalem is called the holy city, throughout the Bible, in Daniel 4, Matthew 4, Matthew 27 and in Revelation. So we have a good candidate for the location of this temple as Jerusalem, the holy city. And then, it’s interesting that in Revelation 11:8, just six verses after 11:2, we find that the city is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, but it’s a place where Lord was their Lord was crucified.

“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,” (Revevelation 11:8).

And so when we asked the question, which city which was called the holy city, it was the place where the Lord was crucified. What city’s that? That is Jerusalem. And that’s first century Jerusalem. So we have John commanded to a measure temple in reference to his coming destruction. We have a reference to it being in a holy city, which throughout scripture points to Jerusalem. It is even designated as the place where Jesus was crucified. There’s only one temple that stood in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified, and that’s the temple of the first century.

Now, another piece of evidence in regards to this temple we’ve got to recognize is when you lay down Revelation 11:1-2 right next to Luke 21:24, you’ll notice strong parallels between those.

“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” (Luke 21:24).

Luke 21 is dealing with the temple in which Jesus was standing at that very moment. In Luke 21:5-7, his disciples asked him a question about the temple and in Luke 21:6, he says, “there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down“. But then a few verses later Luke 21:24. He says, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” which is basically saying the same thing as Revelation 11:2 which says “it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

Notice the shared expressions concerning Jerusalem. Holy City, trampled underfoot, trampled underfoot, gentiles, gentiles, and then a timeframe mentioned in both both cases. Now everyone knows, even dispensationalist agree, that Luke 21:24 is dealing with the destruction of the temple in the year 70 AD.

It’s remarkable that John, writing the Book of Revelation, not only mentions a temple standing in the holy city, but he reflects the very language that Jesus used in Luke 21:24. The very same language is taken up by John in Revelation 11:2.

Since there’s that strong parallel with Revelation 11 and Luke 21. Since Luke 21 is dated with the destruction of the temple, it seems fairly obvious to me that John is referring to the destruction of that temple in the first century. It is further evidence that both Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 21:24 and John’s prophecy in Revelation 11:2 are referencing the Jewish Wars because John says they will trample underfoot the holiest city for 42 months.

That is when it’s a full scale Roman war against Jerusalem. It began in spring of 67 AD, when Vespacian entered Israel. And the temple was destroyed in August of 70 AD, which is a period of right at 42 months. Likewise in Luke 21, Jesus says, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.

And what it means by that, I believe, is that in the past the gentiles could destroy the temple and attack God’s people. But now that the temple’s going to be removed by God, the gentiles will no longer be able to attack the people of God at a central location and destroy the people of God because Christianity is spread throughout the world. It’s not localized in one particular temple. And so to attack Christianity, it’s all over the place.

The second amount of evidence is the sociological evidence. That is when we look at the role of the Jews and the Book of Revelation. We’re going to see that the relationship between Christianity and Judaism fits the time in which the temple was still standing. That is it, just the time before 70 AD, because for instance, in Revelation 3:9, we read, Jesus is writing this letter to the church. “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”

Now, when he speaks of the synagogue, it’s very obvious that he’s speaking of that same Jewish institution. Now he calls it a synagogue of Satan. He’s picking up on what Jesus said in John 8:44, when Jesus says, “Ye are of your father the devil,” when he’s talking to the leaders of Israel. So here Jesus is denouncing the synagogue system for having rejected him, having persecuted his followers and having a slain him. He’s rejecting them and denouncing them as a synagogue of Satan who claimed that they are Jews.

But Paul said they’re not really Jews. One who is truly a Jew is one who is circumcised in the heart. He’s not outward in the flesh. The seed of Abraham are those who believe in Christ.

Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
John 8:39 “They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.”

In Revelation 3:9, Jesus says, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.“

Now, the concept here is seems to me to be clear that as John writes to that first century church, in that particular letter, he is telling them that soon these Jews who are persecuting you, who Jesus designates a synagogue of Satan because of the persecution, he is designating them as subject to a coming humiliation. I will make them come and worship before your feet. It is looking forward to a time in which the Jews will be subject to judgment, and so that time is in the future. I will make them come and worship at your feet. I will cause them to be subdued in your presence is what that means. So here we have some sociological evidence that it’s used in Revelation according to that letter, which is by Jesus Christ himself. According to that letter in Revelation 3:9, they will soon be locked into humiliation at the feet of the Christian.

We’ve looked at the architectural evidence. The temple was still standing, so it’s about to be destroyed. We’ve looked at the sociological evidence that the Jews are still in pestering the Christians with persecution and things of that sort, but according to Revelation 3:9, they were about to be humiliated. They will come and have to bow down and defeated the Christians, which means I believe what he’s saying is that they will be judged for their treatment of Christ and the treatment of Christ.

The final evidence is the political evidence in Revelation 17:9-10. “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.“

John sees a vision earlier in the first few verses of Revelation 17 and an angel comes to him. The angel tells John what the vision means. The Angel is explaining a vision not obscuring it. He says, “here’s the mind which has wisdom.” In other words, “John, if you want to be wise and mind, listen to what I’m telling you. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits and they are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is ruling now and the other has not yet come and when he comes he must remain a short while.”

Now everyone agrees, all commentators agree, that the seven heads representing seven mountains is pointing to the famous seven hills of Rome. This is a reference to Rome. Remember, John was writing letters to the churches there in Asia minor about issues they’re facing and when he talks about the seven headed beast and interprets the set of hills as representing seven mountains, the people would naturally recognize this, a clear geographical reference. It would be universally recognized as an allusion to the seven hills of Rome. Somehow this beast is associated with the seven hills of Rome.

The angel also adds one more explanatory detail. Not only is the seven headed beast representative of Rome and has seven hills, but the seven heads of the beast are according to Revelation 17:10, are seven kings. One is, the other is yet to come. When he comes, he must remain a little while. Now these seven kings obviously are the kings of the Roman Empire that existed whenever John wrote his, whether it’s 70 or 95. They are the emperor of the Roman Empire, which are represented by the seven hilled city of Rome.

As a matter of fact, if you count the Caesars from Julius Caesar up to the present day where John is writing, you will find that he is dealing with the reigning caesars from Julius Caesar, which is number one. Number two Augustus. Nero was the sixth, so we see five have fallen. Five have died, leaving Nero the sixth. The one reigning when John penned evelation. Nero died in the year 68, in June. So this means that the one that now is he still living and the one that now is, is the sixth in a line of seven that are of interest to John.

John says the one left in the seven kings has not yet come. And when he comes he must remain a little while. Well, interestingly, when Nero dies in June of 68 AD, Galba is the very next Caesar to arise on the scene. Galba comes to power in June of 68 with the death of Nero, but he only rules a few months before he himself is killed. He rules from June 8 of 68 to January 15th of 69, just a little over six months. So interestingly, John says that five kings have fallen, one is and one who’s coming is to to remain only a little while. And sure enough, the shortest reigning emperor to that time was Galbo the seventh who came after Nero.

This is pretty substantial evidence that John wrote prior to the destruction of the temple and 70 AD, because he’s dealing with the soon coming death of Nero Caesar. The sixth emperor, who is Nero, is currently ruling and is not yet dead. Therefore, John must be writing from a time before June 68. I believe this is a strong political feature of the book of Revelation that points to a pre-70 AD date for the writing of the Book of Revelation.

To summarize, we’ve have architectural evidence, dealing with the hard fact of the first century that the temple was still standing and we know it disappeared in 70 AD. We’re dealing with a coming judgment of the Jews according to Revelation 3:9. It’s a coming judgment of the Jews and can we know that happened in 70 AD. We have a historical political entity that has seven heads, that represents seven mountains, that’s imperial Rome. And finally, John associates the seven headed beast with the reign of the Caesars, from Julius up to Nero and to Galbo.

And once again, we are placed prior to the destruction of the temple 70 AD. We have architectural, sociological, and political evidence that the Book of Revelation was written by John prior to the destruction of the temple.

The first century churches that received the Book of Revelation originally were the seven churches in Asia Minor. They knew when it was written because they got the letters not long after it was written. And he’s writing to them about their own historical experience, their own spiritual growth or lack of growth. And he’s dealing with issues that they know full well because it is a part of their own ecclesiological experience. And so when, when he writes this book to those churches, John is telling them that these events are shortly to take place because the time is at hand.

They begin to understand how the Jews that had been persecuting them and put Jesus to death. Those Jews are going to be judged by Jesus. Jesus. Jesus himself prophesied, “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation,” (Matthew 23:34-36).

They recognize the teaching of Christ in the teaching of John. This is strong evidence that John is writing the Book of Revelation and sending it to the first century churches regarding events that they were having to deal with. We have political evidence, the sociological evidence and the architectural evidence in it.

It’s a strong and compelling case that the book must have been written prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.