Lesson 2: Introduction Part II
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The ecclesiastical writers have taught that at the time of Claudius Caesar, when that famine which the prophet Agabus had announced in the Acts of the Apostles would come in ten years time was at its height, that during that difficulty this same Caesar, impelled by his usual vanity, had instituted a persecution of the churches. It was during this time that he ordered John, the Apostle of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to be transported into exile, and he was taken to the island of Patmos, and while there confirmed this writing.
Bishop Apringius of Beja (sixth century AD), Commentary on the Apocalypse 1.9
History notes that John had been banished to this island by the emperor Domitian on account of the gospel, and that then he was, appropriately, allowed to penetrate the secrets of heaven while (at the same time) prohibited from leaving a small space of the earth.
Bede the Venerable, Explanation of the Apocalypse 1.9.
Irenaeus, in the fifth book of his work Against Heresies, where he discusses the number of the name of Antichrist which is given in the so-called Apocalypse of John, speaks as follows concerning him: "If it were necessary for his name to be proclaimed openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the revelation. For it was seen not long ago, but almost in our own generation, at the end of the reign of Domitian."
Eusebius quoting St. Irenaeus, Church History III. xviii.2-3.
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Dating of the Book of Revelation - Majority view:
Many of the Church Fathers and Church historians who agreed that St. John the Apostle wrote down the visions given to him by Christ in the New Testament book of the Apocalypse/Revelation could not come to agreement on which Roman emperor had banished him to the island of Patmos. Bishop Apringius, who wrote a sixth century commentary on Revelation, maintained that it was the Emperor Claudius (died 54 AD) who banished St. John, while the Venerable Bede, relying on the testimony of Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea quoting St. Irenaeus, believed it was the Emperor Domitian (see the quotes above). Others testified that it was Claudius' successor, the vicious Emperor Nero who banished St. John to Patmos. Most modern Biblical scholars hold the view that Revelation was written during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian who ruled from 81-96 AD. This view is based solely on a passage written by St. Irenaeus (died c. 200 AD) in his book Against Heresies 5:30:3. Irenaeus discussing the "Beast" passages in Revelation wrote: If it were necessary for his name to be proclaimed openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the revelation. For it was seen not long ago, but almost in our own generation, at the end of the reign of Domitian.
Other scholars, however, who dispute dating the book of Revelation to the reign of Domitian, point out that there are major problems with this view:
Irenaeus' passage, written in Greek, is somewhat ambiguous; for example his words For it was seen... could be referring to the book itself, which was not fully circulated among the various churches in Asia Minor and the West until the reign of Domitian. Nowhere does Irenaeus say that the book was written at that time, although he does say that John lived until the reign of Domitian.
Irenaeus is the only source for this late dating of Revelation; all other ancient sources merely quote him.
Those other sources testify that there is no historical evidence of widespread persecution during Domitian's reign and that he usually exiled troublesome Christian leaders. The only years of widespread persecution of Christians prior to Domitian's reign occurred during the reign of the Emperor Nero.
Dating of the Book of Revelation - Minority View:
There are scholars who believe that Revelation was written during the widespread persecution of Christian during reign of the Roman Emperor Nero who ruled from 54-68 AD. Evidence that supports the minority view:
There is a lack of evidence for a great Christian persecution under the rule of the Emperor Domitian.
There are volumes of evidence and testimony which support widespread Christian persecution during the reign of Nero.
The suggested list of the seven or eight emperors in Revelation chapter 17 can be supported historically by the two different lists of emperors used by Roman historians.
The mention of the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem in Revelation 11:1 suggests that the Temple was still standing when John had his vision. The Jerusalem Temple had been destroyed decades prior to the reign of Domitian in 70 AD.
Let's take these points one at a time:
Point #1: There is no historical evidence to support a widespread persecution of Christians during Domitian's reign. He was the son and brother of two previous emperors. Domitian's father was the Emperor Vespasian who was succeeded by Domitian's elder brother, the Emperor Titus. These men were the Roman generals who suppressed the Jewish Revolt of 66 AD. Both previous emperors held a view of Christians that was not completely favorable but was at the most an ambivalent view because Christians did not participate in the Jewish revolt against rule by the Roman Empire from 66-73 AD. The Emperor Vespasian even gave permission to St. Simon, kinsman of Jesus and the second bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, to return with his Christian followers to Jerusalem from Perea (across the Jordan River) several years after the revolt was suppressed.
Those years of peace after the suppression of the Jewish Revolt saw a great increase in the number of Christian communities across the Roman Empire. Soldiers of common and high rank, Roman senators, and Romans of noble birth were converting to Christianity. Domitian's negative reaction to Christians later in his reign may have been more of a fear of the spread of the influence of Christians who were becoming influential in Roman politics and in the army. He also wished to be worshiped as a god towards the end of his life when mental illness became an increasing burden. This is the period when there is some evidence of persecution. His cousin, the Roman political leader Flavius Clemens (Clement in English) was his most famous victim. The charge against Clemens was that he was "impious" because he refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, including his emperor. It has been suggested that his refusal to honor Roman pagan gods may have been because of his Christian faith. Clemens, a proconsul who was known for his honesty and integrity, was very much admired by the people of Rome. The motivation for his execution could also have been envy and fear of Clemens' popularity and his influence with the Roman populous. Bishop Eusebius (fourth century AD) believed Clement was executed because of his Christian faith and recorded the fate of Clemens' niece: For they record that in the fifteenth year of Domitian Flavia Domitilla, daughter of a sister of Flavius Clement, who at that time was one of the consuls of Rome, was exiled with many others to the island of Pontia in consequence of testimony borne to Christ (Eusebisu, Church History III. XVIII.5). Eusebius quotes the testimony of the Roman lawyer and Catholic priest Tertullian that there was some persecution of Christians during Domitian's reign but that it was not like the persecution during Nero's time: Tertullian also has mentioned Domitian in the following words: "Domitian also, who possessed a share of Nero's cruelty, attempted once to do the same thing that the latter did. But because he had, I suppose, some intelligence, he very soon ceased, and even recalled those whom he had banished" (Eusebius, Church History III.XX.9).
Point #2: Both the Roman historian Tacitus (Annals XV.44) and the writings of Pope St. Clement of Rome (1 Clement 6), who lived during the reign of Domitian, speak of the deaths of "immense multitudes" of Christians during the reign of Nero, but they do not mention any accounts of severe persecutions during the reign of the Emperor Domitian.
Point #3: Revelation 17:9-11 is an important passage for fixing the dating of St. John's vision. In this passage St. John seems to be speaking of two different lists. It is possible that these are the two different official lists of the Roman emperors used by Roman historians. One list began with Julius Caesar and the other with his successor, his great-nephew Octavian, who was given the title Caesar Augustus (died 14 AD; he was the emperor when Jesus was born).
Roman historian Tacitus begins his list of Roman emperors in Annals, his history of Rome, with the name of the first man to bear the title "emperor" of the Romans: Augustus Caesar (Octavian). However, the Roman Historian Suetonius began his list of Roman emperors in Lives of the Twelve Caesars with Julius Caesar as the first of the Roman emperors (even though Julius Caesar never officially bore that title), as does Dio Cassius in his Roman History and Flavius Josephus, the Jewish first century AD priest/historian, in his history of the Jewish people entitled Antiquities of the Jews. There were, therefore, two official lists in use in the first century AD.
A comparison of the two accepted lists of Roman emperors from Suetonius' list and Tacitus' List:
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