1.3 THE CASE FOR AN EARLY DATE OF REVELATION
‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass’. (Rev.1:1).
Not only H.A.Whittaker1 but also others including J.Robinson have remarked on themes, idiom and eschatology that are strikingly similar and unique to the Book of Revelation from which they were taken:
In both, the false teachers are accused of the error of Balaam (Jude 11; 2 Pet.2:15; Rev.2:14), which in Revelation is closely associated with the teaching of the Nicolaitans (2:6,15). In both Christians are described as being lured into immorality (2 Peter 2:14,18; 3:17; Rev.2:20), into contaminating their clothing (Jude 23; Rev.2: 13). There is the same contrast between the true and the false (Jude 8;2 Pet.1: 2,16; Rev.2:17,24). The heretical teachers are claiming to be shepherds and apostles of Christ’s flock (Jude 11; Rev.2:2), and there is a similar appeal to the teaching of the true apostles (Jude 17, 2 Peter 1:12; 3:1; Rev.3:3), who are the foundation of the church and its faith (Jude 3; Rev.21:14). The eschatological symbolism too shows remarkable parallels, with the day of Christ being likened not only, as in the common Christian tradition, to the thief (2 Pet.3:10; Rev.3:3; 16:15) but uniquely in these two documents to the morning star (2 Pet.1:19; Rev.2:28; 22:16). In both, the existing heavens and earth disappear (2 Pet.3: 10; Rev.6: 14; 16:20; 20:11) to be replaced by new (2 Peter 3:13; Rev.21:1); in both, the fallen angels are chained in the depths of hell (Jude 6; 2 Pet.2:4; Rev.20:1-3,7), and appeal is made to the theme of a thousand years (2 Pet.3: 8; Rev.20:2-7).2
A schematic overview of the similarities between Hebrews and 1 and 2 Peter might be given as follows:
HEBREWS
REVELATION
The word of God (4:12) (=Jesus v.13).
The word of God (=Jesus 19:13).
….is sharper than a two-edged sword (4:12).
….with a sharp two-edged sword (1:16; 19:15).
The city which hath (the: RV) foundations, whose builder and maker is God (11:10).
The wall of the city (of God) had 12 foundations (21:14).
And this whole sequence from chapter12:
Mount Zion
Heavenly Jerusalem
The city of the living God
An innumerable company of angels
The general assembly
Written in heaven
God the judge of all
Jesus the mediator of a new covenant
The blood of sprinkling
The Lamb on Mount Zion (14:1).
New Jerusalem out of heaven (21:2).
The God of the living creatures (4:6).
The voice of many angels (5:11).
The 144,000 sealed out of Israel (ch.7& 14).
Written in the Lamb’s book of life (13:8;
21:27).
The dead standing before God to be judged (20:12).
A lamb as it had been slain (5:5,6).
Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood (5:9).
Him that spoke from heaven
Revelation is the only message of Jesus spoken from heaven!
Let us serve God
They serve him day and night in his Temple (7:15)
I PETER
REVELATION
Things angels desired to look into (1:12).
Angel: “Who is worthy to open the book?” (5:12).
Faith… gold tried in the fire (1:7).
Buy gold tried in the fire (3:18).
Living stones (2:5).
City with 12 foundations, and in them the names of the apostles (21:14).
A royal priesthood (2:9).
Kings and priests (5:10; 1:6).
Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb (1:19).
A Lamb as it had been slain…Thou hast redeemed us (5:6,9).
The foundation of the world (1:20).
The foundation of the world (13:8).
To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever (5:11).
To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever (1:6).
Babylon (5:13).
Babylon the Great (17:15).
II PETER
REVELATION
A more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to take heed (1:19).
The apocalypse of Jesus Christ (1:1).
Holy men of God spake as they were moved of the Holy Spirit (1:21).
…..he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John (1:1).
The day star (1:19).
The bright and morning star (2:28, 22:16).
False prophets (2:1).
The false prophet (16:13; 19:20).
Angels…. cast down to hell (2:14).
Satan…. cast into a bottomless pit (20:1-3).
The way of Balaam (2:15).
The doctrine of Balaam (2:14).
A thousand years (3:8).
A thousand years (20:3,5,6).
A thief in the night (3:10).
I will come as a thief (3:3; 16:15).
The heavens pass away (3:10).
The heaven fled away (20:11; 21:1).
We, according to his promise (where?) look for a new heavens and earth (3:13).
A new heaven and a new earth (21:2).
Several scholars have shown that the two epistles of Peter and the epistle to the Hebrews bear a remarkable correspondence with the book of Revelation. If this is correct then Revelation must have been written prior to AD 70. The majority of critics opt for an early dating of Hebrews (about AD 68). 1 On the other hand many of the critics argue that the epistles of Peter were not written by Peter (especially 2 Peter); however the evidence for a late dating of the epistles is subjective and can be safely discounted – the traditional viewpoint holds that both epistles were written by the apostle Peter himself, this then narrows the margin of writing down to sometime before Peter’s death in Rome (dated between AD 64 and AD 68).
The epistle to the Hebrews was written to a Jewish community; the theme of the epistle is to encourage them to remember the former days, when their love, faith and patience in Christ was strong (6:10). These Jewish Christians are being exhorted to remain in Christ and not to return to Judaism; the epistle stresses the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice (9:23) and Christ’s priesthood (7:7) and warns them that the Temple and ritualistic worship would soon be destroyed: ‘Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. And this word yet once more signifieth the removing of those things that have been made that those things which are not shaken may remain’ (Heb.12:26,27. See Hag.2: 6,14,15,22).
It has been suggested that Hebrews 12 and 2 Peter are not referring to the passing away of the Mosaic system, but rather to the return of Christ, which still lies in the future. We will address this argument in the style of a question and answer segment.
QUESTION 1:
‘The removing of the things that are shaken’ (Heb.12:27) does not refer to the removing of the Mosaic dispensation. The words ‘yet once more’ imply finality (i.e. God will remove one more time). This suggests that this verse is as yet unfulfilled and had no immediate meaning to the first century Hebrews to whom it was written. ‘Him that speaketh from heaven’ is referring to the voice of God, (Ex.19:18) for it is the Sinai experience which is extensively described in Hebrews 12 and it is therefore not referring to Jesus’ warning from heaven (the Revelation given to John).
ANSWER:
The words ‘yet once more’ do not necessarily imply finality. ‘For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man regardeth it not’ (Job 33:14 RV). The words can also be read in the sense of ‘one more time’. The removing of the things that are shaken implies the removing of the kingdom of Israel, to be replaced with, ‘a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed’ (Dan.2:44). God had warned the nation that he would, remove the diadem, and take off the crown....overturn,overturn,overturn (3x) (Ezek.21:26). This had a short-term fulfilment in the three invasions of Nebuchadnezzar, and a long-term fulfilment in BC 586, AD 70 and the future (AD?).
The true test of a prophet is the fulfilment of his words; Jesus predicted the demise of the Mosaic system and exhorted his disciples that with faith they would be able to say, “to this mountain (Temple mount) remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove”. The argument is even more forceful when it is realised that Jesus spoke these words after healing the lunatic, symbolic of the nation possessed with a devil (Mtt.17:14-20). Revelation informs us that God did indeed remove the mountain (in answer to the prayer of faith?) - for, ‘a great mountain was cast into the sea’ (Rev.8:8).
The kingdom was removed from Israel in AD 70 but not immediately replaced with the kingdom of God for now is the time of the Gentiles. The stone (Christ) that smote the feet of the image will grow into a mountain, replacing the mountain that was removed.
The language used in Hebrews ch.12 and in the second epistle of Peter reflects the removal of the Mosaic system (typical fulfilment) for they reflect the language of Stephen’s speech in Acts ch.7:
STEPHENS SPEECH
HEBREWS 12 (+ 2 PETER)
“This Moses whom they refused, saying, who made thee a ruler and a judge?” (v.35).
“A prophet (Jesus) shall the Lord your God raise up (from the dead) unto you of your brethren, like unto me; (Moses) him shall ye hear” (v.37).
“…to whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt” (v.39).
“For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth” (12:25).
“Him that speaketh from heaven (12:25).
….hath in these last days spoken to us by his son (Heb.1:1). Hear ye him” (Lk. 9:35, 2 Pet 1:17).
“…if we turn away from him” (12:25).
2 Peter 2:20-22: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. (See Mtt.12:45 = Jewish nation.) For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
“As for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him” (v.40).
“In the last days mockers shall come with mockery.....saying where is the promise of his coming?”(2 Pet 3:4).
“I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing on the right hand of God (v.55) - Stephen saw Jesus asking for his inheritance”(Ps.2:8).
“Wherefore we receive a kingdom that cannot be moved” (v.28).
The parallels between Stephen’s speech, Hebrews 12 and 2 Peter are not coincidental, for Stephen (like his Lord) was put on trial because ‘This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us’ (Acts 6:13-14). Stephen argued that God had always revealed himself outside the land; to Abraham in Mesopotamia (7:2) to Moses in the bush (v.30) and on Mt Sinai (v.38); to our fathers in the tabernacle in the wilderness (v.44). Although Solomon built Him an house (v.47), God does not dwell in a house made with hands (v.48). The whole power and force of Stephen’s argument is that the Mosaic system would disappear, for Jesus had built, ‘a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices’ (1 Pet.2:5). It was therefore appropriate that both Hebrews and the Petrine epistles use the same theme.
The voice that warneth from heaven (Heb.12: 25) is in the first instance the voice of God, but it is also that of Jesus, who speaks in God’s name:“God......hath in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things” (Heb.1:1).
(The last days of the Mosaic dispensation - Jesus, firstbegotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth = heir of all things Rev.1:5).
The writer to the Hebrews wants us to draw a contrast between Sinai and Zion, between the voice of God to Moses and the voice of Jesus to us, for we are now commanded by God to listen to Jesus; ‘hear ye him’ (Lk.9:35). Jesus was the fulfilment of the law and the prophets, that is why the transfiguration account emphasises that, ‘when the voice (of God) was past Jesus was found alone’ (Lk.9:36). Both Moses (the law) and Elijah (the prophets) had disappeared. Once again we find that Hebrews and 2 Peter stress the same point.
EXODUS 19
HEBREWS 12
2 PETER1(transfiguration)
Mt. Sinai (v.18).
Mt Sinai (v.18).
The holy mount (v.18).
God answers Moses by a voice (v.19).
Him (God) that warneth from heaven (v.25).
This voice (God’s) which came from heaven we heard (v.18).
Whole mount quaked greatly (v.18).
Voice shook the earth (v.26).
The people feared (20:19).
Moses feared (v.21).
The disciples feared (Lk. 9:35).
A thick cloud (v.9,16).
Tempest [storm clouds?] (v.21).
A cloud (Lk. 9:34).
“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh”[Jesus] (v.25 cp. Heb. 1:1).
“This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased (v.17), hear ye him” [Jesus] (Lk. 9:34).
The whole thrust of the argument in Hebrews is that the Levitical dispensation had been replaced by Christ’s sacrifice. It was a last appeal to the Jews not to turn back to the Mosaic system, for soon (AD 70) it would be removed in its totality. The writer urges them to listen to Jesus’ warning from heaven (Revelation).
The second epistle of Peter follows a similar theme, and is also a late epistle, written shortly before Peter’s death (1:14). It is very appropriate that Peter in the same chapter should refer to the ‘prophecy of Scripture’ given to ‘men of God (=John) moved by the Holy Spirit’ (1:21; cp. Rev.1:10), for had not Jesus himself linked the death of Peter with John receiving the revelation of his coming? (John 21:18-24).
‘It is generally agreed that Hebrews was written near, but not after, the destruction of Jerusalem. The writer throughout speaks of the Levitical ritual as still in force’ (Angus). ‘It is impossible to suppose that a writer wishing to demonstrate the evanescent nature of the Levitical dispensation and writing after the temple service had been discontinued, should not have pointed to that event as strengthening his argument’ (Marcus Dods). If outside commentators can grasp this point, why can’t we?
QUESTION 2:
Isn’t Revelation borrowing from Hebrews and 1st and 2nd of Peter, as it borrows from almost every other book in the Bible?
ANSWER:
This argument is contrived, for all revelation is progressive. The Bible is the story of God manifestation. He reveals himself in the same way as he teaches us, ‘precept upon precept, line upon line; here a little, and there a little’. God’s revelation is in shadow and type until Christ ‘for it pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness dwell’ (Col.1:19), but the revelation is still incomplete for he will be manifest in a multitude.
In a similar way the prophecies are progressive, each contributing to the following prophecy until the picture is complete. The ‘man of sin’ prophecy for example follows this same developmental pattern:
1. Isa.14: 4-15 (=king of Babylon = first fulfilment).
2. Dan.8:9-27 (= Antiochus Epiphanies = first fulfilment).
3. 2 Thess.2: 3-12 (= Paul’s enemy in the first century ecclesia = first fulfilment).
4. Rev.13:11-18 = THE FULL REVELATION.
To this list we might add Judas who, as the ‘son of perdition’ (John.17:12; 2 Thess.2:3) was also a type of the man of sin, who comes out of the household of faith.
In the above example the man of sin in Rev.13:11-18 is not borrowing from the other prophecies; it is building on them. It adds new perspective to the vision in language and idiom that is unique to the book of Revelation. Similarly, we can be sure that Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter are quoting Revelation because they often introduce matters
which have received no mention whatever in their context but which are fully explained in Revelation. A good example of this is the message to the ecclesia at Ephesus:
Revelation 2:1-7
‘Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst (God walking amongst the trees in the garden) of the seven golden candlesticks; (= trees) I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love (Adam). Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, (fall from grace) and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick (= tree of life, cp. Ex.25:31-39) out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God’ (Eden).
This message belongs naturally in Revelation and is based on Adam and Eves’ fall from grace. It is also extensively quoted in Hebrews:
HEBREWS written c. AD 67
REVELATION Ch. 2 EPHESUS
“But call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated ye endured a great fight of afflictions” (Heb.10:32).
“Remember from whence thou art fallen...will remove thy lampstands (illumination) ....I know thy works and thy labour” (v. 1-7).
HEBREWS written c. AD 67
REVELATION Ch.2 EPHESUS
“God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love, which ye showed towards his name” (Heb.6:10).
“I know thy works and thy labour and thy patience”(v.2).
“That ye wax not weary fainting in your souls”(Heb.12:3).
“And hast borne, and hast patience and for my names sake hast laboured and hast not fainted”(v.3).
“That no man fall after the same example of disobedience” (Heb.4:11, cp. 6:6).
“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen” (v.5).
“…how much more shall we not escape, who turn away from him that warneth from heaven”(Heb.12:26).
“Revelation is the only message from Jesus spoken from heaven to the ecclesias.”
“And this word, yet once more signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken” (Heb.12:27).
“I will remove thy lampstand….” (v.5) (= spirit gifts + the Temple).
To suggest that Revelation is ‘borrowing’ from Hebrews contradicts the evidence, for it is Revelation that draws the comparisons with the fall from grace, and it is Revelation that is the natural home for this text, to suggest otherwise is to do violence to any sort of meaningful interpretation - it is well and truly putting the horse behind the cart.
The inevitable conclusion is that Hebrews is quoting from Revelation and that therefore Revelation has an early date. 1
While there is no evidence that Paul himself wrote an apocalypse, he claims to have been the recipient of revelatory visions or ecstatic experiences (Gal.1:11-17; 1 Cor.9: 1; 15:18. See Acts 9:9-19; 16:9; 18:9-10; 22:6-11, 17-21; 26:12-18; 27:23-24).
In Gal.1:12 he speaks of his Damascus Road experience as an apocalypse (revelation) from Jesus Christ, and in 2 Cor.12:1 he speaks of ‘visions and revelations (apocalypses) of the Lord’ which are presumably his own experience. It is likely that Paul is the man of whom he speaks, who experienced the journey to the third heaven where he heard unspeakable things (2 Cor.12:1-10).
There are four relatively extensive scenarios in the Pauline letters, three of which centre on the parousia of Jesus (1 Thess.4:13-18; 2 Thess.1:5-12; 1 Cor.15:51-57) and the so-called ‘Pauline apocalypse’ which centres on the coming of the eschatological antagonist (man of sin) in 2 Thess.2:1-12. There are also shorter scenarios in 1 Thess.1:9-10; 3:13; 5:23.
It is apparent then that Paul had received some form of revelation probably while he was away in Arabia (Gal.1:7: was he at Sinai for 40 days?). The question remains to be asked: Why would the apostle Paul receive an apocalypse of the Lord’s parousia prior to A.D. 70 if it had no relevance whatsoever to the first century believers? It is clear that the first century believers and even Paul himself expected the return of their Lord before A.D. 70 – but that was dependent on the repentance of the nation, and the nation did not repent.
One of Paul’s outstanding prophecies is that of the man of sin – although there are many points of contact between Paul’s passages and the Olivet prophecy 1 the style and language of Paul’s writings shows that he had received an independent vision.
The similarities between the ‘Pauline revelation’ and the Olivet prophecy/Revelation are explained by the Holy Spirit, the common factor in all ‘apocalypses’. In 2 Thess. Paul assures the believers that the parousia is not yet at hand because the last event before the Lord’s ‘revelation’ is the ‘revelation’ of the man of sin. Paul says that his readers know “what restrains, so that he may be revealed in his own time” (2 Thess.2:6).‘What restrains’ is neuter (to katechon) in verse 6, but ‘he who restrains’ in verse 7 is masculine (ho katechon). The commentators have all sorts of suggestions2 but the present writer thinks that ‘what restrains’ (neuter) is the abyss mentioned in Rev.9:13 and ‘he who restrains’ is the angel of the abyss (who has the keys) whose name is Abaddon/Appollyon (= the destroyer, Rev.9:11). Paul warns that the man of sin would come out of the household (2 Thess.2:4) and would perform signs: ‘Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders’ (2 Thess.2:9). This particular person is probably the same one that Paul refers to in 2 Cor.11:13,14:
‘For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel for even Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light’.
Suffice to say then that Paul received an independent ‘revelation’ prior to A.D. 70, this ‘revelation’ has many similarities with the Olivet prophecy and the book of Revelation, and like them it had a typical fulfillment in the first century (for the mystery of iniquity doth already work; 2 Thess.2:7) but awaits its true fulfillment sometime in the near future.
CAN REVELATION BE DATED FROM CHAPTER 17:9-11?
‘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 while. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.’.
There is every evidence that Rev.17:9,10 dates the book of Revelation to the reign of Nero. This is discussed in Digression 12.1 (A TALE OF TWO CITIES – JERUSALEM VERSUS ROME).
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE: THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS
Irenaeus who was a native of Asia Minor, claims to have known Polycarp who was a disciple of John. In circa A.D.180 he wrote the following with regard to the name of the beast in Rev.13:18:
‘If it had been necessary that his name should be publicly proclaimed at the present season, it would have been uttered by him who saw the Apocalypse. For it was seen no such long time ago, but almost in our own generation, at the end of the reign of Domitian’.
We have various options when assessing this passage and we will examine each of them, they are as follows:
1) The translation of the passage is faulty; ‘it was seen’ actually means he (John) was
seen (still alive) at the end of Domitian’s reign.
2) The translation is correct but Irenaeus was confused and therefore his testimony is
incorrect.
3) The translation is correct and the testimony is valid – Revelation was written by
John during Domitian’s reign.
ANALYSIS:
1) The reading of John into the passage (instead of ‘it’) is very dubious. The passage
is twice quoted by Eusebuis, who supplies us with the original Greek. The Greek is much more naturally taken to refer to the Apocalypse (it) than to the person (he). Moreover the Latin translation (visum) is definitely against the person – it should be ‘visa’. ‘Visum’ would have to refer to the name of the beast.1 If this is correct (and this seems likely to the present writer) then the translation should read as follows:
If it had been necessary that his name (THE BEAST) should be publicly proclaimed at the present season, it would have been uttered by him (JOHN) who saw the Apocalypse. For it (THE BEAST) was seen no such long time ago, but almost in our generation, at the end of the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81 – A.D. 96).
If this is correct Irenaeus was not referring to John or the Apocalypse but to the beast. In this context it is interesting to note that about A.D. 88/89 a third pseudo - Nero - again made his appearance amongst the Parthians and threatened the Roman Empire (See digression 12.1 page 8). Another alternative is that it is a reference to the gigantic statue of the Emperor Domitian that was erected at the temple at Ephesus.
If the translation is correct in stating that the Apocalypse was given during the reign of Domitian, this still does not rule out a date before A.D. 70! Domitian was the younger son of Vespasian, and Titus was the elder. In December of 69 Vespasian was acclaimed Emperor. But for the first half of 70 he was occupied in Alexandria, while his elder son Titus engaged upon the siege of Jerusalem. His younger son Domitian, the sole representative of the family in Rome, accepted the name of Caesar and the imperial residence and was invested with full consular authority, his name being placed at the head of all dispatches and edicts. As Josephus puts it, he was ruler until his father should come, and for over six months with the backing of the army chief Mucianus, his writ ran.
His ambitions and abuse of power was so great, that his father Vespasian, wrote the following to him from Alexandria:
‘I am much obliged to you, my son, for letting me still be Emperor and for not having yet deposed me.’
It is clear therefore, that Domitian had the full powers of the Emperor, and that he reigned temporarily in place of his father between A.D. 69 – A.D. 70. It is quite possible that Irenaeus confused this interregnum with his later reign (A.D. 81 – A.D. 96). However, the present writer believes that A.D. 69 – 70 is still too late a date for the writing of the Apocalypse.
2) Assuming that Irenaeus’ testimony is correct, we are still left with the problem of
how to interpret the weight of inspired scriptural evidence that contradicts his statement. The present writer has not seen that done to his satisfaction as yet.
CONCLUSION:
The testimony of Irenaeus, although strong, has no means of being tested for its reliability or its accuracy; by contrast the testimony of scripture is inspired, and provided the interpretation thereof is along scriptural principles it indicates an early date for the apocalypse. The present writer will always prefer the testimony of scripture to that of the ‘early church fathers’. Nevertheless option 1) is a textually valid interpretation that harmonises both history and scripture, and option 2) shows that even if the testimony is accepted at face value it does not preclude a date before 70. As far as the reliability of Irenaeus is concerned, it must be remembered that he twice states that John lived to the reign of Trajan (A.D. 98 – 117) and this does not relate very well to the early church legend that upon his release, John went on horseback searching for one of his disciples who had gone astray (John would have been nearly 100 years old!).
THE OLIVET PROPHECY AND THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
The Olivet prophecy, like all prophecy, has a typical short-term fulfilment and a long- term true fulfilment:‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will not pass away’ (Mtt.24: 35).
The earth (= the nation of Israel) did ‘pass away’ as did the ‘heavens”’(= the Jewish ecclesia). The Lord warned his saints to flee Jerusalem when they saw it, “compassed about with armies” (Lk.21:20). Nero’s death and the ensuing trouble over his succession caused the general Vespasian to withdraw his troops and break the siege. The Jews saw this as a victory, but the (obedient) saints heeded Christ’s words and fled from Jerusalem and Judea. Vespasian went to Rome to be crowned Caesar, in the meanwhile his son Titus was dispatched to finish the siege. Therefore the ‘heaven’ (ecclesia) and ‘earth’ (nation) ceased to exist in the land after A.D. 70 – but Christ’s words will not pass away.
In order for this to be true the heaven and the earth have to be established again – Christ himself emphasises this: ‘Now learn the parable of the fig tree’ (Mtt.24:32). In other words the nation has to be re-established in the land – this has already happened (1948, but the tree has as yet not put forth its leaves), but we are still awaiting the re-establishment of a Jewish ecclesia in Israel: ‘signs in the sun and the moon, and in the stars’ (Lk.21:25). ‘And a great sign was seen in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars… travailing in birth to be delivered’ (Rev.12:1,2; cp.John.16: 21).
‘Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled’ (Mtt.24:34). The Lord was not referring to the generation of his day, but to the future generation that would see the establishment of the nation and the birth of the ecclesia in Israel. The Psalmist says: ‘This is the generation of them that seek after him, that seek thy face, O God of Jacob’.
‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates (i.e., those that sit in the gate – the watchman), And lift up your heads ye everlasting (ancient) doors; And the king of glory shall come in’ (Ps.24:6,7). In the Lord’s words the generation that sees these things occurring are told to ‘lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh’ (Lk.21:28). ‘He is nigh even at the door’” (Mtt.24:32).
The generation that heard the Lord’s preaching and saw his miracles did not repent ‘the tribes of the earth (Israel) did not mourn’ (Mtt.24: 30). It was a generation of vipers (Mtt.12:34), an evil and adulterous generation (Mtt.12:39), a faithless and perverse generation (Mtt.17:17). ‘Verily I say unto you all these things (the blood of the righteous) shall come upon this generation’ (Mtt.23:36), until they were able to say ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord’ (Mtt.23:39).
Therefore the Lord came in judgement in A.D. 70:
‘Henceforth ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven’ (the words of Jesus to the high priest [Mtt.26:64]at
his trial, quoted from Dan.7:13). These words must have been fulfilled in the first century, otherwise Christ would have been declared a false prophet; it is no coincidence therefore that Revelation opens with the same words:
‘Look he is coming with the clouds of heaven, and every eye shall see him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn for him. So shall it be! Amen’ (Rev.1:7). This verse is a composite verse quoting from Dan.7:13 and Zech.12:10-14. The context in
Daniel is the Lord Jesus Christ being received into the presence of Yahweh after his resurrection – the themes that sum up the chapter are dominion and judgement. Opposed to this the theme of the Zechariah quote is repentance. The nation refused to repent and was therefore destroyed in A.D. 70. It is very probable that the high priest, like the martyr Stephen, saw a vision of Christ – but this time coming in judgement. As the Son of God, Jesus sent his army – 12 legions of angels (controlling human affairs) against Jerusalem. As a prophet, Jesus had to be proven right – so in the sense of bringing judgement (in order to induce repentance) Jesus did ‘come’ in A.D. 70 and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans as he had predicted in Mtt.22:1-7.
CONCLUSION:
The close correspondence between the seals and the Olivet prophecy show that Revelation had a typical fulfilment in A.D. 70 – the Lord did ‘come in judgement’. This requires Revelation to be written prior to A.D. 70 otherwise the references to the Olivet prophecy would be pointless. However the present writer is not advancing a preterits view, for the true fulfilment (conditional on repentance) is still in the future.
DIGRESSION ON THE OLIVET PROPHECY: [Mtt.24; Mk.13; Lk.21; Lk.17]
(A comparison between the Gospels, the Olivet prophecy and the seals.)
WHITE HORSE (1st seal) (v.1)
Conquest.
“And this Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a testimony unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Mtt.24:14, cp. Acts 1:8; 9:15).
RED HORSE (2nd seal) (v.3,4)
“…power to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”
“Think not that I am come to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father…”(Mtt.10: 34-35).
“…and ye shall be betrayed by parents, and brethren…”(Lk.21:16).
BLACK HORSE (3rd seal) (v.5,6)
Famine…..
“…and there shall be famines” (Mtt.24:17; Mk.13:8).
PALE HORSE (4th seal) (v.7,8)
Death and hades….
“…nation shall rise against nation (Mtt.24:7), famines and pestilence (Lk.21:11; Mk.13:8), fall by the edge of the sword…Jerusalem trodden down of the Gentiles” (Lk.21:24).
SLAIN UNDER THE ALTAR (5th seal) (v.9-11)
HOW LONG?
“But before all these things they shall lay their hands on you…persecute you…some of you shall they cause to be put to death…In your patience ye shall win your souls” (Lk.21: 15-17).
“But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved” (Mtt.24: 13).
SIXTH SEAL (v.12)
A great earthquake.
“There shall be great earthquakes” (Lk.21: 11).
Sun and moon as blood (v.12).
And the stars of heaven fell to earth (v.12).
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
…and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken” (Mtt.24:29, see Acts 2:20). “And thou Capernaum which art exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell” (Lk.10: 15, cp. v.18).
REVELATION
GOSPELS
FIG TREE (v.13)
AD 70: Lk.23:31; 13:6-9; Mk.11:14.1948:Mtt.24:32
Shaken of a mighty wind (v.13).
“…and the rain descended and the floods came (cp. Lk.17:27) and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof” (Mtt.7:27, cp. 23:38; 24:2).
Heaven and earth departed as a scroll (of the law) when it is rolled together (v.14).
“Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away” (Mtt.24: 35).
Every mountain and island moved out of their place (v.14).
“…ye shall not only do this which is done in the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain (= the Temple mount, Mt Zion), be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done” (Mtt.21:21; 17:20).
And the kings of the earth…(v.15).
See Acts 4:25-27.
Fall on us…(v.16).
“Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me… For, behold, the days are coming…then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, cover us” (Lk.23: 30).
The great day of his wrath… (v.17).
Who is able to stand…(v.17).
“…these are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Lk.21:22).
“Wrath upon his people” (Lk.21: 23).
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that come to pass, and to stand before the son of man” (Lk.21:36)
NOTE: Even the lamentable state of the ecclesias is mentioned in Mtt.24:9-13: “Then shall ye be handed over to be (1) persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time (2) many will turn away from the faith (3) and will betray each other, (4) and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. (5) Because of the increase of wickedness, (6) the love of most will grow cold, (7) he who stand firm to the end will be saved”.
(1) SMYRNA – Persecuted
(2) EPHESUS – Fallen
(3) PERGAMOS – Betrayal (Balaam)
(4) THYATIRA – Jezebel (prophetess)
(5) SARDIS – Dead, defiled garments
(6) LAODICEA – Neither cold nor hot.
(7) PHILADELPHIA – Thou hast kept the word of my patience
The following chronological reconstruction is tentatively offered:
A.D. 57/58 – EPHESIANS: Written by Paul to the ecclesia at Ephesus during his imprisonment at Caesarea (Acts 24:27; 25:4), he praises their faith and love and prays for their enlightenment by the Holy Spirit1 – his audience is predominately Gentile.
Banishment of John to Patmos.2
A.D. 54 – Nero ascends the throne.
A.D. 64 –The great fire of Rome.
A.D. 64 – REVELATION: Given to the apostle John by the Lord Jesus Christ who warns the Ephesians that their spirit gifts would be removed. (The removal of the lampstand is probably an indication to the Judaizers that their lampstand = the Temple would also be removed.)3
A.D. 64 – The death of Paul.4
A.D 65 – Start of the persecution under Nero.5
A.D. 65 and start of A.D. 66 – 1 and 2 Peter. Death of Peter.
Early in A.D. 66 – HEBREWS: Written (by Barnabas?) to the Ephesians; the last ditch appeal to the Jewish section of the ecclesia: ‘How much more shall we not escape, who turn away from him that warneth from heaven’ (Jesus Christ’s Revelation).6
A.D. 66½ - Start of the Jewish war (3½ years). Many Jewish Christians fall away after the death of Paul and Peter, and return to Judaism in support of their fellow Jews in the war against Roman oppression.
A.D. 68 – Nero commits suicide.
A.D. 70 – Removal of the lampstand – Temple destroyed and spirit gifts withdrawn from those who had fallen away.
CONCLUSION:
Those who argue for a late date of Revelation do so against the grain of the internal evidence, usually for the purpose of imposing a continuous historical interpretation. In so doing they ignore one of the most cataclysmic events in the history of the Jewish nation (and early ecclesia) thus robbing Scriptures of much of their power.
NOTES ON THE DATING OF REVELATION
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS WRITTEN TO THE HEBREWS AT EPHESUS
(A SECONDARY CONCLUSION)
A secondary conclusion is that the epistle to the Hebrews was written to the Hebrews at Ephesus. (Otherwise why does the author bother using these quotes to reinforce his argument?) The secondary conclusion is merely a logical consequence, and of no influence on our primary conclusion, that Hebrews quotes Revelation, giving it a date pre A.D. 70.
It is, however, interesting to examine the question of the authorship and destination of Hebrews as a separate issue.
The proposal suggested here is that Hebrews was written by Barnabas and that the destination of the epistle was the Hebrews at Ephesus.
The reason why Barnabas is writing to the Hebrews at Ephesus is because the apostle Paul is dead. In writing his epistle, it would be natural for Barnabas to base his exhortations on Paul’s earlier epistle to the Ephesians (written ca. A.D. 57/58) and on the warning to Ephesus received in Revelation (ca. A.D. 64).
Hebrews written by Barnabas ?
Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew and a Levite, he was also a rich man, a property owner and probably a businessman. We are told in Acts (4:34-36) that he sold all his wealth and laid it at the feet of the apostles. It has been suggested that he was given the name Barnabas ‘son of exhortation’ (instead of son of the law ?) because he responded to the exhortation directed at him by Jesus. He was the rich young man of Matt.19:16-19 who had kept all these things from his youth up - from his bar mitzvah! (See Studies in the Gospels, H.A.W., p. 521.)
The letter to the Hebrews is written by someone very familiar with Levitical ritual, who was not himself counted among them that heard the gospel firsthand (Heb.2:3,4). The metaphors used in Hebrews are those of a landowner - businessman; God is a wage-payer (11:6), men must render an account (13:17), coming into an inheritance (1:2,14; 6:12,17; 9:15; 11:7; 12:17), that would bring you no profit (only here13:17), do not live for money (13:5), making the same calculation (10:35). The apostle Paul’s metaphors are all drawn from the law and the law courts. Furthermore Paul is not mentioned in this letter, and Timothy has been in prison (13:23). This imprisonment is not mentioned in 1 and 2 Timothy or in Philippians and must therefore be dated after Paul’s trial in Rome.
The conclusion seems to be that the apostle Paul had been executed, and therefore Barnabas, who was familiar with Paul’s work and was also somewhat of a ‘trouble-shooter’ in the early ecclesia (Acts 9:26-30; 11:22-30; 15:22-39) undertook to progress the apostle’s work.
As a Levite, who had sold his goods, Barnabas was well placed to exhort his fellow Hebrews:
ACTS 4 :34 –36
Barnabas (= son of exhortation).
Suffer the word of exhortation (13:22).
A Levite.
“If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?” (7:11).
“Levi hath no portion or inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance” (Deut.10:9).
“....coming into or possessing an inheritance” (1:2,14; 6:12,17; 9:15; 11:7; 12:17).
Brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet.
“Be free from the love of money” (RV Heb.13:5).
Was Barnabas referring to Paul’s Ephesian Epistle?
EPHESIANS written ca. AD 58 HEBREWS written ca. AD 67
For he is our peace….
“King of Salem, which is king of Peace” (Heb.7:2).
“Who hath made both (Jew/Gentile one and brake down the middle wall of partition (between God and man) having abolished in his flesh…”
“By a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say his flesh…”(Heb.9:10).
“The enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Ephesians 2:14,15).
“Carnal ordinances, imposed until the time of reformation” (Heb.10:20).
“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints…”
“God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love, which ye showed towards his name” (Heb.6:10).
“Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know…” (Ephesians 1:15-18).
“But call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated (enlightened by the spirit)…” (Heb.10:32).
EPHESIANS ch.1
HEBREWS ch.2
PSALM 8
The Father of glory (v.17).
To usward who believe, according to the working of the (strength RV) of his mighty power (v.19).
The heavenly places, far above principality, and power, and might, and dominion (v.21).
And have put all things (in subjection RV) under his feet (v.22).
That filleth all in all (v.23).
Hebrews 2:5-8:
“For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.”
Thy glory (toward thy son) (v.1).
Ordained strength (v.2).
Thy glory above the heavens (v.1).
Madest him to have dominion (v.6).
Thou hast put all things under his feet (v.6).
In all the earth (v.1,9).
It is interesting to observe that Psalm 110 is brought together with Psalm 8 in Eph.1:20,22. Psalm 110 is also twice quoted in Heb.1:3,13. Psalm 8 and 110 were also used together by Paul in 1 Cor.15:27.
The theme of the epistle to the Hebrews is the superiority of the new covenant over the old – it was a warning to those Jews, who because of the pressure of outward trial and opposition were in danger of falling away. The Gentile was a stranger to the covenants of promise while the law existed (Eph.2:12) but the Jew also could not inherit those promises (Heb.11:39) until the law had been fulfilled and abolished.
Note the similarities between the themes:
EPHESIANS (GENTILE)
HEBREWS (JEWS)
Saved through faith… not of works that man should glory (2:8).
Salvation by faith (Hebrews chapter 11).
Strangers from the covenants of promise (2:12).
Strangers and pilgrims (11:9,13).
No more strangers and sojourners but fellow citizens (2:19).
He hath prepared them a city (11:16).
Ephesians was written to a Gentile audience (Eph.2:11; 3:6-9). Hebrews was written to a Jewish: such expressions as ‘The fathers’ (Heb.1:1), ‘Your fathers’ (3:9), ‘seed of Abraham’ (2:16) and the language of 13:9-15 witnesses to this
Another recurring theme in Ephesians is that of the ‘heavenly places’ or ‘heavenly things’ – it is used five times in Ephesians and only three times elsewhere. Two of the occurrences are in Hebrews. Once in John 31:2:
‘(The priests) who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things’ (Heb.8:5).
‘It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these’ (Heb.9:23).
The Pauline themes of boldness of access, and sonship are also concepts upon which the author to the Hebrews expands:
‘In whom we have boldness and access in confidence through faith in him’ (Eph.3:12).
‘But Christ as a son over his house; whose house we are, if we hold fast our boldness…’ (Heb.3:16).
‘Let us draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace’ (Heb.4:16).
‘Having therefore boldness to enter into the holy place…cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward’ (Heb.10:19,35)
Whereas Paul makes the Ephesians aware of the privilege of being ‘foreordained unto the adoption as sons through Jesus Christ’ (Eph.1:5), the author to the Hebrews reminds them that with sonship comes responsibility and chastisement for wrongdoing (Heb.12:5,6).
THE BACKGROUND OF THE EPHESIAN ECCLESIA IN RELATION TO HEBREWS
The conversion of the disciples of John the Baptist which occurred in Acts 19 may explain some of the problems facing the Ephesian congregation. These disciples had not heard of Jesus Christ nor had they received the Holy Spirit. They were obviously awaiting the Messiah, yet steeped under the rituals of the law. When the apostle Paul arrived at Ephesus he baptised them in the name of the Lord Jesus and they received the Holy Spirit.
Bearing this background in mind it is notable that the author to the Hebrews admonishes his audience – ‘not to lay again the foundation of repentance from dead works’ (6:1), ‘for those that fall away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance’ (6:6). Does the author mean to indicate the Baptism of John – which Paul refers to as the baptism of repentance (Acts 19:4)? Were the former disciples of John the Baptist in danger of falling back to the righteousness of the law – and therefore make repentance again, impossible?
‘For as touching those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit…it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance (Heb.6:4-6).
Luke continues his narrative in Acts 19 (13-17) by relating an incident that occurred at Ephesus. The incident that Luke describes is an acted parable and is closely connected with the baptism of repentance preached by John.
In Luke’s account we are told of a Jewish priest called Sceva, and his seven devotees who, while using the names of Jesus and Paul in an attempt to exorcise an evil spirit, are not acknowledged by their patient. In fact two of the exorcists are overcome and flee the house naked and wounded. The connecting clue with John’s baptism is the word ‘evil spirit’ which is only used here and in Lk.11:26 (parallel account Mtt.12:45).
‘The unclean spirit when he is gone out of a man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith I will turn back unto my house whence I came out. And when he is come he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first’ (Lk.11:25,26).
The meaning of the parable is indicated by the words: ‘Even so shall it be to this wicked generation’ – John the Baptist’s mission exorcised the ‘evil spirit’ in Israel; but then, instead of taking Jesus as the rightful occupant of the house, the nation refused to have him. So the parable prophesied invasion by seven other ‘evil spirits’ so that the last state of the nation must inevitably be much worse than the first. This happened. The next forty years after Jesus told this parable saw such a drastic moral decline in Jewry that national overthrow became inevitable. The use in this parable of ‘evil spirit’ (as against ‘unclean spirit’ everywhere else) is thus explained. The phrase puts emphasis on the meaning of the parable (or type) in Acts 19. The sequence of significant events is truly remarkable:
a) Sceva means ‘a prepared vessel’ (a vessel fit for destruction?, see Rom.9:22,
Acts 9:15).
b) A chief priest.
c) Jesus and Paul approved by the Gentile hitherto under the domination of an evil spirit.
d) The representative of temple Jewry, devotees of an ungodly cult, flee out of the house, naked and wounded (cp. John 12:31).
e) In particular, two of them (like Jannes and Jambres) who associate themselves with the name of Jesus (like the subversive Judaists in the early ecclesia) are exposed as impostors; and of course the other five lose all influence.
f) Holy books, worth five myriads of pieces of silver are discarded in favour of the books of the gospel.
g) The narrative ends with the words (v.21) ‘after these things were fulfilled’, which suggests that the above is to be read as a kind of prophecy. (Annas, his five sons and brother-in-law Caiaphas, were all priests prior to A.D. 70).
h) In contrast to this we have the 12 former disciples of John the Baptist now baptised into Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit – they represent the new Israel.
So, like the nation of Israel, the Jewish members of the Ephesian congregation were now faced with either accepting John the Baptist’s work as preparatory for the Messiah – Jesus Christ - or rejecting Jesus as the Messiah. In which case John’s work was in vain and ultimately their nationalism and zeal for the law (which were often one and the same) would lead to the destruction of the nation and the Temple.
The situation within the community described in the epistle to the Hebrews (10:32-34) is one of persecution and difficulty, but not of martyrdom for 12:4 states that they had ‘not yet resisted unto blood’ in the cause of Christ: ’Remember the days gone by, when, newly enlightened1 you met the challenge of great sufferings and held firm. Some of you were abused and tormented to make a public show, while others stood loyally by those who were so treated. For indeed you shared the sufferings of the prisoners, and you cheerfully expected the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you possessed something better and lasting’ (Heb.10:32-34).
It is noteworthy that although they were made a public show ‘a gazingstock’ (AV), they were not subjected to loss of life. The Greek word used here is THEATRIZO and signifies to make a spectacle, from which we get our word theatre. In this context it is interesting to note the riot at Ephesus which took place in the magnificent theatre of that city (Acts 19:31). In the past the community had loyally stood by their fellow Christians, but now they had to be reminded of their solidarity:
‘Remember those in prison as if you were with them; and those who are being maltreated, for like them you are still in the world’ (Heb.13:3).
The author is looking back to a period of persecution but not martyrdom.
