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RE.INT
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1993-06-07
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The Revelation of John
The Apocalypse was written either in 67, or in 96, A.D.
An oft-quoted statement of Irenaeus that it, or its author--
there is no word inserted to indicate which of the two he
meant--"was seen" about the end of the reign of Domitian, is
regarded by many as a conclusive proof of the later date. On the
other hand, the "internal evidence"--the evidence, that is,
furnished by the contents of the book itself--appears to point
even more unmistakably to the earlier date. E.g-., in 11:1,2,8,
the Holy City and the earthly Temple are spoken of as being still
in existence, and as about to be trodden under foot by the
Gentiles.
The language of the book has also a bearing upon the
problem of its date. Although other explanations have been
suggested, the many Hebrew idioms that it contains as compared
with the much purer Greek of the fourth Gospel-- which was
probably by the same author--seem to indicate that it was written
long before that Gospel, at a time when the Apostle had as yet
only an imperfect acquaintance with the Greek language.
Dr. Stuart Russell, in his work _The Parousia_, has
contended for the belief that the fall of Jerusalem and Judaism
in 70 A.D. marked a stupendous epoch in the unseen world, a
personal--although unrecorded--return of the Saviour to the earth
then taking place (cp. Ac 7:55; 9:7; 1Co 9:1), accompanied by a
spiritual judgement of bygone generations, a resurrection from
Hades to Heaven of the faithful of past ages, and an ingathering
of saints then on earth into the Father's House of many mansions
(Mt 24:31; Joh 14:3; 1Th 4:17; 2Th 2:1).
If this belief ever obtains general acceptance the
earlier date of the Apocalypse will also be regarded as fully
established. For it will then be seen that the book describes
beforehand events which took place in 70 A.D. and the years
immediately preceding, partly on earth and partly in the
spiritual world, and is mainly concerned with the downfall of the
earthly Jerusalem and the setting up of Christ's heavenly
Kingdom--the new Jerusalem. And its many mysterious symbols will
be seen to have been a cipher of which the first Christians held
the key, but which hid its meaning from their enemies.
Many scholars, however, regard the book as a document of
Nero's time carefully incorporated in one written about 90 A.D.:
"a Jewish Apocalypse in a Christian framework;" both perhaps
being by the same author.--EDITOR.