Consequently, as it is with all books of the Bible, we simply cannot afford to neglect the study of the book of Revelation. It has no equal in its Message to the church. It has no equal in the encouragement and hope that it gives, and it has no equal in dealing with the great themes that it presents, as well as the great beauty and the dignity in presenting its Message to us. It relates to us in a way that no other book in the Bible does.

Concerning the AUTHOR OF THE BOOK, I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this, but it bears mentioning. I think all of us know, without even thinking about it, and believe that the author of the book was “John, the apostle.” This is substantiated, as far as it being John [the apostle], as he calls his own name several times within the book [Revelation 1:1,see above. Revelation 1:4-“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,…”Revelation 1:9-“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 21:2-“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”Revelation 22:8-“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.”].

However, he does not specifically identify himself as “John, the apostle.” Therefore, there are some who debate that it could have been written by another “John,” as opposed to “John, the apostle.” However, most scholars believe that, indeed, it was “John, the apostle.” The internal evidence of the book points to John, the apostle, as being the author. Moreover, many 1^st and 2^nd Century theologians and historians agree that it was John, the apostle. [There was unanimous agreement as to the Apostle John being its writer among early church historians, e.g., Justin Martyr (AD 165), Clement of Alexandria (AD 212), Hippolytus (AD 235), Origen (AD 185-254), Tertullian (AD 220), as well as Irenaeus (AD 140-202).]

But here is kind of the “bottom-line” on that: Yes, we believe that it was John, the apostle; however, the real authorship, as we have already said, is God [Revelation 1:1-2, see above]. It is important, perhaps on the one hand, to know that it was John, the apostle, who penned this and wrote what he saw as he was instructed to do in verse 11 [see above]. But it really is insignificant, from the standpoint that the Message remains the same. The significance of the Message does not rise and fall—it does not pivot on who the author was.

Next, we will discuss the DATE OF THE BOOK. There is some debate and discussion about when the book was written. Like most of the books of the Bible, there is not an absolute, dogmatic stand that we can take on the exact date when many of them are written, and certainly the book of Revelation is no exception to that. It’s important which “school of thought” one takes regarding the dating of the book, because the dating of the book will affect the way the book is interpreted.

Now, what do we mean by that? Well, there are two possibilities, or two “schools of thought,” so to speak, or two “views” about when the book was written. One view holds that the book was written in the late 7^th Decade of the 1^st Century, which would be somewhere around A.D. 68 [the “Early Date”], during the reign of Nero, the Emperor of the Roman Empire at that time. If that is the case, this would mean that the book was written prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The other view, the so-called “Late Date,” would have the book being written during the later part of the reign of Domitian, which would be somewhere in the mid to late 10^th [Decade], or A.D. 96 to 98.

Once again, the date takes on a significance, because that affects the way one interprets the book. If one takes the “Early Date,” holding that the book was written during the reign of Nero around A.D. 68, then one would naturally see the book centering its Message around the destruction of the temple and the City of Jerusalem, which took place in A.D. 70. If, however, one takes the “Late Date,” A.D. 96 to 98, one will see that the symbols in the book will be viewed and interpreted from the standpoint of the Roman Empire and its persecution of the church of the Lord throughout the Empire.

Now, there are volumes written on this very subject—the dating of the book. Again, it’s important, it’s significant, but I don’t think it’s worth spending literally several class periods on this one issue itself. I would simply point this out: The “Early Date,” that is, around A.D. 68, is primarily derived from internal things within the book itself. For example, in chapter 11, John was “given a reed” and told to “measure the temple” [verse 1, “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.’”]. Well, those who adopt this “Early Date” would say, “Well, the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, and John was told to go measure the temple, so the temple must have still been there.”

There is also the reference to the persecution. There are a good many references in Revelation to persecution, and it is well known that Nero, one of the most evil rulers in all of history, persecuted Christians. There are several other things that have to do with the numbering of the emperors, things that have to do with the number 666, which appears in chapter 13, verse 18 [“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”], and so on. However, all of those things are explained and are not absolute evidence of this earlier date. For example, regarding the reference to the temple in chapter 11 [beginning in verse 1, see above], many scholars believe it was a figurative reference, and not a literal reference. Also, concerning the persecution of the church—yes, Nero, persecuted the church—however, the persecution of the church actually widened and grew more significant from about the middle A.D. 60’s on up through A.D. 100. And, it was under the Emperor Domitian that he demanded that he himself be worshipped. Nero never made that demand. Yes, he was an evil, demented Emperor—he did a lot of cruel things—but he never made the ruling across the Empire that he was to be worshipped, and no one else. Domitian did that, and so it is believed that the “Late Date” is actually the date of this writing. [The “Late Date,” by all evidence, is the better choice because, first, it allows for the history of the various congregations mentioned to unfold; and, second, it would also be a time of great persecution of the church during the reign of Domitian.]