1 proposed dates of revelation the reign of claudius (a.d. 41-54) the reign of nero (a.d. 54-68) the...

1

PROPOSED DATES OF REVELATION

• The reign of Claudius (A.D. 41-54)

• The reign of Nero (A.D. 54-68)

• The reign of Galba (A.D. 68/69)

• The reign of Vespasian (A.D. 69-79)

• The reign of Domitian (A.D. 81-96)

• The reign of Trajan (A.D. 98-117)

2

Two Predominant Views

• The Early Date [mid 60’s]: During the reign of Nero, before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70

• The Late Date [mid 90’s]: During the reign of Domitian

3

ARGUMENTS FOR THE LATE DATE

• The quotations of the early “Church Fathers”

4

LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Irenaeus (AD 130-202): We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign. (Against Heresies 5:30:3 as preserved in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical

History, 3:18:3, ANF 1:559-560)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215): And to give you confidence, when you have thus truly repented, that there remains for you a trustworthy hope of salvation, hear a story that is no mere story, but a true account of John the apostle that has been handed down and preserved in memory. When after the death of the tyrant he removed from the island of Patmos to Ephesus, he used to journey by request to the neighboring districts of the Gentiles, in some places to appoint bishops, in others to regulate whole churches, in others to set among the clergy some one man, it may be, of those indicated by the Spirit. (Who is the Rich Man that shall be Saved?)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Origen (AD 185-254): The King of the Romans, as tradition teaches, condemned John, who bore testimony, on account of the word of truth, to the isle of Patmos. John, moreover, teaches us things respecting his testimony [i.e., martyrdom], without saying who condemned him when he utters these things in the Apocalypse. He seems also to have seen the Apocalypse...in the island. (Comments on

Matthew 16:6)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Victorinus (d AD 303): When John said these things he was in the island of Patmos, condemned to the labour of the mines by Caesar Domitian. There, therefore, he saw the apocalypse; and when grown old, he thought that he should at length receive his quittance by suffering, Domitian being killed, all his judgments were discharged. And John being dismissed from the mines, thus subsequently delivered the same Apocalypse which he had received from God. (Commentary on the Apocalypse at Rev. 10:11)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Victorinus (d AD 303): One remains, under whom the Apocalypse was written -- Domitian, to wit. (Commentary on the Apocalypse at

Rev. 17:10, ANF 7:358)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Eusebius (ca AD 260-340): When Domitian had given many proofs of his great cruelty and had put to death without any reasonable trial no small number of men…, he finally showed himself the successor of Nero’s campaign of hostility to God. He was the second to promote persecution against us, though his father, Vespasian, had planned no evil against us. “At this time, the story goes, the Apostle and Evangelist John was still alive, and was condemned to live in the island of Patmos for his witness to the divine word. (Ecclesiastical History, 3:17-18)

10

LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Eusebius (ca AD 260-340): It was then also [under Nerva] that the apostle John returned from the banishment in Patmos, and took up his abode in Ephesus, according to the ancient tradition of the church. (Ecclesiastical History, 3:20)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Jerome (AD 340-420): John was a prophet, for he saw in the island of Patmos, to which he had been banished by the Emperor Domitian as a martyr for the Lord, an Apocalypse containing the boundless mysteries of the future. Tertullian, moreover, relates that he was sent to Rome, and that having been plunged into a jar of boiling oil he came out fresher and more active than when he went in. (Against Jovinianum, 1:26)

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LATE DATE TESTIMONY

Jerome (AD 340-420): In the fourteenth year after the persecution of Nero, John was banished to the island of Patmos, and there wrote the Revelation...Upon the death of Domitian, and upon the repeal of his acts by the senate, because of their excessive cruelty, he returned to Ephesus, when Nerva was emperor. (Quoted in William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Vol. 1, p. 14)

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• The general conditions of the churches

14

Time For Development

• Ephesus to lose her first love

• Men to claim apostleship at Ephesus

• Sardis to die spiritually

• Laodicea to become apathetic

15

Time For Development

• Nicolaitan influence developed after Paul’s day

• Church in Smyrna didn’t exist in Paul’s day

• Pergamum was a center of emperor worship

• Laodicea to recover after an earthquake

16




• The martyrs cry for vindication (6:9-11)

17




• The martyrs cry for vindication (6:9-11)

• The severity and the extent of the persecution (1:9; 2:10, 13; 3:10; 6:9; 16:6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2; 20:4)

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• The widespread worship of the beast (13:4, 8, 12-17, 14:9, 11; 15-17; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4)

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• The allusion to the Nero Redivivus Myth (13:1-3, 14; 17:8-11)

20

The Nero Redivivus Myth

• Tertullian: “Consult your annals, and there you will find Nero, the first emperor who dyed his sword in Christian blood, when our religion was but just arising at Rome.” (Apology, Chap. 5)

• Tertullian: “A long time after, Domitian, a limb of the bloody Nero, makes some like attempts against the Christians....” (Apology, Chap. 5)

• Eusebius: “He [Domitian] finally showed himself the successor of Nero’s campaign of hostility to God. He was the second to promote persecution against us, though his father, Vespasian, had planned no evil against us.” (Ecclesiastical History, Bk. 3, Pr. 17)

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• The allusion to the Nero Redivivus Myth (13:1-3, 14; 17:8-11)

• John's exile to Patmos (1:9)

22


• The authority of the writer over the seven churches

• The different attitude toward Rome

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Roman Tolerance

• Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship in Philippi (Acts 16:36-40)

• Gallio dismissed the complaints against Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1-17)

• Paul protected from mob in Ephesus (Acts 19:13-41)

• Paul rescued from Jewish mob in Jerusalem (Acts 21:30-40)

• Paul moved to Caesarea to protect him from assassination (Acts 23:12-31)

• Paul’s appeal to Caesar honored (Acts 25:10-11)

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• The authority of the writer over the seven churches

• The different attitude toward Rome

• Intrinsic propriety

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ARGUMENTS FOR THE EARLY DATE

• The quotations from other “Church Fathers”

26

EARLY DATE TESTIMONY

The Title-Page of the Syriac Version: The revelation which was made by God to John the evangelist in the island Patmos, into which he was thrown by Nero Caesar (Quoted in Foy Wallace, Jr., The Book Of Revelation, p. 28)

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The Syriac History of John, the Son of Zebedee: After these things, when the Gospel was increasing by the hands of the Apostles, Nero, the unclean and impure and wicked king, heard all that had happened at Ephesus. And he sent [and] took all that the procurator had, and imprisoned him; and laid hold of S. John and drove him into exile; and passed sentence on the city that it should be laid waste. (Quoted in Kenneth Gentry, Before Jerusalem Fell, pp. 105-106)

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Tertullian: But if thou art near to Italy, thou hast Rome, where we also have an authority close at hand. What an happy Church is that! on which the Apostles poured out all their doctrine, with their blood: where Peter had a like Passion with the Lord; where Paul hath for his crown the same death with John; where the Apostle John was plunged into boiling oil, and suffered nothing, and was afterwards banished to an island. (Exclusion of Heretics 36)

29


Arethas: Some refer this to the siege of Jerusalem by Vespsian. (Comment on Rev. 6:12)

Arethas: Here, then, were manifestly shown to the Evangelist what things were to befall the Jews in their war against the Romans, in the way of avenging the sufferings inflicted upon Christ. (Comment on Rev. 7:1)

Arethas: When the Evangelist received these oracles, the destruction in which the Jews were involved was not yet inflicted by the Romans. (Comment on Rev. 7:4)

30


The Muratorian Canon: The blessed Apostle Paul, following the rule of his predecessor John, writes to no more than seven churches by name.” And then later reports: ‘John too, indeed, in the Apocalypse, although he writes to only seven churches, yet addresses all.’ (ANF 5:603)

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The Acts of John: And the fame of the teaching of John was spread abroad in Rome; and it came to the ears of Domitian that there was a certain Hebrew in Ephesus, John by name, who spread a report about the seat of empire [sic] of the Romans, saying that it would quickly be rooted out, and that the kingdom of the Romans would be given over to another. And Domitian, troubled by what was said, sent a centurion with soldiers to seize John, and bring him....[Later when John appeared before Domitian, we read:] And Domitian, astonished at all the wonders, sent him away to an island, appointing for him a set time. And straightway John sailed to Patmos. (ANF 8:560-562)

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Kenneth Gentry: In his Preface to Commentary on the Gospel of John, Theophylact puts the banishment of John under Nero when he says that John was banished 32 years after the ascension of Christ....In his commentary on Matthew 10:22, he mentions John’s banishment under Trajan. (Before Jerusalem Fell, p. 108)

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• The mourning of the tribes of the earth (1:7)

34

• The Incarnation (Jn. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 9:26-28)

• The Giving of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles (Jn. 14:16-18, 28)

• The Indwelling of Deity (Jn. 14:23)

• The Coming in His Kingdom (Mt. 16:28; cf. Mk.

9:1)

• The Preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles (Eph. 2:17)

THE “COMINGS” OFTHE SON OF MAN

35

• The Outpouring of Chastisement or Blessing on Churches (Rev. 2:5, 16, 25; 3:3, 11, 20; 16:15; 22:7,

12, 20)

• The Destruction of Jerusalem (Mt. 10:23; 24:27,

30; 26:64; Mk. 13:26; Lk. 21:27; Heb. 10:37; Jas. 5:8)

• The Judgment on the Beasts and Babylon (Rev. 1:7; 11:16-18; 14:14-20; 16:4-7; 19:1-2, 11-16, 19-21)

• The Final Coming (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Th. 3:11-13; 4:13-18;

2 Th. 1:6-10; 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 6:13-16)

THE “COMINGS” OFTHE SON OF MAN

36

• Judgment on Egypt (Isa. 19:1, 4; cf. Ezek. 30:1-5, 18-19; 32:7)

• Judgment on Judah (Joel 2:1-2; Zeph. 1:14-16)

• Judgment on the earth (Isa. 26:20-21)

• Judgment on Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (Jer. 4:11-13; Ezek. 34:12-13)

• Judgment on Israel and Judah (Mic. 1:2-7)

• Judgment on the fourth beast (Dan. 7:13-14, 21-22, 24-27)

• Judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Mt. 24:27, 30; 26:64; Mk. 13:26; Mk. 14:62)

• Judgment on the ungodly (Jude 14-15)

• Judgment on the persecutors (Rev. 1:7; 14:14-20)

• Final Judgment (Acts 1:9-11)

Coming On The Clouds

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“Those Who Pierced Him”The Jews…

• Sought His death (Jn. 11:53; Mt. 26:4; 27:1)

• Paid His betrayer (Mt. 26:14-15, 47; 27:3-9)

• Sought false witnesses (Mt. 26:59-62)

• Initially convicted Him (Mt. 26:65-66)

• Took Him to the Romans (Mt. 27:2, 11-12; Acts 3:13)

• Called down His blood on their heads (Mt. 27:24-25)

• Demanded the release of Barabbas (Jn. 18:38-40)

• Threatened Pilate’s procuratorship (Jn. 19:14-15)

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• The expectation of proximate fulfillment (1:1, 3, 19; 2:16; 3:10-11; 22:6-7, 10, 12, 20)

39

The Time Frame Of Revelation“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John” (Rev. 1:1)

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Rev. 1:3)

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. 7“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Rev. 22:6-7)

“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.’” (Rev. 22:10)

40

The Sitz Im Leben• “He who overcomes” (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7)

• “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.” (2:10)

• “You will have tribulation ten days” (2:10)

• “Be faithful until death….” (2:10)

• “Your patience” (2:19)

• “I also will keep you from the hour of trial….” (3:10)

• “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation….” (1:9)

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The Roman Civil War

• Nero committed suicide (June 68)

• Galba declared himself emperor

• Praetorians switched allegiance to Otho and killed Galba (Jan. 69)

• Rhine armies proclaimed Vitellius emperor

• Vitellius defeated Otho at Bedriacum

• Otho committed suicide (April 17, 69)

• Vitellius declared emperor

• Vespasian took Rome (Dec. 20, 69)

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Philip Schaff

“There is scarcely another period in history so full of vice, corruption, and disaster as the six years between the Neronian persecution and the destruction of Jerusalem.” (History of the Christian Church, 1:391, quoted in Kenneth Gentry,

Before Jerusalem Fell, p. 180)

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• The expectation of proximate fulfillment (1:1, 3, 19; 2:16; 3:10-11; 22:6-7, 10, 12, 20)

• The existence of the twelve tribes (7:1-8)

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The Jew And The True JewThe Jew The True Jew

Those of Abraham’s seed (Jn. 8:33)

Those of Abraham’s deeds (Jn.l 8:37-39, 41, 44)

Circumcision of the flesh (Rom. 2:28)

Circumcision of the heart (Dt. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:29)

Those who want the praise of men (Rom. 2:29)

Those who want the praise of God (Rom. 2:29)

The children of the flesh (Rom. 9:6-8)

The children of the promise (Rom. 9:6-8)

The rest (Rom. 11:7) The remnant (Rom. 11:5, 7; cf. Isa. 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer.31:7; Rom. 9:27-29)

Those who say they are and are not (Rev. 2:9; 3:9)

Those who are Christ’s (Gal. 3:26-29)

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• The measuring of the temple in Jerusalem (11:1-2, 8)

• The number of the beast (13:18)

46

The Number Of The Beast

50

200

6

50

100

60

200

666

N

R

O

N

K

S

K

=

=

=

=

=

=

=

47




• The seven kings (17:9-11)

48

The Mystery Of The Beast

Daniel 7 Revelation 17Julius

Augustus

Tiberius

Caligula

Claudius

NERO

Galba

Otho

Vitellius

Vespasian

TITUS

Ten kings (7:7, 24)

Three horns plucked up (7:8, 24)

Five are fallen (17:10)

One is (17:10)

Other not yet come (17:10)

8th going to perdition (17:11)

49




• The seven kings (17:9-11)

• The Jewish influence on Christianity in Revelation (2:9; 3:9; 7:4-8; 14:1ff; 21:12)

50


• Parallels with obvious prophecies of Jerusalem’s destruction

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Parallel PassagesOther Passages Revelation

Mt. 24:34; Mk. 13:30; Lk. 21:32

Things Shortly Come To Pass

Rev. 1:1

Mt. 24:30; Mk. 13:26; Lk. 21:26-27

Coming On The Clouds

Rev. 1:7

Mt. 24:29; Mk. 13:24-25; Lk. 21:25-26

Cataclysmic Cosmic

Disturbances

Rev. 6:12-14

Isa. 2:19-21; Hos. 10:8; Lk. 23:28-31

“Fall On Us” Rev. 6:15-17

Mt. 24:21; Mk. 13:19

Great Tribulation

Rev. 7:14; cf. 1:9; 3:10

Dan. 9:24-27; Mt. 24:34; Mk. 13:30; Lk. 21:22, 32

All Things Fulfilled

Rev. 10:7

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Dan. 9:24-27; Lk. 21:24

Gentiles Tread Holy City

Underfoot

Rev. 11:2

Lk. 13:33 City Where Our Lord Was Crucified

Rev. 11:8

Mt. 24:31; Mk. 13:27

Gathering Of The Elect

Rev. 11:15

Mt. 24:16-22; Mk. 13:14-20; Lk. 21:21-23

Fleeing Into Wilderness

Rev. 12:6, 14

Mt. 24:15-16; Mk. 13:14; Lk. 21:20-22

“Come Out Of Her”

Rev. 18:4

Lk. 11:49-50; 13:33-34; Mt. 23:34-35

Blood Of Prophets And Saints

Rev.18:20, 24

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Mt. 24:7-8; Mk. 13:8; Lk. 21:10-11

Famine, Pestilences, Earthquakes

Rev. 18:8

Lk. 11:46-51; 13:33-35; Mt. 23:34-39

Blood Found In Her

Rev. 18:20-24

Mt. 22:1-14 Marriage Supper Of The Lamb

Rev. 19:7-9

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The Great Tribulation

• Day of Jehovah (Joel 2:1-2)

• Destruction of Jerusalem [586 BC] (Jer. 30:7; Ezek. 5:8-9; Dan. 9:12)

• Desecration of Temple [168/167 BC] (Dan. 12:1)

• Destruction of Jerusalem [70 AD] (Mt. 24:21; Mk.13:19)

• Judgment of Seventh Seal (Rev. 16:18)

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• Parallels with obvious prophecies of Jerusalem’s destruction

• The ease of application to the Jewish War

• Other apostles living (2:2)

• John's future prophesying (10:10-11)

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• The allusions in the NT epistles to the contents of Revelation (cf. Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22)

• The references to the once faithful city turned harlot (17:5)

• No mention of the destruction of Jerusalem

• The existence of only seven churches in Asia (1:11)

• The inferior linguistic qualities

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WHAT DID IRENAEUS REALLY SAY?

S. H. Chase: “The logic of the sentences seems to me to require this interpretation. The statement that the vision was seen at the close of Domitian’s reign supplies no reason why the mysterious numbers should have been expounded ‘by him who saw the apocalypse,’ had he judged such an exposition needful. If, on the other hand, we refer to St John, the meaning is plain and simple. We may expand the sentences thus: ‘Had it been needful that the explanation of the name should be proclaimed to the men of our own day, that explanation would have been given by the author of the Book. For the author was seen on earth, he lived and held converse with his disciples, not so very long ago, but almost in our own generation. Thus, on the one hand, he lived years after he wrote the Book, and there was abundant opportunity for him to expound the riddle, had he wished to do so; and, on the other hand, since he lived on almost into our generation, the explanation, had he given it, must have been preserved to us.’” (“The Date of the Apocalypse,” Journal of Theological Studies 8, 1907, p. 431, quoted in Kenneth Gentry, Before Jerusalem Fell, pp. 50-51

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Milton S. Terry: “In speaking of the mystic number given in Rev. 13:18, he [Irenaeus] says: ‘If it were necessary to have his name distinctly announced at the present time it would doubtless have been announced by him who saw the apocalypse; for it was not a great while ago that (it or he) was seen, but almost in our own generation, toward the end of Domitian’s reign.’ Here the critical reader (of the Greek sentence) will observe that the subject of the verb was seen, is ambiguous, and may be understood either of John or the Apocalypse. To assert, as some do, that the only grammatical and legitimate construction requires us to understand the Apocalypse rather than John as the subject of the verb, is arbitrary and presumptuous. To say the least, in fairness, one construction is as correct and legitimate as the other. But why should he say that the book was recently seen? The point that he aims to make is that the man who saw the visions of the Apocalypse had lived almost into the times to which Irenaeus belonged, and had it been needful to declare the name of the Antichrist he would himself have done it. The time when John saw the Apocalypse was of no consequence for determining the name of the Antichrist so long as the apostle himself was yet alive.”

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Milton S. Terry: “…. But admitting that Irenaeus refers to the Apocalypse as having been seen near the close of Domitian’s reign, his ambiguous statement is the only evidence of any real value for determining the question. All other statements are later, and like the numerous statements of Eusebius, seem to be either repeated from Irenaeus or based on mere inferences. And it is notorious that even Eusebius, after Irenaeus and others, leaves the question of the authorship of the Apocalypse in doubt.” (Biblical Apocalyptics, p. 256-257, quoted in Foy Wallace, Jr., The Book Of Revelation, 25-26)

60

Symbols And Interpretations

The Symbol The Interpretation

Seven lampstands (1:13) Seven churches (1:20)

Seven stars (1:16) Angels of the churches (1:20)

Seven lamps of fire (4:5) Seven Spirits of God (4:5)

Seven eyes (5:6) Seven Spirits of God (5:6)

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Golden bowls full of incense (5:8)

Prayers of the saints (5:8)

A great multitude (7:9) Ones who come out of the great tribulation (7:14)

Two witnesses/prophets (7:3, 10)

Two olive trees and two lampstands (11:4)

The great city (11:8) Where the Lord was crucified (11:8)

62



Great fiery red dragon (12:3)

The Devil (12:9)

Number of the beast (13:18)

Number of a man (13:18)

Frogs (16:13) Spirits of demons (16:14)

Great Harlot (17:1, 3-6) Great city (17:18)

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Seven heads (17:3) Seven mountains and seven kings (17:9-10)

Ten horns (17:3) Ten kings (17:12)

Waters (17:1) Peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues (17:15)

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• Peter and John were arrested and threatened in Jerusalem (Acts 4:1-3, 18-21)

• The apostles were arrested and beaten in Jerusalem (Acts 5:17-18, 40-41)

• Stephen was arrested and stoned to death in Jerusalem (Acts 6:11-15; 7:54-60)

• The church in Jerusalem was laid waste by Saul of Tarsus (Acts 8:1-4; 9:1-2)

Jewish Persecution

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• James was executed by Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem (Acts 12:1-2)

• Peter was imprisoned by Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem (Acts 12:3-4, 6)

• Paul and Barnabas were opposed in Antioch and expelled from the city (Acts 13:44-46, 50-51)

• Paul and Barnabas fled Iconium to escape stoning (Acts 14:1-2, 5-6)

Jewish Persecution

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Jewish Persecution

• Paul was stoned in Lystra and left for dead (Acts 14:19)

• Jason and the brethren were arrested in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-9)

• Paul and Silas were opposed in Beroea (Acts 17:13)

• Paul was opposed in Corinth (Acts 18:5-6, 12-16)

• Sosthenes was beaten in Corinth (Acts 18:17)

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Jewish Persecution

• Paul was plotted against in Greece (Acts 20:2-3)

• Paul was arrested, falsely accused, and beaten in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-32; 23:1-2)

• Paul was plotted against by more than 40 in Jerusalem (Acts 23:12-15)

• Paul was falsely accused in Caesarea (Acts 24:1-9; 25:1-3, 7)

68

• Temple to Dea Roma (195 BC)

• Julius Caesar claimed divine honor

• Augustus sanctioned his worship outside Rome

• Tiberius worshipped after his death

• Caligula believed in his own deity

• Claudius voted a god upon his death

• Nero endorsed the emperor cult

The Rise of Emperor Worship

69

The Mark Of The BeastSince there is no indefinite article in the Greek language, the phrase “the number of a man” could also be translated “the number of man” [i.e. the number that designates man] (cf. Dt. 3:11; Gal. 1:11; 3:15; Rev. 21:17)William Milligan: “The number six itself awakened a feeling of dread in the breast of the Jew who felt the significance of numbers. It fell below the sacred number seven just as much as eight went beyond it...the number six was held to signify inability to reach the sacred point and hopelessly falling short of it. To the Jew, there was a doom upon the number six, even when it stood alone. Triple it...and we have represented a potency of evil than which there can be none greater, a direfulness of fate than which there can be none worse.” (Quoted in Jim

McGuiggan, The Book Of Revelation, p. 194)

70

The Mark Of The BeastThe phrase “the number of a man” could indicate the number of a certain individual. Compare “I love her whose number is 545” (A lover’s inscription on the walls of Pompeii) Leon Morris: “The possibilities are almost endless. In modern times the most favoured solution is ‘Nero Caesar’ (if the final letter be omitted to give the equivalent of the Latin spelling of the name the total is 616, the variant reading). But to get this result we must use the Greek form of the Latin name, transliterated into Hebrew characters, and with a variant spelling at that....This solution has its attractions, but no one has shown why a Hebrew name with an unusual spelling should be employed in a Greek writing. It is also to be borne in mind that in the ancient world when Nero was a considerable figure...this solution was apparently never thought of.” (The Revelation Of St. John, p. 174)

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666• Nero

• Catholic Church

• Pope

• Martin Luther

• John Calvin

• John Knox

• Napoleon Bonaparte

• Adolph Hitler

• Benito Mussolini

• Saddam Hussein

• Barney

• ???

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The Mystery Of The Beast

Daniel 7 Revelation 17Augustus

Tiberius

Caligula

Claudius

Nero

Galba

Otho

Vitellius

VESPASIAN

Titus

DOMITIAN

Ten kings (7:7, 24)

Three horns plucked up (7:8, 24)

Five are fallen (17:10)

One is (17:10)

Other not yet come (17:10)

8th going to perdition (17:11)

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Same Figure But Different Meanings

• Hiding your light under a bushel

– Let your influence be seen (Mt. 5:15)

– The purpose of parables is to reveal truth (Mk. 4:21)

– The truth concerning the Christ is evident (Lk. 11:33)

• The Leaven Of The Scribes And Pharisees

– Their teaching (Mt. 16:6, 12; Mk. 8:15)

– Their hypocrisy (Lk. 12:1)

74


• To Him Who Has, More Will Be Given– The parables are a means of sifting (Mt.

13:12; Mk. 4:25; Lk. 8:18) – Judgment and unused opportunities (Mt.

25:29; Lk. 19:26)• With What Measure Ye Mete, It Shall Be Measured

Unto You– Judging (Mt. 7:1-2)

– Attention to God's word (Mk. 4:24-25)

– Generosity (Lk. 6:37-38)

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• Settle With An Adversary Quickly

– Reconciliation with men (Mt. 5:25-26)

– Reconciliation with God (Lk. 12:58-59)

• The Lamp Of The Body Is The Eye

– Single-minded service (Mt. 6:22-23) – Failure to recognize Christ (Lk.

11:34-36)

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• A Slave Is Not Greater Than His Master – Students are not greater than their teachers

(Lk. 6:40) – The necessity of humility (Jn. 13:16) – The inevitability of persecution (Mt. 10:24; Jn.

15:20)• What Is Covered Will Be Revealed

– Do not hide your relationship with Christ (Mt. 10:26-27)

– The purpose of parables is to reveal (Mk. 4:22; Lk. 8:17)

– Sin will ultimately be revealed (Lk. 12:2-3)

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• The Tree Is Know By Its Fruit– Applied to teachers (Mt. 7:16-20)

– Applied to blasphemers (Mt. 12:33)

– Applied to hypocrites (Lk. 6:43-44)

• The Salt Of The Earth– The importance of influence (Mt. 5:13)

– Commitment (Mk. 9:50)

– The importance of self-sacrifice (Lk. 14:34)

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• The Tree Is Known By Its Fruit – Applied to teachers (Mt. 7:16-20) – Applied to blasphemers (Mt. 12:33) – Applied to hypocrites (Lk. 6:43-44)

• The Salt Of The Earth – The importance of influence (Mt. 5:13) – Commitment (Mk. 9:50) – The importance of self-sacrifice (Lk.

14:34)

1 proposed dates of revelation the reign of claudius (a.d. 41-54) the reign of nero (a.d. 54-68) the...

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