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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
Introduction
Traditionally, the book of Revelation has most commonly been dated close to the end of the first century i.e. around A.D. 96 - 98. However there are some that believe that the book was penned much earlier - around A.D. 68 or 69.
Although there are a couple of other points of view the two main ones as described above are Futurism and Preterism (from the Latin praeter - ‘past’)
What a person believe about when Revelation was written has huge ramifications on how they view the end times and whether or not they are prepared for the very terrible times ahead including the persecution of Christians. See The First Six Seals.
Futurism
If Revelation was written in the final decade (around around A.D. 96-98) of the first century which is the traditional view, then the majority of the prophecies in Revelation will be literally fulfilled in the future. The prophecies had nothing to do with the impending destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70)
On the other hand,
Preterism (from the Latin praeter - past)
if Revelation was written before A.D. 70 then a case could be made that it chiefly describes the events that led up to the fall of Jerusalem. In other words, at least some of the apocalyptic prophecies in the Bible describe events that occurred within the first century after Jesus' death, rather than events that are yet to be fulfilled. One of the most common arguments for an early date is...
The Measuring of The Temple
In Revelation 11:1-2, John was told to measure the Temple which is often believed to indicate that Herod’s temple was still standing when John wrote Revelation. (Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70).
“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” (Revelation 11:1-2).
However as said by Thomas Ice,
In the Book of Revelation John is receiving a vision about future things. He is obviously transported in some way to that future time in order to view the events as they will unfold. This is why the word “saw” is used 49 times in 46 verses in Revelation because John is witnessing future events. It does not matter at all whether the temple is thought to still be standing in Jerusalem at the time that John sees the vision, since that would not necessarily have any bearing upon a vision.
John is told by the angel accompanying him during the vision to “measure the temple” (Rev. 11:1). Measure what temple? The temple in the vision. In fact, Ezekiel, during a similar vision of a temple (Ezek. 40—48) was told to measure that temple. When Ezekiel saw and was told to measure a temple, that there was not one standing in Jerusalem. Thus, there is no compulsion whatsoever, that just because a temple is referenced in Revelation 11 that it implies that there had to be a physical temple standing in Jerusalem at the time. [01].
External Evidence For A Late Date
Christian Courier quotes the writings of several church fathers, for example
Irenaeus who was a student of Polycarp who, in turn, was a disciples of John claimed that Domitian was emperor when John wrote Revelation.
He wrote that the “apocalyptic vision” seen by John was “seen not very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign”. [02]
Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 155-215) says that John returned from the isle of Patmos €after the tyrant was dead€¯ (Who Is the Rich Man?Ā 42), and Eusebius, known as the Father of Church History,€¯ identifies the tyrant as Domitian (Ecclesiastical History III. 23).
Victorinus (late third century), author of the earliest commentary on the book of Revelation, wrote:
When John said these things, he was in the island of Patmos, condemned to the mines by Caesar Domitian. There he saw the Apocalypse; and when at length grown old, he thought that he should receive his release by suffering; but Domitian being killed, he was liberated (Commentary on Revelation 10:11).
Jerome (A.D. 340-420) said,
In the fourteenth then after Nero, Domitian having raised up a second persecution, he [John] was banished to the island of Patmos, and wrote the Apocalypse (Lives of Illustrious Men 9). [03]
Internal Evidence For A Late Date
Some of the most compelling evidence is internal, taken from the Bible itself. Consider Revelation itself says that the person who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book is blessed. I do not see how that can apply to the fall of Jerusalem
Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NASB)
And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7 NASB)
Additionally Revelation also says
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.(Revelation 22:18-19 NASB)
John's Exile on Patmos
The emperor Nero had both Peter and Paul killed. If Revelation were written during Nero’s reign (AD 54 until his death in AD 68), one has to wonder why John was not put to death along with the other apostles instead of being banished to the island of Patmos which is where he wrote Revelation.
In any case, according to Eusebius - a fourth century bishop and Church historian, John was banished to the Isle of Patmos at the time the Emperor Domitian was ruling. In his words,
But after Domitian had reigned fifteen years, and Nerva had succeeded to the empire, the Roman Senate, according to the writers that record the history of those days, voted that Domitian’s honors should be canceled, and that those who had been unjustly banished should return to their homes and have their property restored to them. It was at this time that the apostle John returned from his banishment in the island and took up his abode at Ephesus, according to an ancient Christian tradition. (04)
Paul’s Epistle to Timothy
Ephesus, a very important Greek city in Asia Minor, was located in what is now western Turkey. It owed much of its fame to the Temple of Diana considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
After Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to oversee the church he wrote to Timothy Paul instructing him to teach the truth (1 Timothy 4:6), ensure leaders were properly qualified (3:1-13), avoid old wives’ tales, and to combat the false doctrines that were gradually creeping in - one of which was that the law of Moses had to be observed.
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. (1 Timothy 1:3-4 NASB)
He however, made absolutely no mention of the problem with the Ephesian church highlighted in Revelation 2:4-5, i.e they had lost their first love and were in danger of losing what they had previously gained. The two situations could not possibly be contemporary
'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lamp stand out of its place unless you repent. (Revelation 2:4-5 NASB)
Moreover, Paul's parting words to to the elders of the Ephesian church were recorded in Acts 20:29-30
"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
The Church at Smyrna
According to Polycarp the church at Smyrna was not founded until after Paul died in A.D. 68. It is therefore impossible that it could have reached the stage of being a representative church for the letters to the seven churches if Revelation were written before 70 AD.
Laodicea
History records that Laodicea, devastated by an earthquake in 60 AD, took 25 years to rebuild. During the period 60-70 AD the church in Laodicea could not have been described as rich and in need of nothing (Revelation 3.17). However it would have recovered by 96 AD when the Lord warned them...
‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, (Revelation 3:17 NASB)
Finally, The Trumpets and Bowls
The main thrust of the book of Revelation is God’s judgment of the earth and its inhabitants described by the metaphorical images of Trumpets and Bowls. These could not in any way be a description of the days leading up to the fall of Jerusalem simply because the Trumpets that herald the 'Great Tribulation' cause great affliction and suffering, but the Bowls rapidly make an end of all things. For example,
At the Second Trumpet a third part of the sea becomes blood, which causes the death of a third of all sea creatures. (Revelation 8:8-9),
But at the Second Bowl, the sea turns into blood, killing everything in it. (Revelation 16:3)
The Third Trumpet strikes a third of the rivers, and other sources of fresh water making them bitter and killing those who drank these waters. (Revelation 8:10-11)
The Third Bowl however indicates that all rivers and 'springs of water' became blood. (Revelation 16:4)
See The First Six Trumpets and
The Seven Bowls which includes a comparison of the Trumpets and Bowls
End Notes
[01] Thomas Ice. Has Bible Prophecy Already Been Fullfilled? https://www.ldolphin.org/preterism-ice.html
[02] Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 30) https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103530.htm
[03] Wayne Jackson | Christian Courier. When was the book of Revelation written?
https://christiancourier.com/articles/when-was-the-book-of-revelation-written
[04] Philip Schaff. Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History. Chapter XX.—The Relatives of our Saviour..
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.viii.xx.html?highlight=after,domitian,had,reigned,fifteen,years,nerva,succeeded#fnf_iii.viii.xx-p23.1
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