Calculating Kings !
Thoughts and Gleanings: Capitalism, God’S Natural Economic Order a Constitutional Republic, God’s Natural Governmental Order (2013)
Ralph Beall
https://books.google.com/books?id=sSbeB8bRHd8C&pg=PA383
Chapter 11 depicts the Temple and Jerusalem as still standing; further proof of the time of writing being before their
destruction and Chapter 7 indicates the tribes were still extant. Perhaps the strongest internal proof of the time of the Revelation
is found in
Chapter 17 where in verse 10 it is unequivocally stated that the sixth emperor was still on the throne, “And there
are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come.” These are treated at the study of that chapter but
are considered here as further proof of the time of the Revelation.
These six Caesars are, Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula,
Claudius, and Nero. The first five listed “are fallen”, therefore the “one is” Nero, the sixth, and is still ruling at the time of
the Revelation. Who but Vespasian, became Emperor following Nero and ordered the final destruction of the Temple and
Jerusalem, Jewry, could be the seventh? He was “not yet come”. Nero committed suicide in June of AD 68 and three, Galba,
Otho, and Vitellius were engaged in a struggle for the throne but none of the three were able to prevail and Vespasian defeated
the last, Vitellius. He was declared emperor by the Roman Senate in December of AD 69 but in effect began to rule from
Egypt, where he controlled the shipment of food to Italy, in mid 69 AD. By late 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed as Jesus and
other prophets before had foretold.
....
Revelation confirms that Judaizing teachers still were causing problems in the church
(2:9, 3:9). This could not be true if
Revelation was foretelling events occurring during and after the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD). The sixth King referenced in
Revelation counting from Julius Caesar (emperor in all but name) is Nero (17:10). The seventh is Vespasian who ordered the
destruction of Jerusalem by his son Roman General Titus. The gospel was to be preached (and was) to the entire world before
the destruction of Jerusalem ending the Jewish economy forevermore (Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10, Romans 10:18, Col. 1:23-
24). This being true, the entire revelation of God to/for man, the Bible, was completed before 70 AD. No book of the New
Testament reveals that Jerusalem had been destroyed as Jesus, “that prophet”, had prophesied (Deut. 18:15, John 1:19-34, Matt.
24). This silence is deafening. This event was still in the future when all the books of the New Testament were being written.
All of the Apostles, except John, as far as can be determined from history were dead by the end of 68 AD. The primary purpose
of God in the book of Revelation is to warn Christians of the coming tribulation of the Jewish nation, all Jews, unbelieving
and Christians, and the destruction of Jerusalem the establishment, completion, and sealing of his will for man, all men, Jew
and Gentile alike for all time for these last days, the Christian Age/Dispensation.
What internal evidence suggests the book of Revelation was written prior to 70 AD?
https://www.quora.com/profile/Max-Gretinski
Max Gretinski
Student of the Bible since 1974; Greek since 1988.Author has 7.2K answers and 2.9M answer views
4y
The internal evidence relies on knowing some external information.
The early-date tradition was independent of the Muratorian Canon. The earliest extant Syriac manuscripts of the New Testament that contain Revelation are the Philoxenian translation that was prepared for Philoxenus of Mabug in AD 508. These copies have a superscription reading, “The Revelation, which was made from God to John the Evangelist, in the island of Patmos, to which he had been cast by Nero Caesar."
Epiphanius of Salamis, writing c. 377, identified the date of Revelation as during the reign of Claudius Caesar: “when John, before falling asleep, prophesied in the days of the Claudius Caesar [and earlier], while he was in the island of Patmos” (The Medicine Chest, aka Heresies 51:12). Since Nero Claudius was the last of the Claudian line, this entry from Epiphanius also supports the early date. His identification is certainly independent of the Muratorian Canon and is likely independent of both the Syriac tradition and of Clement.
Arethas of Caesarea wrote a commentary of Revelation in the 6th century. His predecessor, Andreas, had written (c. 500) about two schools of interpretation. In Andreas’ day, some people believed that Revelation was about the First Revolt, while others interpreted it as being about the future. Arethas appears to have taken both views, seeing in Revelation a dual fulfillment. As to the date of composition, he wrote about Rev 7:4 that, “When the evangelist received these oracles, the destruction in which the Jews were involved had not yet been inflicted by the Romans.”
Domitian was not a harsh persecutor like Nero. No persecution under Domitian is even mentioned until the fifth century, and then it was considered slight. According to Tertullian, Domitian’s practice was rather to exile (banish) Christian offenders rather than torturing or executing them. Tertullian had been quite clear in stating that Domitian was far less cruel than Nero:
“Domitian, too, a man of Nero’s type in cruelty, tried his hand at persecution; but as he had something of the human in him, he soon put an end to what he had begun, even restoring again those whom he had banished.”
The Numbering of the Caesars
The numbering always began with Julius, who was often called simply “Caesar.” We read this as early as the Sibylline Oracles:
“The very first lord shall be, who shall sum
Twice ten with the first letter of his name;
In wars exceedingly powerful shall he be;
And he shall have the initial sign of ten;
And in like manner after him to reign
Is one who has the alphabet’s first letter;”
The surname of the first Imperator was Καισαρ, which begins with kappa (κ) in Greek. The numerical value of kappa is 20. The “initial sign of ten” refers to his first name, Julius. In Greek, Julius begins with an iota (ι), whose value is 10. The second ruler’s name, Augustus, begins with alpha (α) – the first letter of the alphabet. The list of emperors clearly begins here with Julius.
A similar reckoning is given in 2 Esdras, where we read:
“The days are coming when a kingdom shall rise on earth, and it shall be more terrifying than all the kingdoms that have been before it. And twelve kings shall reign in it, one after another. But the second that is to reign shall hold sway for a longer time than any other one of the twelve. This is the interpretation of the twelve wings that you saw.” (12:13-16)
The Caesar who reigned for the longest period of time was Augustus – the second of the twelve. Cassius Dio’s Roman History (written c. 211-233) also begins the Empire with Julius, making Augustus the second. Like 2 Esdras, Josephus, refers to Augustus as the second of the Roman emperors.
“After him came Annius Rufus, under whom died [Augustus] Caesar, the second emperor of the Romans, the duration of whose reign was fifty-seven years, besides six months and two days (of which time Antonius ruled together with him fourteen years; but the duration of his life was seventy-seven years); upon whose death Tiberius Nero, his wife Julia's son, succeeded.”
On to the Internal Evidence
Revelation dates itself as follows, referring to
“seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. And when he comes, it is necessary for him to remain for a short time. And the wild animal that was and is not, it is both an eighth and is one of the seven, and it is going on into destruction.”
Five have fallen = Julius; Augustus; Tiberius; Gaius; Claudius
One is = Nero
The other has not yet come = Galba, who remained for a short time.
An eighth (Vespasian) that was also one of the seven refers to the myth that Vespasian was Nero returned. While the first wild animal certainly represents the Roman Empire under Nero, the second wild animal indicates the civil government of Judea. This is evidenced by:
“The one who has a mind should calculate the number of the wild animal, for it is the number of a person, and his number is six hundred sixty-six.”
The use of the number 666 is likely connected with the weight of the annual tribute to the last king of united Israel – Solomon. When he ruled the whole land, Solomon received an annual tribute of 666 gold talents. This figure is recorded in both 1 Kings 10:14 and in 2 Chronicles 9:13. Such an exact value, excluding plenty of other income, should not expect to be fixed from year to year. The number represents not only the wealth of the political ruler but also his pride. Solomon had spent the money (1 Kgs 10:15ff.) not to help the people in some way but to secure his own political place. He had a great throne constructed, decorated his army with gold, and lived in luxury.
Since the people had demanded a political ruler when God wanted them to be ruled by him directly through the judges, the political ruler represented everything that was bad about the relationship between Israel and the other nations. We certainly see this in 1 Samuel 8.
“Then all of Israel’s older people gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look: you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Make for us a king to judge us like all the nations....’” Samuel took this personally, believing that the people did not accept him as their judge. That wasn’t the case. “And Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.’” The political rulers were from the very start a symbol of the people’s rejection of God’s rule. Since the number associated with Solomon’s opulence was 666, that number represented the political rule in Judea during the First Century.
The reference to Laodikea’s affluence in the letter to that city connects to the city’s pride of having reconstructed itself so rapidly after the earthquake of 60-61 CE. Tacitus writes, “One of the famous cities of Asia, Laodicea, was that same year overthrown by an earthquake, and, without any relief from us, recovered itself by its own resources. In Italy meanwhile the old town of Puteoli obtained from Nero the privileges of a colony with an additional name.” This event is certainly mentioned as though in the Sibylline Oracles as though it had been prophesied, where we also read,
“Wretched Laodicea, you sometime
Will an earthquake lay low, casting headlong down,
But you, a city firmly set, again will stand.”
Observe that the restoration of Laodikea is mentioned as a matter of pride in Rev 3:17. This would have made sense a few years after the quake – when the city was newly restored, but to mention the restoration thirty years after the fact would not have had the same impact.
Christianity spread to Smyrna as a result of Paul’s efforts in Acts 19.
John’s use of Isaiah 65-66 in describing the aftermath of Revelation is conclusive evidence. When the author wrote that passage during the Exile, he was explaining to the people that the temple had never been necessary, and that life without Solomon’s temple was the new state of affairs that blessed the people. Stephen referred to another part of the same passage when he quoted:
“[David] found favor before God and asked to find a tent for the House of Jacob, and Solomon constructed a house for him.
However, the Highest One does not dwell in handmade places, as the prophet says, “'Heaven is my throne, and the land is my footstool. What house will you construct for me?', says Yahweh. 'Or what is my place of rest? Hasn't my hand made all of these things?'” (Isa 66:1-2)
Life without the temple is the “new heaven and earth” of Isaiah, and whenever a NT author quotes that passage, he quotes it in its original context. The aftermath of the war in Revelation is the end of the temple – just like in 586 BC, but more permanent. The references to Daniel are likewise historical references to the behavior of Antiochus IV, who desecrated the temple. Nothing in Revelation points to any time after the First Revolt.
