The First Seal
An Improbable Prophecy from a Lonely Exile on Patmos
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he
that sat
on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him:
and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Rev.
6:2
According to tradition, the author of the book of
Revelation was exiled to Patmos by
the emperor Domitian in 95 AD for unspecified
reasons. (The Acts of John,a 5th-century work
supposedly)
In lonely exile, the last of the apostles had his famous
vision which opened with a most unlikely prophecy.
John saw that the Roman Empire was about to
embark
on an era of victory, prosperity and glory.
John's Vision of Rome's Future Unwarranted
The Empire Was on a Downward Spiral
John's prophecy was unlikely because the Roman
Empire had been on a downward spiral since
Tiberius. Edward Gibbon sketches this "age of iron"
Vespasian and his son Titus being alone
excepted:
"Their unparalleled vices, and the splendid theatre on
which they were acted, have saved them from
oblivion. The dark unrelenting Tiberius, the
furious
Caligula, the feeble Claudius, the
profligate and cruel
Nero, the beastly Vitellius, and the
timid
inhuman
Domitian, are condemned to everlasting
infamy."
The Vision Suddenly Begins to Unfold
Domitian's Assassination Ends an Era
Lack of funds made Domitian greedy, and fear of
assassination made him cruel. Domitian killed so
many
people that he ordered no records kept for posterity.
His friends had him murdered in 96 AD. Thus
the Flavian dynasty ended just as John completed
the Apocalypse.
When the emperor died, the Roman Senate revoked
his decrees and John was free to return to Ephesus,
where he was greeted by crowds of people with the
same words that welcomed Jesus to
Jerusalem: "Blessed is he is comes in the name of
the
Lord."
Irenaeus tells us St. John "lived in the time of
Trajan" and so John was a living witness of the
commencing fulfillment of the Apocalyptic prophecy.
In like manner, Daniel lived to see the destruction of
Babylon, and the decree of Cyrus; and in them the
commencing fulfillment of the prophecies of the
future revealed to him.
Debate over the Date
AD 70 or AD 96?
Preterism has a peculiar and essential
teaching that the book of Revelation was written
in AD 70. But historicists have always taught that
it was written in AD 96.
Elliot begins his lengthy review of historical evidence
by quoting Iraneus a disciple of Polycarp who was a
disciple of the Apostle John. Iraneus mentions that the
Apocalypse was seen "no very long time ago;"
but "almost in our own age, toward the end of the
reign of Domitian." [2]
[1] Elliot, E.B.: "Horae Apocalypticae", Vol 1, page 47.
Seely, Jackson and Halliday, London, 1862
[
2] Elliot, E.B.: "Horae Apocalypticae", Vol I, page 32.
Seely, Jackson and Halliday, London, 1862
