APOCALYPSE

The Revelation of Jesus, to John

   95 AD ?

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ ... which God gave ... unto his servant John: ...

:7 Behold, he (Jesus) cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him ...

:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation (Persecution) ...

was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Reference > covenanter.org/ponddate

The testimony of the Christian Fathers, declares the exile of John & his writing of,

The APOCALYPSE - The REVELATION to John,

during the Domitian Persecution, (81-96 AD).

Irenaeus (~125-202), bishop of Lyons, in Gaul,

was a disciple of Polycarp (69-155 AD), bishop of Smyrna,

was a disciple of the Apostle John …

‘The Apocalypse,’ Irenaeus tells us, was seen (by Apostle John) not long ago, but almost in our own generation,

near the end of the reign of Domitian.’ (Roman Emperor 81-96)   Reference > wikipedia/Domitian

This testimony has never been set aside, and never can be. It is enough, in & of itself.

Persecution under Nero, (64-68 AD) - martyrdoms of Peter and Paul.

Persecution under Domitian, (81-96 AD) - John exiled to Patmos.   Reference > religionfacts.com/persecution

But, this testimony does not stand alone.

It is affirmed, by nearly all, the more distinguished Fathers:

Victorinus, says repeatedly, that John was banished by Domitian, and in his (Domitian's) time saw the Revelation.

Hippolytus, speaks of John as having been exiled to Patmos under Domitian, where he saw the Apocalypse.

Eusebius, speaking of the persecution, says: ‘In this persecution, John the apostle and evangelist, being still alive, was banished into the isle of Patmos.’

Jerome, in his book of illustrious men, says:

‘Domitian, in the fourteenth year of his reign (95 AD)

raised (intensified) the next persecution 'after' Nero, when John was banished to the isle of Patmos,

where he wrote the Revelation.’  In another work, Jerome says: ‘John was a prophet. He saw the Revelation,

in the isle of Patmos, where he was banished by Domitian.’

So, the Apostle John saw the Apocalypse-Revelation, 95-96 AD.

Sulpicius Severus says, that ‘John, the apostle and evangelist, was banished by Domitian, to the isle of Patmos,

where he had visions, and where he wrote the Revelation.’

Numerous more quotations abound.

Yet, it has been said, that these testimonies are of little value, since they are all based one upon another, and ultimately upon Irenaeus. Such statements are; without evidence, with much conjecture; thus irrelevant; contrived in distant centuries, indicating false motives.

Why?

Preterism, an eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, which is listed in Webster's 1913 dictionary as a prefix denoting that something is "past" or "beyond," signifying that either

 all or a majority of Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70.    Reference  > wikipedia/Preterism

Supposedly, one of the earliest references to preterism (perhaps the concept, NOT the term) comes from                  Eusebius of Caesarea (c. AD 263 – 339).   Reference  > wikipedia/Preterism

200 years after The APOCALYPSE - The REVELATION to John. The passage by Eusebius, sited; ONLY elaborates on Luke 21: 20-24; the prophesy by Jesus, of the destruction of Jerusalem, fulfilled in 70 AD; nothing elaborate enough to, substantiate Preterism, inferred or not.

Preterism holds that the contents of Revelation constitute a prophecy of events that were fulfilled in the 1st century.[57]

Preterism was first expounded by the Jesuit, Luis De Alcasar during the Counter Reformation.[58][59] The preterist view served to bolster the Catholic Church's position against attacks by Protestants,[60][61] who identified the Pope with the Anti-Christ. The preterist view was slow to gain acceptance, outside the Roman Catholic Church.[13]                             Reference  > wikipedia/Preterism

Most Problimatic, for the Roman Catholic Church, about the Apocalypse, specifically to the Vatican,

is Revelation 17: 9,18; identifies Rome with the Antichrist person/system, as the Apostle John saw & wrote this when ...

 Rome was known as, 'The City of 7 Hills'  &  ruled over the Kings of the earth;  the significant known world,

of that time.

 Revelation 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels ... and talked with me, saying ... Come hither;

I will show you the judgment (chapter 18) of the great whore ...

:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication (corruption),

and the peoples of the earth have been made drunk (blind) with the wine of her fornication (deception).

:3 ... in the spirit ... I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast ... having seven heads and ten horns.

:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet ... gold and precious stones ...

a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT ...

:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus ... 

:7 And the angel said unto me ... I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her,

which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

:9  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. 

The  seven heads are seven mountains,* on which the woman sitteth.

:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet;

but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:

for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

:18  And  the woman  which you saw

 is (present tense)

that great city (Rome – 'The City of 7 Hills' *), 

 which (present tense)

reigneth over the kings of the earth.

When God wrote, the Apocalypse-Revelation , through the Apostle John, ~95 AD,

Rome was known, as 'The  City of 7 Hills' & ruled the significant Known World, at that time ...

God was informing us,

the Roman Empire, would continue to reign from Rome; the Vatican, controlled the Kings of Europe

& eventually will achieve global governance, with the Antichrist.

 *     mountains & hills are synonymous terms; mountains are large hills.

If …   the Jesuit, Luis De Alcasar, could persuade that, The APOCALYPSE - The REVELATION to John,

already happened; the association with what is happening ... then, now & soon, is minimized.

However, anyone with reasonable discernment, should at least realize a repeat of history/prophesy.

The Big Problem

The APOCALYPSE - The REVELATION to John, was Seen,

about 25 years after, Nero & the fall of Jerusalem; 95-96 AD.

it is vain/naive/disturbing, to look for its fulfillment in, either of these events.

PRETERISM CONTRADICTS, SO MUCH, IN BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY, HOW COULD ANY INFORMED SCRIPTURAL BELIEVER, SUCCUMB, WITHOUT NAIVETY/PREJUDICE/CORRUPTION – Jesus warned, in the last days will be such deception that,

the very elect would be deceived ...

More info on Preterism > covenanter.org/pondreview

Related articles:

• BIBLICAL OVERVIEW

                Genesis to Revelation

• WHAT IS HAPPENING ???

• 911 Brief

• THE TIME It Is

• WHAT NEXT

                10 Final Events, by Jesus, Paul & John (~30-100 AD)

• FINAL 4 Empires

    by Daniel (~550 BC)

   

• What Made the USA Great

• Moral-Majority

• American tragedy

Copyright © 2004-2013   Dr. Vance Coan   *

2/11/14