Gonzalo Rojas-Flores, «The Book of Revelation and the First Years of Nero’s Reign», Vol. 85 (2004) 375-392
In this article I try to demonstrate that the Book of
Revelation was written in the first years of Nero’s reign, because (a) there
is an important patristic tradition in favor of Nero and (b) the internal
evidence shows that the text was redacted after Nero’s ascension to the throne
in 54 and before the earthquake of Laodicea in 60.
384 Gonzalo Rojas-Flores
chronology does not fit with what is described in Rev 11,1-13 either.
There are several passages that make reference to the persecution of
the saints (6,9-11; 7,14; 12,17; 13,7.10.15; 16,6; 17,6; 18,6.24; 19,2;
20,4), but they are too general and it is difficult to interpret them as a
reference to Peter’s martyrdom. Could John write his work after the
death of Peter without mentioning the crucifixion of the first of the
apostles?
The passage about the two witnesses (Rev 11,1-13) does not
mention the death of James the Just, “the brother of the Lordâ€, in 62
either. According to Josephus, the unbending High Priest Ananus, son
of Ananus, from the Sadducee party, took advantage of the death of
the procurator, Festus, and the absence of the new procurator, Albinus,
as well. He persuaded the Sanhedrin to sentence James and some
others to death by lapidation as Law offenders. The moderate Jews
refused with indignation these executions and immediately sent
envoys to king Agrippa and the procurator Albinus, who was coming
from Alexandria. The High Priest Ananus was accused of acting
without Rome’s consent. The anger of Albinus was soothed when
Agrippa gave instructions for the dismissal of Ananus, who held the
pontificate for only 3 months (Ant. Iud. 20.9.1).
If John had wanted to refer to James the Just, he would not have
written about the death of the “two witnesses†(Rev 11,3), “the two
olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the
earth†(11,4). He would not have stated that believers are sheltered in
the Temple, harassed by the gentiles (11, 1-2), because the High Priest
and the Sanhedrin were the ones who sentenced James to die by
lapidation. On the other hand, the death of James did not delight the
population (as in 11,10), because Josephus reports that the most
moderate sector and the procurator himself became angry with the
sentence (Ant. Iud. 20.9.1). John writes that the bodies of the two
witnesses were hindered from burial (Rev 11,9), but there does not
seem to be any evidence of that in the case of James. Finally, Josephus
does not say a word about a great earthquake that had partially
destroyed Jerusalem (11,13).
The conclusion is clear: the passage about the two witnesses (Rev
11,1-13) does not mention the decapitation of Paul in 67; neither the
crucifixion of Peter in 67 or 64, nor the lapidation of James in 62. But
if John had written after some of these executions, how could he be
silent about their deaths and prophesy, in turn, about the death of the
“two witnessesâ€, “the two olive trees and the two lampstands that