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.
390 Gonzalo Rojas-Flores
But the internal evidence shows that the Book of Revelation was
written in the first years of Nero’s reign: between the years 54 and 60.
In fact, Nero is the sixth reigning king, since the ancient Roman,
Jewish and Jewish-Christian writers considered Julius Caesar the first
emperor (43). But if Nero still lived in the time of the prophecy, who is
the beast who “was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the
bottomless pit†(Rev 17,8)?
According to Paul, the return of Jesus Christ will be preceded by
the arrival of a powerful enemy of God:
As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered
together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly
shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as
though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.
Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless
the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one
destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every
so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the
temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember
that I told you these things when I was still with you? (2 Thess 2,1-5)
It is evident that Paul was not considering Nero when he wrote
about the opponent of God, since the epistle was written in 51, when
Claudius governed and Nero was 13 years old. So, who was “the
lawless oneâ€, “the one destined for destruction†that “opposes and
exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that
he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God�
The description fits Antiochus Epiphanes perfectly according to Dan
8,10-12; 11,36-37. In fact, in the synoptic gospels, the eschatological
return of Christ is preceded by a “suffering†(NRSV) or “tribulationâ€
(NASB) never seen before (44), with the “desolating sacrilege†(NRSV)
or “abomination of desolation†(NASB) as its symbol (45), indissolubly
connected to the impiety of Antiochus Epiphanes (46).
But according to John, the beast who “was, and is not, and is about
to ascend from the bottomless pit†(Rev 17,8) is one of the fallen kings
(17,9-11). Although John did not reveal the identity of the beast who
(43) Tacitus, Ann. 4.34; Suetonius, Iulius 76; Josephus, Ant. Iud. 18.2.2;
18.6.10; 4 Ezra 11-12; Or. Sib. 5.12-15. Cf. A.Y. COLLINS, Crisis and Catharsis.
The Power of the Apocalypse (Philadelphia 1984) 60-62; GENTRY, Before, 154-
159.
(44) Mark 13,19; Matt 24,21.
(45) Mark 13,14; Matt 24,15. Cf. Luke 21,20.
(46) 1 Macc 1,54; 9,27; Dan 9,27; 11,31; 12,1.11.