The pre-A.D. 70 Date of Revelation's Composition (continued)

Below is the fourth of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia, the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell.

[In this excerpt, Russell continues his enumeration of internal evidence that the Book of Revelation was written before A.D. 70, when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Romans.]

"2. After the fullest consideration of the remarkable [Greek] expression te kuriake hemera (the Lord’s day), in Rev. i. 10 [Rev. 1:10], we are satisfied that it cannot refer to the first day of the week, but that those interpreters are right who understand it to refer to the period called elsewhere ‘the [great judgment] day of the Lord.’ There is no example in the New Testament of the first day of the week (Sunday) being called ‘the Lord’s day,’ or ‘the day of the Lord;’ but the latter phrase is appropriated and restricted by usage to the great judicial period which is constantly represented in Scripture as associated with the Parousia [Second Coming]. ...[Thus, the expression] ‘I was in spirit in the day of the Lord' [means]...the Parousia [i.e., the impending 1st-century judgment of Old Covenant Israel] is the stand-point of the Seer in the Apocalypse [Book of Revelation]: a fact which is amply borne out by the contents. 

"3. In Rev. iii. 10 [Rev. 3:10] we are informed that a season of severe trial was then imminent, viz. [that is] a bitter persecution of those who bore the Christian name, extending over the whole world ([Greek]: oikoumene [civilized world]---or the Roman Empire). Now the first general persecution of Christians was that which took place under Nero, A.D. 64. We infer that this was the persecution then impending, and therefore that the Apocalypse was written prior to that date. 

"4. That the book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem appears from the fact that the city and temple are spoken of as still in existence. (See [Rev.] chap. xi. 1, 2, 8 [Rev. 11:1, 2, 8].) It is scarcely probable that if Jerusalem had been a heap of ruins the apostle [John] would have received a command to measure the temple; [that he] should represent the [supposedly already destroyed] Holy City as about to be trodden down by the Gentiles; or that he should see the witnesses lie unburied in its streets [Rev. 11:1-13]. 

"5. But, in truth, the Apocalypse [Revelation] itself is the great argument for its having been written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. ...A true interpretation speaks for itself; and as the right key fits the lock, ...so a true interpretation will prove its correctness by satisfactorily showing the correspondence between the historical fact [of Jerusalem's and the Temple's destruction in A.D. 70] and the [book's] prophetical symbol [character]."

[For further reading on the subject of Revelation's date of composition, see Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament by Jonathan Bernier (2022), Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. (1989), and Redating the New Testament by John A.T. Robinson (1976).]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rapture (Snatching Away) of Living Saints in the 1st Century

The Rapture (Snatching Away) of Living Saints in the 1st Century [See blog editor's note on the use and meaning of the term "rapture" after Russell's excerpt] Below is the 16th of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com) "THE CRUCIAL QUESTION [of whether the rapture happened in the 1st century] "Doubtless most readers will shrink from the demand made upon their faith, when they are asked to believe that the predictions of our Lord in Matt. xxiv. [24:31], and the kindred prophecy of St. Paul in 1 Thess. iv. [1 Thess. 4:15-17, regarding the "rapture" (snatching) of living saints] had a veritable accomplishment [in connection with Christ's ...
Read more

How Does God Measure Time?

How Does God Measure Time? Below is the 39th of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com) "THE CERTAINTY OF THE APPROACHING CONSUMMATION. "2 Pet. iii. 8, 9 [2 Peter 3:8-9].--- ‘But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ "Few passages have suffered more from misconstruction than this , which has been made to speak a language inconsistent with its obvious intention, and even incompatible with a ...
Read more

Revelation's Messages to the Seven 1st-century Churches of Asia Minor

Below is the ninth of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell: " The First Vision "THE MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES.  "[Rev.] Chap. i. 10-20; ii. iii [Rev. 1:10-20; 2, 3] "Notwithstanding what has been said respecting the imagery and symbolism of the Apocalypse [Book of Revelation],  it is not to be forgotten that underlying these symbols there is everywhere a substratum of fact and reality. We have only to read the messages to the seven churches to discover that we are in a region of actual fact and intense reality.  There is such individuality of character in the graphic delineations of the spiritual state of the several churches, that  we cannot doubt that they are accurate and truthful portraits of the Christian communities [in 1st-century Asia Minor] which they describe . There is indeed a strange commingling of figure [symbol] and fact [in ...
Read more