In this article on "Dating the Book of Revelation," A Personal Revelation author, Eric Fugett, explains how he discovered the exact date for the book of Revelation. Let's begin by examining the two major views on the date for the book of Revelation.

The first major view is the "Late Date" for the book of Revelation. This is the traditional and most commonly held viewpoint on the date for Revelation. It places the book's date at about 95 AD near the end of Domitian's reign. This date is based on a quote from Irenaeus' Against Heresies 5.30.3 which when talking about the antichrist places him near the end of Domitian's reign. There are translation problems with this quote and you have several people quoting several people which make it second or third hand evidence at best. If you want more information on this, you should read Kenneth Gentry's "Before Jerusalem Fell.

The second major view is the "Early Date" for the book of Revelation. People who hold to this view believe that the book of Revelation was written before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There are three arguments in support of this viewpoint.

The first argument for the early date is based on what we find in Revelation chapter 11. In verse one, John is given a measuring rod & told to go and measure the temple and count the worshipers there. You can't measure something that is not there. In verse two, John is told not to measure the outer court because it has been given to the Gentiles and they will trample on it for 42 months which is also 1260 days or 3 ½ years. Isn't it amazing that history tells us that this is exactly how long the Romans trampled the holy city of Jerusalem from the spring of 67 AD to the fall in early fall of 70 AD?

The second argument is very simple. There is a Syriac version of Revelation that exists which has the following inscription: "the Revelation which was made by God to John the Evangelist in the Island of Patmos to which he was banished by Nero the Emperor." Nero's reign was from 54 AD - 68 AD. Enough said.

The third argument is my own. We will begin by examining what the apostle John had to say about a date for the book of Revelation.

In Revelation 1:9-10, John told us that he was in The Spirit on The Lord’s Day when he heard a loud voice like a trumpet. So what does this tell us about when John received the Revelation?

The key to understanding what John said is knowing that the trumpets in Revelation are in reference to the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). History tells us that Titus and the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE (AD) just before a Feast of Trumpets occurred. Since there were seven trumpet soundings in the Book of Revelation, the seventh trumpet or Feast of Trumpets would have occurred in 69 CE (AD). Therefore, the first Feast of Trumpets would have taken place in 63 CE (AD).

John told us he was in The Spirit on The Lord’s Day or Sunday (see my article on The Day of the Lord if you need clarification) when he heard the trumpet sound. So if I am right, the Feast of Trumpets in 63 CE (AD) had to begin on a Sunday. I checked a calendar and discovered that the Feast of Trumpets began on Sunday evening on September 11 in 63 CE (AD). In case you are not familiar with how Jewish days are structured, they run from evening to evening instead of morning to morning like our days.

My latest discovery comes from The New International Dictionary of the Bible. It says that the term, "Lord's Day" is an adaptation of a Roman custom of calling the first day of the month, 'Emperor's Day.' In case you are not aware, The Feast of Trumpets falls on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri. John is making a very strong statement about Jesus being Lord of the world rather than Caesar (Matthew 28:18, Colossians 1:16, 1 Peter 3:22, and Revelation 1:5.)

Considering what the book of Revelation is really about, it would make sense that the Revelation would be given before Nero Caesar began persecuting Christians in 64 CE (AD). The date is also trustworthy because of the prophecies in Revelation about the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem.

A date for the book of Revelation is one of the many informative items you will discover when you buy my book, "A Personal Revelation."