When was the book of Revelation written?
John says only that he was on the island called Patmos when the visions came; he gives no year. Everything else — the emperor who banished him, the decade, and where the book stands among his writings — has to be pieced together from the earliest witnesses, and commentators do not all land in the same place.
The Usual Answer: About A.D. 96
The strongest external testimony points to the closing years of the emperor Domitian. One writer traces it back to a man just two steps removed from John himself:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIrenaeus, the friend of Polycarp, who knew John, stated about the year 180 that "the Revelation was seen at Patmos at the end of Domitian's reign." Domitian reigned from 81 to 96 A.D. Then Clement of Alexandria left the testimony behind that John returned from his exile to the island of Patmos on the death of the emperor, which was Emperor Domitian, in the year 96. This is the correct date.
The same chain of witnesses that fixes the date also settles the author, since the two questions travel together:
Arend RemmersJustin the martyr (around 100 to 165 AC), Irenaeus (around 140 to 220 AC) and the Muratori Canon (end of 2nd century) confirm that the Apostle John is the author... Irenaeus also mentions that John has written the book of Revelation towards the end of the Roman emperor Domitian's reign.
The Case for Caution
Not everyone treats the matter as closed. One reference work lays out the range of opinion without choosing, and notes what hangs on the choice:
Morrish Bible DictionaryIt is not known when the book was written, nor by what emperor John was banished to the Isle of Patmos. Some judge that it was Claudius (A.D. 41-54), others Nero (A.D. 54-68), and others Domitian (A.D. 81-96): it is more generally attributed to the last named, and if so, the date of the book would be after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
The debate is old and was known to be unsettled, yet the weight of evidence still fell late:
J. N. DarbyThere has been a controversy about the date of the Revelation, but, according to the most received evidence, it was thirty years after Paul: at least it was after Paul was killed.
Where It Sits Among John's Books
A late date places Revelation among the last things written, at the end of a very long life. On one reckoning, the Gospel came first and Revelation last:
L. M. GrantThe five books written by the apostle John were all published later than any other writings of Scripture, his gospel considered to be written about A.D. 85, his three epistles about A.D. 90 and Revelation about A.D. 95. His own age would likely be between 85 and 95 during the time of writing, and therefore these books show evidence of a dignity and maturity gained by long experience, yet with no marks of the infirmity of old age.
Commentators differ on that order. Another account puts the letters before the fall of Jerusalem, a silence of some thirty years after them, then Patmos — with the Gospel written last of all:
The Christian's FriendAfter bestowing upon the Church of God these precious scriptures, the Spirit of God kept silence as to revelation for a space of about thirty years, and then during his banishment in Patmos "the prisoner of the Lord" was inspired to give that great prophecy which is termed "the revelation of Jesus Christ"... John must have been now over ninety years of age, and his course well-nigh finished.
Why the Date Shapes the Reading
A book written in the 90s arrives after the events that dominate the rest of the New Testament, and that timing colours what it can be about:
William KellyIt was revealed to the last of the twelve apostles, as the fullest evidence shows, under the last of the twelve Caesars. The first century was closing, the temple and city of Jerusalem destroyed, the Jews dispersed. The gospel was in all the world, bringing forth fruit, and growing... The time was now come for a final revelation, which, first of all showing that Christendom would be equally faithless to its responsibility, next hides not the dealings of God which should succeed.
Coming last, it also finishes the collection:
The Bible TreasuryIt was given to John, the last of the apostles, at the fag end as it were, when the church having been set up failure had come in. When everything of man's responsibility had failed, it discloses God dealing in judgment. It completes the word of God as to books.
Summary
- Date. The most widely held answer is about A.D. 95–96, at the end of Domitian's reign, with John exiled on Patmos.
- Evidence. It rests on early testimony — Irenaeus, who knew Polycarp, a disciple of John, backed by Clement of Alexandria and the Muratorian list.
- Dispute. Claudius and Nero have both been proposed; one reference work says plainly that the emperor and the year are not known. The late date puts the book after Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70.
- Position. Written when John was well over ninety, it belongs with the last books of Scripture; commentators differ over whether his Gospel came before it or after.
- Meaning. Last apostle, last Caesar, temple gone, gospel spread worldwide — the timing suits a final book that looks past the church's failure to God's judgment and completes the written word.