Revelation Was Written Before 63 AD

Author: Michele at ScriptureStudy.Guide
Posted: October 18, 2022. Updated January 22, 2023.

This article will show proofs of Revelation being penned prior to the complete destruction of Jerusalem, the 2nd temple, and the Jewish government from early-63 to early-70 AD, and why the date of its authorship is important.

The deceptive controllers of this world need Revelation to have been written in 95 AD or after, in order to push their false futuristic doctrines of biblical prophecy. Their futurism prophecy deceptions are being used to bring the entire world under Communism (details here).

The Great Tribulation that ended the old and brought in the new was from the Spring of 63 to the Spring of 70 AD, and Revelation was written for the ekklesia to give spiritual understanding of this time (details here).

The Writings of John

It is widely believed by scholars that the apostle John, also called “the elder,” penned the following 5 New Testament books:

  • John
  • 1 John
  • 2 John
  • 3 John
  • Revelation

During my studies, I realized that Revelation 1:7 was referring to the second coming of Jesus Christ in late-66 to early-70 AD (details here and here), so the book was actually written in the early-60’s AD.

Let’s first look at the dates of the writings which we are given.

Dates the Books Were Written

I am going to list all 27 books of the New Testament and the dates they were written so you can see what I’m seeing (I also listed the 39 Old Testament books at the bottom of the article, if you are interested).

I will be using the following 3 sources:

  1. The first date provided is from the little book Know Your Bible by Barbour Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60260-015-7.
  2. The second date is from the Holman KJV Study Bible, ISBN 978-1-4336-0034-0.
  3. The third date is from the KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, ISBN 978-0-310-45996-5 (Zondervan).

New Testament

All dates are A.D. NOTE THE ONES WRITTEN AFTER 70 AD:

  • Matthew – appx. 70 / mid-50’s to mid-60’s / not addressed
  • Mark – probably 60’s /early-mid-50’s / not addressed
  • Luke – possibly 70’s-80’s / late-50’s / not addressed
  • John – around 90’s / 70’s-98 / uncertain
  • Acts – between 62-80 / early 60’s / not addressed
  • Romans – appx. 57 / Spring of 57 / not addressed
  • 1 Corinthians – appx. 55-57 / Spring 56 / not addressed
  • 2 Corinthians – appx. 55-57 / around 56 / not addressed
  • Galatians – around 49 / sometime between 48-56 / between 55-60
  • Ephesians – around 62 / 60-61 / between 60-64
  • Philippians – early 60s / 60-62 / uncertain, probably 60-64
  • Colossians – early 60’s / early 60’s / between 60-64
  • 1 & 2 Thessalonians – early 50’s / 50 or 51 / uncertain, between 49-54
  • 1 Timothy – appx. 63 / 62-64 / uncertain
  • 2 Timothy – mid-60’s / 66 / between 65-67
  • Titus – appx. 63 / 62-64 / not addressed
  • Philemon – around 63 / probably 60-61 / not addressed
  • Hebrews – before 70 / around 64-67 / uncertain
  • James – appx. 60 / sometime between 45-52 / not addressed
  • 1 Peter – appx. 65 / around 62-64 / uncertain
  • 2 Peter – late 60’s / around 65-66 / between 64-70
  • 1, 2, 3 John – appx. 92 / after 70 / uncertain
  • Jude – appx. 82 / 66? / not given
  • Revelation – appx. 95 / late-60’s or 95? / uncertain, popular opinion is 96

Sidenote: I do not believe Jude waited till 82 AD to warn the churches of the wolves among them because Paul was warning them in 50 AD. One of my sources does have Jude writing his book in 66 AD… I believe that source is closer to being correct. John was the only person who penned God’s inspired word after the destruction of Jerusalem, the 2nd temple, and the apostate Jews in 70 AD (and that was the Gospel of John).

Based on my studies, I believe:

  • John wrote Revelation first, around the late-50’s to early-60’s AD.
  • Then he penned 1, 2 and 3 John in the early-60’s.
  • Then the gospel of John came last, after the second coming of Jesus, soon after 70 AD.

However, we could also conclude that Jude and 1, 2, 3 John were written soon after Paul was warning the Thessalonians of apostasy within the church in 50 AD, giving those 4 books an authorship date of anytime during the 50’s AD decade. The scholars have no record of when they were written… they look at the events occurring at the time and set their date based on their personal presuppositions.

What we know for certain is that the books were written before the Great Tribulation of early-63, and the attack on Jerusalem which began in late-66 AD (see The Jewish-Roman War & the Two Witnesses in the Great Tribulation).

History Proves the Scriptures

The Date of Revelation
John penned Revelation prior to 63 when he was looking forward to Jesus “coming in the clouds” to take vengeance on “those who pierced Him” (Revelation 1:7). This same event is also recorded in Matthew 24:1-35, Mark 13 and Luke 21 (see Coming in the Clouds – Jesus’ Second Coming for details).

We are told John received the Revelation from Jesus Christ while he was imprisoned in Patmos. I do believe that John was imprisoned at Patmos during the same time frame that Paul was imprisoned (57-65 AD).

The Date of 1, 2, 3 John
1, 2, and 3 John are about the same topic as the book of Jude which we are told was written in either 82 or 66 (neither date fits the historical account of events), but they really do not know (or are hiding the true dates from us). The book of Jude was written to warn about false teachers who had crept into the church, so I firmly believe this was also written prior to 63 AD. Paul was warning the church of the wolves who had crept in unawares as early as 50 AD.

I believe 1, 2 and 3 John were written around the same time frame as Jude, prior to the Great Tribulation from early-63 to early-70 AD. All 4 books were warning the early church of the Jewish Sanhedrin (high priest, scribes, Greater Sanhedrin council of 70 men, and Lesser Sanhedrin of 23 men) who were apostate. For the full story of what was going on during that time, see The Little Horn and the Clay are Jewish.

I also believe the incorrect late date of Jude’s book was to take away from the fact that only ONE book was written after the Jewish government, the 2nd temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed in 70 AD (and that was the Gospel of John).

The Date of the Gospel of John
John penned the Gospel of John after 70 AD because there is not a reference to Jesus coming in the clouds in the future — in fact, John 21:24 is proof that Jesus had already come. Matthew, Mark and Luke all reference Jesus’ soon coming in the clouds during their generation, so John was definitely the last of the 4 gospel books that were written.

In John 21:23, we are told that Jesus prophesied that John would be the only apostle who would still be alive to witness the coming of Jesus in the clouds in 66 AD. History proves that all of the apostles, except John, were indeed killed before that date. In John 21:24, John confirms that everyone knew that Jesus’ prophesy was true because they had witnessed its fulfillment.

Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple [John] would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

John 21:24 (NKJV)

So the gospel of John was written after 70 AD because men were appointed to only live 120 years after the flood. John has not been remaining on earth the past 1,900+ years.

I believe the Gospel of John was the very last book of God’s inspired word that was ever written. The apostle that Jesus loved, John, lived to write the proof of Jesus having come in the clouds, and all apostles but himself having been killed before that time, just as Jesus had prophesied. Our bible was completed shortly after 70 AD.

In Closing

Knowing when Revelation was written helps us to understand the truth behind what the new heaven and new earth are (explained here), and prevents us from incorrectly applying past events to our future. This will prevent us from being deceived by the fictional theater that the new world order, one universal religion dictators are trying to push onto humanity (details here).

Please know your history so you will better understand your bible (details here). We are in a time of deception that is so deep, it’s completely mind-boggling. Pray for wisdom and understanding from Father God through His Holy Spirit so you may remain in His Truth. May God richly bless you in your studies!

Reference: Dates of Old Testament Books

In case you are interested in the dates that the Old Testament books were written, or you wish to compare your sources to my three sources, I will list them here.

  • The first date provided is from the little book Know Your Bible by Barbour Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60260-015-7.
  • The second date is from the Holman KJV Study Bible, ISBN 978-1-4336-0034-0.
  • The third date is from the KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, ISBN 978-0-310-45996-5 (Zondervan).

All dates are BC:

  • Genesis – around 1400’s / 2nd century BC / not addressed
  • Exodus – mid-1400’s / 1445-1406 / not addressed
  • Leviticus – mid-1400’s / 2nd century BC / not addressed
  • Numbers – appx. 1400’s / 1445-1406 / not addressed
  • Deuteronomy – appx. 1400’s / 1445-1406 / not addressed
  • Joshua – appx. 1375 / after 1406 / not addressed
  • Judges – appx. 1050 / between 722-586 / not addressed
  • Ruth – around 1100 / later than 1011-971 / not addressed
  • 1 Samuel – 1100-1000 / after 930 / not addressed
  • 2 Samuel – 1010-970 / after 930 / not addressed
  • 1 & 2 Kings – 586 / after 561 / not addressed
  • 1 Chronicles – covers 1010-970 / mid-5th century / shortly after the captivity
  • 2 Chronicles – covers 970-500’s / mid-5th century / after 2 Chronicles
  • Ezra – appx. 530-mid-400’s / prior to 400 / not addressed
  • Nehemiah – appx. 445 / prior to 400 / not addressed
  • Esther – appx. 486-465 / 5th century / not addressed
  • Job – appx. 2000 / mid-late-1400’s / uncertain
  • Psalms – appx. 1400’s-500’s / 6th century or later / not addressed
  • Proverbs – 970-930 / 970-687 / not addressed
  • Ecclesiastes – 900’s / 935? / not addressed
  • Song of Solomon -970-930 / 970? / not addressed
  • Isaiah – 740-700 / after 740 / not addressed
  • Jeremiah – appx. 585 / 627-586 / not addressed
  • Lamentations – around 586 / 627-586 / not addressed
  • Ezekiel – 590’s-570’s / 598-597 / not addressed
  • Daniel – 605-538 / after 586 / not addressed
  • Hosea – between 750-722 / 793-753 / not addressed
  • Joel – before 586 / ? / uncertain
  • Amos – appx. 760’s / 760 / not given
  • Obadiah – shortly after 586 / 848-586 / not addressed
  • Jonah – appx. 760 / later than 793 /not addressed
  • Micah – appx. 700 / 722 / not addressed
  • Nahum – between 663-612 / after 663 / before the Fall of Nineveh
  • Habakkuk – appx. 600 / 609-605 / uncertain
  • Zephaniah – appx. 640-620 / 640-612 / not addressed
  • Haggai – 520 / after 520 / not addressed
  • Zechariah – appx. 520-475 / after 520 / 2 months after Haggai’s prophecy
  • Malachi – appx. 450 / 460 / not addressed

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