Revelation

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NASB	Revelation 1:9 ¶ I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
AMPLIFIED 2015	Revelation 1:9 ¶ I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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Bible Question: When was the book of Revelation written? About A.D.95, before A.D.70, other?

Please provide your evidence (scriptural, historical) when you reply. "I was always taught..." or "I believe..." doesn't prove anything.

Bible Answer: Kalos,

Part II

"This resentment is not hard to grasp: for the substance of the apostolic message was that the majority of Jews had missed the Messiah and that their leaders in Jerusalem had murdered him. This is, of course, no small indictment against the old covenant institutions in Jerusalem. So it is not hard to see why there would be such enormous hostility coming from the chief priests, scribes, theologians, Pharisees, and Sadducees in practically every strata of Jewish society. And this could only be compounded when the gospel proceeded to embrace the Gentiles who were regarded (particularly among Pharisees) as unclean and defiled. Couple this with the early Church.s grasp of the fact that certain aspects of the ceremonial law (such as circumcision) were no longer in force and you have, both theologically and psychologically, a perfect recipe for hostility to the gospel among the rank-and-file Jewish populace. And so we see throughout the book of Acts and in the New Testament epistles a series of skirmishes
against the Church leading up to the events of 70 AD. What concerns us here is the fact that the book of Revelation falls right in line with the rest of the New Testament in its focus on the problem of persecution from Jews. Revelation 2:9, for instance, condemns "the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Likewise, Revelation 3:9 speaks of "the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie." This kind of condemnation corresponds both with Jesus. condemnation of Pharisaic hypocrisy in Matthew 23:25-28 and with Paul.s statement in Romans 2:28-29 that "He is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God."

"Because of this, Paul writes in Galatians 6:15-16, "For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God." That is, Paul says that the true Jew is the one who keeps law from a heart filled with faith and that all those, Jew or Gentile, who are newly created in Christ constitute "the Israel of God." The implication of that is clear: mere ethnicity does not make one of a true Jew. Rather, it is acceptance of the rule and reign of Jesus, the son of David and King of the Jews, which does so. Revelation 3:7 reflects the same idea when it speaks of Jesus as "the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens." This imagery is drawn straight from Isaiah 22. The "key of David" is held by the heir of David.s house, the King of Israel. Jesus, holding the "key of David," is therefore the son of David and the real King of Israel. Therefore, only those who are loyal subjects of Jesus are true Israelites, according to both Paul and Revelation.

"This has everything to do with the first century "covenant context" in which Revelation is written. For the great challenge faced by any modern reader of Revelation is to try to view the book as first century Jews would have and to think using the mental categories they used. After all, the apostles and authors of the New Testament are, with the exception of Luke, all Jews. Their minds are steeped in and formed by the Old Testament. Therefore, more than anything else, at the center of the worldview of the New Testament authors is the belief that God had made a new covenant with us in Jesus Christ."

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Catholic Scripture Study
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