There is an ongoing debate about when the book of Revelation was written. Most people think it was written either before 70 AD, during Emperor Nero’s reign, or between 90 and 96 AD, during Emperor Domitian’s rule. To interpret Scripture correctly, we need to understand as much as possible about the time in which it was written. This can be challenging because Scripture does not include direct time stamps. Nevertheless, we can be somewhat confident about when parts of the New Testament were written by looking at historical events mentioned in the text.

Knowing when a document was written plays an essential role in understanding it, and this holds especially true for Revelation. Looking carefully at the internal content of the letter, we observe that some of the churches to whom the letter was written were already suffering persecution by both Jews and Romans. For example, reading Jesus’ words to the church at Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11), we see that the church was thlipsis, already suffering persecution at the hands of the Jews. Jesus dictated this letter to the church at Smyrna to give them needed comfort to endure these afflictions. And without going into great detail, the persecution described by John, which the church at Smyrna endured, fits better with a pre-Nero date than that of Domitian.

Reading what Jesus says to the church in Philadelphia, we observe the same challenge they faced: persecution. Reading the entire letter, therefore, leads us to conclude that one of the main reasons it was written was to encourage suffering saints. Indeed, the letter opens with John identifying himself as “your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus” (1:9). The word tribulation is the Greek word thlipsis, which means a pressing, squeezing, or crushing hardship. It signifies not just a minor inconvenience, but real difficulties. It can refer to physical pressure, but is often used metaphorically to describe mental or emotional distress, persecution, or any form of hardship.

You will remember that Jesus prepared his disciples before his suffering that while they were in the world, they would experience thlipsis; “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). He wanted them to clearly understand that life in this world for believers would be full of difficulties. But at the same time, He made it known that they would “overcome the world” because He had overcome the world. The pressure the world exerts on believers is real and should not be taken lightly. Nevertheless, the Church has victory through faith in Jesus:

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God?                                     

1 John 5:4

The apostle John uses another word in the introduction to the letter to describe the sufferings the Church must undergo. It is the Greek word hupomone translated by the English word endurance. It is a faith that endures regardless of the challenges it must face. John describes it here as a ‘patient’ endurance. It is sometimes described as a faith that perseveres to the end. In Reformed theology, it is identified as the Perseverance of the Saints. Perhaps the English pastor Charles Spurgeon described it best when he said, “The saints will persevere in holiness because God will persevere in grace.”

John was the embodiment of thlipsis and hupomone when he identified himself as writing this letter from the island of Patmos. An early Church Father tells us that Caesar Nero threw John in a boiling caldron of oil, not once but twice, and both times he escaped. Unable to take his life, Nero banished him to the island of Patmos to work in the mines. It was there that John received the Revelation. It was written by a suffering saint for suffering saints. John tells us that he was on the island of Patmos “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

One of the main purposes of Revelation is to provide comfort to believers who are suffering. We should remember that this letter was written to seven specific churches throughout Asia Minor who experienced various types of trials and difficulties. Although some suggest the letter was written toward the end of the first century under Emperor Domitian, its content and context align much more closely with the circumstances present during the reign of Nero. This is because the saints to whom this letter is addressed are experiencing increasing suffering similar to those the Church endured during Nero’s reign.