Douglas F. Kelly’s Fifth “Indicator” for Revelation’s Early Date

In his commentary on Revelation, Douglas F. Kelly gives six “indicators” that support Revelation’s early date of composition (before 70 AD). His fifth indicator is that the sixth king in Revelation 17 is still alive at the time that John received the revelation, and that sixth king is Nero. Kelly writes,

Fifth, Revelation appears to have been written during the life of the sixth king (or Roman Emperor). Revelation 17:9-10 states: ‘And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.’ If one counts from Julius Caesar (as the first emperor), then the sixth would be Nero, who started the first official Roman persecution against the Church in 64 AD. Nero died in 68 AD, so it appears that Revelation was written before his death. [1]

In his book The Last Days According to Jesus, R. C. Sproul argues that though some scholars prefer to start counting the kings (emperors) with Augustus Caesar (who was emperor after Julius), it is more natural to begin with Julius. He writes,

A more natural approach, however, is to begin the list of kings with Julius Caesar, as was the custom of ancient historians such as Josephus and Suetonius, as well as Dio Cassius. In this series, the sixth king is Nero. If he is the king referred to in Revelation in the present tense, then this adds considerable weight to the argument for dating the book in the mid- to late-sixties. [2]

[1]Kelly, Douglas. Revelation: A Mentor Expository Commentary. Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2012. p. 20.
[2] Sproul, R. C. The Last Days According to Jesus: When Did Jesus Say He Would Return? Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998, p. 159-160.