Before Jerusalem Fell
by Kenneth L. Gentry by Kenneth L. Gentry
The Identip of the Sixth King 157 The Epistle of Barnabas 4:4 speaks of ten kings upon the earth: “Ten kings shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings.” The three subdued kings represent Galba, Otho, and Vitellius . 42 The tenth must be Vespasian, which indicates a start from Julius.43 According to many scholars, this work was written around the year A.D. 100.W Thus, it too is in the era of John’s Revelation, and it necessarily implies that the emperor count in that era began with Julius. The earlier Sibylline Oracles, as well, follow the pattern of beginning with Julius. Book 5 of the Sibylline Oracles speaks cryptically of Julius: There will be the first prince who will sum up twice ten with his initial letter. He will conquer long in wars. He will have his first letter of ten, so that after him will reign whoever obtained as initial the first of the alphabet.45 Collins’s note on this reference specifies that it is to Julius Caesar % Book 8 of the Sibylline Oracles is dated at A.D. 180. 47 The reference at 8:135-138 to there being “fifteen kings” requires a counting of Julius. Collins notes of this section that it speaks of “Roman kings, beginning with Julius Caesar and counting Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.”48 Sibylline Oracles 11:26 lff. mention Julius as the first of the Roman emperors. 42. Bell notes that “no ancient writer of whom I have knowledge omits these three men from his account of Roman history. . . . [A]n ancient writer could no more have omitted them from his list of emperors than a modern American historian could omit William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, who caught pneumonia at his inauguration in 1841 and died a month later. His influence on the course of American history was absolutely nil, but he was duly elected, inaugurated, and therefore must be reckoned in any accurate listing of men who have held that otlice. The same principle applies to Galba, Otho and Vitellius” (Albert A. Bell, Jr., “The Date of John’s Apocalypse. The Evidence of Some Roman Historians Reeonsidered,” New Te~tarnmt ,$.tudie~ 10 [1977- 78] :99) 43. Robinson, Redating, p. 243. 44. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., Th Ank-Nicene Fathers [ANF], 10 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, [late 19th c.] 1975) 1:133-135. In their introductory remarks, Roberts and Donaldson mention Hilgenfeld (1866) as one “who has devoted much attention to this Epistle” and who “holds that ‘it was written at the close of the first century by a Gentile Christian of the school of Alexandria. . . .’” 45. Sil#ne Onwles 5: 12-15; OTP 1:393. 46. Collins, “Sibylline Oracles,” OTP 1:393. 47. Ibid., p. 416. 48. Ibid., p. 421, note q.
158 BEFORE JERUSALEM FELL Theophilus of Antioch lived c. A.D. 115 to 181.49 He wrote: “Afterwards those who are called emperors began in this order: first, Caius Julius . . . , then Augustus.”5° Other later sources (and thus less significant) also concur in beginning with Julius Caesar. Moses Stuart lists the following witnesses: The Ch-onicon Pawhale (dated about 400), Georgius Syncellus in his Chronognzflhy (about 800), and Nicephorus Patriarch (about 824) in his Com@nd of Chronography.51 From the above considerations we are justified in viewing the kings list of Revelation 17 as indicating the line of Roman emperors as beginning with Julius Caesar. Consequently, the count of the emperors into the first century is as follows: 1. Julius Caesar (49-44 B. C.) 2. Augustus (31 B. C.-A.D. 14) 3. Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) 4. Gaius, also known as Caligula (A.D. 37-41) 5. Claudius (A.D. 41-54) 6. Nero (A.D. 54-68) 7. Galba (A.D. 68-69) ● 8. Otho (A.D. 69) 9. Vitellius (A.D. 69) 10. Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) Revelation 17:10 says: “They are seven kings; five have fallen, [i.e., Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius], one is [i.e., Nero], the other has notyet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while [i.e., Galba reigned from June, 68 to January, 69] .“ It seems indisputably clear that the book of Revelation must be dated in the reign of Nero Caesar, and consequently before his death in June, A.D. 68. He is the sixth king; the short-lived rule of the seventh king (Galba) “has not yet come.” In addition to all the foregoing, it would seem unreasonable to exclude Julius from the list in light of the circumstances and subject matter of the book. As will be shown in a later chapter – and as held 49. ANF 2:87. 50. Ibid., p. 120. T4eophilzu to Ar@cu.s 2:28. 51. Stuart, Apoca@e 24-48.
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158 BEFORE JERUSALEM FELL<br />
Theophilus of Antioch lived c. A.D. 115 to 181.49 He wrote:<br />
“Afterwards those who are called emperors began in this order: first,<br />
Caius Julius . . . , then Augustus.”5°<br />
Other later sources (and thus less significant) also concur in<br />
beginning with Julius Caesar. Moses Stuart lists the following witnesses:<br />
The Ch-onicon Pawhale (dated about 400), Georgius Syncellus<br />
in his Chronognzflhy (about 800), and Nicephorus Patriarch (about<br />
824) in his Com@nd of Chronography.51<br />
From the above considerations we are justified in viewing the<br />
kings list of Revelation 17 as indicating the line of Roman emperors<br />
as beginning with Julius Caesar. Consequently, the count of the<br />
emperors into the first century is as follows:<br />
1. Julius Caesar (49-44 B. C.)<br />
2. Augustus (31 B. C.-A.D. 14)<br />
3. Tiberius (A.D. 14-37)<br />
4. Gaius, also known as Caligula (A.D. 37-41)<br />
5. Claudius (A.D. 41-54)<br />
6. Nero (A.D. 54-68)<br />
7. Galba (A.D. 68-69) ●<br />
8. Otho (A.D. 69)<br />
9. Vitellius (A.D. 69)<br />
10. Vespasian (A.D. 69-79)<br />
Revelation 17:10 says: “They are seven kings; five have fallen,<br />
[i.e., Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius], one is [i.e.,<br />
Nero], the other has notyet come; and when he comes, he must remain<br />
a little while [i.e., Galba reigned from June, 68 to January, 69] .“ It<br />
seems indisputably clear that the book of Revelation must be dated<br />
in the reign of Nero Caesar, and consequently before his death in June,<br />
A.D. 68. He is the sixth king; the short-lived rule of the seventh king<br />
(Galba) “has not yet come.”<br />
In addition to all the foregoing, it would seem unreasonable to<br />
exclude Julius from the list in light of the circumstances and subject<br />
matter of the book. As will be shown in a later chapter – and as held<br />
49. ANF 2:87.<br />
50. Ibid., p. 120. T4eophilzu to Ar@cu.s 2:28.<br />
51. Stuart, Apoca@e 24-48.
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