Before Jerusalem Fell

Th Identip of the Sixth King 159
by virtually all commentators – emperor worship does at the very
least make an appearance in Revelation. As a matter of historical
record, emperor worship began with Julius Caesar. To exclude him
from the enumeration of a list of pagan emperors in a work such as
Revelation would be highly questionable – especially when his name
was given to the line of the emperors: the Caesars.
Objections Considered
Let us at this point briefly consider some of the more significant
objections to the above construction of the evidence and the interpretation
of the passage presented.
Tb Designation of Emperors a “Kings”
Some might object to the approach outlined above in that the
emperors were not properly called “kings.” Despite the formal validity
of such an objection, it is not a weighty argument. As a matter of
fact, it was not uncommon for the emperors to be referred to as
“kings.” This is even done in Scripture itself. In 1 Peter 2:13, 17 and
1 Timothy 2:2 we must understand the references to kings as signi@ing
even the Roman emperors. To overlook the emperors in these
commands would be a serious interpretive error. Surely the call to
obedience to and prayer for “kings” includes the ultimate source of
political rule in the first century, i.e., the emperor. In John 19:15 the
chief priests claimed before Pilate: “We have no king but Caesar. ”
In Acts 17:7 Jason is accused of rebellion for receiving Christians into
his home, when it is said: ‘~ason has welcomed them, and they all
act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another
king, Jesus.” Thus, the Bible itself clearly calls the emperors kings
elsewhere. This should control the matter.
Such a practice of calling emperors “kings” was not uncommon
in the first centuries. 52
Julius Caesar tried to rid himself of the odium
that he aspired to be king by telling those who hailed him as king: “I
am Caesar and no king.”5 3
The very fact, however, that commoners
did hail him as king is indicative of the popular perception. In
52. Stuart, Apoca~@e 2:325. Frederick W. Farrar, % Ear~ Days of Chri.rtiani& (New
York: Cassell, 1884), p. 413n, cites H. A. Ewald, Geschichti des Votkes Israel bti Christu.s, 3rd
cd., 7 vols. (Gottingen: 1864-1868), 6604ff. [English translation by Russell Martineau
and J. E. Carpenter, 5 VOIS. (London: 1871 -1876).]
53. Suetonius, Juliw 79.