Before Jerusalem Fell

240 ‘BEFORE JERUSALEM FELL
that this scheme of interpretation is the only one that can sttrvive. 22
A quick survey of some of the more general correspondences will
introduce the matter. Following this, we will list some of the more
specific correspondences.
Gezw-al Correspondaues
Some of the judgment and tribulation scenes in Revelation are
borne out of contemporary persecutions (e.g., Rev. 1:9), others expect
a soon occurrence of the awful events. These scenes veritably breathe
“a time of wild commotion,”2 3
horrendous devastation, and destructive
upheaval. As has been pointed out earlier, the era of the late
A.D. 60s is far more tumultuous than that of the 90s, and probably
of any era up to the overthrow of the Roman empire centuries later.
In A.D. 64 Nero initiated the first and probably the most horrible 24
persecution of Christianity by Rome. From A.D. 67 to 70 the Jewish
War was oficially engaged and raged with peculiar severity, laying
waste the Temple, Jerusalem, and much of Judea. In A.D. 68-69 the
Roman Civil Wars nearly toppled mighty Rome, bringing the horror
of war upon the capital city itsel~ during the “Year of the Four
Emperors.”
Such events as these are easily capable of stylized expression in
many of Revelation’s passages. The persecution of the Christians by
Nero is evidently portrayed in Revelation 13.25 The destruction of
Israel (“the land”) during the Jewish War is the main theme of the
book (Rev. 1:7) and is evident in Revelation 6, 8, 9, 11, 14-18. 26
The
woes upon the Roman Beast are indicated in Revelation 13:10;
19:19-21. These represent some of the general allusions in Revelation
22. Frederic W. Farrar, The Ear~ Days M Chs-Manity (New York: Cassell, 1884), p.
434.
23. F. J. A. Hort, Tk Apoca~pse ofSt. John: I-III (London: Macmillan, 1908), p. xxvi.
24. Schaff wrote “the Neronian persecution [was] the most cruel that ever occurred”
(Philip Schaff; HirtoU of th Christian Chxrch, 8 vols. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, (1910)
1950] 1 :386).
25. Other evidences of martyrdom and persecution (in Rev. 6; 11; 17) seem to be
related to Jewish persecution, the main focus of the book being on the judgment of the
“tribes of the land” (Rev. 1 :7). See Chap. 17.
26. Briefly, the evidence for the identifying ofJerusalem as the Harlot is based on the
following (1) Both are called “the great city” (Rev. 148; 11:8). (2) The Harlot is tilled
with the blood of the saints (cp. Rev. 16:6; 17:6; 18:21, 2% with Matt. 23:34-48; Luke
13:33; Acts 7:51 -52). (3) Jerusalem had previously been called by pagan names quite