Before Jerusalem Fell

Introduction to the External Evidence 43
The Role of Tradition
In order to demonstrate the weight credited the church fathers
by late date advocates, we will cite the introductory assertions of
several competent late date theorists. Following these citations we
will provide a survey of the evidence, such as it is.
Henry B. Swete insists that “early Christian tradition is almost
unanimous in assigning the Apocalypse to the last years of Domitian.
” 10 In his monumental commentary on Revelation, R. H.
Charles introduces the external evidence as follows: “This evidence
almost unanimously assigns [Revelation] to the last years of Domitian.”
] 1 Donald Guthrie follows the lead of Swete, Charles, and others
– albeit, in somewhat more cautious tones – when he asserts that
“undoubtedly a strong argument in favour of a Domitianic date is the
fact that the earliest and the weightiest external witnesses attest it.” 12
Often (though -. by no means always) it is the case that the internal
evidence employed by late date advocates is essentially used in a
negative sense to rebut early date arguments, rather than being
employed positively to establish the late date. The external evidence
is quite important to late date advocacy. The authorities invariably
cited by these scholars, and virtually all late date advocates, are:
Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Victorious, Eusebius, and
Jerome.L3
Alexandria, Who as the Rich Man that shall be Saved? 42; Jerome, Lives 4 Ilia.rh”oas Mea 9;
Sulpicius Severus, Sacred HtstoU 2:3 1; Theophylac~ and the Syriac Revelation.
10. Henry Barclay Swete, CornmmtaU on Rezdation (Grand Rapids: Kregel, [1906]
1977) pp. xcix ff.
11. R. H. Charles, The Revelation of St. John, 2 VOIS. International Critical Commentary
(Edinburgh: T. &T. Clark, 1920) 1 :xci.
12. Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 3rd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-
Varsity Press, 1970) p. 956.
13. See for example: Swete, Revelation, p. c.; Charles, Revelaticm 1 :xciii; Robert H.
Mounce, T/u Book of Revelation. New International Commentary on the New Testament
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), p. 32; James Moffatt, The Revelation of St. John the
Diviru, in W. R. Nicoll, cd., Englishman’s Greek Tedarrumt, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
rep. 1980), p. 320; Albert Barnes, Bamzs’ Notes on the New Tedarnent, 1 vol. ed.
(Grand Rapids: Kregel, rep. 1962), pp. 1531ff.; B. B. Warfield, “Revelation,” in Philip
SchatT, cd., A Religious En@opedta: Or Dictionay of Bibkcal, Historical, Doctrinal, and
Practczal 7%eolo~ (New York Funk and Wagnalls, 1883) 3:2035; Henry C. Thiessen,
Introduction to the New T@tarnent (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1943), pp. 317ff.; Guthrie,
Introduction, pp. 956-957; John F. Walvoord, The Revelation ofJem Christ (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1966), pp. 13ff.; Merrill C. Tenney, “Revelation, Book of” in Merrill C. Tenney,
cd., Zondervan Ptctorial Btble Dictiona~ (Grand Rapids: Zondeman, 1967), p. 721.