Time of Writing: External Evidence for the Reign of Domitian

External evidence confirms the internal evidence suggesting that John wrote to the churches of Asia during the reign of Domitian. Irenaeus (130-202 AD) writes that the Revelation "was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign"[18] and that John, the "disciple of the Lord," lived among the Christians in Ephesus "until the times of Trajan."[19]   Domitian ruled from 81 to 96 AD, and Trajan from 98 to 117 AD. Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD), says that after "the tyrant's (Domitian's) death, he (the apostle John) returned to Ephesus from the isle of Patmos."[20] Eusebius reports that "the apostle and evangelist John … was condemned to dwell on the island of Patmos in consequence of his testimony to the divine word" during the persecution of Domitian.[21] Hence, the external evidence suggests that Revelation was written from Patmos to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia toward the end of the first century during the reign of Domitian.

[18] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, V, xxxv, 3.
[19] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, III, iii, 4.
[20] Clement of Alexandria, Salvation of the Rich Man, 42.
[21] Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, III, xviii. 1.