The majority of bible scholars date the writing of this book to the late 90’s A.D., while John was exiled by Emperor Domitian.  Domitian reigned from 81-96 A.D. and was fervently persecuted Christians.  John was the last living apostle that was of the twelve that followed Jesus in His first advent.  John wrote Revelation during a time of heavy persecution of the church and the believers of the “way”.  Initially, the Romans considered the followers of Jesus to be a sect of Judaism.  In the late 50’s A.D. under Emperor Claudius, the Jews revolted against the Roman oppression, causing a great stir.  At that time Claudius had the Jews expelled from Rome.  It was in the time of Nero’s reign (54-68 A.D.) that the Romans began to severely persecute the Christians, burning them at the stake and feeding them to the lions for the entertainment of crowds in the Colosseum and other such venues.   This was partly a political move to blame the Christians for the burning of Rome that happened in the early 60’s.  It was Nero that had both Peter and Paul put to death. After Nero’s death, Vespatian took over (69-79) and his son Titus completed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

The letters to the seven churches were written to actual churches that were active in that day, although they were primarily underground, due to Roman persecution.  The readers would have had a clear understanding of the symbolism John was using in his writings.  All seven of the churches were in Asia (now Turkey) and were gentile areas.  The book has a threefold audience.  The beginning deals with these seven churches and the gentile believers.  The chapters on the great tribulation are focused on the Jews and the unbelieving rest of the gentile world.  It all culminates when the church and the Jewish believers come together during the Millennial Kingdom and the unbelieving world is judged.

The symbolism of this book is often debated as to its specific meaning.  Many argue it tells of times already passed and events already fulfilled, while others interpret it as all future and not yet fulfilled.  Many argue its symbolism is purely figurative and others interpret the symbolism at to represent events that will actually come to pass.

It is the conjecture of LearningGod.org that, based on biblical interpretation of signs and prophecies throughout the Word of God, the signs are both literal and figurative.  Both are likely to prove out to be true.  Prophecies to the original Hebrew writers of the Old and New Testaments meant a repeating pattern that intensified as it repeated.  This is true for most, but not all prophecies, especially ones that refer to the end times.  As such, they reflect events that would come to pass in the near future, such as the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, as well as long term, such as the “abomination of desolation” that takes place after the antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel (yet future). 

It is recommended that both aspects be kept open as possible interpretations.  There is nothing in scripture that says a prophecy can’t came true more than once and on different scales.