When did the Apostle John die?

When did the apostle John die?

By Richard Joseph

Most scholars believe that the apostle John died around the year AD 96.  This is a result of one of the church fathers, Irenaeus, who made the statement that John was still alive near the end of the reign of Domitianou.  According to Ed Stevens’ book First Century Events in Chronological Order; page 9, this is a reference to Nero, not the emperor Domitian who reigned from 81-96.   Nero reigned from 54-68.  Due to a misunderstanding of names, John was believed to live a long life and therefore most put the writing of the book of revelation at a late date which would be after the second return of Christ and the rapture which all occurred around AD 70.  There is absolutely no sense in John writing an entire book predicting the destruction of Jerusalem 25 years after it was destroyed.  The book of Revelation was the announcement that the parousia was about to begin; and he was correct. 

Nero was an adoptive name he used as emperor.  His birth name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.  According to Stevens, “There are several scholars who believe that Irenaeus was referring to Nero when he said that John was still alive toward the end of the reign of Domitianou.  This is an adjective form of Domitius (Nero’s family name) and not the adjective form of Domitians’s name (which would instead be Domitianikos).” In other words, John more than likely died during the Neronic persecution before AD 70.  This was during the great tribulation period from 63-66 which Jesus warned of.  His second coming according to all of the New Testament writers including Jesus would occur during that generation.  Since Jesus predicted that John and James would both be martyred, ( John just prior the Parousia), this means that John  did not stay alive for the rapture that was predicted by Jesus, Paul and others.  Jesus predicted that the two brothers would be martyred and that John would be martyred just before the Parousia began.  In Mark 10:35-40 Jesus predicts the martyrdom of the two brothers.  James was indeed killed in AD 44.  However, according to John 21:22-23, John would not be martyred until near the beginning of the Parousia. 

      This passage had always puzzled me:

John 21:22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”    

It says that a rumor spread that John would not die because he would live until the Parousia.  In other words, he would be raptured!   That would be the only way that he would never die.  I believe the Parousia began in AD66.  John nearly made it but was more than likely martyred just before that.   Any saint left alive after the tribulation was raptured, then the wrath began on those that murdered the saints and Christ.   The church after this point started all over again by use of the Holy Spirit and the scriptures that were left behind and by those that were converted after the rapture. 

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

     Truly, heaven and earth (the current state of things) passed away and the only thing left standing were his words.

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