Originally posted by RJHinds
The Book of Revelation is written in Greek, not Hebrew. Besides Nero was in the past before John even wrote Revelations according to scholars, and Revelations is for future events.
While you are correct that Rev. was written in Greek, not Hebrew, the Greeks did not feel themselves to be oppressed by Rome. The Hebrews did.
<< Because some believe Revelation 13 speaks of a future prophetic event, "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8 NKJV), some have argued that the interpretation of Nero meeting the fulfillment is an impossibility if Revelation was written around 30 years after the death of Nero. However, rumors circulated that Nero had not really died and would return to power. ... the Mark of the Beast [refers to] the stamped image of the emperor's head on every coin of the Roman Empire: the stamp ... without which no one could buy or sell. New Testament scholar Craig C. Hill says, "It is far more probable that the mark symbolizes the all-embracing economic power of Rome, whose very coinage bore the emperor's image and conveyed his claims to divinity (e.g., by including the sun's rays in the ruler's portrait). It had become increasingly difficult for Christians to function in a world in which public life, including the economic life of the trade guilds, required participation in idolatry." Adela Yarbro Collins further denotes that the refusal to use Roman coins resulted in the condition where "no man might buy or sell" (Rev.13:17). A similar view is offered by Craig R. Koester. "As sales were made, people used coins that bore the images of Rome's gods and emperors. Thus each transaction that used such coins was a reminder that people were advancing themselves economically by relying on political powers that did not recognize the true God." In 66, when Nero was emperor—about the time some scholars say Revelation was written—the Jews revolted against Rome and coined their own money. >>
So, it is really very pedestrian. And in any case topical. No longer relevant.