When we read the book of Revelation, we are struck by the vagueness of its historical setting. Despite the various claims of scholars, nothing in the book itself indisputably points to life under a particular emperor, whether we think of Nero (r. AD 54–68), Domitian (r. AD 81–96), Trajan (r. AD 98–117), or some other emperor. Such a state of affairs suggests that we should not rigidly tie our interpretation of the letter to any particular period or to the actions of a specific