Matthew Poole and continuators on Revelation 1:19

19 Write the things which thou hast seen , and the things which are , and the things which shall be hereafter .

Either the things which thou hast seen from the beginning of the Gospel; for Iohn, Ma[illegible: 1 letter]. 4.21. was a Companion of Christ from the time presently following his Baptism and Temptations: Or, the Vision of me, which thou hast now had; which I judge most probably the sense, not understanding why our Lord should set Iohn to write what (tho they were not yet written, yet) Christ knew, should be written in another Book by Iohn himself, viz. in his Gospel, and by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in their Histories of the Gospel, and in the Acts of the Apostles, especially considering they were to be wrote plainly, so as he who runs may read them; and what Iohn was to write here, was to be written Enigmatically, and darkly represented in Visions: and it is against reason to think the same things should be first revealed plainly, and then more darkly, and both by Direction from God.

The present Affairs of the Church; we have the History till Paul was carried Prisoner to Rome, (which was about the 60th year after Christ) in the Acts of the Apostles; so that I conceive the furthest that Iohn lookt back, was but 35 years; for he was in Patmos about 93, and is conceived to have wrote this Book, 96. Hence the matter of the Revelation is easily concluded. 1. The things which were the present Affairs of the Church, Anno 96. or looking back only to 60, which Things are supposed to be written by Iohn in chap. 2.3.

And the Things which shall be hereafter, to the end of the World, under the reign of the Dragon [the Pagan Roman Empire] and the reign of Antichrist, or the Beast, for 1260 years, and from thence until Christ shall come to Judgment.