Lecture for the Summer School
"Application of Informational Technologies to Biblical Studies"
July 27 - August 7, 1998 - Sofia, Bulgaria

Dating the Apocalypse using Computational Astronomical Methods
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Emil Kelevedzhiev
Institute of Mathematics and Informatics,
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,
Sofia, Bulgaria

e-mail: keleved@math.acad.bg


Abstract
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Many discussions about the Bible and especially about the
book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) concern the date of writing.
In some cases efforts to determine these dates take precedence
over the substance and application of the books. In searching
for the date when a book of Bible was written, we must consider
both internal and external evidences. By internal, we mean,
evidence contained within the book.

Following the Fomenko's ideas we make an attempt to interpret some
of the fantastic pictures, described in the book of Revelation as
an observation of the night stellar sky. Looking at any medieval
astronomical map, we may see almost the same set of  monsters and
animals, which are presented in the text of the Apocalypse. In the
Middle Ages astronomy the constellations and planets were traditionally
pictured as such like symbols, now preserved in astrology.

Deriving by analysing the text of Revelation a location for each
planet in a respective ecliptic constellation, we can find a moment
in the past historical time, when this distribution occured.
That may be done by the help of a computer using the exact computational
methods of celestial mechanic. Providing computations we found that
the given positions of the planets might be realized only at the
following years A.D.: 395, 632, 1249 or 1486.

This result remains disputable and contradictory to the commonly
accepted view of early dating of Apocalypse from the time of the
Roman Emperors Nero (54-68 A.D.) up to Domitian (81-96 A.D.).


May 19,  1998.