When first discovered in 1930, the excavator identified it as Domitian.

Georg Daltrop and Max Wegner later questioned this identification. On the basis of facial features from portraits, they suggest it depicted his older brother Titus. However, other art historians still think it belongs to Domitian (Friesen 1993b: 62). This akrolithic statue, made of a wooden body, now disintegrated, and stone extremities, stood about 25 ft tall (Friesen 1993b: 63, 1993a: 62). The left hand had a groove in it where a spear was placed. This description accords historically with Ephesian coins depicting the Temple of the Sabastoi with a statue in front holding a spear (Friesen 1993b: 63).Remains of the statue of Emperor Domitian found in the Sabastoi Temple. Made of wood and marble, the statue stood about 25 ft high.Fourth, where was the statue placed in the temple complex? Some have suggested it was outside in the courtyard. However, the torso was probably wooden and would deteriorate in the inclement weather. Friesen (1993a: 32) notes that the back of the head was not finished, thus “the statue could only have been displayed in front of a wall where visitors were not expected to go behind it.” The most logical place was inside the temple. Most likely, similar statues of the other Flavians were inside (Friesen 1993b: 62).Fifth, what did the temple complex symbolize? Approaching the Temple of the Sabastoi from the Agora, with its northern facade and engaged deities supporting the temenos, was intentionally symbolic. Friesen (1993b: 75) remarks:The message was clear: the gods and goddesses of the peoples supported the emperors, and, conversely, the cult of the emperors united the cultic system, and the peoples, of the empire. The emperors were not a threat to the worship of the diverse deities of the empire; rather the emperors joined the ranks of the divine and played their own particular role in that realm.Ephesus, with its harbor, was the major commercial center of Asia Minor. Pilgrims and traders mixed their commercial ventures with cultic worship of the emperors. I suggest that first century Ephesus was a prototype of the future religious and commercial center predicted in Revelation 17 and 18, called “Mystery Babylon” and controlled by the Antichrist. Interestingly, Farrar (1888: 355), in his monumental The Life and Work of St. Paul, says of Ephesus:Its markets, glittering with the produce of world’s art, were the Vanity Fair of Asia. They furnished to the exile [of] Patmos the local colouring of those pages of the Apocalypse in which he speaks of “the merchandise of gold, silver” (Rv 18:12, 13).Reconstructed plan of the altar and temple of the Sebastol (Greek for “Emperors”) in Ephesus. It was constructed sometime after AD 85/86, in response to Domitian’s claim of deity.The first century church could relate to this.In the midst of all this commercial and cultic activity, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ took a stand for Him (Rv 2:2–3). The Apostle John, one of their elders, refused to participate in emperor worship and preached against it. While on Patmos he received the revelation from the Lord Jesus, a polemic against emperor worship and Domitian in particular. Revelation 1:9 says that John was on Patmos “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”The serious Bible student knows there are at least three different interpretations for that verse. First, the Lord sent John to the island specifically to receive the revelation. Second, John voluntarily went to the island to preach the gospel. Third, he was banished by the Roman government because of preaching the gospel (Thomas 1992: 88, 89). The third is most likely the primary interpretation, but the other two are correct as well! John was exiled because he preached the gospel and against emperor worship, but the Lord in His sovereignty used this opportunity to give him the book of Revelation and while he was there, he had opportunities to proclaim the gospel.Conclusion of the MatterI wonder if the Apostle John ever saw the statue of Domitian in the Temple of the Sabastoi? If he had, I am sure he refused to bow and worship it, or even burn incense on the altar before it. What a contrast between this lifeless stone statue of a mere mortal and John’s vision of the resurrected and living Savior:One like the Son of Man, clothed in a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as the snow [Domitian was bald!], and His eyes like a flame of fire, His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars [as opposed to a spear in Domitian’s left hand], out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength (Rv 1:13–16).When John saw this One, he fell down as dead (Rv 1:17a). He worshipped Someone infinitely greater than the mortal and dead emperors. He worshipped the One who was the “First and the Last,” and the One “Who lives, and was dead and is alive forever more” (Rv 1:17b, 18).Is it any wonder that John also recorded the statement of the four living creatures, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God (Kurios ho theos) Almighty. Who was and is and is to come” (Rv 4:8)? The contrast of the “Lord Gods” was obvious for any believer living in the first century. Domitian tried to legislate public and private morality, yet he himself was immoral: an adulterer, involved in incest, responsible for the murder of his niece Julia. She died from a botched abortion after Domitian impregnated her. Others were murdered at Domitian’s command, because he felt they were a threat to his rule. He was blasphemous. He abused animals. Sitting in his room he would catch flies and stab them with a “keenly sharpened stylus.”On the other hand, the Lord Jesus Christ is “holy, holy, holy.” The One who could not sin, would not sin, and did not sin (Jas 1:13, 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15). He was the spotless Lamb of God (1 Pt 1:19). Domitian called himself Dominus Dues Domitianus (D.D.D). Yet the Lord Jesus is the “Lord God Almighty,” El Shaddai!Domitian was born October 24, AD 51, and murdered September 18, AD 96. He was cremated and his ashes, mingled with those of his niece Julia, were buried in the temple of Gens Flavia on the Quairinal Hill in the sixth Region, built over the house where he was born (Jones 1992: 1; Richardson 1992: 181). Yet, the Eternal Son of God is the One “Who was and is and is to come!” Domitian reigned only 15 years (September 13, AD 81-September 18, AD 96), but King Jesus will reign for a thousand years as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rv 19:16; 20:4–6). Believers in the Lord Jesus during the first century would have been encouraged (and blessed) by reading the Book of Revelation.BibliographyBailey, D. R. S. (trans.)1993a Martial’s Epigrams, Vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge MA: Harvard University.1993b Martial’s Epigrams, Vol. 2. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge MA: Harvard University.Cary, E. (trans.)1995 Dio Cassius Roman History, Epitome of Book LXI-LXX. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge MA: Harvard University.Friessen, S.1993a Ephesus: Key to a Vision in Revelation. Biblical Archaeology Review 19.3: 24–37.1993b Twice Neokoros, Ephesits, Asia and the Cult of the Flavian Imperial Family. Leiden: E J Brill.Hemer, C.1986 The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting. Sheffield: JSOT.Janzen, E.1994 The Jesus of the Apocalypse Wears the Emperor’s Clothes, SBL 1994 Seminar Papers. Atlanta: Scholars.Jones, J.1989 A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins. London: Seaby.Kanitz, L.1973–1974 Domitian the Man Revealed by His Coins. Journal for the Study of Ancient Numismatics 5: 45–47.Kreitzer, L.1990 Apotheosis of the Roman Emperor. Biblical Archaeologist 53.4: 210–217.Ramsay, W.1993 The Letters to the Seven Churches. Peabody MA: Hendrickson.Rolfe, J. (trans.)1992 Suetonius, The Lives of the Caesars, Domitian. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge MA: Harvard University.Sapelli, M.1998 Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme. Milan: Electa.Thomas, R.1992 Revelation 1–7. An Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody.Editorial note-All Scripture quotations in this article are from the New King James Version.

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