John had a prophetic vision in which he was shown what would happen in the world until the second coming of Jesus Christ (Introduction, pg. 3).

“But while Daniel looks to the first advent of the Messiah as the heir of the preceding world-monarchies, John looks to the second advent of Christ and the new heavens and the new earth.”

Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol 1. p. 828.

“Furthermore, the various lines of prophecy carry the reader down through the ages to the second coming of Christ, and the new heavens and earth.”

Froom, Prophetic Faith, Vol. 1, p. 88.

John was the last apostle alive when he was on Patmos (Introduction, pg. 3).

“He may have been about ten years younger than Jesus, and as, according to the unanimous testimony of antiquity, he lived till the reign of Trajan, i.e., till after 98, he must have attained an age of over ninety years.… He seems to have been the youngest of the apostles, as he long outlived them all…”

Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 1, pp. 347, 348.

Revelation follows the precedent set by Daniel (Introduction, pg. 3).

“The Apocalypse, written centuries later, came gradually to be seen to constitute the complement of the earlier prophecies of Daniel, amplifying the details of the career of the Roman fourth empire in the prophetic series, and spanning the Christian Era from the first to the second advent…”

LeRoy Froom, Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 891.

“What had opened [Luther’s] eyes, under God, to the truth and authenticity of Revelation was his reading of the Book of Daniel. Suddenly everything fell into place, and from that moment on, by his comparing Scripture with Scripture, the Book of Revelation governed Luther’s entire thinking and theology, as his preface (vorhede) to Revelation in his 1534 Bible testifies.”

Bill Cooper. The Authenticity of the New Testament Part 2: Acts, the Epistles and Revelation (Kindle Locations 1628-1629).  . Kindle Edition.

Shortly after Daniel’s lifetime, the final Old Testament prophet to speak was Malachi. Then there was silence for about 400 years. The silence was broken with the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth (Luk 1:5-25) (Introduction, pg. 2).

I have now sought to trace the history to the same people through the years of waiting that elapsed from the time when the voice of inspiration ceased until the heavens resounded with the glad announcement of  ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men,’ thus heralding Messiah’s long-promised advent.”

Harry A. Ironside, The Four Hundred Silent Years: From Malachi to Matthew, Preface.