for what we are looking at.  They were looking at the first version of the Apocalypse written by John the Baptist.  It was later updated by John the Apostle who added Jesus, Antipas, and the seven churches to address the followers of the Baptist in Ephesus when Paul was there.  Eusebius and Victorinus were looking at what Irenaeus called “ancient copies” of the Apocalypse.

in the Church History by Eusebius.  Martyr is mentioned 355 times.   Carpus and Papylus, and Agathonice are mentioned as martyrs in the city of Pergamus.  Antipas is not mentioned.  Eusebius mentions six of the seven churches of the Apocalypse but never associates any of them with the Apocalypse.  We have the same problem with Victorinus, who mentions the spirits but not the churches.  So what were Eusebius and Victorinus looking at?

that can only be attributed to John the Babtist.  The word lamb is used 27 times in the Apocalypse and only 4 times in the rest of the New Testament.  The two in John’s Gospel are attributed to John the Baptist.  Jesus is mentioned 14 times in the Apocalypse. The commentary of Victorinus mentions Jesus 9 times.  Only four of them are direct references to the Apocalypse and they could have been added by Jerome who was not satisfied with the commentary and actually modified it.  Furthermore Victorinus does not mention Antipas or any of the seven churches.  He is not the only one.  Eusebius has the same problem but it is worse.

or maybe the only explanation for all the issues surrounding the Apocalypse:

Who wrote it?

When was it written?

Why was it written?

John the Baptist wrote the first Apocalypse before he knew Jesus was the Lamb of God.

He was preparing the way for the first coming not the second.

John the Apostle  later updated it with Jesus, Antipas, and the seven churches.

He was addressing the Baptist followers in Ephesus.

John Chrysostom witnessed the sixth of seven fallen dynasties

He was in Ephesus shortly before Jerome included the Apocalypse in the Vulgate.

the beast was yet to return.  There is one historical event that will fit this so you don’t need to put it into the future.  The Pagan Roman Empire, the beast from the sea, was mortally wounded and replaced by Islam,  the second beast that came out of the earth.  John Chrysostom was the only significant John present when this took place.

when they reigned with Christ.  The dragon was bound for a thousand years.  The Byzantine Empire ended the first beast, that was and is no more, and was ended by the second, that was yet to come.  Europe was protected and given valuable time to get its act together so that it was able to defend itself from the greatest threat to Christianity.  This empire had all the pieces and they all fit.  Prophecy fulfilled.  History is the only reliable method for interpreting it.

with seven hills, many waters, and trade that has fallen and can be found no more at all. No other city has all these characteristics.  Constantinople is Babylon the great.  It was the capital of a Christian empire that lasted a thousand years.  The Byzantine Empire