The Golden Age as Seen from Patmos
The difference between Preterism and Historicism really comes down to when the Book of Revelation was written and there are only two dates which have any support….AD70 and AD96.
Preterists teach that the Book of Revelation was dramatically fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman Legions under the Emperor Nero. Historicists by contrast teach that immediately after John completed the book of Revelation its prophecies were dramatically set in motion by the death of Emperor Domitian.
John had suffered with other Christians under Domitian’s persecution. But he took comfort in the knowledge that Rome was going to fall. Paul had revealed this in his letter to the Thessalonians.
He might have thought that it would not be very long. The vices, follies and oppressions of this emperor and his predecessors suggested that the Roman Empire was ripe for God’s judgment.
The Age of Iron
Gibbon wrote that from Tiberius to Domitian; Vespasian and his son Titus being alone exempted was “The Age of Iron”. The unparalleled vices, and the splendid theater on which they were acted, have saved them from oblivion. The dark unrelenting Tiberius, the furious Caligula, the feeble Claudius, the profligate and cruel Nero, the beastly Vitellius, and the timid inhuman Domitian, are condemded to everlasting infamy. Gibbon I, 128.
But despite all appearances, John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit revealed an age of victory and prosperity would soon transform the declining Roman Empire. And remarkably, as he completed the book of Revelation on his lonely island the wind suddenly changed direction. On September 18th, 96, the Emperor Domitian was assassinated.
The Golden Age
“I
looked, and lo! a white horse! And he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown
was given to him; and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Rev.
6:2, the 1st Seal
The figurative language of the first seal of the book of revelation anticipated
that a period of prosperity before unknown attended by wars of victory would
expand the empire. And this was exactly what followed the death of Domitian
through the successive reigns of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antoines
until the succession of Commodus. Gibbon represents this period as the “golden
age”. It saw prosperity, union, civil liberty, and good government. It
was a period unstained with civil blood, unlike the white of the first Apocalyptic
horse with the red of the second, and undisturbed by revolution. And it was
a period remarkable for its sustained military 
triumphs.
Gibbon sums it up, “If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the conditions of the human race was happy and prosperous, he would without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.
Preterism focuses on a dramatic event, but doesn’t pretend that anyone predicted it. Historicism’s God can see the future, boldly predicts the seeming impossible and it quickly come to pass. Rev. 1:3
The Golden Age of Rome Rev EB Elliott