Imagine a world in which a volatile leader stands as head over a powerful empire. His name is Domitian, and he’s the emperor of Rome. And the word “totalitarian-leaning” accurately describes his government. Firmly at the center of a cult of personality, he fancies himself the “new Augustus,” a self-appointed role that carries with it religious, military, and cultural propaganda. (Eventually, his court officials will assassinate him.) In short, the world is a complete mess from the top down. In such a context, Jesus appears to the elder John in a vision. And Jesus tells him to write what he sees in what we now know as the Book of…