When was John given the Book of the Revelation?

Brian Kelson of BibleUnderstanding.com answers:
Yes, we know when the book of Revelation was written. It was written during the Acts period, lol.

First up, my God is not going to give an entire book of end times information to the post Acts, church which is His Body who have basically, nothing to do with such things. We have certainly not been made kings and priests to God and His Father, 1:5-6. In other words, our dear Heavenly Father was a tad late if indeed it was written and delivered AD96, years after the very events it describes had been postponed at Acts 28 at the setting aside of Israel.

Revelation has over 290 Jewish OT quotes and themes and is in harmony with the Gospels and the Acts period letters as to content. Thus contextually, Revelation fits with 1 &2 Thessalonians, Jude, 1&2 Peter, Matthew, 1&2 Corinthians et al. This is further evidenced by the fact it was written by John, whose ministry was to the circumcision. John was one of the sons to whom the Lord said they were able to drink of the same cup (of suffering) he endured and James was killed by the sword in Acts 12, it is unlikely for me, that John lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully in his sleep.

So the dating is determined by the contents of the book and how those details align with other NT books.

The Revelation prophesy is about the Day of the Lord which was at hand all the way to Acts 28. Mr Welch's helpful précis of it in the Alphabetical Analysis Vol.8 about page 163 is here http://www.bibleunderstanding.com/pdfwritings.htm

I believe Paul's description of a man who was taken (not up but away IMHO) to the third heaven in 2Cor.12. refers to the same things as Revelation. While only one thing, Paradise, is featured in his account, Paradise is the garden associated with the New Jerusalem, the Water of and the Tree of life which are associated with the new heaven since the "first" or former" have passed away. The third heaven is the new one. Whether it was Paul or John is not so much the issue, but Paul had a vision of the things of Revelation 14 years before he wrote to the Corinthians so it was certainly early in the Acts records that the things of Revelation had already been revealed. Paul does not know whether it was in the body or outside the body and John writes he was in the spirit. Paul also clearly tells the Thessalonians he had told them about such things of Revelation (the man of sin, sitting in the Temple and exalting himself, compare Matt.24) when he had been with them on his second "missionary" journey. If the Temple had been destroyed AD 70, the divine author would have made reference to the Temple that USED to stand on Zion, where, in the future, the man of sin would reveal himself but Paul didn't write in that prophetic sense, he wrote in the now, in the imminence of the time. We shall not all die etc.

This is the best I can do my beloved student. I wish I could be more accurate for you and yours, but we have no other guides to the writing. Some argue that John was in spirit on the day of the Lord and thus was writing prophetically of events in the far distant future, but this is interpreting according to hindsight in my view.

The events of Revelation were widely known during the Acts, having been revealed through the prophetic; the supernatural gifts of that time.