Revelation of John Notes

Home » Revelation of John Notes
/ Religion /

Literary Form

For an adequate understanding of Revelation, the reader must recognize that it is a distinct kind of literature. Revelation is apocalyptic, a kind of writing that is highly symbolic. Although its visions often seem bizarre to the Western reader, the book fortunately provides a number of clues for its own interpretation (e.g., stars are angels, lampstands are churches, 1:20; “the great prostitute,” 17:1, is “Babylon” [Rome?], 17:5, 18; and the heavenly Jerusalem is the wife of the Lamb, 21:9–10).

Revelation is apocalyptic, a kind of writing that is highly symbolic.

Interpretations of the Revelations of John

 Interpreters of Revelation normally fall into four groups:

  1. Preterists understand the book primarily in terms of its first-century setting, claiming that most of its events have already taken place.
  2. Historicists take it as describing the long chain of events from Patmos to the end of history.
  3. Futurists place the book primarily in the end times.
  4. Idealists view it as symbolic pictures of such timeless truths as the victory of good over evil.

Fortunately, the fundamental truths of Revelation do not depend on adopting a particular point of view. They are available to anyone who will read the book for its overall message and resist the temptation to become overly enamored with the details.

Distinctive Feature

A distinctive feature is the frequent use of the number seven (52 times). There are seven beatitudes (see note on 1:3), seven churches (1:4, 11), seven spirits (1:4), seven golden lampstands (1:12), seven stars (1:16), seven seals (5:1), seven horns and seven eyes (5:6), seven trumpets (8:2), seven thunders (10:3), seven signs (12:1, 3; 13:13–14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20), seven crowns (12:3), seven plagues (15:6), seven golden bowls (15:7), seven hills (17:9) and seven kings (17:10), as well as other sevens. Symbolically, the number seven stands for completeness.

Outline

  1. Introduction (1:1–8)
    1. Prologue (1:1–3)
    2. Greetings and Doxology (1:4–8)
  2. Jesus among the Seven Churches (1:9–20)
  3. The Letters to the Seven Churches (chs. 2–3)
    1. Ephesus (2:1–7)
    2. Smyrna (2:8–11)
    3. Pergamum (2:12–17)
    4. Thyatira (2:18–29)
    5. Sardis (3:1–6)
    6. Philadelphia (3:7–13)
    7. Laodicea (3:14–22)
  4. The Throne, the Scroll and the Lamb (chs. 4–5)
    1. The Throne in Heaven (ch. 4)
    2. The Seven-Sealed Scroll (5:1–5)
    3. The Lamb Slain (5:6–14)
  5. The Seven Seals (6:1–8:1)
    1. First Seal: The White Horse (6:1–2)
    2. Second Seal: The Red Horse (6:3–4)
    3. Third Seal: The Black Horse (6:5–6)
    4. Fourth Seal: The Pale Horse (6:7–8)
    5. Fifth Seal: The Souls under the Altar (6:9–11)
    6. Sixth Seal: The Great Earthquake (6:12–17)
    7. The Sealing of the 144,000 (7:1–8)
    8. The Great Multitude (7:9–17)
    9. Seventh Seal: Silence in Heaven (8:1)
  6. The Seven Trumpets (8:2–11:19)
    1. Introduction (8:2–5)
    2. First Trumpet: Hail and Fire Mixed with Blood (8:6–7)
    3. Second Trumpet: A Mountain Thrown into the Sea (8:8–9)
    4. Third Trumpet: The Star Wormwood (8:10–11)
    5. Fourth Trumpet: A Third of the Sun, Moon and Stars Struck (8:12–13)
    6. Fifth Trumpet: The Plague of Locusts (9:1–12)
    7. Sixth Trumpet: Release of the Four Angels (9:13–21)
    8. The Angel and the Little Scroll (ch. 10)
    9. The Two Witnesses (11:1–14)
    10. Seventh Trumpet: Judgments and Rewards (11:15–19)
  7. Interlude: Persecution, Deliverance and Judgment (chs. 12–14)
    1. The Woman and the Dragon (ch. 12)
    2. The Two Beasts (ch. 13)
    3. The Lamb and the 144,000 (14:1–5)
    4. The Harvest of the Earth (14:6–20)
  8. The Seven Bowls (chs. 15–16)
    1. Introduction: The Song of Moses and the Seven Angels with the Seven Plagues (ch. 15)
    2. First Bowl: Ugly and Painful Sores (16:1–2)
    3. Second Bowl: Sea Turns to Blood (16:3)
    4. Third Bowl: Rivers and Springs of Water Become Blood (16:4–7)
    5. Fourth Bowl: Sun Scorches People with Fire (16:8–9)
    6. Fifth Bowl: Darkness (16:10–11)
    7. Sixth Bowl: Euphrates River Dries Up (16:12–16)
    8. Seventh Bowl: Tremendous Earthquake (16:17–21)
  9. The Destruction of Babylon and the Coming of the New Jerusalem (17:1–22:5)
    1. The Destruction of Babylon (17:1–19:5)
      1. The great prostitute described (ch. 17)
      2. The fall of Babylon (ch. 18)
    2. Praise for Babylon’s fall (19:1–5)
    3. Praise for the Wedding of the Lamb (19:6–10)
    4. The Return of Christ (19:11–21)
    5. The Thousand Years (20:1–6)
    6. Satan’s Doom (20:7–10)
    7. Great White Throne Judgment (20:11–15)
    8. The Coming of the New Jerusalem (22:1–22:5)
      1. The new heaven and new earth (21:1–8)
      2. The new Jerusalem (21:9–27)
      3. Eden restored (22:1–5)
  10. Conclusion and Benediction (22:6–21)

Related Posts