Outline of Revelation[1]

(for footnotes see bottom of page)

1.1-8                Opening address

1.9-20              A Vision of Christ

2.1-3.22                     Messages to the Seven Churches[2]

4.1-11                           The Heavenly Worship (sets up Christ’s authority)[3]

5.1.14                            The Scroll and the Lamb

v     Scroll in right hand of the one on throne, sealed with seven seals

v     “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

v     The Lamb is worthy, and then is worshipped (I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,

v     To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

6.1                                      The Seven Seals (opened by the Lamb who is worthy)

1.      White horse and rider (warfare)

2.      Red horse and rider (death in battle)

3.      Black horse and rider (famine)

4.      Green horse and rider (Death and Hades (i.e., the world of the dead))

5.      Martyrs (given white robe and rest)

6.      Cosmic signs—darkening of sun and moon and falling of stars

7.      see chapter 8 (seven trumpets for seven angels)

7.1-17   Digression (based on catchword “seal”) on how Christians will be protected during the impending catastrophes

v     Marked by the seal of the living God on their foreheads

v     144,000 (12x12x100, an infinitesimally complete number)—here the number who are sealed; later refers to those who were martyred (14.1-5)

v     v.9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white[4], with palm branches in their hands…praise and worship echoed again.

v     v.13 Elder: Who are these people… John: Sir, you know… Elder: “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

8.1-9.21                      The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

The seven  trumpets (and indeed all seven seals) introduce eschatological divine judgments that resonate with the ten Egyptian plagues (Ex. 7-12)—although they are universal in effect.

Trumpets:

1.      hail and fire, mixed with blood—

a.       burns a third of the earth up (partial, not total destruction)—Ezek. 5.2, 12)

b.      Corresponds to 7^th Egyptian plague (Ex. 9.22.-26)

c.       corresponds to 4^th and 7^th bowls (Rev. 16,19)

2.      Fiery mountain hurled into the sea—

a.       third of sea becomes blood

b.      Corresponds to Nile becoming blood; 2^nd bowl (Rev. 16.3)

c.       third of living creatures in sea die (not total)

d.      third of ships destroyed

3.      Star (named Wormwood)—fell on a third of the rivers

a.       Wormwood is a plant known for its bitterness

b.      No counterpart in Egyptian plagues

4.      Third of sun, moon, and stars darkened

a.       Corresponds to 9^th plague (Ex. 10.21) and 5^th bowl (Rev. 16.10)

5.      Star (an angelic messenger sent by God to earth)—opens bottomless pit (i.e., the abode of the dead, and where Satan and demons are imprisoned)

a.       Locusts are an army of demons (see Joel 2.1-11)

b.      Torture those who don’t have the seal

c.       Horror: people will desire death but won’t die

6.      Release of four (evil) angels leading demonic armies

a.       From Euphrates (symbolizing enemies of Israel)

b.      Fire and sulfur kill third of humankind

7.      See Rev. 11.15-19

10.1-11.13             Two digressions delaying the sound of the 7^th trumpet (if heard as an aural story, this interlude may have been for effect?)

11.15-19                   Seventh Trumpet introduces a throne room scene

v     Declaration that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his messiah, and he will reign forever.

v     Then the elders worship once again

12                The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon      

v     An adaptation of Apollo’s birth with messianic themes overlaid

v     Dragon—designates Satan, used 9 times in Rev. (same word as Leviathan in OT, the enemy of God and order of God’s creation)—anti-Christ fighting the messianic child Christ and his mother

v     Dragon is thrown out of heaven, down to earth

v     Two beasts serve the dragon

13                The First Beast

v     Leviathan (sea monster)—representing both Rome and its emperors

v     Corresponds to a composite of the four beasts of Dan. 7.3-7

v     Blasphemous names on is forehead (divine titles like Lord, Savior, Son of God, claimed by Roman emperors)

v     42 months (1260 days)-half of seven years, the time of destruction (that is, not the fullness of time represented by the complete number “seven”)

13.11      The Second Beast

v     Represents the priesthood of the imperial cult (13.12)

v     Corresponds to Behemoth (male monster)—2 Esd, 1 Enoch

v     Marked on the right hand or the forehead (counterpart to sealing of Christians by God)

v     666—the numeric value of the name “Nero” in Hebrew???

14.1-20                       Three visions, loosely connected

1.      Victory vision of the Lamb with his 144,000 (more praise / worship)

2.      Three angelic messages

a.                   Fear God and worship him, for judgment has come

b.                  Babylon (Rome) is fallen (future perfect?)

c.                   Woe to those who worship the beast (Rome)

14.12: Keep the faith, endure; 14.13: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” (see Burial Rite, BCP)

3.      Gathering of the righteous and judgment of the wicked—as in the harvest

15-16.1                        The Seven Last Plagues

15.7-seven golden bowls (cultic utensils used for libations)

1.      foul and painful sore upon the earth (6^th Egyptian plague)

2.      blood on the sea

3.      blood on the rivers

4.      scorching sun

5.      poured on the throne of the beast (Roman imperial center)

6.      River Euphrates (Israel’s rival)

7.      into the air (IT IS DONE!)—the wrath of God has ended (kind of)

but people did not repent

17.1-18                       A vision of Rome as the great whore (OT metaphor for godless cities)

·        John gets a personal tour of the judgment that has taken place

·        Very misogynistic, but graphically portrayed

·        What does it mean? The angel says:

·        The beast you saw “was, and is not, and is to come” –parody of the doxology

·        Seven heads are seven mtns—seven hills of Rome

o       Seven kings—probably seven caesars, beg w/ Julius C.[5]

o       Eighth king—Nero?, who reportedly returned after his death but Christians regarded this figure as an anti-Christ figure—belongs to the realm of destruction

·        Ten kings—referring to ten subordinate kings in the region of Asia Minor (where the seven churches are)

§         --they will try to war on the Lamb, but will fail

·        The waters where the whore was seated—are peoples

·        17.16—the ten kings and the beast (possibly the Neronic anti-Christ who returned) will destroy Rome, burn her to the ground.

18.1-19.10              The Fall of Babylon and Reactions Thereof

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! (Quote from Is. 21.9, see also Is. 23-24, Jer 50-51, Ezek 26-27)

18.4          Come out of her, my people (separate yourselves)

Fornication—the act of submitting oneself to the whore, who got rich on you…

18.9-20                       Three dirges adapted from Ezekiel 27

18.20                              God has answered the martyrs’ prayer

19.1-10                        The Rejoicing in Heaven

Throne room scene once again—worship and praise—preparing for the marriage of the Lamb to his bride (the Church)

19.11-21.8             Christ rides forth as a divine warrior on a white horse

From his mouth comes a sharp sword to strike down the nations

King of kings and Lord of lords (ancient Persian king title)

19.17ff             Angel invites birds to prepare to feast on the fallen victims

•  
  •  
    • Beast and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire (in the underworld but still in the presence of the Lamb)
    • Rest killed in the battle

20                                        Angel throws Satan into the pit for 1000 years

v     The martyrs are raised from the dead to reign with Christ for 1000 years (First Resurrection)—known as the Millenial Kingdom

v     Then Satan is released to deceive again, then is thrown into the Lake of Fire[6]

v     Then the dead are judged (20.11)

o       Scene: great white throne before whom all the dead came.

o       Two books opened (ref. Dan 7.10)—presumably one for the wicked; the other (book of life)[7] with the names of those who were judged righteous.

o       Two abodes for the dead—the sea and Death/Hades

o       Death and Hades were then thrown into the lake of fire, along with those whose names were not found written in the book of life.

21                                        The New Heaven and the New Earth

v     I saw a new heaven and a new earth—refers to Is. 65.17 and 66.22—in the Jewish tradition the renewal of creation represents the final eschatological event.

v     I saw the New Jerusalem (Gal. 4.26, Phil. 3.20, Heb 11.10, Heb. 11.14-16)—prepared as a bride

v     Then a voice from the throne says:

“See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said: “See, I am making all things new. (cf. Is. 43.19)”

Then he said to me: “It is done![8] I am the Alpha and the Omega… to the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life… I will be their God and they will be my children (cf. 2 Sam 7.14, Ps. 2.7, Ps. 89.26, Jer. 3.19).

The others will experience the second death (eternal punishment for the wicked following physical death).

21.9                                  The New Jerusalem described (shown to John in the vision)

v     The Holy City is the bride of Christ

v     It is made whole again (foursquare means cubical—the shape of completion in Ezek 40-48 and also in the Dead Sea Scrolls)

v     It is elegant in precious stones and wood

v     No temple, since God and the Lamb are there (God is the temple)—the glory of God is the light for the city, its lamp is the Lamb.

v     Its gates will never be shut (does this mean perpetual hope of redemption)

v     The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it (i.e., they will submit to the glory of God over their own)

v     But nothing unclean will enter it…

22                                        the River of the Water of Life

v     flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

v     tree of life (collective noun here, meaning trees, see Ezek. 47-7-12)

v     twelve kinds of fruit (wholeness, fecund)

v     the leaves of the tree are for healing the nations

Reiterates richness of this scene, redemption of those who are there, and nothing accursed will be there.

22.8                                  Epilogue and Benediction

v     Brief recap, then

v     The Spirit and the bride say: “Come, and let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.”

v     The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

v     The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.

Revelation 21

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
⁴he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ ⁶Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. ⁷Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’

Vision of the New Jerusalem

9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ ¹⁰And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; ¹³on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷He also measured its wall, one hundred and forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. ¹⁸The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. ¹⁹The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth cornelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.

22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practises abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.