First - The Revelation unveils something that has previously been hidden.
· “The Revelation” comes from Apocalupsis, which means, “The Unveiling” or “Uncovering”
Second – The Revelation reveals what happens in the Final Act.
** You might say that the Bible can be summarized like this:
· Creation
· Corruption
· Redemption
· Re-Creation
** So, Revelation is a new unveiling of What?
1. This book is all about Jesus.
v. 1 - “The revelation of Jesus Christ...”
2. This book is all about the Future... it is a book of Prophecy.
v. 1 - The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soontake place.
3. This book is all about God’s blessing.
v. 3 - Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it.
Point: What I can tell you is this:
· Wherein John uses non-symbolic language, take it literally.
· Wherein John uses symbolic language, get the drift.
I. Outlining the Book of the Revelation
** With "Symbolism" in mind, here is a suggested Outline of Revelation.
Chapter 1: Setting the Scene – God’s Intention for this Revelation
Chapters 2-3: 7 Actual Churches that are a Microcosm of the Universal Church
1. Ephesus: The Loveless Church
2. Smyrna – The Suffering Church
3. Pergamum – The Faithful Church in Satan’s City
4. Thyatira – The Adulterous Church
5. Sardis – The Dead Church
6. Philadelphia – The Protected Church
7. Laodicea – The Useless Church
Chapters 4-5: The Heavenly Scene
· The Throne Room of God
· Jesus is at the Right Hand of the Father
· All of Heaven rejoices in the revelation that Jesus is the key to God’s plan.
Chapters 6-8:6: The 7 Seals = Signs that the End is Near
Chapters 8:7-11: The 7 Trumpets = God’s Judgments
Chapters 12-14: The Counterfeit Trinity
· The Evil “A-Team” =
o The “Dragon” = Anti-God
o The “Beast” = Anti-Christ
o The False Prophet = Anti-Holy Spirit
Chapters 15-16: The 7 Bowls = The Earth’s and its People’s Greatest Suffering
Chapter 17-19: The Beginning of the End for Evil
· God punishes the False Churches, False Prophets, False Religions
· God punishes the False Political Leaders
· God punishes the Economic Heretics who dishonored Him
Chapter 20:1-6: A Foreshadowing of the Re-Creation – The Millennium
· A period of Peace when all of Evil is bound from activity and Earth is full of the righteous.
Chapter 20:7-14: The Final Battle
· Satan and his followers are released from their captivity during the Millennium only to raise war against Jesus.
· Jesus wins the Battle.
· All that is Evil, including Satan, are ETERNALLY cast into a “Lake of Fire” = judgment, resulting in eternal separation from God.
Chapter 21-22: The Re-Creation
· Given the victory over Evil, Jesus reigns on Earth.
· There is a “new” heaven and Earth where Jesus lives with his people and every person who has received salvation, Jew and Gentile, will live with Jesus, face to face.
· There will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain”...only joy and peace and wholeness and restoration.
The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”
Revelation 22:6-7
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