Revelation

Chapter 1

Introduction - the revelation God gave Jesus... to His angel... to John... to you.

Greeting to the 7 churches, from the eternal, all-seeing, ruling, Triune God.

Glory to Jesus who redeemed us by His blood and made us into a kingdom.

Vision of the majestic, death-conquering Jesus among the 7 lampstands.

Chapters 2-3

Letters the 7 churches: I know you, your faithfulness to me, your suffering for me. But you must repent and put away the sin you are harboring, before I come and punish you for it. I will reward he who endures.

Chapter 4

Heavenly vision of God on the throne, worshiped in glory

Chapter5

The Lamb alone is worthy to open God's scroll, for He redeemed us. He is worshiped.

Chapter 6

Six seals are opened: 4 horses of woe, martyrs crying How long?, heaven and earth shaken

Chapter 7

The saints on earth are sealed and protected before the final calamity; John sees the saints triumphant in glory.

Chapter 8

7th seal opened; silence in heaven for 30 minutes, as the saints' prayers rise to God; 7 trumpets will order the coming calamities. The first 4 bring destruction to one third of creation.

Chapter 9

Trumpet 5 looses Satan to unleash hell on earth for 5 months.

Trumpet 6 looses horsemen from the east who plague and wound one third of man.

No repentance results.

Chapter 10

John eats the scroll from the angel who stands on earth and sea and who speaks like thunder.

Chapter 11

John measures the temple, which Gentiles will trample. Two witnesses will speak against it, die and be raised to life and heaven.

Trumpet 7 announces that all earthly kingdoms are now given over to Christ's kingdom; He reigns.

Chapter 12

Eve/Israel/Mary/Church gives birth. The dragon tries to destroy the child, but it is caught up to heaven. The woman flees to the desert and is preserved there. Satan fights in heaven and is exiled from it to earth, where he pursues the woman and her children for a limited time.

Chapter 13

The dragon gives his power and authority to a beast from the sea and one on land, who everyone worships, except believers.

Chapter 14

Those believers will stand on Zion with the Lamb worshiping Him in purity with a new song.

3 angels declare the gospel, Babylon's fall, and the result of loyalty to the beast. Death in the Lord is better than life with the beast. The earth is harvested of its men.

Chapter 15

The saints sing the song of Moses as they have come out of the beast's Egypt, while 7 bowls of plagues are prepared for the earth.

Chapter 16

Like Pharoah, their hearts remain hard as similar plagues as Exodus come. Evil gathers at Mount Megiddo, while the worst natural disasters ever come and Babylon falls.

Chapter 17

John sees a blasphemous, immoral woman, Babylon/Rome/Jerusalem, devouring the saints. Jerusalem? Yes. Compare Rev 12 with Matthew 2 and Acts 8:1.

Chapter 18

An angel declares her fall into desolation, and the merchants who lose her business lament her destruction. Again, this applies both to Rome and to Jerusalem (18:24).

Chapter 19

The saints in heaven rejoice at Babylon's fall - they are avenged. The rejoicing turns into a wedding invitation as another woman appears, totally opposite in character to Rome. The groom goes out to war on His white horse, able to punish, defeat and rule the nations. The birds have their own feast - on the bodies of those slain by the groom.

Chapter 20

Satan is bound for 1000 years so as not to deceive the nations. Those who die in the Lord reign with Christ from heaven during this time. Satan makes one last attempt on the saints, but is destroyed with fire. The dead are judged by their works and cast in hell, if their names are not in the book of life.

Chapter 21

A new heaven and earth come, the old passed away. The bride comes down from heaven, ready and pure for the wedding. There is no more death, crying, pain, tears or sorrow, because God dwells with men. The faithful enter it, while the wicked go to the lake of fire. The Lamb's wife is Jerusalem, a city replacing the garden of Eden on the mountain. She is a precious jewel. She is pure and in the immediate presence of God.

Chapter 22

The river of life flows through the city; the tree of life yields fruit to be eaten. Jesus is coming soon, with justice, to give the righteous the tree of life, to throw the wicked out into the darkness. The Spirit and the Bride call us to come to Jesus. Come Lord Jesus!