THE OUTLINE

Introduction

The book of Revelation is very unique as it comes with its own outline. In chapter 1 verse 19, Jesus tells John the Apostle to write the things that were, that are, and will be in the future. The things that were refer to John seeing Jesus in His glorified body. Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected. The things that are refer to the church history, which we are still observing today. The things that will be refer to events which will happen in the future.

I’ve decided to write about the book of revelation, because the book promises a blessing to those that read it or hear it (Rev 1:3, Rev 22:7). I will be omitting some of the details and make it brief so it’s not too boring to read. However, many more postings will follow with a lot more details, with references being added to this post. Please come back and check often for updates. I hope you enjoy this simple interpretation of the Book of Revelation.
So here it is…

John, the apostle of love, was banished to a little island of Patmos, off the coast of Asia, probably around AD 95 by the Roman emperor Domitian (some even say might have been around AD 68 during the reign of Nero) after John being thrown into a caldron of boiling oil and did not die. Caesar Domitian was an egomaniac known for his cruelty towards the Christians. He launched a 2nd persecution after Nero, even more brutal.

While on the island of Patmos, John had a vision of Jesus Christ, who revealed to John the events that will take place in the future. Why did our Lord want to reveal those events, and why to John, and why then and not now? Well, while the Christians were being persecuted, I mean, tortured and murdered in the worst possible way, Jesus wanted John to write letters to the seven churches to give them hope, to remain faithful to the Lord, because He is alive, He is on the throne, and He is coming back to make things right on earth. Does it mean that “end times” already began in their day, 2000 years ago, since they were in tribulation already as we are now? I think we (Gentiles) are living in the end times just as they did under the oppression of the Roman empire. How are we living in tribulation? Well, it’s not the “great tribulation” described in Revelation chapters 4 through 19. We live in a country where we are free to worship the living God, you know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and perhaps we take it for granted sometimes, but that is not true for some other parts of the world. Christians that live in the Middle East are being persecuted by having their heads cut off… today. Those Christians desperately need that letter from John reassuring them that their deaths are not in vein, the Lord is with them and they are His bride.

What’s so interesting to me is that some of the future events being spoken of in the book of revelation have not yet happened in our history, meaning in our generation, but I think they will… and the stage is being set up right before our eyes. Just tune in to the national and world news - we are witnessing the biblical prophesies all coming true. That is, the apocalyptic end of the world might very well happen in our lifetime. But not to worry, it has a happy ending.

The Outline

When Jesus appears to John in His resurrected, glorified body, He tells him to:

• Write the things that you have seen - Rev 1
• Write the things which are - Rev 2 and 3
• Write the things that will be hereafter - Rev 4 through 22

So, what does this mean? Let’s break it down.

Write the things that you have seen

John has seen Jesus as a human, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. An now John has seen Jesus appear in His glorified body. John is to write about the Lord’s person, His appearance in John’s vision. Rev 1:14 describes the person of Jesus:

• His head and hair as white as snow
• His eyes like a flame of fire
• His feet like fine brass
• His voice as the sound of many waters
• His countenance like the sun shinning in its strength

Now, remember John is a theologian and a poet, so a lot of what he writes is metaphorical poetry. Jesus standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands, in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword out of His mouth.

Write the things which are

The things which are is the Lord’s people, His church. Every believer in Jesus. In Revelation chapter 2 and 3, Jesus addresses each of the 7 churches in Asia minor, which today is the country of Turkey. Why 7 churches? Because seven is the number of completion in the bible. There are 52 references to number seven (7) in the book of revelation. Things are being completed. The church history has an ending point when the last person, who heard the gospel, gets saved. The body of Christ, meaning the church, is predetermined by God, so we know now that every person elected by God has not yet given his or her life to Christ. Some of these churches still exist, but some no longer exist, which is not to say that they are not part of the body of Christ’s people. Some of them are probably safely tucked away in heaven waiting… sleeping. There will be a separate blog on the churches only to explain what they are and their history.

Write the things which will take place after these things

“After these things”, meta tauta in Greek, means when the church history is complete, the Lord will rapture His people, His bride into heaven. Have you seen the movie “Left Behind”? That’s what it probably will look like, more less… Those events that follow, the great tribulation on earth, is when God deals with the sin of this world and the unbelievers. Those are the people living on earth that made a conscious decision that they do not want the free gift Jesus offers, which is to be saved by simply believing in what He did on the cross, that He has paid for our sins, so we don't have to face death. But since we, the believers, are part of His church, we will be taken out of this world, because God has not appointed us (believers) to wrath - 1 Thessalonians 6:15. Please check out my post on the rapture. The things, which take place "after these things" begin with the rapture when Jesus takes His people - His bride - out of earth to heaven to spend 7 years with the Lord (Rev 4 and 5) while on earth the 7 year tribulation ensues (Rev 6 through 19), followed by Jesus' return with His saints - the church - called the 2nd coming (Rev 20) - to rule and reign on earth for 1000 years while Satan is locked up in the bottomless pit, or as we call it, hell. After the millennium is over Satan will be released one more time for a short while to allow those born during the 1000 years of peace and prosperity to make a decision whether to follow God or Satan (Rev 21 and 22). Why, you ask… because God is LOVE and love demands a choice. Satan and the unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire for eternity. A new earth and a new heaven will be created and we will live happily ever after. Why do we need a new earth and new heaven? Well, currently Satan has access to heaven and we know he “owns” this earth (or has a title deed to earth), thus is polluting it. God is pure and cannot be in contact with anything impure, so once everyone makes a decision where they want to be, with God or with Satan, a new pure heaven and new pure earth will be created for the believers.

So, there you have it. The book is divided into 3 sections so it’s easy to understand. I know this seems simple enough, but there are things written in chapters 6 through 20 or even 21 and 22 that may be difficult to understand as there are a lot of references to the Old Testament, are written by John with some mystical metaphors and comparisons (remember John is a poet), and it does not feel like chronological order anymore. Not to worry, we’ll go over those chapters in some detail in my subsequent posts.