Compelled By Reality

Revelation: The Basics

Filed under: Christianity, End Times, Jesus, Life

Here it is in its most basic form. It’s not difficult, and it’s not my opinion mixed in with interpretations, it is just a plain sense reading of the book of revelation and breaking it down into 4 parts.

4 Part Overview of the Book of Revelation:

1. John’s Prophetic Commission (Chpt. 1)
2. Letters to the 7 Churches (Chpts. 2, 3)
3. Jesus’ Heavenly Commission (Chpts. 4, 5)
4. Jesus’ Action Plan to Cleanse the Earth of Evil (Chpts. 6 - 21)

Simple. It is of course missing the details, but its a great way to approach the book. 

So now that we’ve figured out that it isn’t so difficult to wrap our minds around, let’s just look at these 4 sections  and break it down a little further.  

Part 1: John’s Prophetic Commission (Chpt. 1): In chapter 1 John is given a commission to prophesy in writing the things he has seen through the lens of Jesus’ majesty. 

Part 2: Letters to the 7 Churches (Chpts. 2, 3): In chapters 2 and 3 Jesus is speaking throughout the 2 chapters and giving the 7 churches exhortations to be overcomers.

Part 3: Jesus’ Heavenly Commission (Chpts. 4, 5): In chapters 4 and 5 Jesus is given the scroll and given His mandate to take over the earth. In these chapters we also get a glimpse of the throne room of heaven.

Part 4: Jesus’ Action Plan to Cleanse the Earth of Evil (Chpts. 6 - 21): In these chapters we are taken through the story line of Jesus’ actions to cleanse the earth (Great Tribulation). In these passages there are 2 main literary sections:

1. 5 Chronological Sections (the chronological order in which God’s judgments unfold on earth)
2. 5 Angelic Explanations (the story line is put on “pause” to answer important questions)

Tags: 7 Churches, Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, Great Tribulation, Jesus, John, Overview, Prophecy, revelation