Before we can continue with our journey through Revelation, we need to understand its structure. It is a mistake to think that the material in Revelation is arranged chronologically. It is not the case that the things described in ch.16 necessarily follow the things described in ch.12. It's like a movie where you jump between different locations and characters until it all comes together in the grand finale.
Michael Wilcock*, in one of the best commentaries on Revelation that I have ever read, argues that John has written Revelation like a play with 8 Acts. Each act reviews the story of God's dealing with humanity from a certain perspective. To get the full picture, we need to put all the perspectives next to each other. Each of the eight Acts have 7 scenes/themes/symbols/motifs.
I have provided a rough breakdown of the Acts and Scenes below... but what is the point of all this technical stuff???
It's to show that Revelations is relevant whether we live in 1st century or the 21st.
We have already been challenged by the first Act which looks at the Church in the world. Although the seven letters were written to actual historical churches, we saw how relevant their struggles are to ours...
So, let's give thanks for John who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gave us an amazing set of pictures to help us grasp how God works in our world.
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Here are the eight Acts and their seven sub-divisions
1. The church in the world: 1:9-3:22
Describes the condition of the church in the world.
Seven Letters to Churches in Asia Minor.
2. The suffering church: 4:1-8:1
John in the control room of heaven. Creation represented in the creatures and the throne is central. Worship features very strongly. The suffering of the church throughout history is explored.
There are Seven Seals that are opened.
3. Warnings to the World: 8:2-11:18
Explores the warnings God gives to the evil world throughout history.
There are Seven Trumpets blown
4. Drama of History: 11:19-15:4
Shows what is going on in history: The coming of Christ, the growth of the church, the reality of the enemy: 2 Beasts
There are Seven Visions or Scenes.
5. Punishment of the World: 15:5-16:21
Shows how points in history come where evil-doers are so committed to their evil that they continue in it and must be brought down.
There are Seven Bowls of Wrath
6: Babylon the Whore: 17:1-19:10
This scene focusses in on the destruction of evil. Babylon represents evil and oppressive world systems throughout history.
There are Seven Words/Poems/Songs
7: The Drama Behind History 19:11-21:8
Shows what is going on behind history: Highlights the key players and events.
There are Seven Visions
8: Jerusalem the Bride 21:9-22:19
This is what lies beyond history. This is our hope.
The are Seven Revelations
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* Wilcock, M The Message of Revelation, Series: The Bible Speaks Today, J.W. Stott (Editor), IVP, 1975.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
