"I Am Coming Soon" - Structure & Message of Revelation
1. A 3-in-1 Book
Last week we learned that Revelation is an apocalyptic prophecy framed as a letter. It combines three literary types or genres in one book. It is an apocalyptic work. Apocalyptic literature gets its name from the Greek word apocalypsis which means the uncovering, unveiling, or revealing of something that was previously hidden or secret. We find examples in the Old Testament, e.g. Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. This genre was common in Jewish literature during the period from 200 BC to 100 AD. Through dreams, visions, numbers, and symbolic language apocalyptic writings reveal the supernatural and heavenly realities about the end of time. As a narrative, it tells the story of the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil, God and Satan, the assurance of God’s final, ultimate victory, and the salvation of his faithful people.
As biblical prophecy Revelation proclaims God’s judgment and salvation. It calls for repentance. It proclaims what God has done, is doing, and will be doing. It refocuses us on God, his promises, and his deeds. It encourages and comforts the faithful. As a letter Revelation addresses the problems that have arisen in churches. It is a letter that presents its message through an apocalyptic, prophetic narrative.
2. A Beautifully Crafted Book
Revelation is a beautifully crafted book that we should read as a whole following its message from the beginning to the end. We will then discover that the book is coherent, unified, and makes sense.
Revelation begins with a prologue and ends with an epilogue. These create a literary frame around the book that binds it together as one. They include the opening and closing of the letter. They repeat the same words, phrases, and themes. [SEE DIAGRAM] Both state that this is God’s word. It is a prophecy revealed by sending his angel to show his servants what must happen soon. John is identified as the servant who heard and saw this testimony. He identifies his audience as the churches. Both have the blessing for those who obey. God and Christ are the Alpha and the Omega. Both state that Jesus is coming soon. This framework already tells us much about the focus and message of Revelation. Jesus Christ is coming back soon. It calls the believers to remain faithful in obedience to their Lord.
The book has three main sections.
1:1-8 — Prologue — title, introduction, letter opening, and greeting
1:9--22:5 — Main body — Extended vision narrative
22:6-21 — Epilogue — letter conclusion
We could also divide it into seven sections (SLIDE).
1:1-8 — Prologue
1:9-3:22 — Vision of Christ & Letters to the Seven Churches
4:1-5:14 — Vision of the Heavenly Throne Room
6:1-8:5 — Seven Seals
8:2-11:19— Seven Trumpets
12:1-15:4 — Saints vs Serpent (Dragon, woman, beasts, salvation & judgment)
15:1-16:21 — Seven bowls
17:1-22:5 — Coming of Jesus; Final Battle & Judgment, New Beginnings
22:6-21 — Epilogue
Or, we could follow a more simple outline based on the four times John says he was “in the Spirit.”
Prologue — 1:1-8
1. First vision from Patmos — 1:9-3:22
2. Second vision in heaven — 4:1-16:21
3. Third vision from the wilderness — 17:1-21:8
4. Final vision from the mountain — 21:9-22:9
Epilogue — 22:10-21
No matter how we outline the book it still forms one book carefully structured to convey God’s message to His Church in the end times.
3. Numbers & Repetitions
We see the unity of the book also in his use of numbers and the repetitions of words, phrases, themes, and symbols. The four numbers—three, four, seven, and twelve—and their multiples have symbolic meanings in Revelation, meanings derived especially from the OT.
Seven is the number of completeness as we see in the seven days of creation in Gen 1. Other OT uses of seven convey this meaning of completeness. The many repeated series of sevens in Revelation — letters, churches, seals, trumpets, bowls — reveal a careful arrangement of the sections of the book. These sevens emphasize the completeness of God’s worldwide judgment and salvation.
Four is also a number for completeness, especially indicating something of a global or worldwide scope — think of the four compass points. See the four angels at the four corners of the world and the four winds (7:1; 20:8). The four parts of the earth are the targets of the first four trumpets and the first four bowls (8:7–12; 14:7; 16:2–9). This demonstrates God’s judicial power over all creation. In Rev 5:13 creatures from the four parts of the universe (heaven, earth, under the earth, sea) offer a fourfold doxology to God (praise, honor, glory, power). The allusion to Ex 19:16ff (“lightnings, sounds, and thunders”) appears four times at key points to introduce or conclude sections (4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18). This emphasizes the finality and universality of the last judgment.
Twelve is the number of God’s people. It indicates completeness and unity in diversity as in the one nation Israel composed of twelve tribes. 144,000 is 12 x 12 to indicate completeness and multiplied by 1,000 to indicate vastness. The number 12 occurs twelve times in the portrayal of the New Jerusalem to indicate the end-time completeness and wholeness of God’s people.
Key phrases are repeated in patterns of fours, sevens, and 4 x 7. The list of cargoes from “the merchants of the earth” (18:11–13) has twenty-eight items (4 × 7), which represent the totality of products from the entire world. The fourfold formula “every tribe, tongue, people, and nation” is used seven times to indicate all humanity on earth.
The names of God and Christ are also repeated in patterns of four and seven. The phrase “the one who lives forever and ever” is applied to God four times (4:9, 10; 10:6; 15:7) to designate him as the everlasting creator who rules over creation (4:11; 10:6). The titles “the Lord God Almighty” and the title “the one who sits on the throne” both occur seven times (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 19:6; 21:22 and 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:15; 21:5; cf. also 4:9, 10; 19:4). The name “Christ” appears seven times and the name “Jesus” fourteen times. “The Lamb” is used twenty-eight times. The 7 × 4 appearances of this title emphasize the universal scope of the Lamb’s complete victory. The “seven spirits” are mentioned four times (1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6) to signify the fullness of divine sovereignty, which is “sent out into all the earth” (5:6). The word “Spirit” used fourteen times underscores the Spirit’s full sovereignty.
4. Shock & Awe
Speaking about repetitions, John used a special literary tool to organize Revelation, called recapitulation or the principle of repetition. This method repeats and describes the same event or series of events several times but from different angles. In every repetition or cycle, additional and complementary ideas or perspectives are added. So, the same event is expanded and intensified. Examples in the Bible — Gen 1 & 2, Daniel, and other prophets, especially Isaiah.
Revelation involves such a series of parallel cycles. We could say that the visions “double back” to describe the same events in the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan and the struggle of the church in the world. They take us through overlapping cycles of visions that do not fall into a clear chronological order or historical sequence.
However, these cycles are not merely repetitions of the same events. Although these vision cycles do not present a straight, linear chronological order, there is a chronological progression that depicts the story of God’s plan and his church from Christ’s first coming to his return. We could call Revelation a book of spirals (Slide). Each loop of the spiral consists of a series of visions, and with each cycle there is progression toward the conclusion and climax of the book. Each cycle repeats the themes of judgment, persecution, and salvation but with each spiral these themes are expanded and intensified. We could say that John wants to shock and awe his readers. Every cycle presents God’s terrifying judgment to shock the readers, to get their attention. It proclaims God’s wrath on the unbelieving and unrepentant world. It describes the tribulations of the ongoing struggle between God’s people and the evil in the world. But then it ends with awe and worship as the vision describes God’s salvation and transports the readers into the presence of God, the Lamb, and the heavenly chorus. This spiral approach with its vivid visions grabs our attention and brings us to a standstill. Then, to make sure that we get it, the visions double back and repeat the events with more terrifying visions. With each cycle, the shock and awe intensify, and the tension builds up and moves toward the climax of the final end—the coming of the Lord, the final battle, the final judgment, final salvation, and the new creation.
In this way, Revelation proclaims God’s terrifying and certain judgment on Satan, the unbelieving world, and those believers who have compromised and conformed to the ways of the world. He calls the unbelieving world to faith. He calls those who have lost their way to repentance. He encourages believers to trust God and remain faithful to Him.
5. The Message & Theology of Revelation
To understand the message of Revelation we must read the book within its own historical-cultural context. We must take into account the historical, cultural, social, and political circumstances of the believers and the churches of that time. (SLIDE) In these cities, there were temples to important gods & for emperor worship. Important trade and craft centers — guilds, associations, unions, and clubs each with their own gods/idols. Met at the temples of their trade/craft gods — meetings, meals, banquets there with worship practices & eating meat offered to the idols. Temple prostitution — sexual immorality was common and acceptable in society. Persecution at that time was not yet worldwide or empire-wide — local and occasional — usually happened because Christians refused to worship and pledge allegiance to the emperor. False teachers and teaching.
The Christians were under immense pressure to compromise and conform to the ways of the surrounding culture and society — for the sake of business, commerce, easy, comfortable lives, acceptance in society — temptations of power, greed, and immorality. Sounds familiar — today the church faces the same challenges, temptations, pressures, and threats. Many believers, church leaders, and churches are compromising and conforming to the world. Thus, Revelation is absolutely relevant for us today. John wrote to the church then and to us today, to encourage us not to compromise but to persevere in our faith and persevere in living the kingdom life in the midst of temptations and persecution.
He does this by showing us the glory and sovereignty of God. Glory is given to God because he has accomplished full salvation and final judgment. Jesus’s death on the cross and his resurrection put the devil in checkmate. Jesus is victorious. He dealt the devil a mortal wound so that his defeat is inescapable and the church’s final victory is assured. The coming final victory should be the driving force that compels us to seek partial victory already now in this life by remaining faithful in living the kingdom life.
God the Lord Almighty is the sovereign Designer of all history. He is in control and history is moving to his final victory, his glory, and the new creation. The vision of God’s people, saved and perfected, living in eternal fellowship with his glorious presence serves to encourage and motivate us to persevere through the temptations that would lead us into compromise. This world is not our home. We are just pilgrims passing through. We are already new creations, a kingdom and priests. We are already conquerors and ruling with Christ.
Yes, in this world and in this life the battle continues as the devil and the world oppose and persecute us. We will experience tribulations and sufferings but we will not compromise. We will remain faithful to our Lord, willing to die for Him. Our persecutors may achieve physical victories but they experience spiritual defeat as they enter God’s eternal judgment. We may physically suffer and die but we experience spiritual victory as we inherit our final salvation.
God’s sovereign control and rule over history, God’s glory in judging, saving the world, and bringing about the new creation, all these serve to motivate us to worship God and reflect his glory through obedience to his word. Revelation unmasks the false sources of security and calls us to look for our security and salvation only in the Lord God Almighty. The true and living God calls us away from our preoccupation and obsession with the world to recognize and focus on what really matters—God’s glory. We must see our own, current situation in this world in the light of the eternal perspective of the new world. Therefore, we must read and reread Revelation so that it may remind us continually of God’s real, new world. That is now our true home.
And while we live in this world, we will not conform to the fallen world, its idols and values. Instead, we live according to the values of the new world, and living the kingdom life, we reflect and imitate his image and his love in this world. And we will do so until He comes, and He is coming soon. Let us be ready to meet our Lord and let us continue to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!”