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The Day Has Come
Well...from the very beginning I knew this day would come. Revelation. We're in our final book of the New Testament! It's been a long road, and thanks for sticking with it (for those who did)! We're starting in on a confusing, encouraging, wonderful book. I'm going to be trying to explain different views on this book as we go along and offer introductory material over a large span of days than normal. I'm sure there are going to be A LOT of questions, and I'm not going to pretend that I'll know the answer to all of them. I'll try my best, but don't get discouraged if it takes some time for me to respond to them or I don't know the answer. Thanks!
Today, an ATTEMPT at outlining the book. As we'll see, the first 3 chapters are significantly different than the other ones. This is the NIVAC outline, though this book is a little difficult to break down that way. Mostly I want to give you a chance to get the broad scope of the book on this first day, then we'll dig in tomorrow. If you have any questions about the first chapter, please ask!
" I. Introduction (1:1–3:22)
A. Title and Blessing (1:1–3)
B. Epistolary Introduction (1:4–8)
C. Narrative Introduction (1:9–20)
1. Setting (1:9–11)
2. Vision of the Son of Man (1:12–16)
3. Jesus’ Message (1:17–20)
D. Letters to the Seven Churches (2:1–3:22)
1. Ephesus: Lost Love (2:1–7)
2. Smyrna: Suffering Saints (2:8–11)
3. Pergamum: Fornicating Faction (2:12–17)
4. Thyatira: Compromising Christians (2:18–27)
5. Sardis: Sinful Slumber (3:1–6)
6. Philadelphia: Persevering Pillars (3:7–13)
7. Laodicea: Prosperous Paupers (3:14–22)
II. Visions of the Heavenly Temple (4:1–5:14)
A. Worship in Heaven (4:1–11)
B. Worthy to Open the Book (5:1–7)
C. In Praise of the Lamb (5:8–14)
III. The Seals (6:1–8:1)
A. The Horse Riders (6:1–8)
1. Conquest (6:1–2)
2. War (6:3–4)
3. Famine (6:5–6)
4. Death by Various Means (6:7–8)
B. Martyrdom and Doomsday (6:9–17)
1. Martyred for Their Good News (6:9–11)
2. Cosmic Dissolution (6:12–17)
C. Interlude: Saints on Earth and in Heaven (7:1–17)
1. God’s End-Time Army (7:1–8)
2. The Multicultural Multitude of Martyrs (7:9–17)
D. The Seventh Seal (8:1)
IV. The Trumpets (8:2–11:19)
A. Prayers as the Preface of Judgment (8:2–6)
B. First Four Plagues (8:7–13)
C. Two Plagues of Invasions (9:1–21)
1. A Demonic Locust Army (9:1–12)
2. Demonic Parthians (9:13–21)
D. Second Interlude (10:1–11)
1. Seven Secret Thunders (10:1–7)
2. A Prophetic Commission (10:8–11)
3. Measuring the Oppressed Temple (11:1–2)
4. God’s Two Witnesses (11:3–14)
E. Final Trumpet: End of the Age (11:15–19)
V. The Saints Versus the Serpent (12:1–14:20)
A. The Woman and Her Seed (12:1–17)
1. God’s People, Christ and Satan (12:1–6)
2. Heavenly Warfare (12:7–12)
3. The Dragon’s Persecution (12:13–17)
B. The Dragon’s Two Beasts (13:1–18)
1. The False Messiah (13:1–10)
2. The False Priest (13:11–18)
C. The Victorious Martyrs (14:1–5)
D. God’s Triumph Over Babylon (14:6–20)
1. Songs of God’s Triumph Over Babylon (14:6–8)
2. Beast-Worshipers’ Damnation (14:9–11)
3. Saints Rest in Peace (14:12–13)
4. Judgments Against the World (14:14–20)
VI. Bowls of Anger (15:1–16:21)
A. Narrative Introduction to the Bowls (15:1–16:1)
1. Announcement of Plagues (15:1)
2. Victorious Martyrs of the New Exodus (15:2–4)
3. Judgments From Heavenly Temple (15:5–16:1)
B. Bowls of Plagues (16:2–21)
1. Five Plagues (16:2–11)
2. Armageddon (16:12–16)
3. Destruction of the World Order (16:17–21)
VII. The Fate of Babylon (17:1–19:21)
A. Babylon, the Great Prostitute (17:1–18)
1. Viewing the Epitome of Spiritual Immorality (17:1–5)
2. Explaining the Mystery (17:6–18)
B. Lamenting Fallen Babylon (18:1–19:4)
1. Mock Lament for the Prostitute (18:1–3)
2. Call to Resist the World’s Seduction (18:4–8)
3. Mourning of Kings (18:9–10)
4. Mourning Merchants (18:11–19)
5. Summons for God’s Allies to Rejoice (18:20)
6. Avenging the Oppressed (18:21–24)
7. Heaven Celebrates Babylon’s Death (19:1–4)
C. Christ Comes in Judgment (19:5–21)
1. Marriage Supper for Righteous (19:5–10)
2. The Avenging Divine Warrior (19:11–16)
3. Feast on the Wicked (19:17–21)
VIII. The Hope of the Saints (20:1–22:5)
A. Judgments for Righteous and Wicked (20:1–15)
1. Binding the Devil (20:1–3)
2. Resurrection of the Righteous (20:4–6)
3. The Devil’s Last Stand (20:7–10)
4. The Final Judgment of the Damned (20:11–15)
B. New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s Bride (21:1–22:5)
1. The New Creation (21:1–8)
2. The Wealth of New Jerusalem (21:9–22)
3. The Glory of New Jerusalem (21:23–27)
4. The New Eden (22:1–5)
IX. Conclusion (22:6–21)
A. Focus on God, not His Agents (22:6–7)
B. Closing Exhortations (22:10–17)
1. The Time Is at Hand (22:10–12)
2. Jesus’ First Divine Imprimatur (22:13)
3. Fate of Righteous and Wicked (22:14–15)
4. Jesus’ Second Divine Imprimatur (22:16)
5. Invitation to Jesus and to the Audience (22:17)
C. Do Not Tamper With the Book (22:18–19)
D. Jesus’ Promised Coming (22:20)
E. Epistolary Close (22:21)" [1]
The Day Has Come
Well...from the very beginning I knew this day would come. Revelation. We're in our final book of the New Testament! It's been a long road, and thanks for sticking with it (for those who did)! We're starting in on a confusing, encouraging, wonderful book. I'm going to be trying to explain different views on this book as we go along and offer introductory material over a large span of days than normal. I'm sure there are going to be A LOT of questions, and I'm not going to pretend that I'll know the answer to all of them. I'll try my best, but don't get discouraged if it takes some time for me to respond to them or I don't know the answer. Thanks!
Today, an ATTEMPT at outlining the book. As we'll see, the first 3 chapters are significantly different than the other ones. This is the NIVAC outline, though this book is a little difficult to break down that way. Mostly I want to give you a chance to get the broad scope of the book on this first day, then we'll dig in tomorrow. If you have any questions about the first chapter, please ask!
" I. Introduction (1:1–3:22)
A. Title and Blessing (1:1–3)
B. Epistolary Introduction (1:4–8)
C. Narrative Introduction (1:9–20)
1. Setting (1:9–11)
2. Vision of the Son of Man (1:12–16)
3. Jesus’ Message (1:17–20)
D. Letters to the Seven Churches (2:1–3:22)
1. Ephesus: Lost Love (2:1–7)
2. Smyrna: Suffering Saints (2:8–11)
3. Pergamum: Fornicating Faction (2:12–17)
4. Thyatira: Compromising Christians (2:18–27)
5. Sardis: Sinful Slumber (3:1–6)
6. Philadelphia: Persevering Pillars (3:7–13)
7. Laodicea: Prosperous Paupers (3:14–22)
II. Visions of the Heavenly Temple (4:1–5:14)
A. Worship in Heaven (4:1–11)
B. Worthy to Open the Book (5:1–7)
C. In Praise of the Lamb (5:8–14)
III. The Seals (6:1–8:1)
A. The Horse Riders (6:1–8)
1. Conquest (6:1–2)
2. War (6:3–4)
3. Famine (6:5–6)
4. Death by Various Means (6:7–8)
B. Martyrdom and Doomsday (6:9–17)
1. Martyred for Their Good News (6:9–11)
2. Cosmic Dissolution (6:12–17)
C. Interlude: Saints on Earth and in Heaven (7:1–17)
1. God’s End-Time Army (7:1–8)
2. The Multicultural Multitude of Martyrs (7:9–17)
D. The Seventh Seal (8:1)
IV. The Trumpets (8:2–11:19)
A. Prayers as the Preface of Judgment (8:2–6)
B. First Four Plagues (8:7–13)
C. Two Plagues of Invasions (9:1–21)
1. A Demonic Locust Army (9:1–12)
2. Demonic Parthians (9:13–21)
D. Second Interlude (10:1–11)
1. Seven Secret Thunders (10:1–7)
2. A Prophetic Commission (10:8–11)
3. Measuring the Oppressed Temple (11:1–2)
4. God’s Two Witnesses (11:3–14)
E. Final Trumpet: End of the Age (11:15–19)
V. The Saints Versus the Serpent (12:1–14:20)
A. The Woman and Her Seed (12:1–17)
1. God’s People, Christ and Satan (12:1–6)
2. Heavenly Warfare (12:7–12)
3. The Dragon’s Persecution (12:13–17)
B. The Dragon’s Two Beasts (13:1–18)
1. The False Messiah (13:1–10)
2. The False Priest (13:11–18)
C. The Victorious Martyrs (14:1–5)
D. God’s Triumph Over Babylon (14:6–20)
1. Songs of God’s Triumph Over Babylon (14:6–8)
2. Beast-Worshipers’ Damnation (14:9–11)
3. Saints Rest in Peace (14:12–13)
4. Judgments Against the World (14:14–20)
VI. Bowls of Anger (15:1–16:21)
A. Narrative Introduction to the Bowls (15:1–16:1)
1. Announcement of Plagues (15:1)
2. Victorious Martyrs of the New Exodus (15:2–4)
3. Judgments From Heavenly Temple (15:5–16:1)
B. Bowls of Plagues (16:2–21)
1. Five Plagues (16:2–11)
2. Armageddon (16:12–16)
3. Destruction of the World Order (16:17–21)
VII. The Fate of Babylon (17:1–19:21)
A. Babylon, the Great Prostitute (17:1–18)
1. Viewing the Epitome of Spiritual Immorality (17:1–5)
2. Explaining the Mystery (17:6–18)
B. Lamenting Fallen Babylon (18:1–19:4)
1. Mock Lament for the Prostitute (18:1–3)
2. Call to Resist the World’s Seduction (18:4–8)
3. Mourning of Kings (18:9–10)
4. Mourning Merchants (18:11–19)
5. Summons for God’s Allies to Rejoice (18:20)
6. Avenging the Oppressed (18:21–24)
7. Heaven Celebrates Babylon’s Death (19:1–4)
C. Christ Comes in Judgment (19:5–21)
1. Marriage Supper for Righteous (19:5–10)
2. The Avenging Divine Warrior (19:11–16)
3. Feast on the Wicked (19:17–21)
VIII. The Hope of the Saints (20:1–22:5)
A. Judgments for Righteous and Wicked (20:1–15)
1. Binding the Devil (20:1–3)
2. Resurrection of the Righteous (20:4–6)
3. The Devil’s Last Stand (20:7–10)
4. The Final Judgment of the Damned (20:11–15)
B. New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s Bride (21:1–22:5)
1. The New Creation (21:1–8)
2. The Wealth of New Jerusalem (21:9–22)
3. The Glory of New Jerusalem (21:23–27)
4. The New Eden (22:1–5)
IX. Conclusion (22:6–21)
A. Focus on God, not His Agents (22:6–7)
B. Closing Exhortations (22:10–17)
1. The Time Is at Hand (22:10–12)
2. Jesus’ First Divine Imprimatur (22:13)
3. Fate of Righteous and Wicked (22:14–15)
4. Jesus’ Second Divine Imprimatur (22:16)
5. Invitation to Jesus and to the Audience (22:17)
C. Do Not Tamper With the Book (22:18–19)
D. Jesus’ Promised Coming (22:20)
E. Epistolary Close (22:21)" [1]
[1] Craig S. Keener, Revelation, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 44-46.
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