I have wrestled back and forth with whether or not to write Bible Helps for this book. Revelation, more than the other 65 books of the Bible, is a book loaded with controversy that does not stem from doctrinal differences alone; some of the controversy is driven by sheer economics. Authors have written books on the subject, and they wish to be right lest they feel a need to reimburse their purchasers if they are found to be wrong.

At long last, I have decided to undertake the endeavor and write the Bible Helps. I have views on this book, as all Bible expositors do, but I have no desire or ambition to argue, much less defend these views. My goal is to merely expose them for your reading, hoping they will be helpful in your devotional time. 

If you come across something with which you deeply disagree, then I encourage you, by all means, to disagree and know for certain that I view the true God of the universe to be immensely and beyond my comprehension. I am aware I can get things wrong. This is in no way a comprehensive review, and you may find disagreement with me unavoidable. It might be that you think I got it wrong or I was not complete enough in my review; either way, my goal is to help those who are reading this devotionally to find a present application and use as they read a chapter of it each day. 

A Revelation from God

Here, however, is what I feel pretty confident about: God revealed something to Jesus, and this book stands as the written witness to that revelation. God revealed something to Jesus so it could be shown to His servants; events that would “soon” take place—emphasis on “soon.” To get this revelation to His servants, Jesus sent His angel to John to reveal it, and then John bore witness to what the angel showed Him by recording it for us to read today (1:1-2). So, we could say the revelation from God came something like this—from God to Jesus, from Jesus to His angel, from His angel to John, and from John to His servants. 

A Revelation of What?

What did God reveal to Jesus, or more specifically, what did God reveal to Jesus that Jesus made known to John? Certainly in this book is hidden the ultimate purpose for the whole of creation, which includes the overthrow of idolatry, oppression, and the usurping of authority through the political kingdoms of man. This overthrow is seen throughout the book as being accomplished through the death, Resurrection, and ascension of the Person of Jesus Christ.

Apocalypse

The Greek word for “revelation” is “apocalypse,” which in English conjures up a very different picture from the Greek word. When we hear “apocalyptic,” we think of disturbances, earthquakes, tsunamis, devastating storms, unleashed weapons of mass destruction, volcanoes, and a slew of other horrific circumstances we would call “apocalyptic events.”

The word “apocalypse,” however, means a revealing or an unveiling. This book is all about God unveiling or revealing something to Jesus, and after an angel and John received it, it was given to those who serve Jesus. 

Behind all of this revealing is a basic mindset: to the ancient Jew, the heavens were where God functioned, the earth was where humans existed, and at the point where Heaven and Earth merged and united were “temple-like” places. Once Jesus ascended, early Christians believed Jesus Christ had become the Person and Place where Heaven and Earth were united. As the early saints developed a deep relationship with Christ, believing in His death, Resurrection, ascension, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they viewed Christ as the rebuilt Temple of God, connecting them on Earth with Heaven in a significant way.  

Confusion

One of the early Christians' revelations was the great victory of Jesus, but one of their early confusions was in the reality of their suffering. This book, written like a letter to the churches in what is today modern Turkey, sought to address this perplexity: why is ultimate victory taking so long, and why are we suffering as we wait?

Caesar, who was presently claiming lordship, was growing in grandeur as the rich flocked to him and idolized him. Jesus, the true King, was followed mostly by poor folks meeting in humble homes. It was John’s hope to pull back the veil and show his local churches the Person of Jesus Christ, what He was doing, and the part suffering had to play in it all.  

Code or Symbol

Two more thoughts before we jump into the chapters: I do not believe there is enough evidence to assume this book was written in code to decipher how the world comes to its “apocalyptic” end. In my estimation, to see it that way means missing who the book is really about—Jesus. Second, to make it a code book tends to make the ultimate interpretations overly legalistic and mean-spirited. I believe the book is largely symbolic, seeking to reveal Jesus in the middle of a very confusing, often idolatrous, oppressive, and politically overreaching world. In revealing Jesus and His actions in symbolic form, our hearts are better able to grasp the enormity of God's judgment through Jesus without reverting to a religious and hateful spirit. Symbol allows us to magnify the Person and work of Jesus because symbol encourages imagination, or better, the magnification of Christ Himself.  

The Genre of the Book of Revelation

I think it might also be helpful to know four aspects of how the book of Revelation was written:

• It is, as I have been seeking to point out, the revelation of Jesus Christ given to us in five stages (God, Jesus, His angel, John, and finally reaching His servants [1:1-2]).

• It was written as a witness doing two different kinds of witnessing—one giving witness on Earth before the judge of what was happening, and one giving witness or testimony to what was happening to an onlooking world, all the while suffering (or as a “martyr” from which the word “witness” comes from in the Greek) for what he was giving witness to (2).

• It is a prophecy, with John appealing to Old Testament prophetic imagery to paint in the prophetic details of what was being fulfilled in time and space (3).

• It is a letter written to seven churches in the area where John was living at the time (2-3).

It is through this revelation, witness, prophecy, and letter that the great purposes of God are revealed to the Church, where His people are not only rescued but also put to work completing the task of Jesus’ rule and reign on the earth.

Outline

This next paragraph and the following outline do not have anything directly to do with the fourth chapter of Revelation. If you would like to skip it, you will not miss any of the chapter review. What I am going to do now is give you a quick summary of the book so if you are not familiar with how it is organized, you can get a loose bird's-eye perspective of the structure. 

• John's Vision of Christ to the Seven Churches (1) 

• The Seven Letters to the Seven Churches (2-3)

• John's Vision of the Throne Itself and the Introduction of the Seven Seals or the First Sequence of Prophecies Unlocking God’s Purposes (4-5)

• The Seven Seals Opened and the Seventh Seal Opening a Further Sequence of Prophecies (6-8:5)

• Further Prophecies Known as the Seven Trumpets Blown One by One (8:6-11)

• Evil Revealed with its Chief Agents—the Dragon and the Beasts of the Sea and Land (12-15) 

• The Final Series of Sevens and Bowls of Wrath (16) 

• The Effect of the Bowls of Wrath (17-18)

• The Declaration of Salvation and the Triumph of God over Evil (19)

• The Fate of the Dragon (20)

• The Revelation of God’s Ultimate Plan of Salvation and the New Jerusalem (20-21)