The first thing to notice about this book , is that the title is the book of Revelation_, not Revelations. The whole book is one single revelation, not a number of separate ones. It is the only book in the Bible that promises the reader a blessing from just reading it, not even trying to understand it. “Blessed is he that readeth” Ch1:3 One of the reasons that this book can be such a blessing is that through it we can start to understand the whole Bible. Virtually every page of the Old Testament anticipates the book of Revelation. The book’s focus is on Jesus Christ. It shows that Jesus has a destiny and that that destiny is imminent. This makes the book very relevant to us today, because we are very quickly moving into the last days. The Book of Revelation picks up from where the Book of Acts left off. Acts covers the first 30 years of church history, Revelation covers the rest of church history. The two chapters which will prove to be the most important to us are those which we usually ignore - chapters 2 & 3. There is a structure and design within this book:- a) 3 basic divisions summarized in Ch 1 vs 19 i. Chapter 1 - The things which thou hast seen ii. Chapter 2,3 - The things which are iii. Chapter 4-22 - The things which shall be after these things. b) 4 times John speaks of being in the “Spirit” c) 4 times he speaks of Thunders, voices, lightenings and an earthquake There are also songs that develop in intensity Ch 1 vs 6 - Glory, dominion Ch 4 vs 11 - Glory, honour, power Ch 5 vs 13 - Blessing, honour, glory, power Ch 7 vs 12 -Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, might Revelation is about 4 things that are out of place Israel - Land Church - Heaven Lamb - Own Throne Satan - Bound One of the things which we will notice as we study this book, is the re-occurrence of the number 7. We often associate 7 with God and perfection, but this is not right, it really means completeness or finished. 7’s in Revelation Chapter 1 Seven Churches, Seven Lampstands Chapters 1,3,4,5 Seven Spirits Chapters 1,2,3 Seven Stars Chapter 2 Seven “Title-pairs” Chapter 4 Seven Lamps Chapters 2,3 Seven Promises to Overcomers Chapter 5 Seven Seals, Seven Horns, Seven Eyes Chapter 8 Seven Angels, Seven Trumpets Chapter 10 Seven Thunders Chapter 11 Seven Thousands Chapters 12,13,17 Seven Heads Chapter 12 Seven Crowns Chapters 15,21 Seven Plaques Chapters 15,17,21 Seven Bowls Chapter 17 Seven Mountains, Seven Kings There are other more subtle sevens spreads though Revelation - 7 personages, 7 Beatitudes, 7 years of judgement, 7 Doxologies, 7 new things. Another thing that is interesting to do is to compare Revelation with Genesis. Everything has it’s beginning in Genesis and it’s end in Revelation. There are hundreds of these, here are some examples:-
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