Structure and Symbology
The book is structured around four scenes which contain a
group of seven, the letters to the seven churches, the seven seals, the seven
trumpets, the seven bowls.
A key verse is Rev 1:19.
Rev 1:19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is
now and what will take place later.
This divides the book into what John has seen (a vision of
Christ), what is now (the letters to the seven churches) and what is to come
(the rest of the book), the verse that divides what is now and what will take
place later is Rev 4:1-2. A major division is found in Rev 4:1-2. This divides
the book into what is now and what will take place later, from Johns point of
view. From Rev 4 onwards John sees future events from the perspective of
heaven, and heaven with God in control seated on his throne. All subsequent
events are viewed from heaven with God in control.
Rev 4:1-2 After this I looked, and there before me was a
door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me
like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take
place after this." 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was
a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
Other examples of a change of viewpoint that start another
scene are given in the passages below (Wilcock). These either involve a change
in viewpoint or something opens in heaven:
(Rev 11:19) Then God's temple in
heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And
there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and
a great hailstorm.
(Rev 15:5) After this I looked and in heaven the
temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.
(Rev 17:1-3) One of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of
the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. {2} With her the kings of the
earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with
the wine of her adulteries." {3} Then the angel carried me away in the
Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was
covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
(Rev 19:11) I saw heaven standing open and there
before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With
justice he judges and makes war.
(Rev 21:9-10) One of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I
will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." {10} And he carried me
away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City,
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
The seven seals and seven trumpets each have a significant
interlude between the sixth and seventh seal and trumpet. The vision of the
great prostitute is introduced by one of the angels who had one of the seven
bowls as is the vision of the New Jerusalem. This serves to link the great
prostitute with the seven bowls and to contrast the great prostitute with the
New Jerusalem who is the bride of Christ.
- Prologue 1:1-3
- Greetings 1:4-8
- A vision of the risen Christ, John is told to write to the seven churches
1:9-20
- The letters to the seven churches come next and represents now. 2:1-3:22
- A throne in heaven 4:1-11
- The lamb and the scroll 5:1-14
- The first six of the seven seals 6:1-17
- Interlude: Sealing the 144,000 7:1-8
- The great multitude of the redeemed 7:9-17
- The seventh seal 8:1
- Trumpets introduced 8:2-5
- The first six of the seven trumpets 8:6-9:21
- Interlude: The mighty angel and the little scroll 10:1-11
- The two witnesses 11:1-14
- The seventh trumpet 11:19-
- The woman and the dragon. 12:1-6
- War in heaven 12:7-12
- Dragon pursues the woman 12:13-17
- The beast out of the sea 13:1-10
- The beast out of the earth 13:11-18
- The lamb and the 144,000 on mount Zion 14:1-5
- The three angels 14:6-13
- The harvest of the earth 14:14-20
- Seven angels with seven plagues introduced 15:1
- Those victorious over the beast 15:2-4
- Temple filled with smoke 15:5-8
- The seven bowls 16:1-21
- The mystery of the woman and the beast 17:1-18
- The fall of Babylon 18:1-24
- Rejoice and Hallelujah 19:1-10
- The beast and false prophet destroyed 19:11-21
- Satan bound for a thousand years 20:1-10
- The great white throne 20:11-15
- The new heaven and new earth 21:1-8
- The new Jerusalem 21:9-27
- The river of life 22:1-6
- Epilogue 22:6-21
6.1. Progressive Parallelism in Revelation.
The case for progressive parallelism in Revelation has been
given in detail by
Hendriksen.
It is that the visions from Chapter 4 onwards cover the period from the
ascension until Christ returns and the judgement. As the visions progress they
cover more detail of the end, when Christ returns and the judgement. The
following examples are given:
- The scroll and the Lamb: This deals with heaven recently after Christ's
ascension
- Sixth seal: This deals with the second coming Rev 6:17.
- The two witnesses: They go up to heaven in a cloud, that is the rapture,
Rev 11:12
- The seventh trumpet pronounces the time for judging the dead Rev 11:18
- The woman and the dragon cover both OT and the gospel age, the ascension
occurs in Rev 12:5.
- The earth is harvested in Rev 14:14.
- The seventh bowl records the end of the world Rev 16:17
- The sixth seal, the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl deals with the day
of the Lord.
All the following are parallel periods:
- The Gentiles trample on the holy city for 42 months. Rev 11:2.
- The two witnesses prophesy for 1260 days, Rev 11:3.
- The woman is taken care of for 1260 days Rev 12:6 and a time, times and
half a time Rev 12:14.
- The beast exercises his authority for 42 months Rev 13:5.
Babylon is defeated in Rev 18:2, there is reference to the
second coming in 17:14
The beast and the false prophet are defeated in Rev 19:20,
the second coming is in 19:11-21.
Satan is defeated Rev 20:10
The dead are judged in Rev 20:11
The new heaven and new earth and the new Jerusalem are
described in chapter 21 and 22.
The same event, the final battle, is described or mentioned
in the following passages:
- i. The sixth bowl, they gather the kings for battle on the great day of God
Almighty, Rev 16:14
- ii. The ten kings make war against the Lamb, Rev 17:12-14.
- iii. The beast and the kings of the earth make war against the Lamb, Rev
19:19
- iv. Satan gathers Gog and Magog for battle, Rev 20:8
The enemies of God's people are introduced in reverse order
to their destruction.
- 11:7 The beast introduced
- 12:1 The dragon introduced.
- 13:1 The beast described.
- 13:11 The false prophet introduced and described
- 14:8 Babylon's fall introduced
- 16:19 Babylon falls
- 17:1 The woman and the beast described
- 18:1 The woman's fall described
- 19:20 The fall of the beast and false prophet
- 20:10 The doom of Satan
Babylon's fall is mentioned on three separate occasions in
14:8, 16:9, 18:2.
The judgement and punishment of the wicked is referred to in
11:18, 14:9 ff., 14:19 ff., 20:11 ff.
7. The symbology and self interpretation of
Revelation.
One of the main decisions anyone reading the book has to
make is whether to interpret it literally or symbolically. Because it belongs
to the apocalyptic literary style I have chosen to interpret it symbolically.
There are other literary styles in the bible such as poetic, thus when reading
the Psalms one interprets them accordingly. The book is symbolic and this is
revealed by the sections of the book that provide their own interpretation. The
book is also full of phrases such as 'After this I looked' (9), 'Then I saw'
(33), 'I watched' (3), 'I heard' (23). The book of Revelation is a vision, Rev
9:17 is the only verse in which John admits that he is seeing a vision.
Rev 9:17 The horses and riders I saw in my
vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and
yellow as sulphur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and
out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulphur.
Caird comments that 'as often happens in the Revelation,
what he sees is described largely in traditional imagery, and what he hears
gives the Christian reinterpretation'. Some interpreters take everything
literally unless it is clearly stated to be symbolic (Walvoord) some take the
book symbolically unless it is clearly to be taken literally (Caird), I have
adopted Caird's view since this seem to fit the framework of the book better.
The difficulty of interpreting the book lies in deciding what should be taken
symbolically and what literally, this will affect ones interpretation
considerably.
In chapter 1 John sees seven golden lampstands v12 and among
the lampstands someone like a son of man v13 and in his right hand he held
seven stars' v16.
(Rev 1:12-16) I turned around to see the
voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
{13} and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"
dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his
chest. {14} His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his
eyes were like blazing fire. {15} His feet were like bronze glowing in a
furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. {16} In his right
hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.
His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
In Rev 1:19 John is instructed to write down what he has
seen. Immediately in the next verse Jesus explains the mystery of the seven
stars and of the seven golden lampstands.
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that
you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the
seven churches.
So Jesus unveils the mystery of the seven stars and the
seven golden lampstands. This should get us started and make us realise that
the book is symbolic. This means that many things we see will seem fantastic
and if taken literally will not make sense. The details if pressed too hard
will not make any sense so it is no good trying to identify the ten horns on
the beast because many have tried and failed. It is the principle behind the
detail and not the detail that is important.
Other examples of the self interpretation of Revelation
are given below:
The Lamb is the main and classic symbol in Revelation, no
one takes this literally.
Rev 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if
it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne, encircled by the
four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which
are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
The identity of the Lamb is not explicitly stated but He is
quite clearly Jesus Christ who is later described as Lord of lords and King of
kings.
(Rev 17:14) They will make war against the
Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of
kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful
followers."
Compare this with the description of Christ in verse 5 who
is described as the ruler of the kings of the earth.
(Rev 1:5) and from Jesus Christ, who is the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of
the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
Other examples where a symbol is interpreted include:
Rev 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four
living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one
had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are
the prayers of the saints.
Rev 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down--that
ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world
astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Rev 4:5 From the throne came flashes of lightning,
rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were
blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
Rev 17:9-18 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The
seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also
seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but
when he does come, he must remain for a little while.
11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an
eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who
have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as
kings along with the beast.
"The waters you saw, where the prostitute
sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules
over the kings of the earth."
Rev 19:8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given
her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the
saints.)
Other examples of the literary style which is nearer to our
own is shown the phrase 'I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the
saints', (17:6), the image is a hideous one but most people will understand
this to mean that she had murdered many saints.
This helps us understand the third bowl in which the third
angel pours out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became
blood and the angel in charge of the waters says 'You are just in these
judgements, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged;
{6} for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have
given them blood to drink as they deserve.' We are meant to understand that
turning the waters into blood means that many people died due to drinking the
water (compare with the third trumpet). If we take the account of Moses then
the Nile turning into blood (or a blood like colour) should be taken literally
rather than referring to death because of the narrative literary form used.
Another aid to its interpretation is to note that John
sometimes sees a vision or sign and then a voice explains what he sees or it
gives additional information:
- 1:12 he sees seven golden lampstands, in 1:20 Jesus explains that these are
the seven churches.
- 5:6 he sees a lamb; in 5:9 the twenty four elders sing about the lamb.
- 7:9 he sees a great multitude; in 7:14 the elder explains who they are.
- 12:3 he sees a dragon and war in heaven; in 12:10 a voice explains what he
has seen.
- 17:1 he sees the great prostitute; in 17:7 the angel explains the meaning.
7.1. Symbols in the book.
There are many symbols in the book of Revelation, here are
some of the more important ones.
7.1.1. Symbols of Christ.
- One 'like a son of man', Rev 1:13.
- The Lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev 5:5.
- The Root of David, Rev 5:5.
- A Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, Rev 5:6
- She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with
an iron sceptre, Rev 12:5.
- The rider on the white horse, Rev 19:11.
7.1.2. Symbols of the Church.
The Church is one of the main characters in the book of
Revelation.
The seven lampstands:
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in
my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are
the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven
churches.
- (Rev 6:9 NIV) When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony
they had maintained.
- The 144,000 sealed from all the tribes of Israel. Rev 7:4-8.
- "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the
worshipers there. Rev 11:1
- The two witnesses, Rev 11:3
- The woman clothed with the Sun, Rev 12:1.
- The New Jerusalem, Rev 21:2.
- The army of the Lord, Rev 19:19.
7.1.3. The enemies of the church.
- The red dragon, Rev 12:3, The devil.
- The beast out of the sea, Rev 13:1. World political power.
- The beast out of the earth, Rev 13:11. The false prophet.
- The great prostitute, Rev 17:1. Seduction of the world represented as the
great city.
Three signs in heaven.
There are three instances in which John saw a (great and
wondrous) sign in heaven: the woman clothed with the sun (12:1), the dragon
(12:3) and the seven angels with seven last plagues (15:1). The first and
second signs refer to the OT church and to the devil, the third sign should
also be regarded symbolically.
(Rev 12:1) A great and wondrous sign
appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet
and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
(Rev 12:3) Then another sign appeared in heaven: an
enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his
heads.
(Rev 15:1) I saw in heaven another great and marvellous
sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues--last, because with them God's
wrath is completed.
7.2. The use of numbers in Revelation:
Numbers have a symbolic meaning in Revelation. Finding a
deeper meaning to these numbers can be dangerous. The ten horns of the beast
are ten kings, we should not try to identify the ten kings because ten is a
symbolic number meaning complete, it could therefore mean 10, 14, 16, etc. One
can be quite sure that 1000 years does not mean a thousand years but simply a
complete period of time as defined by God. The most important number found is
that of seven which is found 55 times in the book and means complete.
- 2 Witness Two witnesses, disciples sent out in two's.
- 4 The world Four compass directions
- 6 Man's number Man created on the sixth day
- 7 God, divine, complete God finished his work and rested on the seventh day
- 10 Complete Complete from a human point of view
- 12 God's work in the world Twelve tribes of Israel. Twelve apostles
Multiples of twelve:
- 24 Old and new testament church, twenty four elders
- 144 12 * 12 OT and NT combined
- 12,000 Width of new Jerusalem
- 144,000 12*12*10*10*10 complete church
Other numbers;
- 666 Man of Satan, a trinity of sixes
- 1,600 4*4*10*10 (see Rev 14:20)
- 3.5 years=42 months=1260 days=time, times and half a time=the period
between the ascension of Jesus and his second coming. This is a half week of
years.
Rev 11:2 - they will trample on the holy city for 42
months - this is the same time:
- i. As the two witnesses prophesy for, 1,260 days.
- ii. It is also the same as the woman's stay in the wilderness (Rev 12:6
1,260 days and Rev 12:14 time, times and half a time).
- iii. Which is also the time that Elijah prayed that it would not rain, 3
and a half years, and God supernaturally fed him.
- iv. The beasts exercise of authority (Rev 13:5, 42 months).
- v. Which is the same time as Daniel's time, times and half a time.
Examples of two:
The two witnesses:
11:4 These are the two olive trees and the
two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
11:10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them
and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had
tormented those who live on the earth.
13:11, Two horns of the beast out of the earth
Examples using four:
4:6 Four living creatures
7:1 I saw four angels standing at the four
corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth
Sixth trumpet: "Release the four angels who
are bound at the great river Euphrates." Rev 9:14-15
20:8 to deceive the nations in the four corners of the
earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them together for battle
Examples using seven:
Rev 1:4 John, To the seven churches
in the province of Asia:
Rev 1:12 And when I turned I saw seven golden
lampstands,
Rev 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars,
Rev 4:5 Before the throne, seven lamps were
blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
Rev 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on
the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven
seals.
Rev 5:6 He had seven horns and seven eyes, which
are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand
before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 10:3 When he shouted, the voices of the seven
thunders spoke.
Rev 11:13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake
and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in
the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of
heaven.
Rev 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an
enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven
crowns on his heads.
Rev 15:1 I saw in heaven another great and marvellous
sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues--last, because
with them God's wrath is completed.
Rev 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying
to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's
wrath on the earth."
Rev 17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit
into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered
with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:9-11 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The
seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are
also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come;
but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11 The beast who once
was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is
going to his destruction.
Examples using ten:
Rev 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are
about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test
you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to
the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev 5:11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many
angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times
ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the
elders.
Rev 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an
enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on
his heads.
Rev 13:1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven
heads, withten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous
name.
Rev 17:12 "The ten horns you saw are ten
kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will
receive authority as kings along with the beast.
Rev 17:16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will
hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will
eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Examples using twelve:
Rev 12:1 A great and wondrous sign appeared
in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a
crown of twelve stars on her head.
Rev 21:12 It had a great, high wall with twelve
gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were
written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Rev 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of
the Lamb.
Rev 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve
pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was
of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Rev 22:2 down the middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of
fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for
the healing of the nations.
7.3. Some literary devices used.
John is very fond of using superlatives, especially the word
'great' in Revelation, this is typical of the apocalyptic style, great
is used 49 times and the Greek megas occurs 82 times, (great voice is
translated as loud voice). Examples are: great earthquake (6:12), great day of
their wrath (6:17), great multitude (7:9), great tribulation (7:14), great star
(8:10), great river Euphrates (9:14), great city (11:8), great power (11:17),
great hailstorm (11:19), great and wondrous sign (12:1), great dragon (12:9),
great eagle (12:14), great authority (13:2), great and miraculous signs
(13:13), Babylon the Great (14:8), great winepress of God's wrath (14:19),
Great and marvellous are your deed's (15:3), great day of God Almighty (16:14),
great prostitute (17:1), great authority (18:1), great wealth (18:17), great
men (18:17), great supper of God (19:17), great chain (20:1), great white
throne (20:11), a mountain great and high (21:10), great, high wall (21:12),
great street (21:21).
The word Lamb (Gk. arnion) occurs 31 times but note
that in 13:11 it is used to describe the beast out of the earth.
Mention has been made earlier to the frequent use that the
author has made of contrasts which help our interpretation. Other literary
devices are also used to add meaning to the book, some examples are given
below.
a. For example the first four seals, trumpets
and bowls form distinct units. The four horsemen in the case of the seals and
with the trumpets and bowls deal with the earth, sea, rivers and universe. The
angel with the eternal gospel (14:7) said 'Fear God and give him glory, because
the hour of his judgement has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the
earth, the sea and the springs of water.' prior to the judgements of the seven
bowls.
b. In 12:12 woe is pronounced on the earth and sea because
the devil has gone down to you. And in chapter 13 the two beasts arise from the
sea and the earth. There are three groups who mourn the demise of Babylon, the
kings of the earth, the merchants who trade on the land and the sea captains
who trade on the sea. The mighty angel plants his feet on the land and sea
(10:2).
c. One of the angels who had the seven bowls introduces John
to the great prostitute (Babylon the great) and to the bride (the new
Jerusalem) evidently to contrast the two.
d. The same censer used to offer up prayer before is used to
cast fire to the earth (8:3-5). Indicating the seven trumpets are an answer to
the prayers of the saints.
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