How Revelation Is Organized

In chapter 5 of John's Revelation four seals were opened to reveal four horsemen traveling across the earth. Three seals remained for the Lamb to open. The fifth seal reveals a crowd of martyrs:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. - Rev 6:9-11 ESV

Peter Paul Rubens - The Martyrdom of St Stephen

John's vision is rooted, as always, in the vision of earlier prophets. In this case we are drawn back to Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly Jerusalem and its huge Temple (40-44).  The earthly temple was a counterpart and prototype of the same. There, beneath or beside the altar are the souls of those who had been violently put to death because of their witness to the risen Christ. These include the deacon Stephen, stoned in Jerusalem (Acts 7:54-60), Peter, Paul, James the brother of Jesus (Josephus, Antiquties 20.9.1) and many others The Roman historian Tacitus tells of the many Christians martyred by the Roman ruler Nero in A.D. 64 (Tacitus, Annals 15.44). There will be others, says the Revelation. Ultimately the whore Babylon will be drunk with the blood of the saints, the martyrs of Jesus (Rev 17:5-6).

These martyrs are troubled. With a loud voice they cried out, ""O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

As the prophets of old had comforted the believers when their cities and lands were ravished by the Babylonians (Isa 26:20-21), so these souls are comforted and told to rest a little longer. Given a white robe as a pledge that they will feast at the marriage of the Lamb (Rev 7:9,14; 19:7-8), they must wait until God's plan is complete.

The sixth seal's opening reveals further terrible things about to happen. Revealed in symbolical language used by the prophets of old, these catastrophes signal the end of world history:

They (heavens) will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, - Psa 102:26 ESV

All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. - Isa 34:4 ESV 

At this point it seems wise to understand how John's Revelation is organized, lest we get caught up in a great argument about exactly when these things are to take place. The number seven is vital to our understanding, especially since it is the sacred number of creation and completion (Gen 2:2-3). The first two visions described our Lord appearing to John in His risen and ascended glory. John is to share a message to each of the seven churches. Chapters 4 and 5 are the heart of the Revelation. They describe the worthiness of Jesus, the Lion of Judah and the Lamb who was slain, to open the seals. He is the victorious Ruler. He will indeed rescue His people and judge the unbelieving world.

Thus in chapters 6 - 21 seven scenes of the End Times are presented, each revealing more about what we are to expect in these last times as we await the return of our King.

1. Christ opens the Seven Seals (Rev 6:1-8:5)
2. Seven Trumpets are blown (Rev 8:6-11:19)
3. The battle between the Triune God and the Anti-Trinity (Rev. 12:1-14:20)
4. The pouring out of the Seven Bowls of Wrath (Rev 15:1-16:21)
5. Babylon, the Prostitute, is overthrown (Rev 17:1-19:21)
6. The Final Judgment (Rev 20:1-21:8)
7. The New Jerusalem, the Bride, the wife of the Lamb (Rev 21:9-22:5 

Epilogue: Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:6-21)

There is no need to get wrapped up in the many confusing and complex interpretations of these seven scenes with talk about the Rapture and the Millennium. This all comes about when modern self-proclaimed prophets turn John's symbolical language into a variety of literal timelines of days and years. As we continue through this most comforting book we will learn that Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has bound Satan. He can no longer accuse us. God's plan, hidden for ages, is now revealed in Christ. In Him we are bold, for we have direct access to the throne of God (Eph 3:7-12). Christ's perfect reign has begun, symbolized by the 1,000 years leading up to His return (10x10x10 = 1,000; 2 Pet 3:8; Rev 20:6).

So we join with the ancient church simply to proclaim in the words of the Apostles Creed our faith  in the Risen Christ who "sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. . . We believe in . . . the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting."

Maranatha! Even so, Come Lord Jesus! (1 Cor 16:22)