Why study the Book of Revelation? The Book of Revelation clearly reveals God’s plans for the future. By reading , hearing and obeying this Book, God promises a blessing.
The Book of Revelation unfolds God’s plans for the future. It is both a book and a letter sent to seven churches.
The beginning of the book describes its most important feature. It is “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Although the book contains many chapters on God’s judgments upon the wicked of this world, it contains a wealth of information about Jesus Christ, who He is, what He is doing and His return to the earth to defeat His enemies and set up His earthly kingdom.
The contents of the Book of Revelation was given to Jesus Christ by His Father (God). Jesus made known these contents to his angel who gave them to John who wrote them in this book. John lived a long life perhaps living to see the end of the first century AD. John was an apostle and friend of Jesus Christ. John also wrote the gospel of John and three letters which are preserved in the New Testament.
The book reveals its own outline. Chapter 1 vs. 19 states, “Write therefore the things you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” (English Standard Version).
The “things that you have seen” refers to John’s vision of Christ in chapter 1. “Those that are” refer to the letters to seven actual churches in the Roman province of Asia near the end of the first century. These letters are contained in Revelation chapters 2-3. “Those that are to take place after this” refer to the future events contained in Revelation chapters 4-22.
The Book of Revelation in chronological order, a condensed outline of Revelation and some information on studying this book is contained in the Introduction file. Also, as time permits, a detailed set of notes on each chapter will be posted to this page. To download these files (pdf format), double click on a file, and then save the file to your computer. These notes are written with the viewpoint of a pre-millennial reign of Christ.
Those seeking a deeper understanding of the Book of Revelation should consult the following commentaries. These commentaries are written by authors who hold to a pre-millennial view of the end times. (1) Thomas Constable, Notes on Revelation, latest edition. Online at https://soniclight.com/constable-notes. (2) Alan Johnson, Revelation, in the Expositors Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers. (3) John MacArthur, Revelation, 2 Volumes, John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Moody Publishers. (4) Robert Thomas, Revelation: An Exegetical Commentary, 2 Volumes, Moody Publishers. (5) John Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Moody Publishers.
Revelation Chapter 1 ASV Schematic