© 1998 "Yes Lord" Ministries

Hi again! Welcome back for the next lesson in this study of the Book of Revelation.

In Lesson 1, we learned that John had been worshiping on the Lord's day on the Island of Patmos and, on that day, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Glorified and Resurrected Body, appeared to John and gave him a vision of Prophecy which John carefully recorded for us.

In this course we will be looking at many of the details and specifics of that Revelation.

But, before we look at the details, it is always good to see the Big Picture, the Overview, of what we will be studying. Why? Because, by having an understanding of the Big Picture (the Overview, the Context, the what's it all about'), then we will be able to better understand how and why the smaller details fit into place.

The Book of Revelation is challenging enough to understand even when you are familiar with the Big Picture and the vast scope of the events and things being covered. But, if you don't have the Big Picture, then trying to understand what Jesus is telling us is about as easy (or difficult) as it is to work a 1500 piece puzzle without having the Big Picture on the box to guide you.

When you have the Big Picture on the box before you, fitting the individual pieces into a puzzle is still not easy, but it sure is a whole lot easier than if you tried to do it without the Big Picture to guide you. In fact, without the Big Picture to guide us, in a puzzle or in this study of the Book of Revelation, we are almost clueless as to what the final picture will look like or where the individual pieces would and should fit.

So, in our lesson this week, let's get the Big Picture of the Book of Revelation! OK? OK!

How will we do that? How will we get the Big Picture of Revelation?, you ask! Good question! And, this is what we are going to do:

Your assignment now is to read the ENTIRE Book of Revelation! Now, don't panic! It only takes about two hours to read the entire Book. If you can read it all in one sitting, Great! Of course, that is the best way to do it in order to really get the Big Picture. But, if you can't read it all in one sitting, then you will want to spread this assignment out over several days. Perhaps you can read for 30 minutes a day for 4 days. Or an hour a day for 2 days. Whatever. You know how much time you have, so adjust your schedule accordingly.

Now the GOOD NEWS is that, as you read, you do NOT have to worry about any of the details! We are only trying to get the Big Picture. We are only trying to see what the main topics, subjects, or events are in this wonderful Book. So, do NOT get bogged down with details. We are just going to be reading as if it were a letter from a friend (which, of course, it is. It IS a letter from our friend, John, who is writing to tell us what Jesus told him.)

So, this is what we are going to do. We are going to just simply READ the Book of Revelation. AND, as you read, list the main event or events or topics in each chapter.

I have provided space below for you to do this.

Also I have given you the main events or topics for several Chapters in Revelation so you can have an idea of how to do this. You will notice that this is to be a BRIEF and UNDETAILED (is there such a word?) summary or list for each chapter.

So, are you ready? OK! Get your Bible and a pen or pencil and start reading and start recording the MAIN things in each chapter.

Chapter........................................... What is IN this chapter

1.... Jesus appears to John and tells him that He is going to give him a Revelation (Prophecy) which John is to write down and send to the 7 Churches in Asia.

2..... Jesus gives a special personal message to the churches of
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, & Thyatira

3

4..... John enters heaven and sees God the Father on the throne and observes the worship of God by the heavenly beings.

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Great! I see you are finished! Wasn't that awesome? Is your mind boggled? Yes and Yes!

I assume you have filled out your chart, learned a lot, and now have an idea of the Big Picture of the Book of Revelation.

And, if you are wondering if you did your assignment correctly, I will share with you what I put on my chart. If yours is not exactly like mine, don't worry!. You might have gotten too detailed. That's not unusual. And I have to constantly make myself not get too detailed, also. So, let me share my chart with you just to show you how brief and simple a Book Summary Chart (which is what you just made) can and should be. So, here is what I put on my chart as I read the Book of Revelation:

Chapter............................................ What is IN this chapter

1... Jesus appears to John and tells him that He is going to give him a Revelation (Prophecy) which John is to write down and send to the 7 Churches in Asia.

2.... Jesus gives a special personal message to the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, & Thyatira

3... Jesus gives a special personal message to the churches of Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea

4... John enters heaven and sees God the Father on the throne and observes the worship of God by the heavenly beings.

5... John sees a Scroll in the Right hand of God and discovers that only the Lamb is worthy to take the scroll and open it. Therefore, the Lamb is also worshiped.

6 ...The First 6 Seals are Broken

7... The 144,000 are sealed.
A great multitude in white robes are seen in heaven.

8.... 7th Seal is opened.
Silence in heaven for about 30 minutes
Gold Censer hurled to earth
First 4 trumpets are blown

9... Trumpets 5 & 6 are blown

10.. The Angel and the little Scroll
John is told to prophesy again.

11.. John measures the Temple but not the outer court.
Power given to 2 Witnesses for 1260 days,
then the 2 Witnesses are killed by the Beast from the abyss.
3 1/2 days after the 2 Witnessess die they Rise again / Great earthquake
7th Trumpet is blown / Temple is seen open in heaven

12... The sign of the Woman and the Dragon
Woman flees for 1260 days
Michael and Angels fight dragon and throw the dragon down from heaven
Dragon angry and first pursues the woman, then the rest of her offspring

13... Beast (Antichrist) comes out of sea and given authority for 42 months.
Beast of earth (false prophet) makes people worship beast & take mark

14 ...The 144,000 appear in Heaven with the Lamb
3 Angels fly in air and warn people
"One like a Man" on a cloud with sickle, harvests the earth of grapes.
An angel harvests grapes and throws them into the Great winepress of God's wrath.

15 ...7 Angels with 7 Plagues (Bowls) are ready
Those victorious over Beast have harps and sing new song

16... 7 Bowls of Wrath poured out

17 ...The Woman (Mystery Babylon) on the Beast and other mysteries are explained

18.. The Fall of Babylon in one hour is described

19...Hallelujahs in heaven with a great roar of shouting and Praise to God
Wedding Supper of Lamb announced
Jesus comes as rider on white horse
Beast and False Prophet captured and thrown into lake of sulphur

20... The 1000 years (Millennium), during which Devil is bound in Abyss
At end of the 1000 years, devil is released and instigates the Battle of Gog and Magog,
in which devil and those with him are defeated.
Devil is thrown into lake of burning sulfur, never to be released again.

21... The New Heaven and New Earth (Old Heaven and Earth are passed away)
The New Jerusalem is described

22 ...Description of New Jersusalem continued
The River of Life and Throne, etc. are seen in Heaven
Closing Words about Jesus is coming.
Warning to don't take from this book and don't add to this book
Come Lord Jesus, Come!

Well, there you have it. That is my summary of the Book of Revelation. Again, if yours is not exactly like mine, that is OK. I just wanted you to get an idea of how BRIEF the Big Picture can and should be.

The purpose of doing an overview, ie. getting the Big Picture, like this, is to be able to see the whole book in a brief glance. The big Picture, ( aka Overview, the "what's in this book"), is like the picture of the puzzle on the box. With the OVERVIEW PICTURE, you will be able to understand and fit the individual pieces of the puzzle into place more accurately.

You will want to keep your overview handy, so you can refer to it from time to time, as we go through this course. It will help you keep things in perspective when you start to get overwhelmed by the details.

And, now that you have completed your summary chart and have seen mine, let's call it quits for this lesson. We'll continue in Lesson 3. You'll be better able to understand it and all the lessons which follow now, that you've done this overview of the Book of Revelation.

So, don't give up! Don't quit! Don't stop now! We've only just begun our study of this fascinating and important Prophecy, the Book of Revelation. There is soooooo much more that Jesus wants us to know. Thank Him for what He has already shown you.
And we will continue our study in Lesson 3. See you there!