Revelation is a Topical Study
Don't expect it to flow in a time sequence . . .
The western mind is used to logic and sequence. When we see things out of order,
we try to straighten them up. When we read a book, we are used to starting at the
beginning and reading through a sequential story until we get to the end.
Revelation is not a western book, it is a middle-eastern book. If you attempt to apply a time sequence to it, you will be mightily confused. The Hebrews wrote in poetry and in parables, using symbolism and stories as they saw fit. Revelation is a Topical study. At one moment, we are in heaven with John, watching one of the judgments fall on earth, the next chapter, we may be back at the beginning of creation, or we may find ourselves with the two witnesses in Jerusalem calling down those judgments on mankind.
So what is a topical study? If I am writing a book about World War II, and I organize it by the type of battle, I would do a topical study of the war. I might first tell you about the air battles, then the land battles, then the sea battles. When I open with the air battles, and tell you first about Pearl Harbor, and then about Hiroshima, as the two greatest air battles, you will be very confused if you are attempting to put a time sequence on my narrative.
This is what Revelation is like. Sit back and consider yourself to be in God's great DVD library. He has 22 clips he'd like you to see, not necessarily in time sequence. You will see some things from heaven's perspective, and you will come back later and see the exact same thing, except you will be standing with John on earth this time. Or for a while you may even see things from satan's perspective, standing near to him when he is cast from the heavens to the earth, knowing he has only 42 months left. You will see his rage, and his outpouring of it on the earth.
At any rate, try to shed the western need to say that chapter 8 occurs in time after chapter 7, because, as in all of Scripture, that is NOT how it works, and this will only confuse you.
Another suggestion is to forget EVERYTHING the TV church has told you and look to God's Word to see what He says. If it is important, He will make it very clear, and He will repeat it several times so that you cannot miss it.
TOPICS COVERED IN THIS STUDY:
Background and Birthpangs - Matthew 24, Revelation 1
The Letters to the Churches - Revelation 2-3
The Throne Room of God - Revelation 4-5
The Seals - Revelation 6-7
The Trumpets - Revelation 8-9
The Seven Thunders and The Two Witnesses - Revelation 10-11
The Antichrist and The Mark of The Beast - Revelation 12-13
The Final Harvest of the Earth - Revelation 14-16
Babylon is fallen, is fallen - Revelation 17, 18 [Under construction]
Thy Kingdom Come - Revelation 19-20 [Under construction]
The Bride, the Wedding Supper, The Millennium - Revelation 21-22 [Under construction]
