Revelation

The Apostle John wrote this, the final book of the Holy Scriptures, while exiled on the Greek isle of Patmos. It is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (not of John), “which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” (Rev. 1:1). The use of the verbs “shew” and “signify” mark the uniquely symbolic nature of this book.
Peculiar blessing is attached to its reading: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:3). Just as Belshazzar’s gifts had no appeal to Daniel, the rewards of this world cannot entice us if we grasp the significance of this book (Dan. 5:16-17). Banished by the emperor, the Apostle describes himself as a “fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus” (Rev. 1:9 JND), a position that is ours also, as we await the call, “Come up hither” (Rev. 4:1).
Outline
The Revelation may be divided into three parts: the things that John saw, chapter 1; the things which are, chapters 2 and 3; and the things which shall be hereafter, chapters 4 through 22. The first eleven chapters are, for the most part, chronological, taking us from the apostles’ day through the history of Christendom (chapters 2 and 3) to the closing judgments. Chapters 7, 10, and the first thirteen verses of chapter 11 provide us with parenthetical detail. From chapter 11, verse 19, through to the end of the book we have various sketches detailing Israel’s history, apostate Christendom, this earth, the millennium, and the eternal state. It is important to understand that the events of these chapters overlap the history of the earlier chapters.