UNDERSTANDING REVELATION

INTRODUCTION

Revelation 1:1-2 - "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John:  who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.  [God the Father > God the Son > God's Angel > John > The Seven Churches]]
Revelation 1:19 - the key verse:  "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter."  [Time divided into past, present, and future]

THE THINGS WHICH THOU HAS SEEN

Revelation 1:1-20 - The things which John had seen will have already occurred when John writes the Book of Revelation.

THE THINGS WHICH ARE   

Revelation 2:1 - 3:22 - These two chapters address churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), but they also describe seven historical periods that characterize the Church Age:
*     Ephesus - Went from being the Body to being an organization - 30-100 A.D.
*     Smyrna - Suffered severe persecution by Rome - 100-312 A.D.
*     Pergamum - Unequally yoked with the government - 312-606 A.D.
*     Thyatira - Actually became "the government" - 606 A.D. - go into the Tribulation.
*     Sardis - Division:  Division by denominations - 1520 A.D. - go into the Tribulation.
*     Philadelphia - Love Soul-winning - 1750 A.D. - removed before the Tribulation.
*     Laodicea - "The people rule" - 1900 A.D. - go into the Tribulation.

THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER

Revelation 4:1 - 5:14 - The Rapture is pictured with John being "summoned to heaven."  These two chapter precede the Tribulation.
Revelation 6:1 - 11:19 - The first three and a half years of the Tribulation, in which Israel has peace under the protection of the Antichrist, who they mistake for their Messiah.
Revelation 12:1-17 - 13:3 - John is shown a woman (Israel) who is with child (the true Messiah), and he sees Satan's effort to kill Him.  The true Messiah ascends to heaven and to safety, and Satan take full possession of the Antichrist.  When he declares himself to be God, and commits the Abomination of Desolation, the eyes of Israel are opened and they realize that Jesus had been their Messiah (see Daniel 9:24-27).
Revelation 13:4 - 18:24 - The Great Tribulation (the second half of the seven-year Tribulation - see Matthew 24:15-28).
Revelation 19:1 - 20:15 - The Second Coming of Christ, Who has Satan bound for the next 1000 years, while He rules the earth with a rod of iron!  The Great White Throne Judgment:  Jesus judges individuals based upon what is written in "the books," and those whose names are not in "His Book of Life," are cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:1 - 22:20 - Eternity in the New Heaven and New Earth.  Praise God!