Anyone who has tried reading the Book of Revelation has seen that it seems to be all over the place at times. One may think that John sees many visions that he has recorded, but in a very disjointed & haphazard way. In this Post, we will attempt to show the structure of the Book of Revelation, which is the Revelation of Christ Yeshua revealed to John, His beloved disciple. The Revelation has been collated together in a Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, which is a literary technique which is widely used in the Old Testament Scriptures as well as in the New Testament.
A Chiasm, to explain it very briefly, is a parallelism in a piece of text which connects text on either side of the parallelism (A to A’, B to B’, etc) and moves you towards a key piece of Text (X in the image below) which is the highlight of it all.
The Hope of Christ’s Return (Rev 1:1-20 parallel to Rev 22:6-21)
Some examples of Parallelism found in the above two parallel passages
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 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 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 1:3 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 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 1:7,8 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Rev 22:12,13 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
The True Bride of Christ (Rev 2:1-3:22 parallel to Rev 21:1-22:5)
Some examples of Parallelism found in the above two parallel passages
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Justice sought & Justice accomplished (Rev 4:1-6:17 parallel to Rev 17:1-20:15)
Some examples of Parallelism found in the above two parallel passages
Revelation Chapter 4 – God, His Living Creatures & Holiness
Revelation Chapter 17 – The Harlot, The Beast & Abominations
Revelation 5:1-9 – Heaven and Crying turns to Joy
Revelation Chapter 18 – Babylon and Joy turns to crying
Revelation 5:10-14 – God reigns with His people
Revelation Chapter 19:1-10 – The Marriage of The Lamb & His Bride
Revelation 6:1-8 – The White Horse and The Judgements of God
Revelation Chapter 19:1-10 – The White Horse and The Judgement
Revelation 6:9-17 – The Supplication of the Saints & Judgement
Revelation Chapter 19:11-21 – The Reward of the Saints & Judgement
The Reward for the Righteous & The judgement of the Unrighteous (Rev 7:1-10:11 parallel to Rev 14:1-16:21)
Some examples of Parallelism found in the above two parallel passages
Revelation Chapter 7:1-17 – 144,000 & the Multitude protected
Revelation Chapter 14:1-20 – 144,000 & Babylon judged
Revelation 8:1-6 – Preparation to sound the Trumpets
Revelation Chapter 15:1-8 – Preparation to pour the Bowls
Revelation 8:7-9:21 – The first 6 Trumpets (Hail/Sea/River/Sun/Locust/War)
Revelation Chapter 16:1-16 – The first 6 Bowls (Sores/Sea/River/Sun/Darkness/War)
Revelation 10:1-11 – Seven Thunders/Preparation to Sound 7th Trumpet/Little Book
Revelation Chapter 16:17-21 – Seventh Bowl/Thunders/Wrath Poured
The Servants of Righteousness & The Servants of Unrighteousness (Rev 11:1-19 parallel to Rev 13:1-18)
Some examples of Parallelism found in the above two parallel passages
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
The Seed of The Woman & The Seed of The Serpent (Rev 12:1-6 parallel to Rev 12:10b-17)
Some examples of Parallelism found in the above two parallel passages
Rev 12:1-3 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev 12:4-5 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:15-16 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:7-9 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10b-13 for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
The Chiasm leads us to the centre passage of it all which is the struggle between The Seed of the Woman and Seed of the Serpent. And the middle text of it all, which is Salvation and the establishment of God’s Kingdom through the power of Christ.
Rev 12:10a
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation,
and strength,
and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Christ:
An ancient struggle between The Seed of the Woman and Seed of the Serpent
The Struggle we see between the Serpent and the Woman in Chapter 12 of Revelations has its roots in Gen 3:15.
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This Enmity which began with the Fall of the Human race would carry on through the story of the Bible, between “Cain & Abel”, “Ishmael & Isaac”, “Jacob & Esau”, “Pharoah & Moses”, “Mordecai & Haman” till we see the Prophecy finally fulfilled in Christ. But Revelations 12 show that the enmity carries on till the Coming of Christ between the Seed of Satan and His Chosen people whom He bought with His blood.
Mat 13:38,39 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Not only does the Enemy have Seed in the World, he also has seed inside the congregation of God – which in time would be revealed to be tares.
Conclusion
The structure of the Book of Revelation shows us how it focuses on the struggle which still goes on with the powers of the flesh, the world and satan. It is a call to look forward to the coming Salvation, Strength and the Kingdom of God by the Power of Messiah Yeshua. But as we wait for His Arrival, we should be awake and vigilant as the enmity between the Seed of the Woman and the serpent carries on. So the Book finishes where it started, in a Garden with the ancient enmity removed where we walk with God again as before!
Bible things in Bible ways 