R E V E L A T I O N
This page is an unfinished work. Greater detail of the text and written explanations sure would be nice additions. Feedback is welcome at cormacmjones@gmail.com.
Not to be read on a narrow screen!
GENERAL OUTLINE
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN
Η. Introduction — the revelation of Jesus Christ sent by an angel to John (1:1‑8)
Α. The Son of Man and His letters to the seven churches (1:9–3:22)
Β. God enthroned, the Lamb, and the scroll of seven seals (ch. 4–8:1)
Χ. Seven trumpets to disturb the world at the behest of all the saints (8:2–11:18)
Ο. Signs in heaven concerning the church, the dragon, and the beasts (11:19–ch. 14)
Ω. Seven bowls of the seven last plagues (ch. 15–16)
Ϛ. The destruction of the great whore and the beast by the Word of God on a white horse,
the Judge on a great white throne, Who makes all things new (ch. 17–21:8)
Ζ. The New Jerusalem (21:9–22:5)
Η’. Conclusion — a deified angel speaks to John the words of Christ (22:6‑21)
The basic seven-fold pattern featured here matches the seven divisions drawn by the Venerable St. Bede in his “Letter to Eusebius” introducing his Explanation of the Apocalypse.
FRACTAL OUTLINE
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN
Η. Introduction — the revelation of Jesus Christ sent by an angel to John (1:1‑8)
Α. The Son of Man and His letters to the seven churches (1:9–3:22)
α/η. Vision of the Son of Man amidst the seven lampstands (1:9‑20)
β. Letter to Ephesus (2:1‑7)
χ. Letter to Smyrna (2:8‑11)
ο. Letter to Pergamos (2:12‑17)
ω. Letter to Thyatira (2:18‑29)
ς. Letter to Sardis (3:1‑6)
ζ. Letter to Philadelphia (3:7‑13)
η. Letter to Laodicea (3:14‑22)
Β. God enthroned, the Lamb, and the scroll of seven seals (ch. 4–8:1)
α/η. Vision of the Enthroned One amidst worshipping creatures; the Lamb alone worthy to open the scroll and loose the seals (ch. 4–5)
The 1st seal opened
β. A crowned archer on a white horse, conquering (6:1‑2)
The 2nd seal opened
χ. On a fiery red horse one who brings war (6:3‑4)
The 3rd seal opened
ο. On a black horse one who brings grain shortages (6:5‑6)
The 4th seal opened
ω. Death on a pale green horse, with power over a fourth (6:7‑8)
The 5th seal opened
ς. Eager martyrs under the altar to wait for their fellowservants (6:9‑11)
The 6th seal opened
ζ. A universal calamity and an innumerable multitude in white robes (6:12–ch. 7)
α. A universal calamity of all visible creation (6:12‑14)
β. Men hide from the wrath of the Lamb (6:15‑17)
χ. Four angels restraining the winds stopped by an angel from the east with the seal of the living God (7:1‑3)
ο. The 144,000 Israelites sealed (7:4‑8)
ω. An innumerable multitude in white robes worshipping at the throne (7:9‑17)
The 7th seal opened
η. Silence in heaven for about half an hour (8:1)
Χ. Seven trumpets to disturb the world at the behest of all the saints (8:2–11:18)
α/η. Seven angels with trumpets; much incense upon the altar before the throne — the prayers of all saints, which thrown to earth causes great disturbance (8:2‑6)
The 1st trumpet sounds
β. Hail and fire burn a third of earth, trees, and grass (8:7)
The 2nd trumpet sounds
χ. Burning mountain thrown into sea destroying a third (8:8‑9)
The 3rd trumpet sounds
ο. The star Wormwood poisons a third of the waters (8:10‑11)
The 4th trumpet sounds
ω. A third of the sun, moon, stars, day and night darkened (8:12)
Woe, woe, woe by reason of the last three trumpets (8:13)
The 5th trumpet sounds
ς. Locusts loosed from the bottomless pit to torment for five months those without the seal of God (9:1‑12)
The 6th trumpet sounds
ς. Four angels of the Euphrates loosed to kill a third of men with an army of horsemen; the remaining two-thirds do not repent (9:13‑21)
ζ. ζ. A mighty angel: Seven unwritten thunders; there shall no longer be time, the mystery
of God completed; the bittersweet scroll of prophecy (ch. 10)
η. The two witnesses (11:1‑14)
The 7th trumpet sounds
η. Those at the throne worship and give thanks to the reigning Lord, heralding the time of judgment (11:15‑18)
Ο. Signs in heaven concerning the church, the dragon, and the beasts (11:19–ch. 14)
α/η. The temple opened and the ark revealed; a sign in heaven, a woman in childbirth (11:19–12:2)
β. Another sign in heaven: a dragon (Satan) and his battles (12:3‑17)
χ. The dragon’s beast from the sea, the antichrist (13:1‑10)
ο. Lamb-like beast from the earth, the false prophet who rules the world (13:11‑18)
ω. Lamb on Mt. Sion with 144,000 virgins in heaven; their new song (14:1‑5)
ς. Three angels in the midst of heaven announcing the everlasting gospel, the fall of Babylon, and eternal wrath contrasted with the rest of the saints (14:6‑13)
ζ. One upon a cloud like the Son of man, with a golden crown and a sharp sickle, beckoned by an angel from the temple to harvest the earth (14:14‑16)
η. Another angel from the temple, also with a sickle, beckoned by an angel from the altar to gather the vine of the earth for the winepress of wrath from which comes blood a distance of 1,600 furlongs (14:17‑20)
Ω. Seven bowls of the seven last plagues (ch. 15–16)
α/η. The victors over the beast sing the song of Moses on a sea of glass and fire; from the temple come seven angels with the seven last plagues, given them in seven bowls of the wrath of God by one of the four living creatures (ch. 15)
The 1st bowl poured on the earth
β. Grievous sore on those with the mark of the beast (16:1‑2)
The 2nd bowl poured on the sea
χ. The sea becomes as the blood of a dead man and all living souls in it die (16:3)
The 3rd bowl poured into rivers
ο. Drinking water becomes blood; the angel and altar approve (16:4‑7)
The 4th bowl poured on the sun
ω. Men scorched with fire, who blaspheme and do not repent (16:8‑9)
The 5th bowl poured on the seat of the beast
ς. The beast’s kingdom full of darkness, causing great pain (16:10‑11)
The 6th bowl poured on the Euphrates
ζ. The Euphrates dries, loosing the kings of the east; Armageddon prepared (16:12‑16)
The 7th bowl poured into the air
η. From the throne: “It is done”; great earthquake; cities fall; plague of hail (16:17‑21)
Ϛ. The destruction of the great whore and the beast by the Word of God on a white horse, the Judge on a great white throne, Who makes all things new (ch. 17–21:8)
α. One of the seven bowl angels invites John to see the great whore; the appearance of the whore sitting on a beast with seven heads and ten horns (17:1‑6)
β. The angel tells the mystery of the beast and the whore (17:7‑18)
χ. Another angel heralds the fall of Babylon (18:1‑3)
ο. Another voice calls God’s people out of Babylon, which shall be destroyed, and over which kings, merchants, and sailors will lament (18:4‑20)
ω. A mighty angel casts a great stone into the sea as a demonstration of what will happen to Babylon and how its activities will be silenced (18:21‑24)
ς. The marriage supper; Alleluia in heaven over the judgment of the whore; the Word of God on a white horse defeats the beast and kings (ch. 19)
α. Alleluia in heaven over the judgment of the whore and the marriage of the Lamb (19:1‑10)
β. Heaven opens: the Word of God on a white horse (19:11‑16)
χ/ξ. An angel in the sun calls the birds in the midst of heaven to the supper of God (19:17‑18)
ο. The beast and kings make war against the Rider of the horse and are cast into a lake of fire (19:19‑20)
ω. The birds sup on the flesh of those slain with the sword from the Rider’s mouth (19:21)
ζ. A thousand years of the first resurrection before Satan finally destroyed (20:1‑10)
α. An angel binds Satan for a thousand years in a bottomless pit (20:1‑3)
β. The souls of those beheaded for Jesus reign with him a thousand years (20:4)
χ. The first resurrection (not yet the second); on those who have part in it the second death has no power (20:5‑6)
ο. After the thousand years Satan shall be loosed to deceive the nations; Gog and Magog will make war against the saints, to be devoured by heavenly fire (20:7‑9)
ω. The devil cast into the lake of fire with the beast and the prophet unto the ages of ages (20:10)
η. He who sits on the great white throne judges and makes all things new (20:11–21:8)
α. The great white throne and Him who sits on it; books opened for judgment; the second death (20:11‑15)
β. A new heaven and earth; new Jerusalem comes down from heaven as a bride (21:1‑2)
χ. Great voice from heaven: Behold the tabernacle of God is with men (21:3‑4)
ο. He who sits on the throne: Behold, I make all things new; Write, for these words are true and faithful (21:5)
ω. It is done; I am the Alpha and the Omega. He that overcomes shall be My son; for the other nine, the lake of fire, the second death (21:6‑8)
Ζ. The New Jerusalem (21:9–22:5)
α/η. One of the seven bowl angels invites John to see the bride, the new Jerusalem (21:9‑11a)
β. Her light, her great wall, twelve gates and twelve foundations (21:11b‑14)
χ. Measuring the cubical city with a golden reed (21:15‑17)
ο. The material composition of the wall, the city, the twelve foundations, the gates, and the street (21:18‑21)
ω. The Pantocrator is the temple, the glory and the Lamb are the light (21:22‑24)
ς. The gates need not close because there is no night and only those in the Lamb’s book of life will enter (21:25‑27)
ζ. River of life from the throne with the fruitful tree of life in the midst of the street (22:1‑2)
η. No more curse; they shall see His face; no night, no need of created light; reign unto the ages (22:3‑5)
Η’. Conclusion — a deified angel speaks to John the words of Christ (22:6‑21)
α. These sayings are faithful and true; behold I come quickly; blessed is he that keeps the sayings (22:6‑7)
β. John bows to worship before the angel and is told to worship God (22:8‑9)
He saith: seal not the sayings; behold, I come quickly; each to be rewarded according to works (22:10‑12)
χ. I am the Alpha and Omega (22:13)
Blessed are they that do his commandments (22:14‑16)
ο. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches; I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star (22:16)
Come, come to the water of life (22:17)
ω. Do not add or take away from this book (22:18‑19)
Yea, come Lord Jesus (22:20)
extro: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints, Amen (22:21)
Return to Bible Fractals