Letter to Ephesus – Love in Relationship
Letter to Smyrna – Endure Trials from Without
Letter to Pergamum – Keep Pure Within
Letter to Thyatira – Do Not Tolerate Heresy
Letter to Sardis – Live for God
Letter to Philadelphia – Belong to God
Letter to Laodicea – Certainty of Reward (and Judgment)
After the letters, John was caught up to the throne room of God, which revealed a picture of impending judgment. Emphasis was made of the scroll that God held. We determined the contents of the scroll based on the timing of Christ’s appearing on the scene (just after his ascension) and his unique worthiness to open the scroll. But this plan of God for this age and the age to come, based on Christ’s atonement, was bound with 7 seals. A break of each seal provided some action, but the action could not be associated with the plan of God for this age since the other seals kept the document closed.
The seal events were as follows:
Seal 1 – Apostolic Message
Seal 2 – War / Violence
Seal 3 – Famine
Seal 4 – Death
Seal 5 – Israel’s Martyrs
Seal 6 – Desolation
Interlude – Israel of God
Seal 7 – Silence
The emphases of the messages to the 7 churches are themes of the entire book of Revelation. Therefore, we ought to be able to see those emphases in the seal activity. As we place them side by side, we do discover a correlation.

Notice that the first message (Love in Relationship) has meaning for the first seal activity (Apostolic Message). Likewise, we find that message 2—Endure Trials from Without—is a theme appropriate when faced with the action of Seal 2—War / Violence. The call to Keep Pure Within also matches the 3rd Seal--Famine, a picture of attack that wages on the inside. The 4th message is the crux or critical basis for all the messages. Heresy is the twisting or altering of the fundamentals of Christ’s Gospel. It was believing heresy that caused the fall of humankind in the Garden. It is heresy that keeps a person from a right faith in God. Therefore, it is heresy that divides those who dwell in heaven from those who dwell on the earth. Seal 4 shows Death – the judgment for those who believe the lie.
The 5th message emphasizes living your life for God. The martyrs of the 5th seal did just that, even to the point of death. The 6th message relates to both Seal 6 and the interlude that follows Seal 6. We found that there is an interlude that also follows the 6th trumpet as well. There is also an interlude between the 6th and 7th bowls of wrath that we will come to in chapter 16. In all instances the interlude is associated with the 6th of each series and gives a counterview to the action of the 6th. So, in the 6th seal we view the desolation that occurs to Jerusalem and those who did not have true faith in Christ, but the interlude shows the opposite—the 144,000 and the multitude in white—all who do have faith in Christ. Finally, the 7th message of Certainty of Reward and Judgment is shown in the 7th seal as silence reigns in regard to God’s interaction forevermore with Israel as a nation.
After the seals were opened, the scroll was opened. Immediately, angelic trumpeters line up to herald God’s Plan through Christ. Each trumpet blast provides some distinction involved in this age—the interadvental period. The trumpets provide the following distinctions:
Trumpet 1 – Hail and Fire
Trumpet 2 – Burning Mountain
Trumpet 3 – Wormwood
Trumpet 4 – Darkness
Trumpet 5 – Locusts
Trumpet 6 – Army of Death
Interlude – Temple; Two Witnesses
Trumpet 7 – Kingdom of God
Again, the message themes from the churches relate to the trumpet distinctives.

The first thing one may notice is that the 1st message of Love in Relationship does not seem to fit so well with the Hail and Fire from the first trumpet. But if we return to the context of chapter 8 we find that, first, the 7 angelic trumpeters march out. Then Christ brings incense, which represents the prayers of the saints, to the altar before the throne. In an action showing the antithesis of his care for the saints, Christ takes the coals of the altar and casts fire to the earth. Immediately, then, the 1st trumpet blows with the continued action of hail and fire poured out on the earth. The connection there of Christ’s activity with the action of the 1st trumpet blast is unmistakable. And, therefore, the activity of Christ in the care of his people provides the connection with the 1st message of relationship.
Endure Trials from Without aptly correlates with trumpet 2—Burning Mountain (Godless governments). Message 3—Keep Pure Within—is connected to trumpet 3 in which the star Wormwood falls on the drinking water and poisons it, picturing the heretical lies that are taken in by the unbelieving, poisoning the mind and heart. Trumpet 4 shows darkness depicting the blinded God-deniers who believe the heresy that message 4 warns against. Message 5 emphasizes living for God. Those God-deniers that have become blinded live for themselves and are tormented by the locusts and scorpions, finding nothing but heartache and misery in the pursuit of themselves. Message 6 again relates to both trumpet 6 and the interlude following. Trumpet 6 depicts the violence, even to death, of the earth-dwellers who are driven to it by the demon horde. But the interlude shows the opposite—the heaven-dwellers, pictured as the temple of God. And through this temple, the Gospel witness goes out to the world (pictured by the two witnesses). These are the people who Belong to God (as noted in message 6). Finally, the 7th message of Certainty in Reward and Judgment is depicted in the 7th trumpet’s blast as the “kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (11:15).
The following two charts provide a look at the structure of the book. The first is shown in matrix form. The book (apart from a few verses of introduction at the beginning and a few of closing at the end) is divided into 9 sections (represented by the columns in the chart). Each of these 9 sections is divided into its 7 major elements. Thus, we can view God’s Messages in the leftmost column and follow them across as they give thematic emphasis to the elements of the other sections.
The color arrangement on this first chart is to group common sections together. The green sections are those in which Christ interacts only with his own. The yellow sections concern themselves with our current interadvental age. The red sections provide judgment at the end of this age. The center orange section shows a kind of spiritual history from Satan’s work against God and his people from old covenant times all the way until Christ comes again.

The second chart takes these 9 major sections of the book and lays them across a timeline so that we can relate the activity of the storyline a little better. The same color scheme is used.

As noted above, chapters 12-14 provide a look at the spiritual battle that has taken place ever since God first promised a Redeemer to reconcile our fallen race to himself. Of these chapters, chapter 12 takes us from the old covenant time right up to the beginning of our current age.
A woman and a dragon are the main characters of this section. The dragon symbolically depicts Satan. We know that the dragon is Satan because the text tells us as much in verse 9. There is some difference of opinion on who is represented by the woman. Mary, Eve, Israel, and the Church are suggestions by various interpreters. I believe that once we pull out and examine all elements of her description, we will conclude that the woman is the Israel of God—both those belonging to God through the old covenants as well as those who know him through the New Covenant. Following is a list of chapter 12’s descriptive elements about the woman.
WOMAN

The woman is clothed with the sun, moon, and stars. Not only are these heavenly bodies often used as indications of God’s pleasure, they are also used to mark Israel in particular through Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37 in which he sees the trio bowing to him. Upon hearing it, Jacob immediately recognizes these elements as symbols of him and his family. Certainly if the woman is Israel, this “clothing” is appropriate.
Isaiah 26:17 speaks of Israel in birth pains as a woman in labor. Christ was promised to Israel and did come from Israel. And Israel did indeed labor in agony throughout her old covenant travails.
The child of the woman is certainly Christ. He is prophesied to rule with a rod of iron. Notice he is not mentioned as only being caught up to God, but he is caught up to the throne of God, a picture whose result is shown in Hebrews 12:2.
The woman flees, just as Israel fled, on the wings of an eagle. God uses just such imagery in describing Israel’s flight from Pharoah in Exodus 19:4. She flees to a wilderness, again as the children of Israel did in their escape. And we are told that she will be nourished there 1260 days. The 1260 days represent this age in which Christ cares for his church (1 Peter 5:7).
The period of 1260 days is not a literal period of time in the way that it is used in Revelation. This time period is a figurative reference based on the 1260 days or 3½ years that occurred during the second half of the 70th of Daniels 70 Weeks (Daniel 9:24ff). That 70th Week of Daniel’s prophesied period began at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry (see Revelation series, Parts 2 and 3). In the middle of that week (3½ years after Christ began his ministry), Christ ends the sacrificial system by himself becoming the once-for-all sacrifice (Daniel 9:27). There follows a period of another 3½ years ending the 70th week with the apostles turning to the Gentiles. So, then, this “week” is made up of 3 ½ years of Christ’s work leading up to the atonement, his atonement activity in dying and rising again, and 3 ½ years following his redemptive act as God completes his work with national Israel. These literal events of this final week of Daniel’s prophecy for Jerusalem provide the background for their figurative depiction in the broader scope for all humankind. The first half of the “week” relates to the old covenant time period leading up to the atonement. Christ accomplishes redemption through his death and resurrection. And the second half of the “week” (a figurative period of 3½ years or 1260 days) is our current age that will end when Christ completes his work with the world. For that reason, John uses the 1260 days in this reference to the woman (the Israel of God) that remains in the “wilderness” (this world) for 1260 days (throughout this age).
The antagonist in chapter 12 is the dragon. There are also 7 descriptive elements about the dragon.
DRAGON

John says that the dragon had 7 heads and 10 horns with diadems (crowns) on his heads. The horns speak of kings and governments. The heads and crowns speak of control. Indeed we see throughout the OT that Satan controlled the kingdoms of the world and even offered them to Christ in the temptation of Matthew 4.
Most people see the stars swept by the dragon’s tail as angels who follow Satan and become his demon accomplices. Yet stars are also mentioned several times in the OT as referring to the offspring of Abraham. Jude speaks of those who failed to follow Christ as “wandering stars” (Jude 13). It is possible that these stars represent those of the people of Israel who did not have faith in God but believed the lies of the world. My reason for suggesting that these stars are disobedient Israelites will be made clear shortly.
The dragon (Satan) is always on the attack against God’s purpose for reconciliation with his creation. During old covenant times, Satan came before God to accuse the faithful. He noted that they were sinners unfit to provide redemption. And as sinners they were irreconcilable to God. The dragon standing by the woman represents these accusatory attacks to prevent redemption. But Christ comes into the world, and Satan’s efforts (through Herod and others) are thwarted. The dragon could not destroy him before he was caught up to God. With redemption accomplished, Satan no longer is justified in his accusations and is cast from heaven (verse 9). But still intent on destroying God’s relationship with his creation, he attacks the woman. The first attack is his deception twisting the apostles’ message to form “different” gospels. Notice that he is here referred to as the serpent because of the association of sly craftiness with a serpent. The water from the dragon’s mouth mimics the river of life from the throne of God. Whereas truth and life come from God’s river, falsehood and death are poured out by Satan. The earth swallows this falsehood but the woman is protected from it. As the dragon realizes his failure to stop the apostles in founding the church, he becomes furious and goes out to make war with the rest of her offspring—those that come to Christ throughout this age.
Now let’s look at each of these descriptive elements side by side to ensure that we understand the progression of thought.

Notice that their appearance indicates their representation. From the woman comes the Redeemer while Satan produces the unbelieving. This is why I believe the stars are the disobedient Israelites rather than demons. It fits better with the imagery portrayed.
Continuing with the 3rd element, the child comes to found the kingdom of God while the dragon seeks to destroy. Next, Christ is caught up to heaven while Satan is cast out. The woman flees to the wilderness while the dragon pursues. She is protected even though Satan attempts to destroy the Gospel message. And she will remain there throughout this age as the dragon attacks her offspring—the people of God.
