Revelation / Louis A. Brighton.

I. Introduction (1:1-3:22)
A. Prologue
B. Commissioning of John: Vision of the Son of Man
Excursus: Son of Man
C. Letters of preparation to the seven churches
Excursus: The seven letters of preparation
To the angel of Ephesus
To the angel of Smyrna
To the angel of Pergamum
To the angel of Thyatira
To the angel of Sardis
To the angel of Philadelphia
To the angel of Laodicea
II. The prophetic message (4:1-22:5)
A. The inaugural vision of heaven, introducing the message
Excursus: The inaugural vision of heaven
The throne of God and His heavenly court
The coronation and enthronement of the Lamb: The seven-sealed scroll
Excursus: The Lamb of God
B. The prophecy
Excursus: Three prophetic visions of history, each from Christ's ascension to the end
1. First sevenfold vision of history from the cross to the end (The seven-sealed scroll introduced by the Lamb)
a. The first six seals: Tribulations and the end
The first four seals: The four horsemen
The fifth seal: The saints beneath the altar
The sixth seal: The end and its terror
b. Interlude: The church militant and the church triumphant
Excursus: Angelic mediators in Jewish tradition and the Book of Revelation
2. Second sevenfold vision of history from the cross to the end (The seven trumpet-angels): Disorders in nature accompanied by sufferings of evil afflict humanity
a. The first four trumpet-angels: Upheavals in nature
b. The fifth and sixth trumpet-angels: Demons from the abyss and the last battle
c. First scene of the interlude: The mighty angel from heaven commissions John
Excursus: The identity and function of the mighty angel of revelation 10
Excursus: The mediators of Revelation: Guides to the structure of the book
d. SEcond scene of the interlude: The temple measured and the two witnesses
e. The seventh trumpet-angel: the end and its joy
Excursus: The missiology of Revelation
3. Interregnum: The cosmic war between Christ and Satan, between God's saints and the forces of evil
a. The woman with child and the dragon
b. The evil forces of the dragon: The beast from the sea and the beast from the earth
c. The conquering Lamb and the victory song of the saints
Excursus: 144,000
d. The defeat of the dragon and his beasts announced
3. The Son of Man and the harvest at the end
4. Third sevenfold vision of history from the cross to the end (the seven censer-angels): Plagues of God's wrath as God's judgment is poured out on the human race
a. Preparation for the last plagues: Introduction of the seven censer-angels
b. The first five censers of God's wrath
c. The sixth censer of God's wrath: Armageddon
d. The seventh censer of God's wrath: The end
C. The conclusion: The end and the New Heaven and New Earth (17:1-22:5)
1. The judgment and overthrow of the forces of the dragon
a. The judgment of the harlot
b. The fall of Babylon and the rejoicing of the saints
Excursus: Is the harlot the Antichrist?
2. Victorious celebration
a. A song of victory and the Marriage Feast of the Lamb
b. The Second Coming of Christ at the end
Excursus: The use of the definite article with "God"
Excursus: The Great Te Deum of praise in Revelation
3. The judgment and overthrow of the dragon
Excursus: The Millennium
a. The Millennium: The New Testament era, when the dragon's power is restricted
b. The Battle of God and Magog and the final doom of Satan
4. The bodily resurrection and the Last Judgment
5. The New Heaven and New Earth portrayed as the heavenly city Jerusalem
a. The New Heaven and New Earth
b. The New Jerusalem
c. The garden restored
Excursus: The restored physical creation
III. Epilogue (22:6-21)
Excursus: Summary of the Christology of Revelation.