The book of Revelation is a fascinating book and when you study it you find it reveals slight patterns in the way the Apostle John wrote down his visions. The Lord has given me dreams and visions in my own life and from my own account of the way I write them down I noticed I start from the last vision I see and work backwards. This is the first little nugget I noticed about the book of Revelation. When I started writing down what I saw from chapter 19 this was the chapter I noticed he wrote a vision which pertained to the Lord’s return and then went backwards into the past. From there, my journey of writing an interpretation of the visions began. 

The Lord is so amazing and creative. There is never a dull moment when walking with him. So I would like to point out another nugget I found out that might help you sort out these visions as well. When I began to see this next pattern I had to write it down because there are so many chapters and it was hard to just sort it all out in my head. But I did notice there were some groupings I needed to write down. 

The first thing you should realize is the Apostle John saw heaven 7 times. He shows us the end result and then the events leading up to that particular end view. For example, the first grouping is from chapter 4 to chapter 6. He gives us a view from heaven and then 7 seals, who is worthy to open these 7 seals and what he saw once the first 6 seals were opened. 

The second group starts from heaven and goes from chapter 7 to chapter 8. He gives us a view from heaven then gives us more detail about the 7th seal and begins with the description of 4 trumpets and what follows. And it is interesting that as I am writing this I see he gives 4 trumpets which coincides with 4 Feasts of the Lord. Not sure why that stuck out to me but I see another pattern that I may not quite understand at this point. I am sure the Lord will show me some other time. 

The third group starts with another view and goes from chapter 9 to 13. He tells us about the bottomless pit, a mighty angel and little book and then what happens in the Holy City of Jerusalem during the 3.5 years of tribulation. The interesting thing is that the 5th and 6th trumpets are shown in a separate chapter. Another thing I noticed about the Feast of Trumpets is this feast is two days. The final blow of the trumpet in the feast is on the second day. We also read about the blow of the seventh trumpet in a section all on its own in chapter 11. 

He gives us a little historical view of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, his moments of escape from the enemy as a child, his birth and resurrection into heaven, the war in heaven where Satan was kicked out of heaven, and his persistent attempts to kill the remnant of Mary’s seed on earth. And finally how the beast rises from the people to persecute and war with the saints for 3.5 years. 

The fourth group starts with a view from heaven and is a short vision found in Chapter 14, three proclamations happening, then the harvest of the earth. The saved, who give glory to God, the fall of the great city Babylon, the wrath of those who took the mark of the beast.

The fifth group starts in heaven again from chapter 15-18. Now he shows us the 7 bowls and more detail of who is receiving wrath. Detail of the great harlot is given, the fall of the city Babylon and the mourning that will occur.

The sixth group starts from heaven and he breaks down into several sections from chapter 19-20. He shows heaven, the marriage supper, description of the Lord Jesus, the armies of the Lord, the capture of the beast and false prophet, then judgment of the dead at the white throne.

The seventh group starts with seeing a new heaven and new earth and life with the Lord. This goes from chapter 21 to 22. This is the final grouping and a wonderful vision to end it all. We should be encouraged when we read the book of Revelation. We belong to the Lord Jesus and the Father. The end result is the believers being with Him. Be encouraged and I pray you can see these groupings to help you understand this prophetic book. Remember… He loves you so much!