This study acknowledges the literary complexity of Revelation and looks at its structure from a fresh perspective: a spatio-temporal map of its cosmic setting.  In the proposed macrostructure there are five spaces within Revelation’s cosmos: heaven’s throne-room; heaven’s outer realms in which the celestial child is born; a physical-spiritual earth (John describes these two visionary dimensions together), for example Babylon is both a physical city and spiritual harlot; a more biblical earth whose characters (Israel, Messiah, satan) are part of the messianic war; and below-the-earth, which is described by its boundary events (demons rising, lake of fire).  Mapping is not used here to represent limitless ‘overlays’ of meaning or literary maps of ‘boundary transformations in (… John’s) multi-dimensional world’, as suggested by Leonard Thompson (Thompson, 1990: 187), or monsters (therefore a monster itself, Pippin, 2020; 185); this study sees Revelation as an overview of God’s territory that puts characters and events into a cosmic and temporal perspective.  The key to Revelation in the proposed macrostructure is the impact of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, and how the outcome of that universal event does not lead to repentance by all of satan’s followers.  Babylon illustrates how society is dominated by the corrupt lifestyles of those who do not reject their evil ways.

The proposed macrostructure uncovers Revelation’s relatively simple, linear chronology from Creation to the New Order, which is a framework consistent with the meta-narrative of the Scriptures.  This study proposes that the presence of literary paradoxes, abrupt transitions and repetitions in the story are the result of a single story-line stepping back in relative time at 4:2, 12:1, 12:13 and 15:1, and these enable John to witness different perspectives of the story, as two linked dramas unfold (4:1-11:19 and 12:1-22:20a).

The proposed macrostructure highlights repetitions (i.e. different perspectives of an event across the cosmic spaces) in eighteen time-parallels which are like text parallels, but with a chronological component (see Figures 1-5 in the Macrostructure Model).  Superimposed upon the story-line is a text spiral associated with the fall of Babylon and its aftermath (16:12-21:9).  The spiral suggests these verses may follow John’s gaze as events unfold before him, perhaps in a waking vision, from visionary vantage points: first on Patmos; then in or near to Jerusalem; in the wilderness; and finally on a high mountain.  The reason for the time-parallels, repetitions, paradoxes and abrupt transitions is likely to be the simplest explanation: that John described what he saw in his vision and the integrity of the time-parallels suggests he did not change the order of events as the story moved around the visionary cosmos.

Literary patterns such as layers, spirals and chiasms are surface features that overlie the cosmic setting of events.  Other classic patterns (including recapitulation and telescopic) are recognised in the image descriptions but not in the proposed macrostructure.  Linear seals, trumpets and bowls accentuate perennial disasters facing humanity.  Allusions to other texts (Hebrew Bible and, perhaps, other sources) indicate John was aware of the meaning of the images, historical patterns and biblical prophecies, as he may have honed the text before its circulation as a prophetic-apostolic letter.  This study compared Revelation with events described within the Gospels, particularly Lk. 17 and Lk. 21/ Mt. 24-25/ Mk. 13.  From John’s point of view, he sees the introduction and the first drama (1:1-11:19) and then the second drama from 12:1.

The proposed macrostructure illustrates the two dramas in Revelation and the eighteen time-parallels that link them:

From Creation to the impact of the Cross, i.e. to the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ (Section 1, time-parallel 1) The two dramas begin at Creation, implied by the heavenly worship (4:11) and defined by the birth of the celestial child (the Christ/ Messiah), who was snatched at his birth ­­­in heaven’s environs to God and his throne (12:5).  This study proposes that John’s description of the throne-room includes his very early reference to the Trinity: the radiant one seated on the throne, who holds a scroll with seven seals (the Father) and the emerald-like rainbow encircling the throne (the ­­Spirit; like a celestial wind or perhaps looking like the aurora borealis) (4:3) and the celestial child (the Son; 12:5).  Christ has different roles in Revelation because he is also the slain Lamb who stands before the throne (5:6, NRSVA) or at its centre (New International Version); in 3:21 and 7:17 the Lamb is on the throne.  The Lamb appears in the throne-room while John watches and this represents the exact moment of the Cross (5:7), when the dragon/ snake/ satan is defeated in the war in heaven’s environs ‘by the blood of the Lamb’ and thrown down to a mythic or early/ pre-history earth (the biblical earth) (12:9-12).  This may also represent the moment when below-the earth is created.  When the Lamb takes the scroll from the hand of the One-seated-on-the-throne and he opens the seals on the scroll, he assumes his authority as Messiah (5:7-14) and this is confirmed by 12:10-11.  Satan was at war with the children of the ‘celestial mother’ (who is the mother of the Messiah, and she may be the archetypal Israel, and perhaps Eve and thus the mother of all humanity) and the war now includes the followers of Christ on the biblical earth (12:17) and the seal torments occur on the physical-spiritual earth.  Time-parallel 1 represents the Cross and its impact (5:5-6:1, 12:9-12, 12:17-18).

John’s ‘present age’ and the beginning of ‘the age to come’ (Section 2) John’s ‘present age’ is the era of the opening seals and it is a time of persecution and waiting.  The dragon/ satan continues to stand by the sea-shore (12:18) and there are no time-parallels in this section.  When the fifth seal breaks, satan’s victims cry for vengeance; they must wait (6:9-11).  When the sixth seal breaks (6:12-17), everyone thinks (wrongly) judgement day has come but this may represent the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (6:12-17).  Four angels who are holding back the four winds at the four corners of the earth are told to wait while the 144,000 representatives of all the tribes of Israel are sealed (7:1-8).  This generation experiences the ‘great tribulation’ (7:9-17).  There is silence in heaven for about half an hour when the seventh seal breaks and this may represent the ‘the times of the Gentiles’ (Lk. 21:24).  Then, the censer is flung to earth and this may protect the faithful and purify the earth before the eschaton begins (the ‘last days’ or ‘end times’), the trumpets are warnings of impending judgement and cosmic devastation follows.  This is the beginning of John’s ‘age to come’.

During the era of satan’s beasts (Section 3, time-parallels 2-8a) activity in every cosmic space increases, as illustrated by the increased number and frequency of the time-parallels.  When the fifth trumpet/ first woe begins on the physical-spiritual earth and the abyss opens (9:1-12), a beast rises from the abyss onto the biblical earth (13:1-10) (time-parallel 2).  All the main characters (excluding the One-seated-on-the-throne, 4:3) have identities that reflect the cosmic space within which they are found and the abyss beast has an appearance that reflects the two earthly spaces and two eras: John’s era of the beast’s seven heads/ hills/ kings; and in the era of the ten horns/ kings the beast will become the ‘eighth king’ (17:3-14).

During the sixth trumpet/ second woe, four angels who had been ‘held ready for the hour’ are released at the Euphrates (9:13-21) and the earth beast rises (13:11-15) (time-parallel 3).  7:1 and 9:14 may refer to the same four angels.  The earth beast has an alter-ego as a false prophet (16:13) who works on behalf of the abyss beast (13:12-17, 19:20, 20:10).  Everyone who wants to buy or sell is ‘marked’ on the biblical earth (13:16-18) and at the equivalent time on the physical-spiritual earth, John interacts with the mighty angel with the little scroll and there will be ‘no more delay’ (10:6).  John hears the thunder prophecies, eats a little scroll and is told to measure the temple (10:1-11:2) (time-parallel 4).  The ‘two witnesses’ are appointed and killed (11:3-10) and the counterpart in heaven’s environs is the sign of the seven angels with the last plagues (15:1) (time-parallel 5).  When the two witnesses are resurrected in Jerusalem, a tenth of the city collapses and 7,000 people die, and the seventh trumpet sounds (11:11-18), and the victorious martyrs rejoice in heaven’s throne-room (15:2-4) (time-parallel 6).  This parallel is based upon Richard Bauckham’s observed text parallel that it is ‘remarkable’ that the meaning of 11:11-13 ‘coincides exactly’ with that of 15:2-4, which confirms his interpretation of both passages, despite their different images (Bauckham, 1993a: 101).  This time-parallel extends Bauckham’s text parallel: the heavenly rejoicing (15:2-4) is also a counter-part to the warning of the imminent third woe, sound of the seventh trumpet on earth, and the heavenly proclamation of the kingdom of Christ and worship of God (11:14-18).  When the heavenly sanctuary opens in heaven (15:5), this is seen on the physical-spiritual earth (11:15-18) (time-parallel 7).  The plague angels are given bowls full of the wrath of God (15:6-16:1) which are poured out onto the physical-spiritual earth (16:2-11) (time-parallel 8).  The Day of God’s Wrath begins when the first bowl empties.  It is unknown when the dragon/ satan moves from the sea-shore on the biblical earth (12:18) but marking continues into the time of the bowls (16:12).

The Lamb appears on Mt Zion and Babylon falls (Section 4, time-parallels 8b-11) while the bowls empty.  Christ the Lamb appears on Mt Zion (14:1-5) with the ‘three angels’ on the biblical earth (14:6-11), perhaps while the fifth bowl empties on the physical-spiritual earth (16:10-11) – but we do not know the exact time of Christ’s ‘coming’ or appearance (16:15).  The messages of these angels provide the structure for the emptying of the last three bowls (time-parallels 9-11).  The first angel proclaims the gospel and imminent judgement (14:6-7) while evil forces gather for battle (16:12-13 (time-parallel 9).  The second angel announces Babylon’s fall (14:8) while the seventh bowl empties.  Babylon the city is destroyed by a storm/ earthquake and a voice from the heavenly throne exclaims ‘It is done!’ (16:14-17:18); her fall is announced to below-the earth (18:1-3) and heaven celebrates (19:1-4) (time-parallel 10).  The third angel warns that the marked will be judged (14:9-11) and Babylon the harlot is ruined by the beasts’ followers (18:4-24); this may be the last chance to repent (perhaps until the Grain Harvest, 14:14-16).  Heaven’s rejoicing at the fall of Babylon leads onto preparations for the wedding of the Lamb (19:5-6) (time-parallel 11).

The climax of the messianic war (Section 5, time-parallels 12-18) is defined by the presence of Christ as One-like-a-son-of-man (14:14-16), the Rider (19:11-16) and the Bridegroom.  The faithful must endure (14:12-13) while the bride of the Lamb is prepared (19:7-8) (time-parallel 12).  Christ appears as One-like-a-son-of-man, crowned and on a cloud and he gathers the Grain Harvest (14:14-16) while the wedding invitations are distributed (19:9-10) (time-parallel 13).  This study proposes that this represents the mercy of God because those who accept the invitation will be spared the Grape Harvest (19:9), as illustrated in the parable of the Great Supper (Mt. 22:1-14, Lk. 14:15-24).  An angel gathers the Grape Harvest (14:17-18) and when Christ the crowned Rider appears (19:11-14), evil forces re-group for war (19:17-19) (time-parallel 14).  The blood on the Rider’s gown before the Great Battle/ Grape Harvest indicates he is the victor in spiritual battles throughout history (for example, as witnessed by Daniel, Dan. 10:5-12:13).  The grapes are crushed (14:20) by the Rider (19:15-16) and satan’s beasts are thrown into the abyss (19:20) when the Rider defeats the enemy in the Great Battle (19:21); and the Day of God’s Wrath ends (time-parallel 15).  

Satan is restrained for 1000 years and Christ and the martyrs reign on earth; this is the Millennium (20:1-6; time-parallel 16).  Satan is freed, fights and is defeated by fire from heaven (20:7-9; time-parallel 17).  All creatures undergo the Final Judgement (20:10-15, 21:7-8; time-parallel 18).  The New Order is created and a voice from the throne exclaims ‘They are done!’ (21:3-6) and the New Jerusalem (the Bride) descends to the New Earth as the dwelling-place of God and the faithful; and the vision ends.  The Trinity in the New Order may be represented by the One-seated-on-the-throne (the Father), the Lamb on the throne (the Son) and the water of life flowing from the throne (the Spirit) (22:1).  The letter contains a prologue and an introduction (1:1-3:22) and it closes with confirmation of the vision’s credentials as a revelation from Jesus Christ, and an epilogue (22:6-21).  

An outcome of this study is a visual representation of John’s journey and the Creation – New Order story within Revelation.  It is a unified spatio-temporal macrostructure which provides a framework for John’s different perceptions of visionary events he saw or heard, and it is appropriate for John’s era and today.  After John’s era, exactly how or when these prophesised events will unfold on the material earth is unknown.  Whereabouts in history or on the spacetime continuum an individual reader may be located is ambiguous because the Cross is the only fixed point in the model.

Concerning the Parousia, the text indicates it will occur in three parts.  Firstly, the earth will see something like Christ the Lamb on Mt Zion (14:1) before or about the time Babylon falls (14:8) and, secondly, Christ will be crowned and seated on a cloud for the Grain Harvest (14:14-16).  In the proposed macrostructure these events occur on the biblical earth because they reflect the biblical narratives.  Thirdly, Christ the Rider, who is the crowned, divine power ‘behind’ spiritual battles, will appear from heaven (19:11-16) after Babylon falls (16:17-21, 18:1-3).  He will defeat satan and the evil armies in the Great Battle on the physical-spiritual earth (19:17-21), which is represented as crushing the grapes in the Grape Harvest wine-press on the biblical earth (14:20, 19:15).  Christ is king, protector, saviour and judge, and the three parts of the Parousia reflect his different roles.  There may be just one Parousia-generation because events happen very quickly and for a short time.  The abyss beast’s authority from the dragon/ satan is limited to ‘forty-two months’ (13:5-7) and the ten kings only have authority as kings, along with the abyss beast as the eighth king, for one hour (17:11-13).  Babylon falls in an hour (18:10, 18:17-19) and she is ruined by plagues, famine and fire in a single day (18:8).  An hour or a day, even forty-two months, is representative of very short, limited times.  No attempt is made here to put modern names or time-scales to the characters or events.

In traditional terms, this study is a pre-millennial interpretation (i.e. Christ appears before the Millennium) that is also an eclectic (diverse or mixed) interpretation because the seal torments may have affected John’s generation (a Preterist interpretation) and the Parousia has not yet happened (a Futurist interpretation).

A value of this study lies in showing how a spatio-temporal analysis of Revelation uncovers a macrostructure that provides a relative timeline of events throughout history in which the shedding of the blood of the Lamb and the fall of Babylon are key markers.  The Cross is the only absolute point in Revelation and the opening of the seals facilitated the appearance of the ‘four horsemen of the apocalypse’, bringing immediate and unending conquest, war, famine and social inequality, and death with them.  Satan has been active on earth since time immemorial (12:9) but the text indicates that war on earth intensified after the Cross because satan was ‘enraged’ at ‘those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus’ (12:12b, 12:17).  The outcome is conflict, famine, financial instability, pandemics, climate change, earthquakes and cosmic disturbances which are/ will be the corresponding trauma in the modern era; and every generation is challenged by Babylon’s role in its lives.  Jesus warned about false prophets and false christs during the early trials[1]  but people will be living ordinary lives, like in the times of Noah (Lk. 17:26-27, Mt. 24:37-39) or Lot (Lk. 17:28-33), with hedonism like a sudden snare (Lk. 21:34) – ‘take heed, watch!’ (Lk. 21:34-36) – before the cosmos is shaken apart and the Son of Man appears suddenly (Lk. 21:25-28, Mt. 24:29-31, Mk. 13:24-31).  Revelation focuses on the cosmic disturbances and corrupt hedonistic society that are accentuated in the torments of the trumpets and bowls, until One-like-a-son-of-man appears suddenly.  Revelation describes an apocalyptic (i.e. revelatory) scenario, so how one interprets Revelation’s visionary events depends upon how Scripture is understood – but John warns his readers to endure, repent and be prepared for the coming of Christ (3:3, 16:15).

Revelation’s over-view of past and future history ‘ought to both comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comforted’ (Jauhiainen, 2003b: 117) because it demonstrates Christ’s presence from Creation and the hope and vindication of God’s people.  History before the Cross is briefly alluded to in Chapter 12, but John’s emphasis is on events just after Jesus’ time, the role of the Messiah and humanity’s need to repent and endure suffering.  This supports the idea that Revelation strengthened John’s community, and subsequent communities, with the assurance that Christ has assumed his authority (at the Cross; 5:7-14, 12:10) and he will come again – rather than with an emphasis on God’s plan for history.  The proposed macrostructure is not presented as proof or otherwise that we are living in the eschaton (‘end times’ or ‘last days’) and it is hoped that others will investigate the proposed macrostructure in relation to their own interpretations of the text.

As a final thought, at the beginning of the book of Revelation, seven messages were written to the Christian congregations (2:1-3:22).  An equivalent message to the present-day congregations would include John’s repeated pleas for people to be aware, repent and endure patiently[2] and, above all, to remain faithful to God and the Lord Jesus, his Messiah.  John entreats the faithful to be prepared for Christ’s appearance, whenever it may happen, and to remember that individuals who are victorious will not be hurt in the final judgement.

[1] Early trials: Lk. 17:22-23, Mt. 24:23-26, Mk. 13:21-23.

[2] Repent: in five messages to the churches (2:1-3:22), refusal to repent (sixth trumpet, 9:20-21; fourth and fifth bowl, 16:9-11); last opportunity (seventh bowl, 18:4) or perhaps during the Grain Harvest (14:15-16).  Endure patiently: 1:9, 2:2-3, 2:19, 3:10, 13:10, 14:12.