A Little Study of the 7 Thunders

Let's quickly go over how the Book of Revelation is organized. This is a simple bird's eye view.

• John gives us an introduction to the Book.
• Jesus has John send 7 Letters, one to each of 7 Churches in Asia Minor.
• Then John is brought up into the Heavens.
• There's an important Scroll but it's sealed with 7 Seals.
• And only Jesus, the Lamb of God, can open them.
• Jesus opens the Seals and we are introduced to important aspects to keep in mind as we read this Book.
• When He opens the Seventh Seal it starts the 7 Trumpets.
• The 7 Trumpets sound off in series, each one heralding a major event during the Tribulation.
• The last and Seventh Trumpet sounds and everything changes. It's the Final Battle where Jesus wins and Satan loses.
• Then start the 7 Vials which are a punishment for the wicked still on Earth.
• After that Jesus and the Saints return to Earth to rule during the Millenium.
• At the end of the Millenium, Satan gets another chance to fool mankind. Satan attempts to make war with the Saints and loses.
• Then John sees the huge City of New Jerusalem descend upon the Earth.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH...

Most of the Book of Revelation moves along a typical timeline with events happening in order.  The 7 Seals are followed by the 7 Trumpets, which are, in turn, followed by the 7 Vials.  Then comes the Millenium and finally after that, the City of New Jerusalem.

But as so often happens in exciting stories, every once in a while during the story, it kind of takes a break from the mainline of the story to give us more details. These details are about events or important characters. They often go back in time or even into the future to explain things.