As the last book of the Bible, Revelation is the conclusion, completion, and consummation of the entire divine revelation, the whole Bible. The seeds of most of the truths of the divine revelation were sown in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The growth of all these seeds is progressively developed in the succeeding books, especially in the books of the New Testament, and the harvest is reaped in the book of Revelation. Hence, most of the things covered in this book are not absolutely new but are in the preceding books and are perfected in this book, the focus of which is the unique, ultimate revelation of Christ, the particular, consummate testimony of Jesus, and the universal, eternal economy of God.
This book is a book of prophecy — not prophecy merely in words but in visions revealed to the seer. In the eyes of God, all the things prophesied in this book have already taken place. Thus, all were shown to the seer, vision after vision. Therefore, most of the verbs used in this book are in the past tense.
The whole Bible reveals Christ; the book of Revelation especially, as the conclusion, completion, and consummation of the whole Bible, is "the revelation of Jesus Christ." Although this book also reveals many other things, the focus of its revelation is Christ. Several aspects concerning Christ, such as the vision of Christ as the High Priest in the midst of the churches, caring for them in love yet with a judging attitude (vv. 13-16), the vision of Him as the Lion-Lamb in the midst of God's throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the twenty-four elders of the universe, opening the seven seals of God's universal administration (Rev. 5:1-14; 6:1), and the vision of Him as "another strong Angel" coming down out of heaven to take possession of the earth (Rev. 10:1-8; 18:1), etc., were never unveiled as they are in this book.