The Apocalypse or Revelation to John
an exploration through painting
The Revelation to John, also called the Apocalypse, is the last book of the New Testament of the Bible. It is a complex and difficult text to come into relationship with. But it is a deep experience to know it well. I am a painter, and therefore, I really only know things through drawing and painting. I find that some other people are like this also, even though they might not think of themselves as painters. So, I made a series of exercises for each of the chapters of Revelation, so that people can come into a relationship with it that is not theoretical, but experiential. The exercises do not require any artistic ability or development. If you just follow the directions, you’ll do fine. After doing these exercises and knowing the book of Revelation better, you may want to make your own set of paintings. I did this, and you will find my series of paintings on this page. If you want to order the book with the exercises you can do so here.
Chapter 1 “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast;…”
Chapter 4 “And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:”
Chapter 6 - The 7 seals
Chapter 10 “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land,”
Chapter 12 “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. 3 And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads."
Chapter 13 “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth…”
Chapter 14 “Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”
Chapter 15 “Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire…”
Chapter 16 “And I saw, issuing from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet, three foul spirits like frogs; 14 for they are demonic spirits,”
Chapter 17 The Great Whore and the Beast
Chapter 20 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he
The 12 foundation stones of the new Jerusalem.
Chapter 22 “Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life[a]with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There shall no more be anything accursed,
Chapter 22:17 “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.”