Outlining scripture

Several months ago, I was thinking about the book of Revelation. I had read the book so many times, and yet still didn't have a very good overview of the book. I could only remember a few specific parts of the book, but the whole of it still remained a blur. (My mind is detail-oriented. I am not very good with broad overviews.)

So I decided to make my own outline of the book. In the outline, I make each primary heading one of the bold headings from the Bible passage. Then, all the sub-points under each heading are general descriptions of the important events or features of that bit of text. For example:

X. The Throne in Heaven (Ch. 4) - primary heading

1. John sees an open door in heaven; a voice calls to him - sub-point


2. John finds himself "in the Spirit"; sees someone on a throne in heaven - sub-point


3. etc. - sub-point

This enables me at any time to go back and see what the different parts of the large book of Revelation are - in my own descriptive terms.

I have been working at completing this outline bit by bit. I am almost finished now, with one chapter to go. I see two benefits of this process, one which I've already mentioned, the other which I discovered only by doing the project:

1. I can now look back any time and be quickly reminded of the basic sections and features of the book.


2. The process itself - going through the book in an orderly fashion with an eye out for distinct components - has given me a better overview, forcing me to think about what each section contains and what meaning it may have. These bits are often easy to miss when you are just reading, as opposed to analyzing or dissecting.
   

If you find yourself in a similar situation, desiring a better overview of a passage or book from scripture, why not try outlining? It may or may not help you personally, but at least you've taken the time to break the book down and think about what each section contains to form the whole. Anytime we look at scripture in a new way is one more opportunity for the Spirit to train us.