When we write a letter, we normally follow a certain culturally accepted format; we first write the name and address of the sender and recipient, then there is a greeting such as “Dear John”, followed by the body of the letter, and then a closing greeting like “Sincerely yours”. In the Hellenized culture of the first century Roman world, there was a different format: I’ll list the typical letter format along with examples of it from 1 Corinthians and Philemon:

Name of sender(s):                                                                 1 Cor. 1:1; Phlm. 1a

Name of recipients:                                                                 1 Cor. 1:2; Phlm. 1b-2

Prescript (which is a form of greeting):                                   1 Cor. 1:3; Phlm. 3

Proem (which is a prayer, thanks or petition to a god):           1 Cor. 1:4-9; Phlm. 4-7

Introduction (which usually transitions into the main subject): 1 Cor. 1:10; Phlm. 8-9

Main Body:                                                                              1 Cor. 1:11-16:18; Phlm. 10-22

Final Greetings:                                                                       1 Cor. 16:19-20; Phlm.

Final words (often in writer’s own hand):                                1 Cor. 16:21-24; Phlm. 25

It is not uncommon for New Testament letters to omit one or two of these, but they normally have most of these elements, and Revelation is no exception. These are useful to identify because they help us to recognize context in our reading, and thus to recognize the priority of any given section, should that become an issue in properly understanding it. For example, if we see a definite topic set out in the introduction, and then come across something that is way off-topic, we will not be tempted to let it change our understanding of the context of the rest of the letter; we will see it as an aside.

Revelation falls into the letter format this way:

Name of sender(s): Rev. 1:4 a

Name of recipients: Rev. 1:4b

Prescript: Rev. 1:4c-5a

Proem: Rev. 1:5b-8

Introduction: Rev. 1:9

Main Body: Rev. 1:10-22:20

Final Greetings: not found in Revelation

Final words: Rev. 22:21