Understanding Revelation's vision of the seven seals doesn't have to be enigmatic. Seeing the ancient world as John saw it helps to bring insight to otherwise fanciful, whimsical, mysterious, outrageous visions. Knowing the attitude of the Romans toward Christians in the first century A.D. removes the mystery of the visions. Linking the message of the seals to the message that Paul had delivered to the same area of the empire takes the whimsy from the visions. Finally, locating the visions alongside other apocalyptic literature and aligning the visions' clear duplications of Hebrew scriptures...