Revelation 4:6–8 combines a number of elements found previously in 1 Enoch 39 and 40. The concept of prayers ascending to heaven in behalf of the righteous martyrs is shared by Revelation 6:9–11 and 1 Enoch 47:1–4. These and other parallels indicate that the book of Revelation was not strange in the context of its times. Having examined some basic steps in interpreting the symbols of Revelation, let us return to the scene of the woman and the dragon on the moon, described in the first chapter of