I believe John was giving us record of what happened in his day and to tell us that history will repeat itself in many ways. I think John’s main idea in revelations is that history WILL repeat itself,not exactly to what John saw, but similar. I gather this from Rev. 17:8… The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
While the Catholic Church teaches most of John’s Rev. has come to pass, it also teaches there will be a final apostasy, great trials for the Church, and then the Second Advent of Christ, the PUBLIC rapture of the Church, and the final Judgment.