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The Book of Revelation, written by the apostle John, describes his vision of the future and serves as a prophetic message for the end times. The importance of this book is that it provides all the events in sequential order, so that we get a Revelation Timeline for all the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.
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Re 1:11 ….write in a book what you see and send it to the 7 churches which are in Asia Re 1:19 write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter |
The majority of the Book of Revelation relates John's vision of a scroll that is written on both sides and then sealed. This is our timeline for future events.
Re 5:1 and I saw on the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with 7 seals
Re 6:1 and I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals …
These 7 seals are opened in consecutive order. After the 7th seal is opened, John sees a vision of seven angels with 7 trumpets. When the last of the trumpets is sounded, John observes how the 7 bowls of the wrath of God are poured on the earth.
After the seventh bowl of wrath is poured, Christ returns to earth with his saints and the Battle of Armageddon starts. This return of Christ is to stay on this earth as the ruling King, in difference to His previous comings.
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Timeline of Events
| Seals | |
| First Seal Re 6:1 | Christ conquers Satan |
| Second seal Re 6:3 | War |
| Third seal Re 6:5 | Hunger |
| Fourth seal Re 6:7 | Death by weapons, famine, evil men. |
| Fifth seal Re 6:9 | Religious persecution and
tribulation for the word of God. Fall of
Babylon the Great. This is where we are now in the timeline! |
| Sixth seal Re 6:12 | Signs in heaven. 144,00 sealed from 12 tribes of Israel. At this point in time the rapture occurs Re 7:13-17. |
| Seventh seal Re 8:1-2 |
At this point in time the mark of the beast becomes mandatory. |
| Trumpets | |
| First trumpet Re 8:7 | Hail and fire mixed with blood. |
| Second trumpet Re 8:8 | Great mountain burning with fire hurled into the sea. |
| Third trumpet Re 8:10 | Burning star falls from heaven. Water turns bitter. |
| Fourth trumpet Re 8:12 | Third of {sun, moon, and stars} are smitten. |
| Fifth trumpet Re 9:1 | Abyss is opened. Men harmed by "locusts". |
| Sixth trumpet Re 9:13 | Army of 200 million; 1/3 of men killed. At the end of the 6th trumpet the two witnesses are killed. Re 11:7 |
| Seventh trumpet Re 11:15 | 24 Elders. God remembers the fall of Babylon the Great. |
| Bowls of Wrath | |
| First bowl Re 16:2 | An ulcer upon the men with the mark of the beast. |
| Second bowl Re 16:3 | All life in the sea dies. Sea becomes as blood. |
| Third bowl Re 16:4 | River and fountains of water become blood. |
| Fourth bowl Re 16:8 | The sun scorches men with fire. |
| Fifth bowl Re 16:10 | Kingdom of the beast becomes darkness. People bite their tongues in pain. |
| Sixth bowl Re 16:12 | River Euphrates dries up - preparation for Armageddon. |
| Seventh bowl Re 16:17 | At this point in time Christ returns to earth. Re 19:14, Re 20:4 |
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° Battle of
Armageddon Re 16:16 Re 19:11-21 |
Battle of Armageddon,
defeat of Antichrist/Leopard Beast. Leopard Beast and False Prophet are seized and thrown into the lake of fire. Re 19:20 |
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° Satan chained |
Satan is chained and thrown into the abyss for a thousand years. Re 20:2 |
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° The First
Resurrection Re 20:4 |
Those killed by the government of the Leopard Beast are resurrected to spirit. |
| Millennium Begins | |
| The Millennium Re 20:4 | Government of Christ on earth with his saints for 1,000 years.
At the end of the Millennium, Satan is let loose for a short time; he again deceives humanity, and war ensues. The final defeat of Satan and his angels heralds the next event. |
| The 2nd
Resurrection Re 20:11-15 |
White throne judgment. People are resurrected to flesh and judged according to their deeds. |
| New Jerusalem Re 21:2 |
God makes a new heaven and a new earth and brings New Jerusalem from heaven down to this new earth. Re 21:1-2 |
The Seven Seals
The 1st Seal
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Re 6:2 and I saw and behold a white horse and he that sat down on him had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer |
The rider of the white horse, which is given a crown, is Christ the Messiah. The color white is always used in the bible to represent purity, sanctity, and goodness. Our Messiah Yeshua/Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God since he was resurrected. This became possible because He was able to withstand the temptations of Satan here on earth. We also shall receive a crown or reward if we follow God's commandments and resist the Devil.
After the rider of the white horse is given the crown, he goes on conquering. In a similar way, Christ's angels go on conquering Satan and his demons. The Devil and his angels are thrown out of heaven and restricted to Earth Re 12:7-9. Things on earth get very ugly once this happens. Re 12:12 Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.
The 2nd Seal
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Re 6:3 and when he had opened the 2nd seal… Re 6:4 and there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another, and a great sword was given to him. |
The red horse represents war. Not only world wars, but a constant state of alert and fear.
Not only have there been world wars, but people
do not live in peace. They are afraid to walk, so they drive their cars,
and
they are afraid while they drive their cars, so they lock all the doors and carry
a cellular phone. When they get home, they are afraid to go to sleep.
This constant state of fear affects their health. In places where there is terrorism, people are
dying of heart attacks while in their 30's.
The 3rd Seal
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Re 6:5,6 And when he opened the 3rd seal I heard the 3rd living creature saying, come and see. And I saw and behold a black horse, and he that sat on it had a balance in his hand and I heard a voice …saying, a pint of wheat for a denarius (a day's salary) and 3 pints of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine |
The black horse represents famine,
famine
on a more global scale because the planet is now over-populated, and there are
more areas of desert.
Grains like wheat and barley need a wet spring to produce a crop; this is why
they will be in short supply, but grapes and
olives are very drought resistant so they are not easily affected "do not harm the oil and the wine."
Also, grapes
and olives have deep roots, unlike wheat and barley which are grasses; so
olive trees can survive a drought by using deep underground water.
The 4th Seal
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Re 6:7
and when he opened the 4th seal I heard the voice of the 4th living creature saying, come and see; Re 6:8 and I saw, and behold, a yellow-green horse, and the name of the one sitting on it was Death and Hades followed after him. And authority was given to them to kill over the fourth of the earth with sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth. |
The
yellow-green horse
represents death -
death caused by wars, famines, diseases, and bestial evil men.
The world wars have escalated into continuous ethnic wars. The famines have
become endemic. The diseases have become chronic. The bestial evil
men have increased in numbers till the point that people are afraid to walk the
streets.
In the developed countries most people are dying from degenerative diseases such
as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. In the poor, developing nations,
most adults die of communicable diseases caused by bacteria and viruses,
and most children never reach adulthood -- they die of malnutrition.
We must notice that the Greek word used for
"beasts" is "theria" "qhria"
which the Apostle Paul also used to describe evil men:
Titus 1:12 A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said -- 'Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy
bellies!'
As we mentioned previously, people live in constant fear from the inhumane acts their "neighbors" are capable of.
The 5th Seal
Re 6:9 and when he opened the 5th seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those having been slain for the word of God, and for the witness which they had.
| Re 6:10
And they cried with a
great voice, saying, until when, holy and true master, do you not judge
and take vengeance for our blood, from those dwelling on the
earth.
Re 6:11 And there was given to every one a white robe, and they were ordered to take their rest for a little
while, till the number was complete of the fellow
slaves, and their
brothers, who would be put to death, even as they had been. |
Holocaust Victims |
The 5th seal represents a persecution of those who obey God's commandments just as it happened in Roman times, the Inquisition, the Reformation in Europe, and the Holocaust this last century with Hitler and Stalin. The souls of all those martyrs are "crying out" to God for justice, and God replies that some more will die in a similar way to complete the number.
The Greek word for complete is "plerothosin" "plhrwqwsin"; it means to fill up or finish a task.
We believe that these two groups the "slaves" and the "brothers" are the Christians and the Jews.
There are many Christians and Jews that are being killed in the Holy Land and other muslim countries. See Newsletter.
These events may not be front page news, but you can search the internet to see other areas of the world in which religious persecution is prevalent today http://www.persecution.net
When the number of martyrs is "complete" the NEXT EVENT in the timeline, the SIXTH SEAL will occur as prophesied.
The question remains, how exactly will God "take vengeance for our blood, from those dwelling on the earth?"
Revelation 19:2
BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND
RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with
her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS SLAVES OUT OF THE HAND OF
HER."
This quote is in reference to
Babylon the Great. The judgement of Babylon heralds the next event in the
timeline -- THE OPENING OF THE SIXTH SEAL.
This is where we are now in the
timeline of biblical prophecy.
The 6th Seal
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Re 6: 12 and I saw when he opened the 6th seal. And behold, a great earthquake occurred.
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| Re 6:12 And the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the moon became as blood, |
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| Re 6:13 and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree being shaken by a great wind casts its unripe figs. |
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Re 6:14 And the heaven was separated as a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places
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Re 6:15 and the kings of the earth, and the great men , and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondsman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains Re 6:16 and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. |
Re 6:17 for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?
This will be the next event in biblical prophecy to be fulfilled. It represents the return of Christ to earth to rescue/rapture his followers. Compare the events of the 6th seal with the words of Christ to his apostles as given in:
Luke 21:25 and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars…
Matthew 24:29 the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken,
| Matthew 24:30-31 AT
THAT TIME the sign of
the son of man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will
beat themselves in lamentation and they will see the son of man coming
upon the clouds of heaven with power and glory much. And he will send his angels with a loud
trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds… The people on earth will be terrified when they see the signs in heaven. Then they will be completely shocked and overwhelmed with anguish when they see some of their loved ones disappear. |
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They will "beat themselves in lamentation," but it will be too late for those that did not heed the warning.
In the Book of Revelation these same events are portrayed as the sealing of the 144,000 from Israel and the great multitude that is saved from every nation on earth.
Re 7:4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Re 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
Re 7:14 ... And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The great multitude is celebrating with palm branches because they have been rescued.
Those who are left behind will suffer the plagues that start when the 7th seal is opened.
The 7th Seal
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Re 8:1
When
the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about
half an hour.
Re 8:2
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven
trumpets were given to them. |
When the 7th seal is opened, the apostle John sees seven angels with seven "trumpets". The Hebrew word for trumpet sometimes is shofar, a sonorous wind instrument crafted from a ram's horn. It was customary in biblical times to sound the shofar before battle, during holidays and to call upon God. Therefore, what the apostle John probably saw were angels sounding the shofar.
What follows is the destruction of the earth heralded by the 7 trumpet blasts, culminating in the consummation of God's anger with the 7 bowls of wrath. These events are better described in The Seven Trumpets and The Wrath of God.
