The Book of Revelation Does Not Occur In Chronological Order
Published August 6, 2024 at 1:05 PM
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The Book of Revelation can be difficult to understand at times. The book contains a bunch of symbols, images, and cryptic prophecies. There are also times when the book shows events that will literally happen, and times when the book is showing us things going on in the spirit realm. However, the biggest reason people struggle to understand the Book of Revelation is because they read it as if the events of the book are occurring in chronological order. For example, people believe that the 7 Seals are all opened, then the 7 Trumpets are blown, then the 7 Vials of God’s Wrath are all poured out. They then reason that the Rapture happens somewhere during the Seals and Trumpets, with the Antichrist rising after the Trumpets but before the Vials. However, you run into issues when reading the book this way, which we will cover.
It makes more sense to interpret Revelation as stand-alone, but overlapping, visions that do not strictly occur in the order that they are written. John is telling us the visions in the order he sees them, but that does not mean they are in chronological order. This is not far-fetched to assert, as Jeremiah, Daniel, and John are also books that are not in strict chronological order. This article will focus on showing why Revelation isn’t in chronological order, in the hopes that you better understand the book.
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The 6th Seal Is The Second Coming of Jesus
The simplest proof that Revelation is not in chronological order, and that the visions overlap, is that the 6th Seal is the Second Coming of Jesus. Below we will compare the 6th Seal to what Jesus said would happen at His Second Coming:
“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Revelation 6:12-17)
The sun goes black, the moon turns red and the stars fall to earth. The sky recedes as a scroll and every mountain and island is moved out of its place (likely due to earthquakes). The great men of the earth then mourn and go into hiding because they know that the great day of God’s wrath has come. This sounds extremely similar to Matthew 24:29-31, which says:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)
This should be case closed that the 6th Seal is describing the Second Coming of Jesus. There is only one day when the sun goes black, the moon turns red, the heavens are opened and the sky falls; these passages describe the same event. This event is also synonymous with the Rapture (if you are confused, go back and read this article that explains the Rapture).
If the 6th Seal is the Second Coming of Jesus, there cannot be seven more trumpets to blow and seven more vials of wrath to pour out. This alone should change how you read the Book of Revelation.
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The 6th Seal, 7th Trumpet, and 7th Vial Happen On The Same Day
We can also tie the 6th Seal to the 7th Trumpet (Revelation 11:15-19) and the 7th Vial (Revelation 16:17-21) to further show that the visions overlap. The 7th Trumpet reads as follows:
“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.’ Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.” (Revelation 11:15-19)
The 7th Trumpet is a proclamation of the judgment of God on the nations, and the coming reward for His servants. There are then thunderings, lightnings, earthquakes, and great hail, which are all part of God’s judgment.
If God’s wrath on the nations had been fulfilled with the 7th Trumpet, and the Mystery of God is complete (Revelation 10:7), there would be no more need for 7 more vials of wrath after this. The only explanation for this is that the 7th Trumpet happens on the same day as the 7th Vial.
To prove this, the 7th Vial reads as follows:
“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.” (Revelation 16:17-21)
We once again see the themes of thunderings, lightnings, earthquakes, and hail. Every island and mountain is moved out of its place, which we saw happened at the Second Coming of Jesus. I pray you see that these visions are all describing the same day and sequence of events.
The 6th Seal, 7th Trumpet, 7th Vial, Rapture, and 2nd Coming of Jesus all happen on the same day. It the the Day of the LORD/The Great Day of God’s Wrath. Following all of this, there is silence in heaven for 30 minutes (7th Seal), likely because people are in awe at the wrath of God.
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Conclusion: Read Revelation The Same Way You Read The Gospels
The best way to read the Book of Revelation is to read it the same way you read the gospels. You wouldn’t read the gospels and conclude that Matthew happened first, then Mark happened next, then Luke, then John. These books overlap with each other and convey the same message. They have different details, but all end with Jesus triumphing over death and the grave. In the same way, you should read the Book of Revelation.
The Seals, Trumpets, and Vials all tell the same story, but with different details. The Seals focus on the evil spirits and ideologies that take over earth, the Trumpets are calamities that happen on the earth, while the Vials are judgments that happen to those who follow the Antichrist. They all include different details, but overlap and end at the Day of the LORD.
Moreover, this way of reading Revelation also extends to the visions about the Antichrist, False Prophet, and Two Witnesses. So don’t try to time the coming of the Antichrist with the Seals, Trumpets, and Vials. As this article showed, the Antichrist can’t come after the Seals and Trumpets because the Seals and Trumpets overlap and end at the Day of the LORD.
In short, Revelation should be seen as a collection of different visions that overlap, not as visions that happen sequentially.
Thank you for reading, and always remember to stay vigilant!