The Timeline

The Timeline lays out the order and scope of the events throughout the Seventieth Week and the Millennium, putting them in proper context. Click to zoom and drag scroll.

Mapping Revelation to a linear timeline is difficult for two reasons. First, the prophecies aren’t presented by John in strict temporal order. Instead, he gives it in sections, with there generally being a viewpoint change between heaven and earth at the start of each section. Each such section describes an event and presents a perspective on that event. Since Revelation then jumps to another event and another perspective (which may not be clearly linked in time), the only sure way to understand the order of events chronologically is to study the entire book of Revelation for clues where events are said to precede or follow another or to be required for the another to take place. An example of such dependencies concerns the two witnesses of Chapter 11. They are linked temporally with the first Beast of Chapter 13 since he executes them at the end of their ministry. While both chapters have earthly perspectives, the intervening Chapter 12 discusses Satan and his plans for the people of God.

In general, each section starts before the previous one ends and then presents new events. These overlaps can be slight, or they can be extensive. The example of Chapters 11-13 is typical of the way the entire book is organized. It is essential to reconcile both the overlapping series of events and the changing viewpoints, first because that is the only way to have a complete view of the events of the end times but also because the same event is often seen from both an earthly and a heavenly perspective. The timeline we have created reconciles those overlaps, repetitions, and viewpoint changes, concentrating on the events on earth.

Summary of Events

It will perhaps be useful before diving into the Timeline itself to present the overall organization and ordering of events discussed in Revelation. A period of seven years contains most of the events of Revelation. This is the Seventieth Week of Daniel. It has no certain beginning, reflecting what Christ said about no one knowing the day or the hour.[1]

Of those seven years, the first 3½ set the world stage for the revealing and acceptance of the Antichrist. There are no definite signs of its start to look for, so the earth will likely be in this period for some time without many people realizing it. This is consistent with what Christ said about no one knowing the day or the hour.

The sign that tells Christians that the Seventieth Week has begun is the revealing of the Antichrist. This is event is what Christ says we are to be on the lookout for. It takes place at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week and has several closely associated events linked to it. The Antichrist remains in power after his revealing for an additional 3½ years.

During the reign of the Antichrist and spanning the entire 3½ years following his revealing, two men prophesy against him in the streets of Jerusalem. These are the Two Witnesses and are, for those 3½ years, protected from the Antichrist by divinely given powers. Their death marks the end of the Seventieth Week.

At the start, during the first 3½ years, God’s people will be increasingly persecuted and the political situation in the world will be very unstable. Once the Antichrist is revealed, the persecution will become vastly worse during a period referred to as the Great Tribulation. This period is also covered by the seven trumpets of Revelation, discussed in Chapter 8 and 9, as well as the seven thunders (which are mysterious and not elaborated on in Revelation).

Starting at the same time as the Great Tribulation, which is its primary cause, is the period called the Wrath of God. It covers the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation and also a thirty-day period afterwards that ends with Christ’s return. The extra thirty days of the Wrath of God (beyond the end of the Seventieth Week) is the time of the bowl or plague judgments. This is also called the Fury of God, a period of truly intense wrath. These judgments last for thirty days. They end with the return of Christ and the changing of living believers at the Rapture and the resurrection. The Millenium and its events immediately follow.

Detailed Description

The timeline starts with the signing of the covenant between the Antichrist and Israel at the start of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Though this covenant will no doubt be seen by some as the start of the Seventieth Week it is not a certain sign since agreements are signed all the time.

Accompanying the covenant and following from it are the four horsemen of the first four trumpets. The only other major event presented in the first half of the Seventieth Week is the sealing of 144,000 believers prior to the start of the Tribulation.

The midpoint of the Seventieth Week is the revealing of the Antichrist and the start of the Antichrist’s 3½-year reign. Associated with this revealing, and occurring more or less immediately after it, are many events which are detailed in the timeline.

The timeline continues through the reign of the Antichrist which constitutes the second half of the Seventieth Week, and beyond. It covers the preaching and death and resurrection of the two witnesses, the period of the Wrath of God, Armageddon, the final battle at Jerusalem, and the Millennium.

The timeline itself has three parts. The first is the timeline broken into discrete time periods mentioned in the Bible. The second is a series of specific events perpendicular to the timeline e.g., the birth of Christ. The third is a series of events that are parallel to the time that will occur over a protracted period of time e.g., The Great Tribulation.

The middle series breaks the period into multiple periods of time. These are the first 3½ years of the Seventieth Week, the last three and a half years of the Antichrist’s rule (after his revealing and including the events of that period), the period of the seven last plagues, the set up for the final battle, and the Millennium and its aftermath.

The third series presents the events in the context of the seven seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments. It details the timing of the Rapture, the rebuilding of Israel and Jerusalem, and various events of the Millennium. It ends with Satan’s final revolt and his punishment in the Lake of Fire and the descent of the New Jerusalem.

Footnotes

Download/Print the Timeline