Revelation is not in complete chronological order!
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
This 3 ½ period is overlapped by Rev 12:6 Rev 12:14 and 13:5.
Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
At the end of 3 ½ years the beasts kills the two witnesses. The witnesses 3 ½ years must overlap the 3 ½ period of the beast. Their dead bodies will lay in the streets 3 ½ days. At the end of 3 ½ years and 3 ½ days they are raised up when a great voice from heaven says come up hither. The same hour they are raised up from the dead and go up hither there is a great earthquake.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
The great earthquake is the second woe.
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
At the end of 3 ½ years and 3 ½ days the two witnesses are raised the next event mentioned is the 7th trumpet. The 7th trumpet is the last trumpet spoken of in scripture, it is the resurrection.
16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Rev. 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:6 and Rev 12:14 are the same 3 ½ year period. The serpent is releaased and fulfilling his 3 ½ year allotment so this 3 ½ year period must overlap this 3 ½ year time.
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
This 42 month period must overlap the 42 months of Rev 11:2, Rev 12:6 and Rev 12:14.
What does all of this overlapping prove?
That John wrote of the same 3 ½ year period from 3 perspectives in 3 differrent chapters.
He did the same thing in writing about the seals, trumpets and vials. They overlap just as these 3 ½ year periods do.
Rev 1:10 I (John)was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Jesus said: Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
John wrote these things down in the order in which he saw them not in the exact order they will unfold.
It appears the best argument from the text Revelation is in chronological order is the wording at the beginning of each chapter.
I submit, nothing in the opening wording proves this book is completely chronological.
Chapter 11 starts out “And there was given Me”
Chapter 12 starts out “And there appeared”
Chapter 13 starts out “And I stood”
These 3 chapters have already been shown to overlap.
Chapter 6 starts out “And I saw”
Chapter 7 starts out “ And after these things I saw”
Perfect example John starts out chapter 6 with “And I saw” he then starts chapter 7 “And after these things I saw” This in no way proves the events of chapter 7 will happen after all of the events in chapter 6 are complete. I believe all of the evidence shows that, after John saw the events of chapter 6 he saw the events of chapter 7. Chapter 6 is an overview of most of the book of Revelation. The events of 7 thru 19 will happen somewhere in the timeline of chapter 6. Trumpets and vials overlap the seals all ending with the second coming and Armageddon.
Chapter 8 starts out “And when he had opened”
“And when he had opened” definitely follows in sequence with 6:17 , but all of the events of Rev 7 happen within the timeline of Rev 6.
Chapter 8:2 “And I saw”
Chapter 9 continues from chapter 8 “And the fifth angel sounded”
Chapter 10 starts out “ And I saw”
Chapter 14 starts out “And I looked”
Chapter 15 starts out “And I saw”
Chapter 16 starts out “And I heard”
Chapter 17 Starts out “And there came”
Chapter 18 starts out “After these things I saw”
“After these things I saw” does not equate to after those things happen these things will happen it just means what it says.
Chapter 19 starts out ”And after these things I heard”
Chapter 20 starts out “ And I saw”
Chapter 21 starts out “And I saw”
Chapter 22 starts out “And He shewed me”
Chapter 1 starts out “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”
Chapter 2 starts out “ Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus”
Chapter 3 starts out “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis”
Chapter 4 starts out “After this I looked”
Only chapters 1,2 & 4 start with something other than “And”
6 times John said “And I saw”
2 times John said “After these things I saw” one of those starts with “And”
1 time John said ”And after these things I heard”
Only 3 times did John use “after these things” Chapter 7, 18 &19
About 37 times throughout the book John said “I saw”.
None of these opening statements prove complete chronology. Look at the totality of the evidence.
Most people will admit to parenthetical insertions, when it suits their purpose.
I believe John wrote down the book of Revelation in the order he saw it not in the order it will happen. Therefore it is John’s God given order.
Point 1: chapters 11, 12, &13 have the same 3 ½ year periods from different perspectives, they overlap.
Point 2: Rev 6:16 , Rev 11:15 & 18, Rev 14:14-19 Rev 16:15-19, Rev 19:11-16 all refer directly or imply Christ’s return.
Point 3: Rev 6:16-17, Rev 11:18, Rev 14:19, Rev 16:19, Rev 19:15 all of these passages refer to the “wrath of God” all of these passages are connected to the passages in in point 2 referring to His coming. This all lines up with the fact that the seals, trumpets and vials all end with the return of Christ and Armageddon.
Point 4: Rev 16:16 refers to Armageddon, Rev 19:14-19 describes Armageddon both passages are connected to coming of the Lord passages.
Point 5: Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
After the 7th trumpet.
Rev 16: 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,
After the 7th vial.
Same event described exactly, lightnings , voices, thunderings, earthquake and great hail. Both passages are connected with coming of the Lord passages . 11:19 is at the 7th trumpet 16:17 is at the 7th vial, these overlap and take place at about the same time. I have repeatedly pointed out on these forums the seals, trumpets and vials while not starting at the same time all end with the coming of the Lord and Armageddon. This is just one more proof.
Point 6: Revelation 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
After the 6th seal
Revelation 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
After the 7th vial.
Same event describe from two perspectives. Again showing seals trumpets and vials overlap and end with the coming of the Lord and Armageddon.
Point 7: Rev 6:12-17 Lines up perfectly with Matt 24:29-31 Just more evidence the sixth seal is at the coming of Christ. Many have argued in the past that one moon shall not give her light and one moon became as blood. Very weak foundation for trying to refute all of the other evidence. Again ,a blood or eclipsed moon will not give her light as normal and in effect is darkened. There is no real scriptural argument against these two being the same event. Just prideful declarations it cannot be so because it refutes the theory many claim to be fact.
Point 8:There is also a case to be made that the 6 seals outline and line up with what Jesus told us about the last days in Matt 24. I’ll not take on that one in this post, but look out. If true, just one more proof chapter six is an outline of most the book of Revelation.
The seals are numbered in order, the trumpets are numbered in order, the vials are numbered in order. Nothing in the text demands the groups follow each other much evidence has been presented that they overlap and many times the same story is repeated. I have shown repeatedly the language tells us they all end with the coming of Christ and Armageddon.
I welcome any challenges to the evidence I’ve given. If your only ammunition is declarations that it is wrong, because it does not fit what you have proclaimed in the past, all I can say is PROVE IT using scripture. Take these points on one by one and show this is not true, or not possible. The evidence is overwhelming.
Don’t argue one scripture is not worded identical then to try to build a case while you ignore differences in your pet passages.
The book of Revelation cannot be in complete chronological order!
