Eschatology: the theological doctrine of the last words

This page, seen best on a tablet or larger, is a chart of careful observations of major events based on their location and presented in the sequence of their occurrence. It allows you to see the details of events by including all major eschatological references outside of Revelation, and how the Bible presents a coherent eschatological message that really does make sense. Because of its objective approach, the process can be replicated and you can see and evaluate the data independently. Take your time to explore the table and learn what the table's color keys represent. For best study, print and assemble the pages to study the table and add your notes within it. To gain the most from this online chart, you can open a new window and read the entire book of Revelation with it and jump between windows (Revelation: An Explication).

We hope this tool will help you understand what is happening by enabling you to see the relationship of various events with each other and gain a better understanding of eschatology. Let the objective observable data drive your interpretation. While supernatural events may be difficult to comprehend, we believe that Revelation can be approached logically with little speculation. Sometimes you'll encounter instances where there is no explicit observable data, but there may be enough circumstantial data to draw reasonable inferences.

With its florid figures of speech, Revelation is a very difficult book to read and understand, and there are numerous hermeneutical approaches of interpretation. Even when eschatological prophecies outside of Revelation are considered, visibility into Revelation's meaning remains murky. However, the book of Daniel does shed some light, and it must be considered initially in the process of understanding Revelation.

In comparison to apocalyptic literature found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Zechariah, Daniel's apocalyptic prophecies were quoted or referred to the most in the New Testament some 600 years later. Few have been esteemed by God as highly as the prophet Daniel, and he was noted for his deep love for God's people. In loving devotion to God and with a regular prayer life, Daniel serves as an exemplary life of faith.

Start here: Daniel's Fourth Gentile Kingdom | Daniel's 70th Week | John's Revelation Interlude and Daniel's 70th Week

Tip: Once you gain a sense of Daniel by reading the above, start this tool by reading Revelation from the beginning and take the time to understand each chapter. By clicking the links within the verses, you can see how the chart of observations was developed which you can use as a springboard for your observations and inferences. Use the browser's back button as well! Spend more time observing the biblical text than the chart itself! To read Revelation from the beginning, with expository notes, see Revelation: An Explication, which will open in a new browser window.

Color Key: Events Comprising
The Sixth Seal The Period of
the Reaping Occurring in
Third Heaven Occurring Outside
of Heaven Occurring
on Earth Occurring to
Believers

Jesus' description of a future of judgment begins with the letters to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Although each letter addresses a specific church, its message is also intended for the other six churches, and they all share the same literary pattern: a) the addressee, b) a description of how Jesus identifies Himself, c) the expression of divine knowledge, d) commendation of the church's faithfulness, e) a verdict of the church's failures, f) a command for correction, and g) a promise of things in heaven for Believers.
The third interlude (Rev 12:1 - 13:18 \| note) provides a chronological context to the book of Revelation by correlating it to Daniel's 69th week, anchored by the historical event of Jesus Christ's birth and crucifixion, and the initialization of Daniel's 70th week with the emergence of the Antichrist the Beast of the Sea.
		Just before Jesus' birth, 1/3 of the angels in heaven follow Satan in preparation to assail Him (Rev 12:1-4 \| note).		33 A.D. Jesus Christ is crucified; the Messiah is "cut off and has nothing" (Dan 9:26).	Daniel's 69th week has ended (Dan 9:25-26).
Daniel's 69th week appears to be discontinuous with the 70th week for an indeterminate period of time. During this time, these events occur: 1. Jesus' resurrection / ascension (Rev 12:5 \| note). 2. Jesus' work of atonement establishes His authority to disbar Satan and his evil angelic followers from heaven (Rev 12:7-12 \| note). 3. God prevents Satan from empowering the Beast and restrains the emergence of the Antichrist (2 Thes 2:3-10). 4. During this time, angry for his disbarment, Satan seeks retribution upon Messianic Jews (note). Daniel's "flood" may mean that the retribution is overwhelming or an actual flood when the time is near for the Antichrist (Rev 12:15; Dan 9:26 \| note). Thwarted in his revenge upon Messianic Jews, Satan seeks retribution from all Believers (Rev 12:13-17). This marks the start of tribulation, the persecution of one's faith in Jesus Christ (note) (Matt 13:20-21; Mark 4:16-17). 5. The Beast from the Sea arises and receives Satan's power, throne and authority (Rev 13:1-4 \| note). By God's plan and timing, the restraints on the Antichrist are removed (2 Thes 2:6-12). Following the emergence of the Beast of the Seat, at some point, the Beast of the Earth arrives (note).
		The Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals (Rev 5:1-14 \| note).		The Antichrist will make a covenant of some sort with Believers (note). This marks the beginning of Daniel's 70th week. (note) Gentiles trample the outer court of the Temple (Rev 11:2; Luke 21:24 \| note).	Tribulation, the persecution of one's faith in Jesus Christ, started after Jesus was crucified. Messianic Jews (note), Gentile Believers and new Believers begin to be martyred; but, most will not die for their faith. (note) This is not the Great Tribulation. (note)
Seal 1 (Rev 6:1-2) (note)		First living creature (note) commands White horse Rider with a bow is given a crown.		People and nations go out to conquer each other.	The 2 Witnesses begin their 3-1/2 year ministry (Rev 11:3-6 \| note); it is before the desecration of the Temple. Note: there is no explicit data that indicates that their ministry starts with the first seal; the data only indicates that it started sometime after the initiation of Daniel's 70th week. Messianic Jews, Gentile Believers, and new Believers evangelize and continue to be martyred; but, most will not die for their faith.
Seal 2 (Rev 6:3-4) (note)		Second living creature commands Red horse Rider is given a great sword and granted to take peace from earth so that men would slay each other.		Killing, murder and death	Believers continue as in the first seal
Seal 3 (Rev 6:5-6) (note)		Third living creature commands Black horse Rider with a pair of scales in hand		Famine and food inflation	Believers continue as in the first seal
Seal 4 (Rev 6:7-8) (note)		Fourth living creature commands Ashen horse Rider with the name Death, with Hades in tow, is given authority over 25% of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, disease, and wild animals.		25% of the world's population dies by murder, starvation, disease and wild animals.	Believers continue as in the first seal
Seal 5 (Rev 6:9-11) (note)		Disembodied souls of Great Tribulation saints come from underneath the altar to receive their white robes. (Rev 7:14 \| note)		This approximates the midpoint of Daniel's 70th week: a) Antichrist desecrates the Temple (Rev 13:5-10; Dan 9:27), and b) False Prophet demands that all worship the Antichrist and have the mark of the Antichrist (Rev 13:11-18). The Great Tribulation began sometime before this seal (note).	Believers continue as in the first seal
Seal 6 begins (Rev 6:12-17) (note)	Interlude 1 (note)	John hears that the 144,000 bond servants (note) are from "every tribe" of the sons of Israel (Rev 7:4-8). A great multitude of tribulation saints, wearing white robes, are worshiping and praising God and His Son (Rev 7:9-17).	Four angels, standing at the four corners of earth, "to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea" are told not to "harm the earth or the sea or the trees" until the bond servants of God have been sealed (Rev 7:1-3).		The 2 Witnesses are active in ministry. The 144,000 chaste Messianic Jewish bond servants of God are being sealed with Jesus' and His Father's name (Rev 7:1-3; 14:1-5). Believers continue as in the first seal.
	Seal 7 (Rev 8:1-6) (note)	30 minutes of silence before the 7 angels standing before God receive their trumpets. Smoke of the incense with the prayers of the martyred saints go up before God. An angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the alter and throws it down to earth.		Thunder, lightening, 1 earthquake	The 2 Witnesses are active in ministry. The bond servants of God are being sealed with Jesus' and His Father's name (Rev 7:1-3, 14-15). Believers continue as in the first seal.
	Trumpet 1 (Rev 8:7) (note)	The angel with the first trumpet sounds.	One of the four angels standing at the four corners of the earth throws hail and fire mixed with blood to earth.	A third of the earth, including a third of the trees and all of the grasses, is burned up.	The 2 Witnesses and the 144,000 bond servants are both active in ministry. Messianic Jews, Gentile Believers, and new Believers evangelize and continue to be martyred; but, most will not die for their faith.
	Trumpet 2 (Rev 8:8-9) (note)	The angel with the second trumpet sounds.	One of the four angels standing at the four corners of the earth throws something like a great mountain burning with fire into the sea.	A third of the sea turns to blood, killing a third of all sea creatures and destroying a third of all sea ships.	Believers continue as in the first trumpet
	Trumpet 3 (Rev 8:10-11) (note)	The angel with the third trumpet sounds.	One of the four angels standing at the four corners of the earth throws a great star burning like a torch called Wormwood.	A third of all fresh water becomes bitter and kills many.	Believers continue as in the first trumpet
	Trumpet 4 (Rev 8:12) (note)	The angel with the fouth trumpet sounds.	One of the four angels standing at the four corners of the earth strikes a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars.	A third of a day is without sunlight and a third of the night is without any light from the moon or stars.	Believers continue as in the first trumpet
			Eagle: woe, woe, woe (note) to those who dwell on the earth because of the remaining trumpets (Rev 8:13).		Believers continue as in the first trumpet
	Trumpet 5 (Rev 9:1-12) (note)	The angel with the fifth trumpet sounds. This is the first woe. An angel, given the key to the abyss, goes to earth to open the bottomeless pit.		The smoke from the opened pit, like a great furnace, darkens the sun. Locusts, with the stinging tails of scorpions, come out and were instructed: a) not to hurt the grass, nor any green thing, nor tree, b) not to hurt the 144,000 sealed bond servants, c) not to kill anyone that they sting but their sting can torment for five months. Abaddon / Apollyon is the angel king of the abyss.	Active in ministry, the 2 Witnesses are not threatened by the stinging locusts, because they have the power to destroy them (Rev 11:5-6). The 144,000 bond servants are immune to the stinging locusts and continue to serve God. Susceptible to the stinging locusts, Messianic Jews, Gentile Believers, and new Believers evangelize and continue to be martyred; but, most will not die for their faith.
	Trumpet 6 (Rev 9:13-21) (note)	An angel blows trumpet 6, and a voice from the alter instructs the angel with the sixth trumpet to release the 4 angels bound at the Euphrates. This is the second woe (note).		A third of mankind was killed by three plagues emitted by horses: 1) fire, 2) smoke, and 3) brimstone. The four bound angels were limited to kill 1/3 of the population leaving at most 50% of the original population before the tribulation began. The survivors of the plagues were unrepentant (Rev 9:20-21).	2 Witnesses slain by the fallen angel from the abyss (Rev 11:7).
Seal 6 continues (Rev 6:12-17)	Interlude 2	The apostle John hears a voice from heaven to take the book from the strong angel standing on earth and eat it (Rev 10:1-11).	A strong angel goes down to earth from heaven with a little book in hand. "There will be delay no longer."		The bodies of the 2 Witnesses are not allowed to be buried and in 3-1/2 days, they are raptured causing fear among the public (Rev 11:8-12). In the hour of the rapture of the 2 Witnesses, lightening, thunder, a great earthquake and a great hailstorm occurs. The great earthquake topples 1/10 of Jerusalem, kills 7 thousand, and may have caused some to come to faith (Rev 11:13). Believers who would have died for their faith have passed away by the end of the period of the sixth trumpet (Rev 9:20-21). The Great Tribulation ends. (note)
	Trumpet 7 (Rev 11:15-19) (note)	An angel blows trumpet 7, and loud voices in heaven cry, "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" The Temple of God in heaven opens.			After the seventh trumpet is blown, the 144,000 bond servants are seen in heaven (Rev 14:1-5).
		The 144,000 sealed bond servants sing an exclusive song to God before the 4 living creatures and elders (Rev 14:1-5).	Angel #1 flies preaching the eternal gospel to every nation, tribe and tongue (Rev 14:6-7; Matt 24:14). Angel #2 follows declaring that Babylon has fallen. (Rev 14:8) Angel #3 follows and warns those who have the mark of the Antichrist of their doom. "Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on!" (Rev 14:9-11)		If there are any new surviving Believers, they will pass away when Jesus reaps (1 Thes 4:16-17).
	Jesus reaping begins (note)		Jesus comes in the cloud and swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped (Rev 14:14-16). This is the second coming of Jesus Christ (note)		Rapture (the start of the resurrection process): the souls of all saints of all time are gathered and clothed with white robes in the Temple of God in preparation for the Wedding Banquet (1 Cor 15:50-53; 1 Thes 1:10; 4:16-17; Rev 6:11; 19:7-8).
	Angels reaping begins (2 Thes 1:7-10) (note)	The tribulation saints are holding harps and singings praises to God. The temple of the tabernacle of testimony opens and the 7 angels with the seven plagues come out and are given 7 golden bowls full of God's wrath. The 7 plagues are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished (Rev 15:1-8).	The reaping by the angel is the third woe (note).
	Bowl 1 (Rev 16:1-2) (note)	The first angel goes and pours his bowl on the earth.		Loathsome and malignant sores developed on people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
	Bowl 2 (Rev 16:3) (note)	The second angel goes and pours his bowl into the sea.		The sea became blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.
	Bowl 3 (Rev 16:4-7) (note)	The third angel goes and pours his bowl into the rivers and springs of water.		The rivers and springs of water became blood.
	Bowl 4 (Rev 16:8-9) (note)	The fourth angel goes and pours his bowl upon the sun.		The sun scorched men with fierce heat. They blasphemed God and did not repent.
	Bowl 5 (Rev 16:10-11) (note)	The fifth angel goes and pours his bowl on the throne of the Antichrist.		The Antichrist's kingdom became darkened, and people gnawed their tongues because of pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven, and did not repent of their deeds.
	Bowl 6 (Rev 16:12) (note)	The sixth angel goes and pours his bowl on the great river Euphrates.		The Euphrates river dried up and prepared for the kings from the east.
				3 demons, one from Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet go out to the kings of the world to gather them at Armageddon (Rev 16:13-16; Matt 24:42-44; 1 Thes 5:1-3).
Seal 6 ends (Rev 6:12-17)	Bowl 7 (Rev 16:17-21) (note)	The seventh angel goes and pours his bowl into the air (Rev 16:17-21).		"It is done!" Lightening, thunder and a great earthquake causing every island to move and the mountain could not be found. Babylon split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell (Rev 16:19). Seal 6: There was a great earthquake and every mountain and island were moved out of their place. The sun became black, the moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth. The sky was split apart, and everyone hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains in fear (Rev 6:12-17).
				And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell upon people, and they blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail (Rev 16:21).
Interlude 4		Jesus Christ calls out "come out of her my people" as He pronounces God's judgment of Babylon and the lament that would result from its fall by those ignorant of the living God (Rev 18:1-20).		One of the angels that dispensed a bowl of God's wrath explains the personification and significance of Babylon and an overview of the human kings that Satan will use in their futile war against Jesus Christ (Rev 17:1-18). A strong angel tosses the millstone (note) into the sea as a metaphor of Babylon's destruction (Rev 18:21-24).
	Jesus reaping ends	Great multitude in heaven, 24 elders, and 4 living creatures express halleujahs. The marriage of the Lamb and the marriage supper has come (Rev 19:1-10).
	Angels reaping ends		Jesus Christ appears on a white horse leading the armies of heaven (Rev 19:11-19). An angel standing in the sun calls on all birds to feast (Rev 19:17-18).	The Antichrist and the kings of the earth are assembled at Armageddon and war commences (Rev 19:19).
	Angels reaping ends			The Antichrist and False Prophet are seized and tossed into the lake of fire and the rest were killed (Rev 19:20-21). Jesus Christ treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God (Rev 19:15). This marks the end of Daniel's 70th week (note). Satan is bound in the abyss for 1000 years (Rev 20:1-3)
					Resurrection #1: the souls of martyrs and tribulation saints are the first to complete their resurrection process and join with glorified bodies and reign with Jesus Christ for 1000 years (Rev 20:4-6). They reign over fallen angels.
				Satan is released (Rev 20:7-8) to deceive the fallen angels and surround the saints. Fallen angels following Satan are destroyed by fire from heaven, and Satan is thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:9-10). The first heaven and first earth pass away.	Resurrection #2: Remaining Believers, whose souls are in heaven, complete their resurrection process with glorified bodies. Non-Believers, whose souls are in Hades, are resurrected without glorified bodies (Rev 20:12-13). Their resurrection is a singular event, not a process.
			People of resurrection #2 are judged before the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11-15). Believers are judged and rewarded (Rev 20:12). Non-Believers, death, and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:13-15).
		Jesus Christ hands the kingdom back to His Father God (1 Cor 15:23-28).
		New Jerusalem, the tabernacle of God, leaves heaven so that God can dwell among His people, His kingdom of priests of resurrected saints (Rev 21:2-7). Does Third Heaven now include the New Earth?		New Earth is without any sea, and New Heaven is without any sun or moon (Rev 21:1, 23; 22:5)	New Jerusalem is the heavenly Holy of Holies where resurrected Believers are in the presence of God (Rev 21:3-7) with rights to the tree and water of life (Rev 21:6; 22:2, 14, 17-19).

Revelation: Using a Chart to Record Your Observations and Allowing the Data Drive Your Interpretation