Chronological Order Of The Book Of Revelation - Pursuing Intimacy With God
Chronological Order of the Book Of Revelation
The book of Revelation is written by the Apostle John. He wrote it after Christ appeared to Him and gave him a revelation of the things to come in the end times. John was exiled on the island of Patmos at the time he wrote the Book of Revelation. John was the only one of the original apostles not killed for his faith in Jesus Christ.
The following phrases and verses show that the Book of Revelation has a chronological order. There are some “parenthetical” sections and chapters in the book of Revelation that appear in the midst of the chronological order to present more details. Or to take a break from the chronological order for a moment.
Chronological Order of the Book Of Revelation
The following is the chronological order of the Book of Revelation, in which Jesus revealed the things to come.
The Revelation To John
1.”Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later” (Rev. 1:19)
2. The Letters To The 7 Churches
Jesus writes letters through John to 7 churches, located in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These represent the modern or present church age.
Some notable verses:
Revelation 2:4-5 (to the church in Ephesus) “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
Revelation 2:10 (to the church in Smyrna) “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”
Revelation 3:2-3 (to the church in Sardis) “ Wake up ! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.
Revelation 3:15-17; 20 (to the church in Laodicea) “ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked… Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.”
3.”After this (the present Church Age in Revelation 2 & 3) … the voice I had first heard … “I will show you what must take place after this” (Rev. 4:1)
4. The Rapture Of The Saints
No specific verses in Revelation chapters 4 and 5 refer specifically to the rapture of the saints. But it is believed by most to occur sometime between the letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, and the beginning of the tribulation. The beginning of the 7 year tribulation begins in Revelation 6.
Chronological Order of the Book Of Revelation
5. Beginning of the Tribulation
The Great Tribulation lasts 7 years. It begins in Revelation 6 with the opening of the first 6 of 7 seals.
By the opening of the 6th seal 1/4th of the world population is wiped out (Revelation 6:8). This will truly be a horrible time to be alive on earth with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Opening of the 7 Seals
6. The First Seal – “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” (Revelation 6:1-2)
7. The 2nd Seal – “When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill” (Revelation 6:3-4)
8. The 3rd Seal – “When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!”. I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” (Revelation 6:5)
9. The 4th Seal – “ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:7-8)
10. The 5th Seal – “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood ? Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” (Revelation 6:9-11)
11. The 6th Seal – “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from it’s place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the 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 their wrath has come, and who can withstand it ?” (Revelation 6:12-17)
Revelation Chapter 7
12. “After this I saw…” (Revelation 7:1)
There is a parenthetical portion, or a break from the chronological order. It details the sealing of 144,000 Israelites during the first half of the Tribulation. These are soul winners who win many people to Christ, but are murdered sometime during the first half or at the mid-point of the Tribulation (Revelation 7:3-8)
13. “after this…” (Revelation 7:9-17) – A look at the great number of people that were won for Christ during the Great Tribulation period
The Opening Of The 7th Seal
14.”When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” (Revelation 8:1-2)
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” (Revelation 8:3-5)
Chronological Order of the Book Of Revelation
The First 4 of 7 Trumpets
God’s wrath continues to be poured out on the sinful people that refused to humble themselves and repent.
15. The 1st Trumpet – “The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” (Revelation 8:7)
16. The 2nd Trumpet – “The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” (Revelation 8:8-9)
17. The 3rd Trumpet – “Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.” (Revelation 8:10-11)
18. The 4th Trumpet – “The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.” (Revelation 8:12)
The Final 3 Trumpets
“As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels” (Revelation 8:13)
19. The 5th Trumpet – “he fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (Revelation 9:1-4)
“They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.” (Revelation 9:5-8)
“They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer). (Revelation 9:9-11)
20. “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter” (Revelation 9:12)
21. The 6th Trumpet – “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them. (Revelation 9:13-16)
“The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. (Revelation 9:17-19)
Up to this point 1/2 of Earth’s population has been wiped out. 1/4th were killed in Revelation 6:8. Another 1/3rd of who was left were killed in Revelation 9:15. This all takes place in the first half of the Tribulation.
The Middle Of The Great Tribulation
Chapters 10 through 14 in Revelation are parenthetical chapters which give details about the middle of the Tribulation.
- a mighty angel with a little book (Chapter 10)
- God’s 2 witnesses and the passing of the second “woe” (Chapter 11)
- Satan is cast out of Heaven and his attempts to destroy Israel (Chapter 12)
- the Antichrist, his False Prophet and the Image of the beast (Chapter 13)
- the revealing of the 144,000 in Heaven, angels flying in heaven preaching the everlasting Gospel to them that dwell on the earth and prophesying doom to the lost, and the reaping of the lost and the treading of the winepress of the wrath of God (Chapter 14)
22. “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe comes quickly.” (Revelation 11:14)
23. The 7th Trumpet – “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
“And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:16-17)
24. “But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” (Revelation 12:12)
“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17)
Chronological Order of the Book Of Revelation
25. Next John Sees The 7 Plagues Coming – “I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues — last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. (Revelation 15:1)
The 7 plagues will complete God’s wrath that is poured out upon any that refuse to humble themselves, repent, and believe in God’s Son Jesus Christ.
26. The Temple Of God Is Opened To Release The 7 Plagues – “After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. (Revelation 15:5)
In Part 2 of the Chronological Order Of The Book Of Revelation we will complete the order of events to come.
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