Red Moon Rising—The Rapture and the Timeline of the Apocalypse

 

 

Chapter Four:
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The Benchmark of Revelation

 

        The seventieth week of Daniel is the general timeline of the Apocalypse and this final seven year period is divided in half by the “crowning achievement” of the Antichrist, which is the moment his image is set up in the Temple in Jerusalem and mankind is forced to worship him as God.

Alongside this general seven-year timeline there is another timeline of specific events that are described in Revelation. This secondary timeline is the dominant theme of Revelation—the sequence of three series of judgments: the seven Seals, seven Trumpets and seven Bowls. The Seals are described in Revelation chapters 6, 7 and 8, the Trumpets in chapters 8, 9 and 11, and the Bowls in chapters 15 and 16.

The task before us is to find a way to connect the general timeline of the seventieth week with the sequence of specific events that are described by the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls. Where among the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls does the seventieth week begin? Where does the important midpoint of the seventieth week fall? Where does the seventieth week end?

The last question is the easiest to answer. It is obvious that the seventieth week ends only a short time after the last of the seven Bowl judgments is given. The sixth Bowl paves the way for the armies of the world to converge on the valley of Armageddon in Israel, and the seventh Bowl brings forth the greatest shaking the earth has ever felt, followed by a terribly destructive shower of meteors upon the earth’s surface. When Jesus finally does appear he will destroy the kings of the earth and their armies at Armageddon and he will throw the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:19-21).

It is important to understand that Jesus will appear at the very end of the seventieth week and at that time the reign of the Antichrist will be ended. The Antichrist is given power to rule for exactly “a time, times and half a time,” and “42 months”—not one month less or more, and the end of his reign will come when he is destroyed by Jesus.

The question of when the seventieth week begins in relation to the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls is a question that will be answered in the next chapter. The usual answer given by most prophecy scholars is that the seventieth week begins when the first Seal is opened but I believe that this answer is wrong. For now we will answer the middle question which is, where does the midpoint of the seventieth week fall within the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments?

The answer, which is missed or ignored by more than a few well-known prophecy scholars, is given in an insignificant passage at the very end of the narrative that describes the death and resurrection of the Two Witnesses. Remember that these two saints are killed at the midpoint of the seventieth week on the same day in which the image of the Antichrist is set up in the Temple, after which their dead bodies are left out on the street for three and a half days. Here is the passage,

“But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.” (Revelation 11:11-14)

The second “woe” is ended when the earthquake strikes Jerusalem at the very hour in which the Two Witnesses are resurrected and taken up to heaven. The second “woe” is simply the sixth Trumpet judgment. This means that the seven Seals and the first six Trumpet judgments all take place prior to the resurrection of the Two Witnesses, which itself takes place three and a half days after the midpoint of the seventieth week. For this important point to sink in perhaps the outline of the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls should be explained more clearly.

The seven Seals are the initial judgments of the book of Revelation. The first four Seals are introduced using the imagery of the infamous “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” The fifth Seal contains a prediction that many believers will be slain during the end-times tribulation period. The sixth Seal brings forth a collection of astronomical signs, as well as a great shaking of the entire earth. The seventh Seal brings forth another earthquake and also brings forth the angels who blow the seven Trumpets. The seven Bowls then follow the Trumpets and they are the last judgments or plagues upon the earth.

The seven Trumpet judgments are themselves divided between the first four and the final three. The four angels who blow the first four Trumpets are called the angels who are “given power to harm the land and the sea” in Revelation 7:2, while the judgments that are marked by the blowing of the final three Trumpets are referred to as the “three woes” by an eagle in Revelation 8:13,

“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!’ ” 

After the fifth Trumpet is sounded and the judgment has been completed Revelation 9:12 states, “The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come,” and after the Two Witnesses are resurrected we are informed that the effects of the sixth Trumpet judgment is ended when it states in Revelation 11:14 that “The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.”

This simple passage creates a firm “Benchmark,” so to speak, that connects the general timeline of the seventieth week with the sequence of specific events related by the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments of Revelation.

It means that the midpoint of the seventieth week should be placed exactly three and a half days before the very end of the sixth Trumpet judgment of Revelation.

It also means that all of the seven Seals and the first six Trumpet judgments occur prior to the midpoint of the seventieth week, except for a small portion of the sixth Trumpet judgment which extends past the midpoint by only three and a half days. The seventh Trumpet that is blown some time later is the third Woe, and it brings forth the final seven Bowl judgments, all of which take place exclusively within the last half of the seventieth week. The chart below helps to illustrate this connection between the Seventieth Week of Daniel and the judgments of Revelation.
 

 

This understanding helps us a great deal when it comes to charting the exact timing and sequence of prophetic events, but how firm is our conclusion and how solid is this Benchmark?

It depends on two things: first, that the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls will indeed be fulfilled in the same chronological sequence as given in Revelation, and second, that the Two Witnesses, as we concluded in the last chapter, do indeed carry out their ministry in the first half of the seventieth week. Neither of these conclusions are universally accepted within the field of Bible scholarship, and so we should spend some time double-checking them and examining the arguments that are put up against them.

 

Sequential, Random or Simultaneous?

The commonly accepted interpretation among Futurist scholars regarding the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of Revelation is that they will be fulfilled one by one in the precise sequence that they are given in the book of Revelation. Despite this simple and common sense reading of Revelation, there are scholars who put forth other ideas about how to understand the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls.

One school of thought believes that they have been, or will be fulfilled randomly and that the sequence given in Revelation is of no help to us. Another school of thought believes that at least some of the judgments found in the sequence are redundant and are simply re-statements of the same event, or that some of the judgments are fulfilled simultaneously.

For instance, there are a number of blackouts in the sequence of judgments: one at the opening of the sixth Seal, one at the fourth Trumpet, and another at the fifth Bowl. Some commentators believe that these three blackouts are simply three different references to the same event.

Scholars have also speculated on the similarities between the sixth Seal, the seventh Trumpet and the seventh Bowl judgments—they all appear to have elements that suggest the Second Coming of Christ. Because of these similarities some scholars believe that some of the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls are fulfilled simultaneously, and that they all culminate at the very end with these judgments.

Despite the fact that there are many judgments that appear to be similar within the sequence of Seals, Trumpets and Bowls, I do not believe that similarity automatically equals sameness. There are blackouts within each sequence but they each contain differences. The sixth Seal is a blackout of the sun, but the moon is turned red like blood. The fourth Trumpet is a blackout, but only a partial blackout (perhaps derived from the meteor impact of the second Trumpet), which decreases the light from the sun, moon and stars by a third. The fifth Bowl judgment, on the other hand, brings a blackout that is total and complete. This is the blackout that Jesus refers to that will occur at the very end of the tribulation period, immediately prior to his return. The words he used to describe it were quoted from the prophet Isaiah,

    “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel... then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains... For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again...

    Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:15-30)

    “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the day of the LORD is coming --a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.
    The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.” (Isaiah 13:6-13)

There are a few similarities within the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls that may appear to hint at a simultaneous fulfillment of these judgments, but if they are examined closer the differences become apparent and the notion of simultaneous fulfillment crumbles as a viable option.

The only option that remains is the option that presents itself with a simple common sense reading of Revelation, which is the understanding that the judgments are fulfilled in sequence, one after the other. The first six Seals must precede the seventh, because the seventh brings forth the seven angels who blow the Trumpets. After the sixth Seal is opened the angels who blow the first four Trumpets are told to wait until the 144,000 servants of God are sealed. Then after they are sealed the seventh Seal is opened and the first four Trumpets are sounded.

The last three Trumpets are the three “Woe” judgments that the eagle refers to. These have to be fulfilled in sequence as well, because of the statements that “the first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come,” and then later, “the second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.”

The third Woe is the seventh Trumpet, and blowing it also brings to a completion the judgments associated with the seven-sealed scroll. This scroll is a type of Title Deed to the earth, and when the seventh Trumpet of the seventh Seal is finally blown voices in heaven cry out, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

This does not mean that Jesus has returned and the seventieth week has ended; it merely means that the time has come for Jesus to fulfill his role as the true and rightful King of the world. After this claim is made then voices in heaven proclaim that the time has come for three things to happen (Revelation 11:15-18):

1. Judging the dead

2. Rewarding the saints and prophets

3. Destroying those who destroy the earth

These three tasks are then taken up in the reverse order that they are given. First, those who destroy the earth (referring to the Antichrist and the portion of humanity that follows him) are addressed via the seven Bowl judgments, which are referred to as the “seven last plagues” in Revelation 15:1. If they are indeed the last plagues then the sequential fulfillment is again confirmed because all other judgments must have preceded them and none can follow them.

The first Bowl is specifically targeted against “those who destroy the earth” because it causes “loathsome and malignant” sores only on the people who worship the Beast (the Antichrist) who have taken the Mark of the Beast upon their hand or forehead in allegiance to him. The remaining Bowls are also targeted at the Beast’s kingdom and at his followers, and by the end of the sixth Bowl unrepentant humanity is enraged to the point that they are willing to take up arms and fight against the Creator of the universe. The armies of the nations will be gathered to the Valley of Armageddon in Israel where Jesus will return to finally and completely “destroy those who destroy the earth.”  This pathetic last stand of a God-hating world is also predicted in Psalm 2:

    “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’

    The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’
    I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

 

The Two Witnesses

In the previous chapter it was explained how the ministry of the Two Witnesses, which is stated to last for “1260 days,” will take place entirely during the first half of the seventieth week. This is based on the fact that both the Beast (Antichrist) and the Two Witnesses are given power to carry out opposite agendas: The Two Witnesses are “given power” to preach their message and destroy their enemies (11:3-5), and the Beast is “given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them” (13:7). Furthermore, the Beast exercises his power against the Two Witnesses when he attacks, overpowers and kills them at a point “after they have finished their testimony” (11:7), which can only mean after their 1260-day ministry has expired.

All of these points suggest that the opposing and conflicting powers given to the Beast and the Two Witnesses could not be exercised simultaneously, but must be exercised sequentially, with the 42-month reign of the Beast following after the 1260-day ministry of the Two Witnesses, with the transition between them occurring precisely at the midpoint of the seventieth week.

Although this appears to be logical there are prophetic models that arrive at the conclusion that the Two Witnesses are given their power to preach during the same time period that the Beast is given his power to conquer and kill the saints. Models such as these have an objective of placing the midpoint of the seventieth week at a point within the Seal judgments, rather than during the sixth Trumpet. Supporters of such an unnatural chronology are thereby forced to defend a last half, or post-abomination, ministry of the Two Witnesses.  Such a conclusion is illogical and ultimately indefensible, and leads to the creation of even more far-out and creative theories that we will not begin to address just yet.

A first half ministry of the Two Witnesses is the only option that makes sense and this conclusion is also supported by the sequence in which the events of Revelation are recorded. Consider the fact that the seven Seals and the first six Trumpets are all described in chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Revelation. The events that take place at the midpoint of the seventieth week, such as the flight of Israel to the desert and the empowerment of the Antichrist and the setting up of his image, are related in chapters 12 and 13. This is followed by the final seven bowl judgments that are described in chapters 15 and 16 of Revelation.

When all things are considered it becomes clear that the book of Revelation itself, by its very textual structure, supports the conclusion that the midpoint of the seventieth week occurs after the sixth Trumpet is blown and while its effects are being felt. It only makes sense to conclude that the death of the Two Witnesses occurs at the midpoint of the seventieth week as well, and the description of this event in chapter 11 of Revelation next to the other midpoint events is well placed.

When all of the options are considered our Benchmark remains secure and we can trust it as we continue to build our chronology of prophetic events.

 

Conclusion

The purpose of this chapter has been to create a solid link between the timeline of the seventieth week of Daniel and the sequence of the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of Revelation. It has been shown that the midpoint of the seventieth week falls within the sixth Trumpet judgment, which ends three and a half days after the midpoint.

Evidence has also been provided that the book of Revelation should be understood in the basic chronological sequence that it was written in, and that the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls are judgments that are felt one after the other.

It has also been shown that the Two Witnesses carry out their divinely empowered task in the first half of the seventieth week, and after their time expires they will be killed by the Beast, who will then rule unchallenged over the entire world throughout the last half of the seventieth week.

Before our next step of marking the beginning of the seventieth week within the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls we must first address the nature of the great and terrible Day of the Lord that is warned about by both Old and New Testament prophets.

 

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