We can see that the Revelation section of Larkin’s timeline is much busier than Daniel’s section.  And there are four distinct paths organized in three tiers.  These paths reflect what’s going on in heaven and what’s going on, on earth, during the end times.  The paths: (1) What’s happening to the Church spiritually (key milestones—top tier), (2) What’s happening in heaven spiritually (second tier), (3) What’s happening on earth literally and figuratively which flows into… (4) The Unbeliever End Game, and the Believers’ New Beginning (third tier).  In the meantime, the earthly prequel is shown in this tier as the Timeline of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24), as well as the unprecedented growth of the Church post-Ascension. 

The Second Tier (“Heavenly” Section) cites passages that we referenced in the February 19th post on The Deity of Christ:  Rev 1:12-15  …among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest. The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters (spoken of God the Father in Ezekiel 43:2)…When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last (one of the Names of God, Is 40:1 and 44:6), the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades. Jesus then clarified that these lampstands represented the Seven Churches.   

The key takeaway here is that Jesus’ first words to John (and countless generations) are, “Do not be afraid.” 

Similarly, prior to giving John a vision of seven years of tribulation on earth, “God reassures His church through John that He is on the throne, in control, regardless of what may happen (Revelation Chapter 4)…Thus God appears as clear, dazzling white, shaded with red, under a rainbow of emerald green—an attempt to describe the indescribable, the God Who ‘lives in unapproachable light’ (1 Timothy 6:16).”¹   John was given the God POV to help him reframe the redemptive work that he was about to see and hear; he probably had the same reaction as Job when the latter realized that no earthly being has a clue how Glorious The Almighty is:

 Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  Job 42:3

The Rapture of the Church is shown in the timeline in the pre-tribulation perspective, occurring before the seven-year long tribulation.  “The Rapture is a term that refers to the visible and audible coming of Jesus Christ to call bodily out of this world every born-again believer…expected to occur in an instant, ‘in the twinkling of an eye.’ 1 Corin 15:51-54, 1 Thess 4:16-17.”²

And then….

Daniel 9:26-27  Desolations are decreed.  He (i.e., the anti-Christ) shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall make sacrifice and offering cease; and in their place shall be an abomination that desolates, until the decreed end is poured out upon the desolator.  This seven day week is assumed to be a seven year period which is broken into two 3.5 year halves.   In the first half, we begin to see some literal tribulation effects on earth as shown in the Third Tier of the Timeline Chart—as well as figurative depictions of the beastly anti-Christ, his prophet, and the puppeteer behind the strings.  The anti-Christ is playing nicey-nice during this time and solidifying his global power base through diplomacy.  After the first 3.5 years, things come unhinged and the anti-Christ releases his fury on the Believers, as God continues His judgment against evil on the earth.  This strategic re-vectoring on the part of the anti-Christ is kicked off by the Abomination of Desolation—which occurs shortly after the false prophet arrives on the scene.  In the parallel, spiritual realm, the devil goes into overdrive…This 3.5 years is referred to as “The Great Tribulation” or “The Second Half of the Week,” in the Revelation Timeline. 

Toward the end, Babylon is trampled down, the stage for Armageddon is set, and the stone of stumbling/rock of offense—Jesus Christ—comes barreling in.  The beast and false prophet are subsequently cast into the Lake of Fire.

As complex as this timeline is, there probably should be another parallel path—of increasing worship. In Revelation 1, John does a face plant in response to Jesus’ Glory Revealed.  In Revelation 5:11, one hundred million (+ thousands upon thousands of) heavenly beings worship the Lamb.  In Revelation 7:9, a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language stands before the throne, crying out in a loud voice:   Salvation belongs to our God Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

And we see the recurring theme of the Lamb as the worthy subject of worship throughout most of Revelation.  “At the beginning of the Book of Revelation, Christ appeared as a warrior in relation to His church.  In Revelation 5 He is called a Lion—but when the Lion appears, He is a Lamb.”³  “See the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders…He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.

“Throughout the remaining chapters, Christ is generally called the Lamb.  The Lamb has come to power through His death.  Rev 5:4-8“⁴

This week my Pastor wanted to celebrate Holy Week while keeping the church membership engaged—so he has posted daily, five-ish minute video devotionals about Christ’s Passion, on Facebook.  These mementos commemorate how Jesus, as the Lamb Who was ordained to be slain before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20), “powered through” His death.  Revisiting this account of His ultimate sacrifice never ceases to re-align my perspective on life, and on the significance of any teeny chip in my manicure that I’ve blown into a Goliath of huge proportions.  (This isn’t to say that God doesn’t care about my chipped nail polish! Whatever it is, He will help me “power through it.”) 

This Sunday, I pray that we all can take the time to celebrate His Victory over death, hell, and the grave—rejoicing exceedingly, with great joy, that we are the beneficiaries of the limitless rewards that this Victory brought to humanity—while we stand in awe of His faithfulness and fearlessness and LOVE to power through.       

It wasn’t the nails that held Him to the cross, He could have come down, but the whole world would be lost. The ransom was so high, only He could pay the cost; it wasn’t the nails that held Him to the cross…

It was LOVE that held Him there.⁵

^++++++++++++

¹Halley’s Bible Handbook, ed. Ed van der Maas, 25^th edition. Grand Rapids, (Michigan: Zondervan, 2000), s.v.  “Rev. 4 A Vision of the Throne of God.”

²Ibid., s.v. “Laodecia.”

³Ibid., s.v. “The Lion of Judah is the Lamb.”

⁴Ibid.

⁵Mississippi Mass Choir, Mannery and Biggham, “It Wasn’t The Nails.”