Particulars
of Christianity:
314
End Times Prophecy (Eschatology)
Figure
5: Working Model Revelation Chronology Chart
(Full Text, Reduced Scale)
(Click
on the image above to enlarge. Opens
in new window.)
As we mentioned throughout our study, scripture provides teaching
examples for the chronological layout of Revelation. Although
the layout of these teaching examples is far simpler, they
help us to imagine the final picture that will emerge when
we rearrange the book of Revelation according to these same
chronological textual structures. For comparison, consider
that Figure
1 and Figure
2 above are only 20 inches wide and 14 ½
inches tall at their greatest extent. Now, imagine a similar
layout only instead of 2 or 3 columns wide, this time the
layout is 19 columns wide. Instead of 2 or 3 chapters' worth
of detail, it contains 22 chapters. It is a chart over 70
inches wide and over 200 inches tall. And it contains (by
conservative estimation) over 375 cross-references to other
passages of scripture, both inside and outside of the book
of Revelation and over 55 different concepts or symbols.
If you
click on the image above, you will see the working sketch
that was developed once Revelation was divided into the various
Long Series, Short Series, Expansions, Parallel Descriptions,
Interludes, and Redundant Summaries that comprise
its full text from chapter 1:1 to chapter 22:21. Just as in
Figures 1-4, the chronology moves forward as verses
move downward on the chart. Passages and verses that appear
side by side are covering contemporary timeframes and related
concepts. And, each new column designates what is believed
to be a separate segment of the text or chronology, just as
Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25 are separate segments that
appear in two columns in Figure
1. One addition to this chart that did not
appear in Figures 1-4 is the horizontal red, blue,
and orange lines. These lines are intended to divide the major
contemporary timeframes in order to help better keep track
of alignment and provide an order for the commentary that
follows in the next section of the study. However, it should
be noted that these lines do not represent hard breaks, stopping
points, or gaps in the sequences of events. To the contrary,
the events are believed to flow rather than break and the
lines are intended to be loose organizational aids.
Click
here to return to "Revelation
Chronology."
