Revelation 6: “Seven Years of the Tribulation Timeline: Earth’s Worst Days”

Unveiling God’s prophetic plan in the seven years of the tribulation timeline. (Revelation 6 Introduction)

Bible Study Guide

Tribulation (End Times) Timeline | The 4-3 Pattern of Judgments

We are living on the threshold of eternity. The events prophesied in Scripture are no longer distant—they are casting their shadow on the present. The seven-year Tribulation is not a myth, metaphor, or mystery—it is a future, literal period of judgment and redemption that will soon break upon the world.

3 Reasons for the Tribulation

1. Last Call: It’s on final call to the unbelievers who were not raptured to wake up to God’s gift of salvation. This window of opportunity will only be open for 7 years.

2. Jolt the God’s Chosen: The Jewish people will be refined and purified in the trials of the Tribulation until only the remnant remain.

3. The Gospel to All: There will still be a chance at salvation in the Tribulation for the lost. God will be sure that everyone hears the gospel upon sending His wrath on the earth. So all will be without an excuse for choosing Christ.

It’s the Pretribulation Rapture and the removal of the restraining power of the Holy Spirit in the believers that will trigger the beginning of this seven years of the earth’s worst days.

The book of Revelation reveals this period with sobering clarity. And what the apostle John was shown—through symbols, visions, and prophetic imagery—is not fantasy. It is God’s foretelling of real events, real judgments, and real people.

Yes, the language is symbolic. But the symbols point to literal truth. And the four horsemen will not be seen galloping across the sky. But their impact on earth will be devastatingly real. These symbols will represent conquest, war, famine, and death.

“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
(Revelation 19:10)

We must resist the temptation to interpret God’s Word through the lens of emotion, culture, or opinion. Allegorical or mystical interpretations—what we call sinking sand theology—blur the clarity God offers.

God doesn’t ask for our interpretation. He calls us to understand His.

“I make known the end from the beginning… what is still to come.”
(Isaiah 46:10)

Begin your Prophecy Bible Study Journey Here.

From the Beginning to the End

From Genesis to Revelation, God has used symbolic imagery to point to literal outcomes. And in these last days, He is calling His people to watch, understand, and prepare.

If we let Scripture interpret Scripture—as we must—we will discover that Revelation is not a sealed book of confusion but an open roadmap for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

So as we study the judgments of the Tribulation timeline—revealed in a distinct 4-3 pattern—let us approach God’s Word with reverence, clarity, and urgency. What He has spoken will come to pass.

The time is short. Let’s begin.

7 Biblical Proofs of the Pretribulation Rapture

The Order of the Seven Years of the Tribulation Timeline

Seven Seals (1st Set of Judgments and Beginning of God’s Wrath)

  1. White Horse (1st Seal Judgment – Conquering Power)
  2. Red Horse (2nd Seal Judgment – War & Bloodshed)
  3. Black Horse (3rd Seal Judgment – Famine)
  4. Pale Horse (4th Seal Judgment – Pestilence & Death)
  5. Souls Under the Altar (5th Seal Judgment – Tribulation Martyrs)
  6. Whole World Trembles (6th Seal Judgment – Physical Earthly Changes)
  7. Silence in Heaven (7th Seal Judgment Unleashes the Trumpet Judgments)

Seven Trumpets (2nd Set of Judgments – Hell on Earth)

  1. Hail, Fire, and Blood (1st Trumpet Judgment)
  2. A Mountain Thrown Into the Sea (2nd Trumpet Judgment)
  3. The Star Wormwood (3rd Trumpet Judgment)
  4. A Third of the Sun, Moon, and Stars Struck (4th Trumpet Judgment)
  5. The Plague of Locusts (5th Trumpet Judgment)
  6. Release of the Four Angels 6th Trumpet Judgment)
  7. Woe on Earth & Worship in Heaven (7th Trumpet Judgment Unleashes the Bowl Judgments)

The Counterfeit Trinity

Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath (The Earth’s Worse Days)

  1. Ugly and Painful Sores
  2. Sea Turns to Blood
  3. Rivers and Streams Become Blood
  4. Sun Scorches People with Fire
  5. Darkness Upon the Earth
  6. Euphrates River Dries Up
  7. Tremendous Earthquake – Armageddon

The Darkness of the Tribulation Timeline

Before God’s final judgments begin, Christ will rapture His Church—removing believers from the earth and sparing them from the wrath meant for those who reject His free gift of salvation.

As dark as the next seven years are going to be, it’ll be nothing compared to the final White Throne judgment that will send all believers to the pit of fire that will separate them from God and everything that is good for eternity.

John is about to go from experiencing the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. After witnessing the glorious praise and worship to our God in heaven in the last two chapters, his visions are about to get very dark very fast.

Infographic of the seven years of tribulation timeline.

Just as Daniel’s spirit was very troubled by the visions God showed him of the last days, so also will John be very troubled in what he’s about to see.

It’s not the last of the heavenly worship and praise that we’re going to see. In fact, it’s woven into the next dozen or so chapters in the form of interludes. There will be three interludes to be exact during the judgments.

Think of it as breaks in the action. John is going to need these breaks from the dark visions that will befall our family and friends who are left behind on earth.

Rapture vs. Second Coming of Christ (Comparison Chart)

What Will Trigger the Dark Tribulation Timeline?

Remember, the church (believers) have just been raptured. All that’s good in the form of the Holy Spirit in the believers has been removed from this planet. The confusion and chaos alone will start a panic among many people. Those who’ve willfully chosen to reject Christ will rejoice in the absence of those no good Christian Jesus freaks being gone.

It will be like the prison warden and guards leaving the prison while opening all the prison doors and allowing the inmates free. If you think evil has been rising in these last days, wait until the church is caught up in the rapture. It’ll be unprecedented.

We the believers will see the darkness of the tribulation timeline events from a safe vantage point where we will not be harmed. But we will all know friends and family who have lived their lives thinking they don’t need God. They lived believing that all they had to do was be good, say good and do good and they would be alright with God. This is part of Satan’s lie.

Unfortunately, if they don’t give their life to Christ before it’s too late, there is no escaping the righteous judgments of God. I’m sure there will be great sadness for the ones we love who will experience things upon the earth that the earth has not seen up until this time.

7 Proofs of the Pretribulation Rapture

The Order of the Seven Year Tribulation Timeline

Christ is now holding the scroll given to Him by the Father. He is set and ready to break the first of seven seals. Jesus is now going to be the wrath of God. Dispensing upon the earth what has been spoken of for thousands of years. The moment has arrived but the inhabitants of the earth are not ready for what’s to come.

These judgments are going to be poured out in orderly fashion. This is not going to be some random series of events. There is a reason and a purpose for each as we’ll see.

The 4-3 Pattern of Judgments

First, the Seven Seal judgments will be poured out on the earth. The last of the seal judgments will introduce the next series of Seven Trumpet Judgments. Then in similar fashion, the closing trumpet judgment will bring on the third and last series of Seven Bowl Judgments.

Each judgment of each series will crescendo in intensity. Once the first four judgments of each of the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl judgments are released, the intensity of the next three will be much greater than the first four. We will see God intervene more directly in the last three judgments of each series.

Just when John thinks his vision of the wrath of God couldn’t get any worse, it gets even worse for the inhabitants of the earth who’ve rejected God and His free gift of Salvation. A gift offered to anyone who believes and accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,
As we have studied Revelation 6, we are reminded of the sobering reality of Your coming judgment and the brokenness of this world. Yet in the midst of the seals and the suffering, we thank You that the Lamb who was slain is worthy, and that through Him we have the promise of salvation and eternal life.

Lord, strengthen our hearts to live faithfully in these days, with courage to stand firm and compassion to share the hope of the gospel with others. Keep our eyes fixed on Your throne, trusting that nothing happens outside of Your perfect plan.

We long for the day when Christ will return to bring justice and peace. Until then, may we walk in holiness, urgency, and hope, praying always: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Amen.

<< Rev. 5:1-14 “Who Can Open the Scroll” | “Who’s On the White Horse of the Apocalypse?” Rev. 6:1-2 >>

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