CLUES TO SEQUENTIAL RELATIONSHIP
As we study the Revelation of John we will put together descriptions which depict single events, and look for clues showing their sequential relationship. First, for example, events which will occur when the angel blows the First Trumpet. There are specific events which must occur seven years before His coming, and others must occur three and a half years before That Day.

THE CEREMONY BEGINS
After beginning the Book of Revelation with his salutation, John records his vision of the Lord and the seven letters to the seven Churches. Rev. 1:1 to 3:22.

Then, caught up in the spirit, John sees the throne in Heaven. John, a guest before The Throne, has arrived just in time -- a ceremony is about to begin.

Like a poet uses words, like an artist uses oils, John uses metaphors and allegories to paint a picture of the throne; the Beasts and Elders who surround the throne, He who sits upon it, and the ceremony as it begins. Rev. 4:1 to 5:14.

With the eye of faith we can read these two Chapters and see this scene in heaven, and watch "The Ceremony Of The Opening Of The Book." Ten thousands times ten thousands watch the man Y'Shua open The Little Book. This is an important moment; it is The Little Book we are studying. Dan. 12:10, Rev. 1:1, 10:1-11, 11:3.

WHY WERE WE GIVEN THE BOOK?
Why did the Father give this Little Book to Y'Shua to give to John to give to us? Read the first verse of Revelation carefully and prayerfully. It reveals the reason God gave us the Little Book. "...to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass." We are His servants. We, Early and Late Saints, were given the Book of Revelations so we would understand God's will for us in our lifetimes. Compare Isa. 29:11 to Rev. 10:8.

A COLLECTION OF VISIONS
Having read the Little Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ more than once, we begin to notice it is a collection of separate visions. The first vision is of Christ dictating the letters to the seven Churches. The vision of Heaven and The Ceremony Of The Opening Of The Little Book is the second vision. The visions in Chapters Seven, Ten and Fourteen are each separate visions. The visions of The Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets and Seven Vials are separate visions. The Burning of Babylon is a separate vision, as is John's view of The New Heaven and Earth.

UNIMPORTANT QUESTIONS
Having recognized this Little Book is actually a collection of visions, some questions may come to mind. Why did John record the visions in this order? Did he record them in the sequence in which he received them? Answers to these questions are actually unimportant. We can be certain that as John recorded these visions he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and his account is accurate and dependable.

WHICH SEQUENCE?
Must they be fulfilled in the recorded sequence? If so, that will surely be alright with us. But if not, in which sequence will they be fulfilled?

Before we jump to the old conclusion these visualized events must be fulfilled in the order in which they are recorded, We need to examine the visions for internal indications (key words) of the order of their fulfillment. Perhaps God has placed within the message keys to understanding its sequential structure. After all, the sequence of their fulfillment is an important detail.

Where will we find such clues? What is our final authority? We will find the needed evidence in His Word. The Word of God is our final authority.

First consider the rest of the Word of God. Is the Old Testament recorded in strict chronological sequence? No, it is not. What about the four Books about the birth and life of the Messiah? Are they recorded in a strict chronological sequence? Do they follow the same day to day order, are they recorded in the same event-to-event sequence? No. God did not write the Bible in a strict chronological sequence in an attempt to conform to the western mind's straight line logic. Why must we try to force The Revelation of Jesus Christ into a rigid formal (and external) sequential structure?

Is there evidence within the visions concerning the sequence in which they will be fulfilled? There are actually many events which will occur on The Last Day, and perhaps some of them will happen at almost the same moment: the defeat of Satan, the end of this physical world, the resurrection of the dead, and our ascent into Heaven to be with our God. However, it is clear some events must occur before others. By determining which must occur last, or first, we will arrive at the correct sequence.

In order to determine the sequence in which the events depicted will be fulfilled, we must compare the signs of the times contained in each vision with those contained in other visions and with the sequence given in Daniel, Matthew and Luke.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light... the stars shall fall from heaven: ...then shall all the tribes of earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds with power and great glory." Mat. 24:29-30, Luke 21:25-27.

INTERNAL SEQUENCE
We need to examine the self contained sequence of these prophecies.

Tribulation, then:

1. Sun and moon darkened

a. Heavens shaken and

b. Stars fall

2. Heaven opened

a. Sign of the Lord appears

b. All the tribes mourn

Where else do we find this sequence events? Isa. 2:10-22, and 27:13, Eze. 38:19-23, Rev. 16:17-21. Zec. 14. Rev. 6:12-17, 11:14-19, 20:9-15. These texts all describe the Lord's coming and the End of this world, and contain the same internal sequence.

Consider 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Paul tells us the Lord will destroy Satan with the spirit of His mouth. Where else do we find this End Time event described; and do these texts contain within them clues to the sequence of their occurrence? Dan. 7:9-11, 11:45. Rev. 19:11-21.

Satan will be destroyed by our Lord on That Day. Unless we choose to believe the Lord will destroy him over and over again, we must conclude all these texts speak of the same event, even though some use different metaphors to describe his demise. 2 Peter 3:7, 10-12.

Consider the event described as the "Judgment." This event is depicted by Daniel, Malachi, Matthew and John. Dan. 7:9-10, 12:1-3. Mal. 3:16 to 4:3. Mat. 24:31. Rev. 20:11-15. Here is another selfcontained sequence. The Lord comes and the dead are resurrected, then this world ends. All are judged: The evil inherit the lake of fire, the blessed inherit Heaven.

Study the vision in Rev. 19:11-21. Compare this vision to that in 20:9-15. The vision in Chapter 19 describes the same event as Chapter 20: the destruction of the Beast and false prophets. How can the event described in Chapter 20 happen after the event described in Chapter 19? It cannot. They will occur at the same time, and they occur at the same time as the prophecy in Second Thessalonians 2:8. Dan. 7:9-10, 12:1-3 and Mat. 24:31.

THE CORRECT ORDER
What we see are several visions which describe the same events occurring in the same sequence, even though "pictographic details" (words/pigments) differ in some few cases. Unless we believe Earth will be destroyed several times, Satan slain more than once, the dead judged over and over, and a New Heaven and Earth created for both John and Ezekiel; we must conclude these are prophecies of the same events occurring at the same time.

Therefore the events depicted in the visions of the Seven Seals, the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Vials must occur concurrently. In other words, the events described in The Little Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ will be fulfilled in a parallel sequence.

THEN I SAW
Thus the phrase, "Then I saw...," as used by John does not indicate what he saw next chronologically followed the events previously described. The phrase, "after I saw... then I saw...," means just that and nothing more. The phrase has to do with the sequence in which he saw the visions, not with the order of their fulfillment or occurrence.

WHAT HAPPENS FIRST?
If the Seals, Trumpets and Vials all end at the same time, do they all begin at the same time? Do one of these visions begin before the others? Does one of the other visions; for instance Chapter 10 or 12; begin before the Seals, Trumpets or Vials? How can we know which begins first? And perhaps more important, since Israel has returned to Jerusalem, "has Y'Shua opened the Little Book?"

HOW WE CAN KNOW
We know Time is a physical thing: There is no time in Heaven. If we could look into Heaven for a while and could see what was happening there, how could we tell when "in earth time" the events were occurring? When what we saw occurred on earth we would recognize the earth time by the event, rather than recognizing the event by the time. We must learn to tell time by the sequence of events. Remember, lesser events precede greater events. "When buds turn green (then) summer is near."

In order to determine which vision began first in earth time we must search for and compare the signs of the times contained in the visions, and then compare them to the events occurring on earth. We must be a student of human affairs and current events as well as a Bible student. Mat. 25:1-12.

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
In Chapter 12 John describes the vision of The Woman, Man-Child and the Dragon. Compare this vision with the prophecy in Mic. 5:2-3, Jer. 31:15, Isa. 11:1 and Zec. 6:12-13. Now compare Rev. 12:1-3 and these prophecies with the event which occurred on earth in 4 B.C. as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

How many men will be born to rule from the throne of God? How many times will the Christ Child be born on earth? One Man, one time. Y'Shua is the Messiah.

This vision, in chronological order, begins before the other visions recorded by John.

"Which vision first?" The vision of The Woman, Man-Child and Dragon, Chapter 12. See pp. 172, 180.

WAR WITHOUT END?
Why were we given these visions? To explain the events which would occur in our lifetime. Rev. 1:1. However, in reading this vision we will notice it does not tell us what happens at The End. It does not seem to have an ending, but leaves us in mid air (to use a metaphor) with no climax. The Dragon goes off to war against the Saints -- but what happens? Is that all? Is that the end? Will Satan's war against God's Elect never end?

We will return to this vision in the Chapter "BIRTH, DEATH AND RESURRECTION" (See p. 86 ) to study it verse by verse, and search for its conclusion. First we need to determine the correct sequence for the events depicted in the visions of the Seals, Trumpets and Vials, and we need to find out if "The Ceremony Of The Opening Of The Little Book" began in our lifetime.