The Book of Revelation – Overlay

Drew Berding

Based on the Revelation Overlay Theory of Dr. David Orlowski
Drew Berding, Editor

This paper will attempt to put the book of Revelation in chronological order according to the Revelation Overlay Theory of Dr. David Orlowski.

Most serious students of Revelation do fine until they get to chapter 12. Then they get totally confused. What they overlook is that John is told to prophesy again in Revelation 10:11. Up to that point, the book has been strictly chronological. However, from chapter 11 through the end of the book, he goes back and prophesies a second time. Therefore from chapter 11-16 he revisits material he has already covered and he adds information that amplifies and expands upon what he previously prophesied in those earlier chapters 8-11. Then John continues the chronological narrative from chapter 17 to the end of the book.

If the reader doesn’t realize that John is repeating himself (albeit with different details), he could easily get confused and not realize that the Trumpets and Bowls (for example) are really the same things (or concurrent), or that the three Woes are really the same as Trumpet/Bowls 5, 6 and 7.

Both the first and second prophesy are each chronological but they overlap somewhat. The simple figure on the next page shows diagrammatically how they overlay.

May God bless you with insight, discernment, awe and praise for Him as you carefully consider His Word.

The Revelation Time-Line—First Half of Tribulation

Event	First Prophecy	Overlay Prophesy
The Revelation of Jesus Christ	1:1
Message to the Churches	1:4
The Patmos Vision	1:9
The Seven Churches:
Ephesus	2:1-7
Smyrna	2:8-11
Pergamum	2:12-17
Thyatira	2:18-29
Sardis	3:1-6
Philadelphia	3:7-13
Laodicea	3:14-22
Heaven:
John Shown Heaven	4:1
The Throne in Heaven—Twenty-Four Elders	4:2-4
The Seven Spirits—The Throne—The Four Living Creatures	4:5-11
The Book with Seven Seals:	5:1-5
Jesus Takes the Book	5:6-10
Angels Exalt the Lamb	5:11-14
First Half of the Tribulation Starts (3-1/2 years):
1^st Seal—White Horse; Conqueror; Antichrist	6:1-2
2^nd Seal—Red Horse; War	6:3-4
3^rd Seal—Black Horse; Famine	6:5-6
4^th Seal—Ashen Horse; Death	6:7-8
5^th Seal—Martyrs	6:9-11
6^th Seal—Terror; Meteorites Strike the Earth; Massive Earthquakes	6:12-17
Four Angels Holding Back the Four Winds	7:1
Sealing of the 144,000	7:2-8
A Multitude from the Tribulation	7:9-17
7^th Seal—Silence in Heaven	8:1
End of Daniel’s first 1260 days (3-1/2 years)
Mid-point of Tribulation–Abomination of Desolation–Dan 9:27; Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14

The Revelation Time-Line—Second Half of Tribulation

Event	First Prophecy	Overlay Prophesy
Mid-point of Tribulation–Abomination of Desolation–Dan 9:27; Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14
The Temple Measured—Gentiles Possess Everything Else		11:1-3
The Two Witnesses Prophesy		11:3-6
The Woman—Spiritual Israel—The Visible Church		12:1-2
The Red Dragon to Devour the Child—Satan—False Father/God		12:3-4
The Male Child Caught Up—The Believers—The Invisible Church		12:5-6
War in Heaven—The Angel Michael—The Dragon Thrown Down to Earth		12:7-12
The Woman Pursued by the Dragon’s Flood		12:13-17
The Beast From the Sea—Antichrist—False Christ		13:1-6
The Antichrist Given Authority		13:7-10
The Beast From the Earth—False Prophet—False Holy Spirit		13:11-18
The Image of the Beast—The Mark of the Beast		13:14-18
The 144,000 in Heaven		14:1-5
Vision of the Three Angels:		14:6
The Angel Proclaiming the Gospel		14:6-7
The Angel Predicting Babylon’s Fall		14:8
The Angel Warning Against Taking the Mark of the Beast		14:9-13
Reaping the Earth		14:14-16
Reaping Israel—The Vine of the Earth—The Winepress		14:17-20
Seven Trumpets and Bowls:	8:2-6	15:1-16:1
1^stTrumpet/1^stBowl—Meteorites and Malignant Sores	8:7	16:2
2^ndTrumpet/ 2^ndBowl—An Asteroid Turns Sea to Blood	8:8-9	16:3
3^rdTrumpet/3^rdBowl—Rivers and Springs Undrinkable	8:10-11	16:4-7
4^thTrumpet/4^thBowl—The Sun Darkened and Extreme Heat	8:12	16:8-9
The Three Woes:	8:13
5^thTrumpet/5^thBowl/ 1^stWoe—Locusts and Scorpions From the Pit	9:1-12	16:10-11
6^thTrumpet/ 6^thBowl/2^ndWoe—200 Million Demons	9:13-21	16:12-16¹
The Strong Angel with the Little Book	10:1-7
Instructions to Eat the Book	10:8-10
John Told to Prophesy Again	10:11
End of Daniel’s Second 1260 Days (3-1/2 years)
The Two Witnesses are Killed by the Beast (False Christ)	11:7-10
The Two Witnesses are Resurrected	11:11-14

7^thTrumpet/7^thBowl/ 3^rdWoe—Lightening; Thunder; Hail; Great Earthquake	11:15-19	16:17-21

The End of Daniel’s 1290 Days (Dan 12:11)
Fall of the Harlot Prophesied—The False Church—The False Bride		17:1-7
Destruction of the Beast from the Abyss (False Christ) Prophesied		17:8-13
Victory of the Lamb Prophesied		17:14-18
Fall of Babylon Prophesied —the False New Jerusalem		18:1-24
The Fourfold Hallelujah		19:1-6
The Marriage Feast of the Lamb		19:7-10
Second Coming of Christ—Jesus Prepares to Wage War		19:11-18
Armageddon—Jesus Defeats the Two Beasts (False Christ; False Holy Spirit)		19:19-21
Satan Bound		20:1-3
The End of Daniel’s 1335 Days (Dan 12:12)
The Millennium		20:4-6
Satan Let Loose for a Time—Judgment of Him and His followers		20:7-10
Great White Throne Judgment		20:11-13
Death & Hades—The Lake of Fire—The Second Death		20:14-15
New Heaven and New Earth		21:1-9
The New Jerusalem—The Bride of the Lamb		21:10-27
The River of Life and the Tree of Life		22:1-9
The Final Message		22:10-21

^{Photo Attribution: Benjamin Rascoe – Unsplash.com}

Footnotes

This is not the battle of Armageddon. The troops are merely assembling in the valley of Har-magedon for the battle which will occur in Rev 19:19.

Please feel free to share and use these articles. We ask that you give attribution to Drew Berding. | Website: theophilus.blog

Most serious students of the book of Revelation do fine until they get to chapter 12. Then they get totally confused. This paper presents an easy way to avoid that confusion.

The Book of Revelation – Overlay

The Revelation Time-Line—First Half of Tribulation

The Revelation Time-Line—Second Half of Tribulation

Footnotes

Tag Menu

Posts

Leave a Comment Cancel reply