To understand this we need to understand the order of end-time events.

DAY of the LORD

7 SEALS

1. Religious Deception (white horse) (Revelation 6:2)
2. War (fiery red horse) (Revelation 6:3-4)
3. Famine (black horse) (Revelation 6:5-6)
4. Pestilence (pale horse) (Revelation 6:7-8)
5. The Great Tribulation (Revelation 6:9-11)
6. Heavenly Signs (Revelation 6:12-14)
7. Day of the Lord is the 7 Trumpets (Revelation 8:1-2, 6)

7 TRUMPETS

1. hail and fire with blood burns up ⅓ of trees and of the grass (Revelation 8:7)
2. great mountain burning with fire turns ⅓ sea to blood; ⅓ sea creatures & ocean ships destroyed (Revelation 8:8-9)
3. great burning star from heaven poisons ⅓ of rivers and springs killing many (Revelation 8:10-11)
4. ⅓ of the light of the sun, moon and stars blocked (Revelation 8:12-13)
5. (first woe) Beast attacks (Revelation 9:1-12)
6. (second woe) depicts retaliating Asian powers (Revelation 9:16)
7. (third woe) = 7 Last Plagues (Revelation 15:1; 16:1)

7 PLAGUES

1. causes “a foul and loathsome sore” (Revelation 16: 2)
2. causes every living creature in the sea to die (Revelation 16:3)
3. causes the sweet water supply to become “blood” (Revelation 16:4-7)
4. scorches mankind (Revelation 16:8-9)
5. causes total darkness (Revelation 16:10-11)
6. prepares for “Armageddon” (Revelation 16:12-16)
7. causes the greatest earthquake of all time (Revelation 16:17-18)

Day for a year principle.

Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

7^th Trump

This is the “Last Trump” which encapsulates the 7 Last Plagues

Today we will look at the timeline of the seventh trump in terms of how long it will take to show the feasibility of the marriage supper happening.

Matthew 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

NOT Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

This is the 7^th trump. This is the last trump! Christ is coming and He is bringing the last 7 plagues with Him.

Matthew 24:31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Christ is returning in the clouds (in the process of coming back) and then trumpet is sounded to gather the elect.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Very clear that we rise up to meet as He is coming down or is already there. These two events are happening at the same time – and at the last trump.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Changed to spirit beings at this time. It a resurrection to immortality.

Revelation 11:11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
Revelation 11:12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.

Christ will come down in a cloud and those in the first resurrection will go up in a cloud, in the same manner Christ did at His resurrection:

Acts 1:9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Acts 1:10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
Acts 1:11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”[comment on 1^st heaven vs 3^rd].
Acts 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

So far, at no point has Christ “returned” to Earth. Also, take note of the fact that this is where Christ left from and where He is returning to.

He will come back to the Mount of Olives at the end of the Day of the LORD

Zechariah 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.

6^th Plague

Revelation 16:12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Revelation 16:14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
Revelation 16:16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

Har Meggido – har: a mountain; -hill, mount

55 miles north of Jerusalem as the crow flies – no battle there, it is just a gathering place.

But then this happens in:

Zechariah 14:2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

God brings them against Jerusalem for cause

Zechariah 12:2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

Zechariah 14:3 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.

NKJV leaves out a word here: yom and others translate the word as “when” which give a good enough sense of the what is going here, but:

Zechariah 14:3 (LITV) And Jehovah shall go out and fight against those nations, like the day He fought in the day of battle.

Joshua 10:11 And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

Joshua 10:13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
Joshua 10:14 And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.

7^th Plague

Revelation 16:17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
Revelation 16:18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
Revelation 16:19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

This imagery is used a few times it is that of a wine press and the juice flowing out.

Revelation 16:20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Revelation 16:21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

Zephaniah 3:8 “Therefore wait for Me,” says the LORD, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation [Indignation – another indicator of the Day of the LORD], All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.

The armies that gathered at Armageddon will then do this before they fight the returning Christ:

Joel 3:2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat [Kidron Valley]; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.

Joel 3:12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Joel 3:13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow— For their wickedness is great.”

Revelation 14:14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
Revelation 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
Revelation 14:16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Revelation 14:17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Revelation 14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.”
Revelation 14:19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Revelation 14:20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

Zechariah 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.

A way of escape for those in Jerusalem

Zechariah 14:5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You.

Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Revelation 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
Revelation 14:3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
Revelation 14:4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
Revelation 14:5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

The people in Jerusalem flee through the Mount of Olives

Summary of the order of events:

Christ will begin His return and bring the 7 last plagues with Him at the last trump and we will then rise up and be with Him for the duration of the 7^th Trump which will “blow” for the entirety of the 7 last plagues. Christ is returning during that time and technically does not complete it until setting foot on the Mount of Olives – this is the return of Christ – and we will be with Him at that time.

This Does Not Happen in a 24-hour Day

Zechariah 14:6 It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
Zechariah 14:7 It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.

We can see that by looking at just the last two plagues, logistically speaking it cannot happen in a day – to gather the armies in Armageddon; go down to Jerusalem; rifle houses; ravish women; put half of the city into captivity; and go fight the Lord in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Perhaps the last plague can happen in a day, but not the 6^th as well, much less all the others.

Also, as we mentioned last time day can have several connotations even in this chapter of what “day” means. For the rest of the chapter “in that day” refers to the Millennial reign where the Earth will become a paradise again.

So the question is how long will that be:

How Long Will the 7 Plagues Last?

It won’t be for one day as some have speculated based on the scriptures in Zechariah.

7^th Seal is the Day of the LORD = One Year

Therefore, depending on how much time is taken by the first six trumpets will in some way dictate how much time is left for the remaining 7 plagues. Some will be shorter and some will be longer – the 5^thtrumpet lasts 5 months by itself.

Revelation 9:5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

I don’t believe that they can or will happen all at once. There is time needed to allow for effectiveness of each plague. There is purpose for them – God is not doing them just to be wrathful or sadistic, they are for the accomplishing of His goals:

Revelation 16:8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
Revelation 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
Revelation 16:11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

For this reason they need to be consecutive and can be over-lapping as well. We know this to be true because there is no coming back from some – for instance every living creature dies in the sea (2^ndplague), so obviously the effects of this will be felt in all the subsequent plagues.

PLAGUES

When we look at how long it could take for this to be accomplished it is definitely take some time and at the very least enough time for the marriage and supper to happen – and that’s just based on a physical perspective.

Time Issues

Even if all of these things happened in one day, we still have the example of Christ being accepted as the wave sheaf offering and coming back that same day.

Also we need to take into account that God can exist outside of time and space. He created the physical, this simulation that is called the universe. He created time; gave us years months, days and seasons. There is always the possibility that as spirit beings time can be suspended just like what happened in Joshua’s long day.

Nonetheless, there is plenty of time any way for us to have a marriage ceremony along with the wedding feast.

Marriage Supper

In Revelation 19 there are a lot of telltale signs that point to those who come up in the first resurrection as being the subject of this chapter.

Revelation 19:1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude [people in KJV and this word is most often translated as people in the KJV any way] in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

Heaven is not the reward of the saved, that is not what we are saying here.

Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”

The subject here is what He is doing for His servants, the firstfruits, the saints, the elect the called out ones.

Revelation 19:3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”
Revelation 19:4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” [location again].
Revelation 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
Revelation 19:6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

Several places that describe the voice of God as the “sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2, Revelation 14:2):

Revelation 1:15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

The great multitude has that same sound, so it would stand to reason since they are now members of the God Family it could very well be them that are saying these things.

These verses seem to point to the fact that the wedding is happening at this juncture in the chronology of events in heaven:

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
Revelation 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19:9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

Revelation 19:14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

Who arrayed in fine linen? (:8 Those in the first resurrection, His saints)

Notice what Jude has to say about the armies that will return with Christ

Jude 1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
Jude 1:15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Revelation 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Revelation 19:16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.