CHRIST'S CHURCH OF THE ARK             SALVATION AND NONCONFORMITY

WHY I BELIEVE THAT THE TRIBULATION IS MORE THAN 7 YEARS LONG- THAT THE 7 YEAR WEEK OF THE COVENANT SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL THE PROPHET IS PART OF THE TRIBULATION BUT NOT ALL OF IT.

As indicated by Rev. ch. 8 verse 13 the 3 woes are trumpets 5, 6, and 7.

Rev. 8:13- "And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!"

As evidenced by Rev. ch. 9 verse 5 trumpet judgment 5 last 5 months.

Rev.9:5- "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man."

Then it says in  ch. 9 verse 12 that, “One woe is past; and behold, there come two more woes hereafter.”

And in the next verse the 6th trumpet sounds.

Rev.9:13- "And the sixth angel sounded..."

If you read along now you will find that the 6^th trumpet judgment does not end until after the great army judgment of 1 year and 1 month, a day, and an hour, and the 3½ year period of the two witnesses. These two judgments occurring one after the other in an ongoing chronological order are unfolded before chapter 11 verse 14 wherein it states that,“The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”

In other words, the great army judgment and the following 3½ years of the 2 witnesses judgment are both part of the 6^th trumpet judgment (the second woe). These 2 events then, together with the 5 months of the 5^th trumpet judgment total up to 5 years- the length of the 5^th and 6^th trumpet judgments together.

In the next verse of chapter 11, verse 15, the 7^th trumpet sounds and, as indicated by  chapter 13 verse 5, the 7^th trumpet judgment lasts 3½ years.

Rev.13:5- "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."

That's a total of 8½ years for trumpet judgments 5, 6, and 7. The week of the covenant spoken of by Daniel the prophet begins just after the great army judgment. And then the 2 witnesses, as if it were God's response to that covenant, appear. After their 3½ years of witnessing the beast rises up, breaks the covenant with Israel and prevails until after 3½ years when the beast receives judgment at Armageddon.

So then, in my view, in my belief, the tribulation period lasts 8½ years plus however long it takes for the preceding seals 1 thru 7 and trumpet judgments 1 thru 4 to transpire, which length of time is open to speculation. Open to speculation because no specific time period is given for the transpiring of seals 1 through 7 or trumpets 1 through 4.

The above argument supposes a straight forward approach to interpreting the revelation.
That is, I believe the judgments depicted in the book of the Revelation occur in an ongoing chronological order. Not to do so is opening the door to too much vaguery. Did God mean for the reader to suppose that seal 1, trumpet 1, and vial 1 were just a different view of the same time period? And so on for seal 2, trumpet 2, and vial 2, etc.? No. To interpret thus you start opening the door for letting the verses of the Revelation mean just about anything you want them to. And then what good is the book to anyone? God did not mean for the Revelation to be that vague. You can then get hardly anything out of it. So, I am persuaded the judgments take place in an ongoing chronological order.