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Jesus says to John on the Isle of Patmos…
Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later (Revelation 1:19, NIV).
Two primary viewpoints exist on how the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl Judgments unfold in Revelation 6 to 18. They are either concurrent (happening all at the same time from different angles) or consecutive (happening one right after another in a linear timeline).
Let’s imagine the difference between these two viewpoints in the context of seeing a modern movie.
Believing the events of Revelation are consecutive would be like going to an IMAX® theater and watching Spider-Man, Star Wars, and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar back-to-back in one massive marathon. Believing the judgments are concurrent, however, means walking into that same IMAX theater and watching Spider-Man, Star Wars, and Interstellar projected onto the exact same screen at the exact same time.
HHHHMMMHHM! Talk about sensory overload.
Whether consecutive or concurrent, the sheer scale of the imagery would make Lucasfilm®, Marvel® Comics, and Christopher Nolan look like a 12-year-old playing with an iPhone® camera. Even a brand-new 65-inch 8K television packing 33 million pixels behind the glass couldn’t replicate the jaw-dropping detail John saw straight from heaven.
No human mind could take it all in at once, and neither could John, which could be why God graciously built interim periods—think of them as divine concession breaks to grab more popcorn—right into the middle of the chaos. These intermissions weren’t just for John to catch his breath before the next act; they were moments where God pulled back the curtain to remind us that the righteous are completely secure, that God loves us, and that we don’t need to worry.
When you map out the dramatic pacing of the Book of Revelation, the structure is brilliant:
- Seven Seals (Revelation 6): The initial breakdown of human society. The cracking of the final seal in Revelation 8:1 brings a dramatic half-hour of silence in heaven—the ultimate cliffhanger before the next act.
- The First Intermission (Revelation 7): A concession break focused on protection. Before the winds of destruction blow, God pauses the action to completely secure and seal His people. John gets a glimpse of the final victory party: a countless multitude from every nation worshipping together and declaring, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Revelation 7:12).
- Seven Trumpets (Revelation 8–9): Loud cosmic alarms that shift the disaster movie focus directly to the global ecosystem.
- The Second Intermission (Revelation 10–11): Another grace period featuring the sweet and bitter scroll and the resilient Two Witnesses. It reminds us that even if evil wins a temporary physical round, resurrection is guaranteed. It ends with heavenly voices proclaiming, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:17).
- Seven Bowls (Revelation 16): The rapid-fire finale depicting the swift, total judgment of all institutional evil and rebellion.
- The Grand Finale (Revelation 17–22): No more intermissions needed. Babylon falls, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb begins, the Millennium unfolds, and a New Heaven and New Earth appear. We end at the Tree of Life with Jesus’ beautiful promise to come quickly.
Scripture doesn’t explicitly reveal what the Apostle John did, thought, or felt after his celestial IMAX experience concluded. If it were me, I wouldn’t sleep for a week. I can easily imagine John grabbing his stylus and writing furiously, refusing to stop until he had the entire manuscript ready to deliver to the seven churches.
I would encourage you—sometime soon—to grab a Diet Coke®, a big bag of popcorn, and read through the entire IMAX experience of Revelation in one single sitting. Beyond the wild special effects, you’ll find that Jesus speaks from this vision with one simple sentence to all of us in Revelation 22:20…
Yes, I am coming soon!