My first chart is based upon the Seven Sealed Book of The Revelation and from the perspective of the Cross, the Church Age, the Day of the Lord, and Eternity.  It is also found (with other notes) in PROPOSITION W.  The first three paragraphs of what follows are primarily for the purpose of establishing the Biblical foundation for this chart---things that are focused upon much more in the course of this website.  With the last sentence of the third paragraph (emphasized in bold), I begin to point out the basic elements of the chart as they connect with my view:

     By way of review, The Revelation was given to the Apostle John to show unto the servants of Christ "things which must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1).  Further, it is stated, "for the time is at hand " (Rev. 1:3).  Based upon these words, Christians, even in the first century, would have had good reason to be on alert for some of its prophecies to at least begin to be fulfilled.  For most any prophecy, there is the time when it will begin to be fulfilled.  John is instructed to send a record of what he is shown "unto the seven churches which are in Asia" (Rev. 1:11).  He is then instructed thus:  "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19).  It is elementary to understand that John was instructed to write from the perspective of his day.

     With the record of what he is shown, John is also given a specific message to send to each of the seven churches (Rev. 2-3).  Then, in Revelation chapter four, we have his account of the invite he is given to "Come up hither" so that he might be shown those things "which must be hereafter" (vs. 1).  At this time, he beholds God on His throne (vss. 2-3) and twenty-four elders and four beasts that are round about the throne worshiping Him (vss. 4-11).  But, he is not at this time shown anything that would be hereafter.  Next, in chapter five, we have his account of a ceremony he witnesses that revolves around a book "sealed with seven seals" that God is holding in His right hand (vs. 1) and of a search made for someone worthy to "open the book, and to loose the seals thereof" (vss. 2-4).  When "no man" is found who is worthy to do this, the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ), prevails to do so (vss. 5-7)!  With this, all that are in Heaven begin to sing and to worship the Lamb (vss. 8-14)!  But, again, John is not at this time shown anything that would be hereafter.  Rather, everything that he has seen to this point has been but a prelude to his being shown what would be hereafter.

     It is not until Revelation chapter six and the Lamb's opening of the 1st Seal of the Seven Sealed Book that John is shown anything that would be hereafter or at hand to begin to come to pass.  Interestingly, the first four seals parallel (in sequence) four categories of warnings that Jesus gave in the opening of His Olivet Discourse (e.g., Matt. 24:4-9).  In harmony with Jesus' words, The Revelation, history, and more, these first four seals were opened before the close of the first century and represent the liberties that were granted to Satan to continue the plying of his craft into and throughout the Church Age.  These liberties have been unrelentingly exercised by the four horsemen---Satan's henchmen---even unto our day.  Hence, on my chart, the first four seals are shown to be open early in the Church Age.

     Like unto a major battle, many in our ranks have suffered and died as martyrs.  At the opening of the 5th Seal (Rev. 6:9), John sees the souls of these martyrs and their cry for justice.  Because their question, "How long?" reflects that a significant period of time has transpired, and because they are assured that it will be yet "a little season" before their blood is avenged, this fits this seal being opened near the end of the Church Age, closer to the time of the rapture, as shown.  Arguably it is open now, and my position would be that it is.  The martyrs are informed that during this little season, more will be killed "as they were" (vs. 11).  This fits the little season of Daniel's 70th Week and what will happen to the two witnesses, the 144,000, and those who refuse allegiance to the Antichrist.

     Though we do not know how much longer the Church Age will last, we know that it will end with the rapture, which is shown to occur with the opening of the 6th Seal.  As the event of the rapture is imminent, so is the Lamb's opening of this seal.  I can almost envision the Lord, upon opening this seal, coming for the Church.  When He does, "then shall appear THE SIGN of the Son of man in heaven" (Matt. 24:30;  Rev. 6:15-17).  Also, in "a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (I Cor. 15:52), Christ will "descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (Matt. 24:31;  I Thess. 4:16-17;  Rev. 7:9-17).  Concurrent with this, the signs heralding the time of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment will be seen, in accord with Joel's prophecy:  "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible Day of the LORD come" (Joel 2:31;  Rev. 6:12, 17).  These signs could be said to occur in the wake of the resurrection and the rapture of the Church.  This is reinforced by Peter's appeal to this prophecy on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21, esp. vs. 20).  When Joel's prophecy is understood to point to the Church Age, it is remarkable that he prophesied of things that would mark both the commencement and the conclusion of this age to the very day.  Also, at this same time, the bottom is going to drop out of things in this world, to the tune of the rest of John's account of the 6th Seal and what follows.

     It is not until the 7th Seal is opened that the Seven Sealed Book can actually unfold.  However, because of the absence of any mention of a time frame, this opening of the 7th Seal can happen the same day that the Church is gathered to glory and the 144,000 Jews are sealed.  After this last seal is opened, John writes, "there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour" (Rev. 8:1).  Try to imagine the drama and suspense of this book being now ready to unfold.

     It easily fits that what is within the covers of the Seven Sealed Book pertains exclusively to THE DAY OF THE LORD, which would make this a fitting title for this book.  As reflected on the chart, everything that takes place from the time of the rapture until the end of this present world will be a part of this time of the last days' Day of the Lord judgment.  On the day that this begins, John sees seven angels that are given seven trumpets and what occurs after each trumpet is sounded.  The first six trumpets relate to preparations (like a stage reset) for the fulfilling of Daniel's 70th Week.  It is still during the period of the 6th Trumpet that preparations will be completed and the first 3-1/2 years of this final week will transpire.  The 7th Trumpet is then sounded, which heralds a period that takes in everything from the remaining 3-1/2 years of this week through the Last Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).  The highlight of this period will be Christ's Second Advent, when He will return as the King of kings and Lord of lords for the Battle of Armageddon, which will mark the close of Daniel's 70th Week, as shown.  Equally highlighting this period will be Christ's Reign upon this earth for 1000 years.  Concluding the 7th Trumpet period will be the aforementioned Last Judgment, after which time will end and eternity will begin.  Finally, Revelation 21 begins John's account of eternity and what it holds for God's children.  Following is part of what he then saw:

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  1   And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;  and there was no more sea.

  2   And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

  3   And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.

  4   And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;  and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away.

  5   And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And He said unto me, Write:  for these words are true and faithful.

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     Looking now at my second chart, just a few notes.  As I use the phrase Church Age and Church Era interchangeably in this website, I opted for Church Era below, but with no intended difference in meaning.  Of great importance is my differentiating between the appearance of "the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (Matt. 24:30) and what is commonly referred to as His Second Coming.  The former I show as Christ's Sign Appearance, the latter as Christ's Second Advent.  The area that I label Stage Reset represents the time between the rapture and the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (at least "five months"/Rev. 9:5, 10;  maybe more/Rev. 9:15), which time will be preparatory to the beginning of this last seven years (Rev. 11:1-3ff).

     For those of the common pre-trib persuasion, note that if the words Christ's Sign Appearance and Stage Reset were removed from this chart, it would represent the common view exactly.  This being said, I submit that what it will be like for those in our Western Hemisphere at the instant of the rapture will align with what is normally imagined and depicted by those holding to the common view (as in the LEFT BEHIND series).  The actual appearance of "the sign of the Son of man in heaven" will only be seen (like a glimpse) by those in Israel's hemisphere.  Most notably, 144,000 Jews will at this time realize that Jesus was indeed their Messiah (Matt. 24:30) and will be saved (Rev. 6:1-8).

     Concerning the section I label as Stage Reset, it is not uncommon for scholars of the common view to speak of the possibility of some element of time between the rapture and the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week, meaning, time for the rise of the Antichrist to worldwide power and everything to come together for the fulfilling of this last week.  Again, I submit that there will indeed be such a period of time---at least "five months" (Rev. 9:5, 10), maybe more (Rev. 9:15).