Biblical Logos Blog

Where in the Book of Revelation does the Day of the Lord begin? 

The phrase Day of the Lord (Tribulation period) and its references occur nearly 200 times in the Bible.  Scholars have tied these references to upcoming/near-term events for the prophets that wrote the words.  But maybe more importantly for us, they also saw the phrase referring to three time periods at the end of the age:

A specific 24-hour period, most notably the actual second coming of Christ. In Joel 3:14, Joel references the battle at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16, 19:11-21). 

The 7-year period known as the Tribulation period ends with the second coming of Christ (Isaiah 13:9-11)

The extended period of the Tribulation, followed by the 1,000 years of Jesus on the throne during what is called the Millennial Reign of Christ (Zephaniah 3:9-13).

All three time periods overlap.  The references are for the “end times”, the consummation, where the wicked unbelieving of the world is judged and Israel will come to believe in her Messiah.  The book of Revelation is Jesus’ last words in the Bible, but it is also the most detailed account of the Day of the Lord.  It is interesting then that this most significant period of time doesn’t seem to be clearly marked in Revelation. This article then is looking for the beginning point of the Day of the Lord in the book of Revelation.  

It is a discrete period of time

Daniel references this period of time and gives us a definite measure of how long it will last:

Dan 9:27  And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

A “week” in Daniel’s telling of the event is a 7-year period. “Shabua” in Hebrew means seven.  From the context of the story Daniel is telling and from other uses of this word, it is clear that in this passage the “seven” is a seven-year timeframe.

This seven-year period is divided into a first half and a second half.  Those halves are referenced several times using this language (time, times, and half a time; 1260 days and 42 months (3.5 years)).  This seven-year period of time clearly begins with the signing of a covenant with the Jewish people and ends with Jesus’ second coming when he puts an end to the rule of the Antichrist. 

First half reference

The time period of the two witnesses

Rev 11:3  And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 

The second half references:

Rule of the Antichrist

Dan 7:25  He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 

Time of extreme persecution of the Jewish people

Dan 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. 

The protection of the Jewish people who flee from Jerusalem when the Antichrist ascends to the throne:

Rev 12:6  and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. 

Rev 13:5  And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 

The Antichrist is in control of the rebuilt Jewish Temple

Rev 11:2  but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 

The Antichrist ruling timeframe where he blasphemes God

Rev 13:5  And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 

You can see the focus God has placed on this most important period of time in our upcoming future.  It is outlined specifically around 1) When the Jewish people rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem; 2) The rise to power and ruling of the Antichrist; 3) The time of extreme persecution of the Jewish people and with it a sheltering of some of the Jewish people who flee from Jerusalem.  So with all of the specificity of this period of time, we are looking for a clear beginning to these events as we know the ending of these events happens at the 2nd coming of Jesus. 

Narrowing down the beginning in Revelation

Biblical scholars generally have no specific answer to the question of when will this period of time begin:

Dr. Thomas Ice

“No single Bible verse says precisely when the Rapture will take place in relation to the Tribulation or the Second Coming in a way that would settle the issue to everyone’s satisfaction.”

Many historians in the last 20-30 years make reference to the beginning of the Tribulation period as Dr. Jeremiah does

“will begin immediately following the Rapture.”

This soft event horizon speaks to the issue that in the book of Revelation, the beginning of this period does not stand out.  In Chapter 6 where the apparent wars and devastation begin in the first several verses, there is no mention of a covenant being signed.  Daniel said that would mark the beginning, and yet we do not see it referenced anywhere.  

Here is what we see at the opening of Revelation chapter 6:

•  The first seal is opened and the Antichrist (rider of a white horse) arrives (Rev 6:1-2)
• The second seal is opened and a rider on a red horse comes to take peace from the Earth (Rev 6:3-4)
• The third seal is opened and a black horse with its rider holding scales appears to predict famine (Rev 6:5-6)
• The fourth seal is opened and a pale horse comes forth with Death and Hades following him (Rev 6:7-8)
• The fifth seal is opened and God pictures many souls of those that had been slain for the Word of God residing under God’s alter saying “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:9-11)
• The sixth seal is opened and heavy devastation happens (earthquake, sun, and moon dimmed, stars fall, sky rolls up, every mountain and island is moved out of its place, people flee and hide in caves and under rocks saying  “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

I have highlighted a couple of statements in the above passages I believe we can look at these statements and narrow down the beginning of the Day of the Lord/Tribulation period a little more accurately.

The fifth seal martyrs 

Notice in the 5th seal passage above, you have souls (martyred people who defended the Word of God) under God’s alter saying “..how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  Bill Salus in his Book “The Next Prophecies” discussed here, points out that the martyred souls are looking for God to avenge their blood.  Mr. Salus points out that they would not be asking that question if the Day of the Lord had actually begun because one purpose of the Day of the Lord as we saw above, is to judge the wicked world.  The avenging of their blood, he argues, tells us the Day of the Lord must not yet have begun.

The sixth seal wrath of the Lamb

The term “wrath” is a charged term in the present time as people (theologians and lay people alike), look for the Rapture of the Church to be depicted in Revelation as well. They see all the Old Testament references marking the Day of the Lord with the term “wrath”, and then they look at verses in the New Testament like this one: Rev 3:10 “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”, which appear to promise the Rapture of the Church before the outpouring of God’s wrath.  Every mention then of wrath in Revelation (Rev 6:16, 17, 11:18, 12:12, 14:10, 19;15:1, 16:1, 16:19, 19:15) is then subject to being a candidate for a picture of the Rapture.  The zeal to find the Rapture of the Church in the book of Revelation gets conflated with finding the Day of the Lord.  This mixing of concepts is fueled by the teachings referenced above by theologians who don’t distinguish a clear boundary between the Rapture of the Church and the beginning of the Day of the Lord.  

For those who believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church and look in Revelation for the Rapture to be depicted, many follow the scholars who see this event in Revelation 4:1 “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”.  John is taken quickly up to Heaven in this verse in a similar manner as God taking his Church to Heaven.  Further in this Heaven description, we have those who have been taken (possibly referred to as the Elders), making these statements:  

Rev 5:9  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 

Rev 5:10  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

It is pretty compelling then to see the Church as a “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” as being the Church in Heaven before all of the trouble described in Revelation 6-18 begins. 

Where does this leave us?  If we can separate out the Rapture discussion from the Start of the Day of the Lord because 1) The Rapture is not the signing of the covenant with the Jewish people, which is what the Bible indicates the start of the Day of the Lord and 2)  The Rapture of the Church is likely depicted in the book of Revelation earlier in Revelation 4-5, then we are looking at some sort of gap between the Rapture of the Church and at least as far as Revelation 6:9, the fifth seal judgment. 

Let’s look closer at the end of sixth seal judgment.

Rev 6:17  “…for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”  ESV

Rev 6:17 “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” KVJ

Rev 6:17  “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” NKJV 

Let’s look at some commentary from a very noted Theologian: 

Dr. John Walvoord (John F. Walvoord was a Christian theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986. He was the author of over 30 books, focusing primarily on eschatology and theology including The Rapture Question, and was co-editor of The Bible Knowledge Commentary with Roy B. Zuck. Wikipedia)

At the beginning of the Day of the Lord according to Dr. John Walvoord

“In Revelation 6:16-17 we learn that the wicked cry out and say “to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Isaiah said it was a day of wrath; Zephaniah said it was a day of wrath; Revelation 6 says it is a day of wrath. In other words, the picture we have here of the great tribulation—the time of trouble on the earth—is identical to the picture of the Old Testament revelation of the beginning of the Day of the Lord.”

Here we can see that Dr. Walvoord notes the similarity in the language used in Revelation 6:16-17 to the description of the Day of the Lord coming.  Unfortunately, it seems this observation did not make this conclusion a settled event in Bible prophecy.  Even Bill Salus who saw the coming of the Day of the Lord as having not occurred yet in the fifth seal judgment doesn’t go so far as to declare the sixth seal language is that day spoken of by the prophets. I agree with Dr. Walvoord position on the beginning of the Day of the Lord and want to affirm it further with scripture.  Next, we will look at some additional arguments as to why this is indeed the start of the Day of the Lord/Tribulation period being depicted in the book of Revelation.

Supporting our conclusion

Peter mentions it in 2 Peter 3

Let’s take a look at Peter’s reference to the Day of the Lord in 2 Peter 3. 

2Pe 3:7  But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 

2Pe 3:11  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 

2Pe 3:13  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 

Some expositors have looked at 2 Peter 3 and consolidated or thought of these passages as a summary of the Day of the Lord extending through to the Eternal State.  This happens because the New Heaven and Earth are viewed as happening in the Eternal State.  I made a post about this before in relation to Revelation 21 and 22.  An example of this can be seen by Bible teachers like Don Perkins who is presenting his views of the Eternal State at this event.  As I presented in my prior post on this topic, the New Heavens and New Earth are created/restored at the start of the 1,000 years of Christ reigning on his throne, known as the Millennial Reign of Christ.  What if then, Peter’s statement is about the start of the Tribulation period?  

Let’s examine what he is saying.  The current heavens and earth are being stored up for fire. The coming “day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar” (2 Peter 3:10).  Do we see this event after seal 5 in the book of Revelation?

Rev 6:14  The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 

Peter also says “the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10) and “the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn” (2 Peter 3:12).  Do we see something similar in Revelation?

Rev 6:13  and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 

Is what Peter referring to tied to the Day of the Lord beginning?

 “…being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:7)

 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar..(2 Peter 3:10)

“..the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire ..” (2 Peter 3:12)

If we take Peter literally when he says the Day of the Lord comes when the Heavens pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies are burned up etc.., then Peter is telling us the Day of the Lord begins in Seal 6 of Revelation specifically with the statements made in verses 6:13-14.  Seal six in Revelation is again right where we see the quote “for the great day of his wrath has come…” KJV

Jesus says all judgment has been given to Him

Let’s take a look at some very interesting words Jesus has recorded in John’s Gospel:

Joh 5:21  For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 

Joh 5:22  For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 

Joh 5:23  that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 

Joh 5:24  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 

Joh 5:25  “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 

Joh 5:26  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 

Joh 5:27  And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 

Joh 5:28  Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 

Joh 5:29  and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 

The first and most important point I want to make with these verses is that Jesus (Son of Man) has all authority to execute judgment (5:22, 24, 27).  Now look at some additional words we see in Revelation 6 at the sixth seal:

Rev 6:16  calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 

Rev 6:17  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

In the sixth seal, we see the great day of wrath initiated and poured out by Jesus (wrath of the Lamb).  I believe this is what Jesus was referencing specifically in John 5:25  when he says “..an hour is coming” and he goes on to talk of the resurrection first (verse 5:25, Rapture?) and then his judgment will pour out (verse 5:27).  Notice how in John 5:24 he is saying this resurrection will happen to “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life..”.  Many scholars note that the audience for the Gospel of John is the Church.  In John 14-17 we have the wonderful “upper room discourse” description Jesus gave before his crucifixion describing the Church coming and what it will mean.   

The thought of resurrection and judgment is repeated again in John 5:28-29.   Now the audience has changed to “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice” vs. those who “hears my word and believe”.  This second more general statement seems to be a reference to Daniel 12:2  “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”  This broad thought of a general first resurrection to life and second resurrection also is matched with Jesus statements in Revelation (Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14 and 21:8).

Jesus had to be fully man (Son of Man) in John 5:27, to be able to judge justly according to God’s righteousness.  The Day of the Lord is a time of judging the wicked of the world and convicting the Jewish people to recognize who their Messiah is.  Finding the “great day of his wrath” (Rev 6:17, KJV) coming from “the Lamb” (Rev 6:16) only makes sense and clarifies the Day of the Lord as beginning in the sixth seal of Revelation.

Peter quotes Joel on the day of Pentecost

There is another curious reference to the Day of the Lord in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost (also known as Shavuot in the OT feasts)

Act 2:17  “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 

Act 2:18  even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 

Act 2:19  And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 

Act 2:20  the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 

Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 

The day of Pentecost is the start of the Church age as is well attested.  Many scholars will tell you that the reference “in the last days..” (2:17) above, is a reference to the entire Church age as this is the last age before the return of the Lord.  Here we see in verses 2:17-18, that Peter and the others gathered to hear Peter testify to what is happening with the strange events of that day.  Peter quotes the prophet Joel “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy..” (Acts 2:27) and “I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:18) as the reason for the events they witnessed.

But let’s look closer at the entire context.  Peter is also quoting Joel 2:28-32. According to Joel, there will also be “wonders in the heavens above and signs on the Earth below, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke.” (Acts 2:19, Joel 2:30) and “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood. before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”.  Wow, hold the phone!  Did any of the wonders in the skies and on earth with blood and fire happen on that Acts 2 day of Pentecost??  It was not recorded as having happened by Luke the author of Acts. What could Peter and Joel be referencing then in these passages?

Let’s look at Revelation and the sixth seal again:

Rev 6:12  When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,  Isn’t this the exact language Joel and Peter said would occur?  John writing in Revelation gives us the timing for when the sun will darken and the moon will become like blood.  John says it will happen at the 6th seal judgment.  Note that Peter could have stopped by quoting Joel in Acts 2:18 with the events Peter and the others gathered had just witnessed, why did Peter continue to quote Joel through Acts 2:21/Joel 2:32?

We need to look at when Peter quoted Joel to understand this better.  The day when Peter quoted Joel (Pentecost, in the Greek, Shavout, in Hebrew referencing the Feasts of the Lord; Leviticus 23:15-22 and Numbers 28:26-31).  Why is this day, the day the Lord decided to pour out his Spirit (Luke 24:49)?  Was this a random day or a specific day with purpose?  

According to the non-canonical Book of Jubilees and from passages in the Bible that refer to the timing of events near and on Shavuot, it appears that God did indeed select the Shavuot festival as a time when God would meet with man and make a new covenant. Feasts or “moed” in Hebrew has a special meaning. In Genesis 1:14a “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,..”.  The “seasons” is the term moed which according to Strong’s lexicon has the meaning of:

appointed place, appointed time, meeting

appointed time

appointed time (general)

sacred season, set feast, appointed season

appointed meeting

appointed place

appointed sign or signal

tent of meeting

The term moed or feast is the same term used in Leviticus to describe the 7 feasts the Lord gave the Jewish people to keep. A study of these feasts shows that they are all prophetic in God’s redemptive plan. Jesus was crucified on Passover, Jesus was in the gave for three nights and days during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus rose from the grave at First Fruits.  The Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost or Shavuout as we have been studying. God does seem to have “appointed times” for significant Biblical events to occur.  Shavuot in particular is the timeframe for God’s covenants:

• Creation
• The Covenant with Noah
• The Covenant with Abram/Abraham
• Jacob going to Egypt
• Moses and the Covenant at Mt. Sinai
• The giving of the Holy Spirit/the New Covenant on the Day of Pentecost (Hebrews 8:5-13)

The Jewish people have been promised “the New Covenant”

Let’s now turn back to why the New Covenant, Pentecost/Shavuot, and the start of the Day of the Lord may all be related.  

Heb 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 

Heb 8:8  For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 

Heb 8:9  not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 

Heb 8:10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Heb 8:11  And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 

Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 

Heb 8:13  In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. 

If we look at what the writer of Hebrews is saying, the New Covenant, initiated on Pentecost, is being made with “the house of Israel”.  This makes further sense because this epistle was to the Jewish people and on the day of Pentecost, it was the Jewish people who gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot that day when the Holy Spirit fell on the Apostles and disciples.  Although the Church was the primary benefactor of the New Covenant to date, we still need to look forward to a future day when all of Israel will receive the New Covenant.  This seems to be setting up what scholars call a near/far prophecy.  The “near fulfillment” is on the day of Pentecost with Peter in Acts 2. Peter, then on Pentecost may also be giving us a clue as to when the rest of Joel’s prophecy will be fulfilled.  This would be the far/final fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.

Act 2:19  And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 

Act 2:20  the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 

Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 

Note that Peter (by reference) and Joel point to the “day of the Lord” happening just after the “sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood”.  He is also saying that at that time, “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.  It seems like the pattern of the day of Pentecost will repeat at the start of “the great and magnificent day”, the Day of the Lord.

Here are the apparent steps in Revelation that confirm what we have studied so far:

• Bill Salus argues that the Day of the Lord must be after the fifth seal judgment (Rev 6:9-11)
• Peter on the day of Pentecost (quoting Joel 2) said that the sun will become black as sackcloth, the moon will become like blood” before the Day of the Lord.  (Rev 6:12)
• Peter tells us that the Day of the Lord is when the heavens roll up like a scroll (Rev 6:14)
• Dr. John Walvoord (and myself from my study) believe the language of the sixth seal at the end, declares that “For the great day of His wrath has come” (Rev 6:16-17)

Seeing the New Covenant in The Book of Revelation

Rev 7:2  Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 

Rev 7:3  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

The seal in the New Testament also happened when you and I first believed.  

Eph 1:13  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 

Eph 1:14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 

It says in Ephesians that we were “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance”.  This seems to be covenant language to us who believe.  This would match God’s historical use of Shavuot/Pentecost as the day for covenants.  Here in Revelation 7:2-7:4 we see that 144,000 Jewish people from every tribe of Israel are being sealed.  Does this not match what happened on the day of Pentecost from Acts 2?  Does it not indicate the future fulfillment for the New Covenant? 

 Rev 7:9  After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 

Rev 7:10  and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

Rev 7:11  And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 

Rev 7:12  saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 

Rev 7:13  Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 

Rev 7:14  I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

Rev 6:9  When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 

Rev 6:10  They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 

Rev 6:11  Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 

The fifth seal saints are the witness during the “gap” timeframe.  They are mostly Gentiles who did not accept Christ before the Rapture and now are witnessing at the pain of death.  I believe this is likely made up of the “Laodicea Church”. 

Rev 3:14  “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 

Rev 3:15  “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 

Rev 3:16  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 

Rev 3:17  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 

Rev 3:18  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 

Rev 3:19  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 

Rev 3:21  The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 

Rev 3:22  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” 

Here you see a good description of the last and final Church described in Revelation 2-3.  They are lukewarm believers.  Jesus says they should buy from him “gold refined by fire” (Seal judgments?) So that they may have white garments to clothe themselves with.  It may be a technicality, but I think God in his grace and mercy will allow the lukewarm believers who miss the Rapture of the Church, to still come to Christ during the Seal judgments.  They will do so under the pain of death.  This will formally end the gentile / Church age.  During the seven-year Tribulation then, I believe it is fair to see the Jewish 144,000 and those that they save, finish the age of Law and complete Daniel’s 70-week prophecy.

Conclusions: