The Three Woes.
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!"
The first woe is completed by the 5th trump as found in
Rev.9:12 - "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."
The second woe is completed by the 6th trump and after the Jerusalem earthquake that destroys a tenth of the city and kills 7000
Rev.11:13-14. - "
The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly."
The third woe sounds at the 7th trump ( the last time a “woe” is mentioned in Revelation in the KJ ) and is found in
Rev. 11:15 - Just after the 7th trump sounds there is a short interlude in the narrative. The 7th trump completes the wrath of the Lamb and the angels are speaking forward in faith about what will come when the wrath of God is completed.
Rev. 12:12 tells us what the third woe is"
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
This third and final time a woe is mentioned is connected to the originating verse,
Rev. 8:13 by the phrase, “
woe to the inhabiters of the earth” (This is also the last time that phrase is used in the KJ). Since this is the case, shortly after this verse we find in
Rev. 12:14 - "
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."
We also see in Rev. 13:5 that the Beast out of the Sea (the a/c) is given the equivalent time of
42 months.
As we all know the underlined times given means 3 1/2 yrs. So, here is the inescapable conclusion. At least the first six trumpet judgments must be concluded before the middle of the 70th week.
I've come up with another question and a possible, tentative alternative for my fellow futurists.
Who said that all the seals must be within the context of the 70th week? I've always believed they were but is there any scriptural "proof"?
Here's my tentative alternative. Could WW3 as shown in the 2nd seal begin the 70th week and could the a/c make a covenant based on that war that begins the week? The 1st seal doesn't imply that is when the covenant is signed. The a/c will need some time to earn his rep, so to speak and he comes conquering by deception, not war. Some event has to put him in the limelight for the folks in Rev. 13:4 to say what they do!
What do you guys think?