The Plan of the Ages

Prophetic
Timeline

From Daniel to Revelation — where we are, and what comes next

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." — Revelation 1:3 (KJV)

God's plan is not a mystery to be feared but a timeline to be understood. From the prophet Daniel to the apostle John, the Scriptures lay out a coherent sequence of events — past, present, and future. This page walks through each era, anchored in the biblical text, so you can see where the pieces fit.

Explore the Timeline
01 The Foundation

Daniel's 70 Weeks

The single most important prophetic timeline in Scripture — a 490-year framework that anchors all end-time chronology.

In Daniel 9, the prophet Daniel was reading Jeremiah's prophecy that Jerusalem's desolation would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11 KJV). He prayed and confessed on behalf of his people. While he was still praying, the angel Gabriel appeared and delivered one of the most precise prophecies in all of Scripture:

"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."

Daniel 9:24 (KJV)

The Hebrew word for "weeks" is shavuim — literally "sevens." These are 70 groups of seven years: 490 years total. The prophecy breaks down into three segments:

7 Weeks · 49 Years

From the decree to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince. This covers the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile under Nehemiah and Ezra.

Daniel 9:25 (KJV)
62 Weeks · 434 Years

From the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the Messiah is "cut off" — a prophecy of the crucifixion. This was fulfilled to the exact year. Sir Robert Anderson calculated the precise timeline from Artaxerxes' decree (445 BC) to Palm Sunday (32 AD): 173,880 days = 69 weeks of years.

Daniel 9:25-26 (KJV) · Anderson, The Coming Prince
1 Week · 7 Years

The final seven years — the Tribulation. After the 69th week, there is a gap. The clock stopped at the cross. The final week awaits: a covenant with many, the abomination of desolation, and the full consummation at the Messiah's return.

Daniel 9:27 (KJV) · Matthew 24:15
Randy Nettles of RaptureReady demonstrates that Daniel's 70 weeks can be understood as 70 shemitah (sabbatical) cycles — each "week" is a 7-year shemitah period. This framework independently converges with Mark Biltz's calendar calculations, placing the final shemitah cycle (the 70th week) in the 2029–2036 window.

The 70 weeks establish the length of the tribulation. But where does it fit in the broader scope of human history?

02 The Present Age

The Times of the Gentiles

From Nebuchadnezzar's dream to the restoration of Israel — the age dominated by Gentile world powers.

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue — head of gold, chest of silver, belly of brass, legs of iron, feet of mixed iron and clay. Daniel interpreted this as a succession of Gentile empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and a revived Roman form in the last days. A stone "cut out without hands" destroys the statue — the Kingdom of God.

Daniel 2:31-45 (KJV)

Jesus referred to this period as "the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24 KJV). It began with Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem in 605 BC and continues through the present day. The clock of Israel's national sovereignty was paused — but not stopped. In 1948, Israel became a nation again in a single day, fulfilling Isaiah 66:8 (KJV).

As Mark Biltz teaches: "The fig tree generation is the generation that sees Israel reborn. Jesus said this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled (Matthew 24:34 KJV). We are that generation."

The Times of the Gentiles are approaching their end. The stage is set for the final act.

03 The Mystery

The Church Age

The great parenthesis — a mystery hidden in the Old Testament, revealed through the apostle Paul.

Between Daniel's 69th and 70th weeks lies an interval of indeterminate length: the Church Age. This was a mystery "hid in God" (Ephesians 3:9 KJV) that the prophets searched diligently to understand (1 Peter 1:10-12 KJV). The Church is not Israel, and Israel is not the Church — they are distinct peoples with distinct promises and distinct destinies.

Romans 11:25-27 · Ephesians 3:1-6 (KJV)

Jesus revealed the Church Age in advance through the seven churches of Revelation 2–3. As Steve Cioccolanti teaches, these seven letters are not only historical churches but also prophetic epochs — seven successive periods of church history from the apostolic age to the apostate age. The message to Laodicea describes our time: lukewarm, self-sufficient, blind to its true condition.

The Church Age ends with the Rapture — the catching away of all believers before the Tribulation begins. As Paul wrote: "For the Lord himself shall 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" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 KJV).

Pastor Jack Hibbs teaches: "We are living in Revelation 6 — the signs before the Throne. The white horse (conquest/COVID) has gone forth. The red horse (war) is taking peace from the earth. The seals are being opened before our eyes. The rapture is the 7th seal silence (Revelation 8:1 KJV) — heaven pauses before judgment falls."

Are You Ready?

If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ, today is the day of salvation. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV). The rapture could happen at any moment. Do not delay.

When the Church is removed, the final week of Daniel's prophecy begins — and with it, the most turbulent seven years in human history.

04 The Tribulation

The 70th Week

Seven years. Three sets of seven judgments. The most detailed prophetic period in Scripture.

The 70th week of Daniel is the Tribulation — seven years divided into two halves of 1,260 days each (3.5 years). The first half begins with a peace covenant confirmed by the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27 KJV). At the midpoint, he breaks the covenant, sets up the abomination of desolation in the Temple (Matthew 24:15 KJV), and demands worship. This is the Great Tribulation.

The 7 Seals · Revelation 6–8
Seal 1 — White Horse (Antichrist)
A crown is given to the rider, and he goes forth conquering. The false peace begins.
Revelation 6:1-2 (KJV)
Seal 2 — Red Horse (War)
Peace is taken from the earth. Nation rises against nation.
Revelation 6:3-4 (KJV)
Seal 3 — Black Horse (Famine)
Economic collapse. A day's wages for a measure of wheat.
Revelation 6:5-6 (KJV)
Seal 4 — Pale Horse (Death)
Death and hell follow. A fourth of the earth killed by sword, famine, beasts.
Revelation 6:7-8 (KJV)
Seal 5 — Martyrs Under the Altar
Those slain for the word of God cry out for justice. They are given white robes.
Revelation 6:9-11 (KJV)
Seal 6 — Cosmic Disturbance
Great earthquake, sun black, moon like blood, stars fall. "The great day of his wrath is come."
Revelation 6:12-17 (KJV)
Seal 7 — Silence in Heaven
"There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." The pause before the trumpets.
Revelation 8:1 (KJV)
The 7 Trumpets · Revelation 8–11
Trumpet 1 — Hail and Fire
A third of trees and all grass burned up.
Revelation 8:7 (KJV)
Trumpet 2 — Mountain of Fire
A third of the sea becomes blood; a third of sea creatures die.
Revelation 8:8-9 (KJV)
Trumpet 3 — Wormwood
A great star falls, poisoning a third of fresh water. Many die.
Revelation 8:10-11 (KJV)
Trumpet 4 — Darkness
A third of the sun, moon, and stars darkened.
Revelation 8:12 (KJV)
Trumpet 5 — Locusts (Abaddon)
Demonic locusts torment men for five months. The first woe.
Revelation 9:1-12 (KJV)
Trumpet 6 — The Euphrates Army
200 million soldiers kill a third of mankind. The second woe.
Revelation 9:13-21 (KJV)
Trumpet 7 — The Kingdom Proclaimed
"The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord." The third woe.
Revelation 11:15 (KJV)
The 7 Bowls · Revelation 15–16
Bowl 1 — Sores on Beast Worshipers
Revelation 16:2 (KJV)
Bowl 2 — Sea Becomes Blood
Revelation 16:3 (KJV)
Bowl 3 — Rivers Become Blood
Revelation 16:4-7 (KJV)
Bowl 4 — Scorching Heat
Revelation 16:8-9 (KJV)
Bowl 5 — Darkness on Beast's Kingdom
Revelation 16:10-11 (KJV)
Bowl 6 — Euphrates Dries Up
Kings of the east gather for Armageddon.
Revelation 16:12-16 (KJV)
Bowl 7 — "It Is Done"
The greatest earthquake in history. Babylon falls. Hailstones of 100 lbs.
Revelation 16:17-21 (KJV)

The judgments escalate: Seals (1/4), Trumpets (1/3), Bowls (full). Each cycle intensifies. Yet even at the end, men do not repent (Revelation 16:9 KJV).

05 The Return

The Second Coming

The King returns — not as a suffering servant, but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ returns on a white horse, with the armies of heaven following. The Beast and the False Prophet are captured and cast alive into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20 KJV). The Antichrist's armies are destroyed at Armageddon.

Revelation 19:11-21 (KJV)

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east" (Zechariah 14:4 KJV). The Mount of Olives splits in two, creating a valley of escape. The nations are gathered and judged (Matthew 25:31-46 KJV). Israel, having been preserved through the tribulation, looks upon the One they pierced and mourns (Zechariah 12:10 KJV) — and they are saved as a nation (Romans 11:26 KJV).

As Mark Biltz teaches: "The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is when the veil will be removed, and Israel as a nation will recognize Yeshua as their Messiah. The two goats of the Yom Kippur ritual — one slain, one sent away — prophetically picture the crucifixion and the removal of sin."

With the King returned and His enemies defeated, the millennial kingdom begins — a thousand years of peace under the direct rule of Christ.

06 The Kingdom

The Millennial Reign

A thousand years of peace — the Sabbath rest of creation, ruled by the Messiah from Jerusalem.

The millennium is the seventh day of creation — a thousand-year Sabbath corresponding to the pattern established in Genesis 2:2-3. As 2 Peter 3:8 (KJV) says: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The six thousand years of human labor give way to the seventh thousand years of rest under Christ's reign.

Revelation 20:1-6 (KJV)

During this time, Satan is bound in the bottomless pit. The Tribulation saints who were beheaded for their witness reign with Christ as priests. The Temple described in Ezekiel 40–48 is built, and the nations come up to Jerusalem year by year to worship the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16 KJV).

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn teaches that the shemitah (sabbatical year) and jubilee cycles are woven into the fabric of creation itself. The millennium is the ultimate shemitah — the land's rest, the people's rest, the King's reign. Every seventh year points to this final seventh millennium.

At the end of the thousand years, Satan is released for a brief season — a final test of the human heart. Then comes the end.

07 The Eternal State

The New Creation

The final judgment, the new heavens and new earth, and the eternal dwelling of God with man.

After the millennium, Satan is released and leads a final rebellion (Gog and Magog). Fire comes down from heaven and devours them. The devil is cast into the lake of fire forever. Then the Great White Throne judgment: the dead stand before God, books are opened, and anyone not found written in the Book of Life is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15 KJV).

Revelation 20:7-15 (KJV)

But for those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, the story does not end in judgment — it begins in glory:

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

Revelation 21:1-2 (KJV)

The New Jerusalem descends — a cube 1,500 miles in every dimension, with walls of jasper, gates of pearl, and streets of gold. No temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. No sun or moon, for the glory of God is its light. No more death, sorrow, crying, or pain — for the former things are passed away.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4 KJV). This is the final destination — not an escape from earth, but the redemption of earth itself. The Garden of Eden, lost in Genesis, is restored as the City of God in Revelation.

Where Will You Spend Eternity?

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." — John 3:36 (KJV)

The timeline is clear. The data is before you. The choice is yours: trust in Jesus Christ today, and your name will be written in the Book of Life.

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." — Revelation 22:20 (KJV)