End Times Chart – Literal Approach

Use Policy: Free for personal and church use. Not for sale or commercial distribution.

Author: Neil Baulch.

How to Read the “End Times (Literal Approach)” Chart — And Turn It into a Study Workflow

Purpose: Explain how to read the End Times (Literal Approach) chart, how each component fits together, and how to convert the visual into a reproducible, text-first study plan. This page follows a grammatical-historical method (ESV), keeps the Israel/Church distinction clear, and avoids speculative timelines that outrun the text.

1) What This Chart Is (and Is Not)

What it is: a single-page map of eschatology that lays out, in order, the major biblical events as read with a literal hermeneutic: Church age → catching up of the Church (often called the rapture) → Daniel’s seventieth week (the Tribulation) → the Day of the Lord judgments → the Second Coming → millennial reign → final judgment → new heavens and new earth. It also shows how Israel’s promises relate to the Church and how OT prophecy threads into the NT.

What it is not: a date-setting device or a political map. It is a study tool that keeps texts in their covenantal and literary contexts, foregrounding what Scripture says while allowing for intramural differences on sequence details.

2) The Big Picture: Four Rings with a Storyline Rail

Most readers grasp the chart best by viewing four concentric rings laid over a left-to-right timeline.

Ring 1 (Centre): Hermeneutic & Covental Frame

Literal-grammatical reading as the default sense unless context signals figure.
Covenants: Abrahamic (Gen 12; 15; 17), Davidic (2 Sam 7; Ps 89), New Covenant (Jer 31:31–34; Ezek 36–37).
Israel / Church distinction: Israel retains national promises; the Church shares spiritual blessings in Christ without absorbing Israel (Rom 11).

Reading cue: This ring anchors how you read everything else. Do not skip it.

Ring 2: Major Program Segments

Present Church Age (Acts 2 → now)
Daniel’s 70th Week (Dan 9:24–27)—the Tribulation period
Messiah’s Return & Kingdom (Rev 19–20; Isa 2; 11)
Eternal State (Rev 21–22; Isa 65–66)

Reading cue: Each segment has entry and exit gates marked by key events (e.g., catching up before the Week; Second Coming ends it).

Ring 3: Event Nodes in Sequence

Common nodes on a literal-approach chart:

Catching up of the Church (1 Thess 4:13–18; 1 Cor 15:51–52)
Rise of the Man of Lawlessness / covenant with many (Dan 9:27; 2 Thess 2)
Seals–Trumpets–Bowls (Rev 6–16) under the Day of the Lord theme (Isa 13; Joel 2; 1 Thess 5)
Abomination of Desolation (mid-week marker; Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matt 24:15)
Armageddon cluster (Rev 16:12–16; 19:11–21; Zech 12–14)
Satan bound; Millennium (Rev 20:1–6; Isa 2; 11; 65)
Final Rebellion & Great White Throne (Rev 20:7–15)
New Heavens & New Earth (Rev 21–22; Isa 65–66; 2 Pet 3)

Reading cue: Solid arrows trace textual derivation; dashed arrows show cross-links (e.g., OT oracle → NT echo).

Ring 4: People Groups & Judgments

Israel (national, remnant, restoration promises)
Church (from Pentecost to catching up; return with Christ, Rev 19)
Nations (sheep/goats judgment, Matt 25:31–46; survivors into kingdom)
Resurrections (order markers; 1 Cor 15; Rev 20)

Reading cue: Side-panels often summarize judgment types (seals/trumpets/bowls; throne scenes) and resurrection timing checkpoints.

Storyline rail: Church Age → 70th Week → Return → Kingdom → Final Judgment → New Creation. Use it to place any node in time.

3) Legend—Colours, Lines, and Markers

Colours = category
Blue: Church-age items;
Gold: Israel/prophecy fulfilment;
Red: judgments;
Purple: Second Coming & kingdom;
Green: eternal state.
Solid arrows = textual/chronological progression in the literal reading.
Dashed arrows = theological cross-links (e.g., covenant promises ↔ kingdom features).
Numbers may provide a suggested study order for new readers.
Superscripts often mark primary passages vs. supporting texts.

Read the legend first; it prevents category mistakes (e.g., mixing Church-age promises with Israel’s national covenants).

4) A 25-Minute Reading Plan (First Pass)

Start at the Hermeneutic panel. Note: literal-grammatical method; Israel/Church distinction; covenant throughline.
Move to the Church-Age box. Read Matt 28:18–20 and Acts 1:6–8 for mission scope; note Rom 11 for Israel’s partial hardening, not replacement.
Follow the arrow to the Catching Up (1 Thess 4:13–18; 1 Cor 15:51–52). The chart may present a pre-70th-week catching up; toggles (see §7) note mid- or post-trib alternatives without disrupting the literal framework.
Enter Daniel’s 70th Week. Place Dan 9:24–27 as the frame; then read Matt 24 alongside Rev 6–16 (Seals→Trumpets→Bowls).
Mark the mid-point: abomination of desolation (Matt 24:15; Dan 9:27; 12:11).
Track Day-of-the-Lord judgments to Rev 19 (Second Coming).
Read the Millennium panel: Rev 20:1–6 with Isa 2; 11; 65.
Finish at the Eternal State (Rev 21–22; 2 Pet 3).

5) Worked Examples (Three “How-To” Runs)

A) Daniel’s 70th Week as the Tribulation Frame

Exegesis:
- Dan 9:24–27 sets a final “week” (seven) with sacrifice/abomination markers.
- Matt 24:15–31 references Daniel; Rev 6–16 expands judgments.
Chart use: Open the 70th Week panel; use solid arrows to connect mid-point and judgment series.
Theological analysis: Literal approach reads specific intervals/signs; keeps Israel’s purging/restoration in view (Zech 12–14; Rom 11:26–27).
Application: Teach watchfulness and holiness, not date-setting; warn against supersessionism.

B) Rapture / Catching Up: Where It Sits

Exegesis:
- 1 Thess 4:13–18—the harpazō (“caught up”) event; 1 Cor 15:51–52—“in a moment… the last trumpet” (note context).
- 1 Thess 5—Day of the Lord arrives suddenly; comfort/sobriety exhortations.
Chart use: The Catching Up node sits before the 70th Week on a pre-trib view; toggles note other placements (see §7).
Theological analysis: Dispensational readings emphasise imminence and distinction of Church and Israel programs.
Application: Live ready; comfort believers with resurrection hope.

C) Millennium & Covenants

Exegesis:
- Rev 20:1–6—Satan bound, first resurrection, they reigned… a thousand years.
- Isa 2; 11; 65—earthly righteousness, knowledge of the LORD, transformed conditions.
- Jer 31; Ezek 36–37—New Covenant renewal with Israel.
Chart use: Follow solid arrows from Second Coming to Millennial reign; see dashed links to Abrahamic/Davidic/New Covenant promises being displayed.
Theological analysis: Literal fulfilment honours the plain sense of kingdom texts; the Church shares blessings in Christ without canceling Israel’s national role.
Application: Preach hope grounded in God’s covenant faithfulness (Rom 11:29).

6) Exegesis Layer (How the Chart Keeps You in the Text)

Original-Language Anchors (examples; keep contextual)

“Abomination of desolation” (Heb/Aram shiqquts shōmēm; Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11)
“Caught up” (Gk harpazō, 1 Thess 4:17)
“Parousia” (coming/presence; Matt 24:3, 27; 1 Thess 4:15)
“Chilia etē” (thousand years; Rev 20:2–7)

Grammar & Syntax Cues

Matt 24 discourse structure (birth pains → mid-point → great tribulation → parousia).
Rev 6–16 serial vision cycles; literal approach reads judgments as progressing toward climax.
Rev 20 uses chronological connectors (“then…”) and repeated “thousand years”.

Textual-Variant Note

No widely recognized variant in these loci overturns the macro-sequence; interpretation turns on genre handling and OT/NT integration, not on unstable readings.

7) Theological Analysis (with Dispensational Emphasis and Clear Toggles)

Arminian/Provisionist & Dispensational synthesis:
- Real human responsibility in the face of coming judgment (Acts 17:30–31).
- Israel’s election and irrevocable calling remain (Rom 11:25–29).
- Literal fulfilment of land/kingship/renewal promises during the kingdom; the Church participates in resurrection glory and co-reigns with Christ (Rev 20:4–6).
Toggles acknowledged (without derailing the chart):
- Rapture timing: pre-, mid-, pre-wrath, post-trib. The chart’s default is pre-week (imminence / program distinction), with side tabs noting alternatives for comparison.
- Kingdom nature: literal millennium vs. idealist/amillennial readings; the chart holds to literal earthly reign.
Calvinist/Reformed contrast (for clarity): stronger emphasis in some streams on one people of God and less on Israel/Church distinction; amillennial/postmillennial options often treat Rev 20 symbolically. The chart preserves the literal millennium while affirming soteriological unity in Christ.

8) Historical Context (Why the Chart Looks the Way It Does)

Second Temple expectations: restoration of Israel, Davidic king, day-of-the-LORD judgment, nations streaming to Zion.
Apostolic preaching: warns of coming judgment and proclaims resurrection and kingdom (Acts 3:19–21; 17:31).
Apocalyptic genre: Revelation alludes constantly to OT; a literal approach treats images as real events expressed pictorially, not as mere metaphors detached from history.

9) Scholarly Insight (Conservative/Evangelical; no direct quotations reproduced here)

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah (San Antonio: Ariel Press, 2003).
John F. Walvoord, The Millennial Kingdom (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1959).
Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody, 1986), eschatology sections.
Leon Morris, Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987).
George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972)—useful for already/not-yet kingdom, even where millennial views differ.
Robert E. Picirilli, Grace, Faith, Free Will (Nashville: Randall House, 2002)—for responsibility and appeal under divine sovereignty.

(Add page-exact citations if you later insert direct quotations.)

10) Practical Application (What to Do with This Chart)

Preach and teach watchfulness, not timelines. Emphasize holiness, mission, endurance (Matt 24–25; 1 Thess 5:6–8).
Pray for Israel and the nations. Maintain humility (Rom 11:17–22) and mission urgency (Matt 28:18–20).
Shepherd wisely around debate points. Show the toggle tabs and keep the Church united around core hopes: Christ returns bodily; He judges; He reigns; He renews all things.

11) FAQs (Search-Oriented)

Q1: Why a literal millennium?
Because Rev 20 repeatedly states “a thousand years” with chronological markers, and OT kingdom prophecies (e.g., Isa 2; 11; 65) read naturally as earthly conditions under Messiah’s reign.

Q2: Does the Church replace Israel?
No. Rom 11 teaches a partial, temporary hardening and a future turning; Gentiles are grafted in but do not cancel Israel’s irrevocable calling.

Q3: Must the catching up be pre-trib?
Not strictly; believers differ. The chart’s default placement is before the 70th Week on program-distinction and imminence grounds, with alternatives shown so you can test them by Scripture.

Q4: Is Revelation symbolic, so why read it literally?
Symbols can depict real sequences and events. A literal approach asks first, “What real event does this symbol signify in context and in the OT allusions?”

Q5: What should ordinary believers take away?
Live holy and hopeful; endure hardship; hold fast to Christ; work while it is day; the King is coming.

12) Representative Scripture Index (ESV)

Hermeneutic/Covenants: Gen 12; 15; 17; 2 Sam 7; Jer 31:31–34; Ezek 36–37; Rom 11
Church Age: Matt 28:18–20; Acts 1:6–8; Rev 2–3
Catching Up: 1 Thess 4:13–18; 1 Cor 15:51–52; John 14:1–3
70th Week / Tribulation: Dan 9:24–27; Matt 24; Rev 6–16
Abomination of Desolation: Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matt 24:15
Second Coming / Armageddon: Zech 12–14; Rev 16:12–16; 19:11–21
Millennial Reign: Rev 20:1–6; Isa 2; 11; 65–66
Final Judgment: Rev 20:7–15; Matt 25:31–46
Eternal State: Rev 21–22; 2 Pet 3:10–13

13) A Repeatable Study Loop (Print This)

Pick a node (e.g., Abomination of Desolation).
Read the pericopes (Dan 9; Matt 24) and note OT–NT links.
Place the node on the timeline rail (before/after which events?).
Check covenant connections (how does this event serve God’s promises?).
Write one doctrinal sentence and three applications (holiness, mission, hope).