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=====Plagues=====

=====Plagues=====

During the Tribulation period a total of 21 judgments are pronounced on the earth, grouped into three series of seven judgments each.  The first seven are announced by the breaking of Seals, the next seven announced by the blowing of Trumpets, and the final seven announced by the pouring out of Bowls.

During the Tribulation period a series of judgments are pronounced on the earth, grouped into three series of seven judgments each.  The first seven are announced by the breaking of Seals, the next seven announced by the blowing of Trumpets, and the final seven announced by the pouring out of Bowls.

The first four seals are widely-known even in the secular world by their appearance as four horses and riders, commonly referred to as The [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]].  Traditionally they are referred to as Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death; however, the Bible itself only directly names Death.  The first horseman is believed by some to refer to the Antichrist (as it appears early in Chapter 3), while other interpretations (common among those holding to Postmillenial views) equate it to worldwide Gospel preaching.  Some scholars hold to a direct correlation between the events of the seals and the list of events found in the Olivet Discourse, as found in Matthew 24. According to this view, the first four seals are usually perceived as being the ''beginning of birth pangs'' (Matthew 24:4-8).

The first four seals are widely-known even in the secular world by their appearance as four horses and riders, commonly referred to as The [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]].  Traditionally they are referred to as Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death; however, the Bible itself only directly names Death.  The first horseman is believed by some to refer to the Antichrist (as it appears early in Chapter 3), while other interpretations (common among those holding to Postmillenial views) equate it to worldwide Gospel preaching.  Some scholars hold to a direct correlation between the events of the seals and the list of events found in the Olivet Discourse, as found in Matthew 24. According to this view, the first four seals are usually perceived as being the ''beginning of birth pangs'' (Matthew 24:4-8).

However, the sequence of the order of these plagues are disputed among prophecy teachers. There are two main camps:

However, there is disagreement as to whether each series takes place separately from the others, or if they overlap with each other.

*The "concurrent" or "overlapping" interpretation postulates that the judgements overlap each other, with the Seal judgments being the longest in duration, the Trumpet judgments being shorter, and the Bowl judgments the shortest.

*The majority position (and the one traditionally held) is the "consecutive" or "crescendo" interpretation, which teaches that the Seal judgments take place first, followed by the Trumpet judgments, and finally by the Bowl judgments, and that each set is harsher than the prior set. Further, each judgment within a series takes place in the order shown in Revelation

*The "consecutive" or "crescendo" interpretation teaches that the next set of judgments occur after the previous set of judgments, and increase in harshness between them.  As such, the Seal judgments are followed by the Trumpet judgments and finally by the Bowl judgments.

*The minority position is the "concurrent" or "overlapping" interpretation, which teaches that the judgments overlap each other, with the Seal judgments being the longest in duration, the Trumpet judgments being shorter, and the Bowl judgments the shortest.

=====The [[Whore of Babylon]]=====

=====The [[Whore of Babylon]]=====