3½ years?

I was recently asked by someone, whether I had considered the tribulation to be 3½ years, rather than 7.

I responded to the question.

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I have considered the 3½ year tribulation for a while.

The prophecy given to Daniel has a final seven years.

Most of the things I have read attempted to overlay those 7 years evenly upon Revelation 6-19.

That overlay involved splitting the plagues over 7 years, to keep with a strict chronological order of the chapters.

This resulted with their having the seals opened early in the seven years.

There would then be the following, early in the 7 years:

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Which sounds more like what it will be like at the time of the return of Jesus (rather than a number of years beforehand):

Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Also:

Revelation 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Which would have heaven opened like a scroll, early in the 7 years, but then not closed again.

Also:

Revelation 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said 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:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Would have the kings of the earth hiding from the wrath of the Lamb, knowing it was the Lamb of God, early in the 7 years.

If so, then when do those kings come back out from hiding, to not only bewail and lament for Babylon, but to also be brought by the miracles of the three unclean spirits, to Armageddon?

So, after the sun blackened, the moon to blood, the great earthquake, the kings hiding, the people can see into the opened heaven, and apparently know it is the Lamb that they see there;

That after all that, the whole world still goes after the anti-messiah, and worships him?

Wouldn't be easier to spread the seals over the great tribulation of 3½ years?

And maybe spread the trumpets out over the time of last couple of seals?

And maybe even then to spread the vials over the time of the last few trumpets?

In other words, is it possible that some of the chapters may not be in a strict chronological order, and that some of the things may happen in parallel, or around the same time?

As for the first 3½ years, of the prophecy given to Daniel, can there be two competing things?

One, that Jesus perfectly confirmed the covenant during his ministry of about the same time frame?

But then, two, that the anti-messiah knows that Israel expects a confirmation of the covenant by their messiah, from Daniel 9:27?

So, will he then attempt to counterfeit that perfect confirmation of the covenant by Jesus, 2,000 years earlier?

And will the anti-messiah's counterfeit also be accompanied by signs and miracles, like Jesus' ministry was?

Will his counterfeit also be accompanied with a false-Elijah to have fire to come down from heaven?

Will his counterfeit also then allow Israel to have their temple rebuilt and sacrifices resumed?

Will his counterfeit also have him even appear to come back to life after being killed, like with Jesus' ministry?

If so, then after that 3½ years of his counterfeit, will he then go into the temple declaring himself to be God?

Will then many of Israel reject him, and he will turn on them, thus beginning the second 3½ year period, the great tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble?