“Hereafter” or “After This” (Revelation 1:19, Revelation 4:1)

The next chart is a summary of the words of the Lord to John, instructing him to write the things that he has seen, the things that are, and the things that shall be, Revelation 1:19.  As can be seen below, the church age falls within the category of "the things that are."  The rapture of the church is what falls under the term used by the Lord, "hereafter" as translated in the King James Version (KJV).  Again, the difference between this chart and the previous one, is the expansion of the timeline for the period covering the church age.  This is done for purely chartmanship reasons to avoid clutter, and to enhance clarity in the description of the churches.

In Revelation 1:19, the Lord instructed John to write the things that he had seen (his witness of Christ’s first advent), the things that are (the church age), and the things which will be hereafter (the tribulation, millennial reign of Christ, and the future eternity). There are three distinct periods of time that was given by the Father, Revelation 1:1, Acts 1:6-7. These three periods concern Israel and the church. The first period is related to the time that John observed and participated in the Lord’s earthly ministry, 1John 1:1-4. The second period is the things that are, or the church age. The letters to the seven churches in Asia show that this period is related to the church age. The final period, which indicates a future event relative to the church age, is the transition into the opening of the tribulation. The phrase “hereafter” is the same word in Greek to that used in Revelation 4:1 to reinforce this relationship, that the church is removed, or raptured, prior to the things “hereafter,” which is the tribulation.  This is illustrated in the following graphic where the "things you have seen" align with the events surrounding the cross, the "things that are" are aligned with the church age, and the "things that shall be" are aligned with the future events following the rapture of the church, which is the "hereafter."