The Character of God becomes very clear as we understand the true initiator of the Seven Last Plagues. It builds on each presentation of the Suffering in Revelation Series and has been a life changing understanding for both of us.
SHOW NOTES
7 PlaguesRevelation 15-16
Who sends the Plagues?
Some voices in Revelation seem to suggest that God sends the plagues:
Angel of 7th trumpet 11:18
Temple angels (dressed like Jesus) 15:5-7 Water angel 16:5-6
Altar angel 16:7
Wicked blame God 16:19-21
The Wrath of God
1. God has no anger for rebels—A, E, Cain. Jesus (Mt 5:43-48)
2. God’s angels hold back the winds of strife (Revelation 7:1-2)
3. God’ wrath or anger means He gives rebels over to their choices (Dt 31:17; Num 12:9; Isa 10:5; Rm 1:18, 24, 26, 28; Rev 14:9-11; 15:7) 4. God’s wrath is finished when he is forced to release the wind or plagues (Rev 7:1-3; 9:14; 11:18; 15:1; 16:1) 5. Incense with trumpets (8:5) but none with the plagues (15:8) (Numbers 16:41-50 illustrates the saving power of incense)
The Wrath of God
Ambulances are associated with accidents but they are not the cause of the accidents! Correlation does not equal causation. Most people who die in Europe have hearing aids, BUT hearing aids are not the cause of their death.
GOD/JESUS DEVIL/SATAN ME/YOU
Who does what in the Cosmic Struggle? John 10:10 Satan (Destroyer) Jesus (Creator) Author of Faith Source of Hope Lover of your Soul
1 John 1:5 (NLT) This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. Compare Isaiah 45:7 (NLT) I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.
Seven Seals
(4:1—8:1) Ez 5:17; Lk 21 1. White horse: Antichrist’s who include fake Christians 2. Red horse: War and all its attendant ills 3. Black horse: Famine—physical, emotional and spiritual 4. Pale horse: Plague and disease 5. Souls under the altar: Martyrs who want redress from God 6. Mass Suicide: Sinners call on mountains to fall on them – INTERLUDE 1 (7:1—17) 7. Silence in heaven for half an hour
Who did it? Satan or God?
Seven Trumpets (8:2— 11:19) 1. Hail and fire mixed with blood: Satan’s perversion of Good 2. Burning mountain into the sea: Satan’s kingdom thrives in wickedness 3. Burning star causes 1/3 of the rivers and streams to be bitter
4. 1/3 of the sun, moon and stars darkened: “God” has turned?
5. Fallen star opens the Abyss: Demonic deceptions abound 6. Four angels release evil powers who kill a 1/3 of mankind – INTERLUDE 2 (10:1—11:14) 7. God reigns—Lightening flashes, thunder crashes, earthquake. Who did it? Satan or God?
Seven Battles (12:1—14:20)
Red Dragon almost destroys the male child
The Dragon and his angels fight Michael and his angels
The Dragon attempts to destroy the Woman in white
The Sea Beast with seven heads claims divine worship
The Sea Beast blasphemes God for 42 months
Earth Beast (False Prophet) enforces Sea Beast worship – INTERLUDE 3 (Chapter 14:1-12)
The Saints taken to heaven, Sinners destroyed Who did all this? Satan or God?
Seventh Battle (14:14—20)
• Grain harvest: (God’s action)
– Cloud, Son of Man, Crown, Sickle
– Temple angel shouts to Son of Man: “harvest!” – Grain harvested=Second Coming
• Grape harvest: (Who does it?)
– Temple angel with sickle
– Altar angel with fire shouts to Temple angel: “harvest!”
– Grapes harvested=Great blood flow=Death & destruction.
Who caused the trouble in the Churches, Seals, Trumpets & Battles?
1. Satan is the one who harasses the churches (2:24, 3:9-10, 3:13)
2. 5th Seal: martyrs calling for justice
3. Trumpets are all of Satan
4. Battles are initiated and propagated by Satan We may expect to find that the 7 plagues come from Satan
7 Plagues (Rev 15-16)
1. Sores on Beast worshipers
2. Sea turned to blood
3. Rivers and Springs turned to blood
4. Sun scorches people
5. Beast empire thrown into darkness
6. Euphrates dries up. (Demonic spirits at work 16:13-16) – Interlude Jesus coming like a thief
7. It is finished
7 Trumpets 1/3 7 Plagues (110)
1. On Earth 2. On Sea 3. On Rivers 4. On Sun 5. Darkness 6. On Euphrates —Interlude 7. Voices “It is done!” 1. Sores on Beast worshipers 2. Sea turned to blood 3. Rivers and Springs turned to blood 4. Sun scorches people 5. Beast empire thrown into darkness 6. Euphrates dries up — Interlude Jesus coming like a thief 7. Voice “It is finished!”
7 Plagues are Symbolic 1. Blood, Sea, Rivers, Beast, Mark, Image—Symbols 2. 7th Plague on Babylon—Symbol 3. Euphrates drying up—symbolic of end of Babylon 4. Darkness on Seat of the Beast—Confusion for leaders 5. Beast empire thrown into darkness (Wickedness) 6. It is finished (“It”=Dragon, Beast and False Prophet)
Parallel between 4 Winds & 7 Plagues
4 angels hold the 4 winds (7:1)
These 4 angels have power to harm the earth (7:2) by letting the winds go.
7 plagues are held (NLT & Phillips) by the 7 angels (15:1)
These 7 angels are given 7 bowls which contain the wrath of God (15:7)
Pouring the bowls in the earth prepares the way for the plagues=Forcing God away from earth prepares the way for the plague destruction
First Plague Revelation 16:2 (73)
Ugly and Painful Sores on Beast worshipers Falls on Land. Where the False Prophet came from Only on those who have the Mark of the Beast They think like the Beast: Force and Deceit— Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Dispair, Anxiety, Depression, Suicide
Second Plague Revelation 16:3 (73)
Sea is turned to blood. All living things die in the sea. Sea: the origin of all the beasts in Daniel 7 and Rev 13:1 Refers to turbulent, evil people Rev 17:15. Woman sits on scarlet beast=masses of people Death is spiritual, emotional and physical as predicted No more sea on the New Earth
Third Plague Revelation 16:4 (73)
Rivers and streams become blood River of life, streams of life from Jesus and Holy Spirit —symbolize the gospel (Jn 4; Rev 7:17). The gospel is poisoned by Satan through legalism, “sale” of forgiveness, eternal fire, horrible picture of God who is waiting to punish and destroy sinners.
Fourth Plague Revelation 16:8 (73)
Sun scorches people with fire Sun symbolizes Jesus the light of life (John 8:12; Rev 12:1) How can Jesus burn people? Satan can masquerade as an angel of light—even Jesus (2 Cor 11:14) He has always portrayed God and his Christ as destructive.
Fifth Plague Revelation 16:10-11 (74)
The throne of the beast and his kingdom was plunged into darkness The French and Bolshevik revolutions are mild examples of this darkness. It is the sure consequence of refusing the kindness of God in governance. It is the darkness or confusion of selfishness. It is the bankruptcy of deceit and violence.
Sixth Plague Revelation 16:12-16 (74-76)
Euphrates dried up so Kings of the East can come The Euphrates dried up symbolizes the death of Babylon the kingdom of selfishness. CEO’s versus workers pay. What happened to Communism is sure to happen to Capitalism.
Sixth Plague Revelation 16:12-16 (74-76)
Frogs out of the mouth of the Dragon, Beast & False Prophet
Unholy trinity: Satan, Human Dictators, Satan incarnate Demonic spirits which looked like 3 Frogs.
Frogs most unclean animals. Counter 3 Angels of chp 14. Frogs catch their prey with their tongues:
Atheism, Capitalism, Communism, Evolution, Ism’s
Sixth Plague Revelation 16:12-16 (74-76) Interlude (vs 15) Jesus is coming unexpectedly—like a thief. Clothes—the robe of righteousness Jesus gives us to deal with our shame. Without this robe we blame God for our pain.
Sixth Plague Revelation 16:12-16 (74-76) Armageddon Symbol of the battle between: Father, Church, Holy Spirit — Dragon, Beast, False Prophet Father, Son, Spirit — Devil, Dictators, Demons
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76) “It is done.” At creation, at cross, at end of evil. Babylon split into 3 by an earthquake Huge hailstones fall on men Chapters 17-20 give more detail on this plague.
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76)
19:20 And the Beast was captured, and with him the False Prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the Beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the Mark of the Beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the Beast and his False Prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76) 19:21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. Sharp sword from mouth is not physical violence. Jesus: “ . . . all who reject me . . . will be judged . . . by the truth I have spoken.” (John 12:48)
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76) Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. 16 Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76) Isa 14:17 “Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?”
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76) Isa 14:20 “You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. The descendants of such an evil person will never again receive honor.”
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76)
Ez 28:18 ”You defiled your sanctuaries
with your many sins and your dishonest trade.
So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you.
I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end,
and you will exist no more.”
Seventh Plague Revelation 16:17-21 (76) 1. Evil will destroy all who refuse God’s salvation. It is NOT an imposed death or punishment. It is the consequence of refusing God’s protection. 2. We must take sin seriously. Sinners are doomed to eternal death because it is an inherent consequence of sin, not because God kills sinners. 3. Oh the wonder of God’s salvation!
Plagues as Removal of Restraint
I was shown that the judgments of God would not come directly out from the Lord upon them, but in this way: They place themselves beyond His protection. He warns, corrects, reproves, and points out the only path of safety; then, if those who have been the objects of His special care will follow their own course, independent of the Spirit of God, after repeated warnings, if they choose their own way, then He does not commission His angels to prevent Satan’s decided attacks upon them. E. G. White, Last Day Events, 242.
Compelling power is found only in Satan’s government
God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found ONLY under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power. {DA 759.1}
Satan works so God is blamed for Evil.
All this was as Satan would have it. This was what for ages he had been working to secure. His policy is deception from first to last, and his steadfast purpose is to bring woe and wretchedness upon men, to deface and defile the workmanship of God, to mar the divine purposes of benevolence and love, and thus cause grief in heaven. Then by his deceptive arts he blinds the minds of men, and leads them to throw back the blame of his work upon God, as if all this misery were the result of the Creator's plan {GC 284.2}
The Consequence of Evil.
For the wages (consequence) of sin is death (psychological, emotional, spiritual and eventually physical) but the free gift of God is eternal life.
Romans 6:23 NLT
Matthew 5:43-48 NLT 43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:44-45 NLT 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. We may expect that God will be true to this picture painted by Jesus—the only eye witness to God’s character.
This passage claims that: 1. God loves his enemies. 2. God prays health, wealth and happiness for his enemies. 3. God sends his blessings on those who persecute him. 4. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection demonstrated these claims to be true.