Category: Seven Last Plagues

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Why is it necessary to show that God judges perfectly?

SUMMARY OF THIS ARTICLE

antichrist last seven yearsThe previous article concluded that the Purpose of the Plagues is not to punish, but to demonstrate that God’s judgments are perfect:

The people with the mark of the beast are the modern Pharisees.  In name, they are Christians, but the plagues will show that they are hardened beyond repentance.

The people with the seal of God will be a persecuted minority, but the plagues will also show that they would rather die than to be unfaithful to their Creator.

The current article provides context to these conclusions:

HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE FOR SIN TO ARISE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

How was it possible for sin to arise if God is almighty and good?

God is love and wants us to love Him in return, but that requires freedom.  For that reason, He creates intelligent beings with the freedom to love or to hate Him.  Sin comes from this freedom.  We can take great comfort in the fact that God did not exterminate the first sinner as soon as he had the first evil thoughts for it shows that our freedom is real. He protects our freedom, even if it costs Him the life of His only begotten Son.

WHY DID GOD ALLOW SIN TO DEVELOP FURTHER?

Why did He allow sin to develop to the level of cruelty and suffering we see around us today?

      • Firstly, by accusing God’s elect, Satan, by implication, accuses God of unfair judgment.
      • Secondly, Satan’s ways did not appear to be evil at first.

If God destroyed Satan before his accusations were refuted and the true nature of rebellion was revealed, the intelligent creatures would have concluded that Satan’s accusations are true.

As stated, the purpose of the plagues is not to punish, but to reveal the truth. More specifically, the purpose of the plagues is to demonstrate that it is not God who kills sinners, but that separation from Him NATURALLY causes degeneration and eventually destruction.  To disconnect yourself from the Almighty is to disconnect yourself from life itself, for God is the life of the universe and of every living being. The purpose of the plaques is to show what happens when the world is disconnected from its Creator. It will self-destruct.

WHY DO ANGELS DOUBT GOD’S JUDGMENTS?

As stated, even the heavenly beings that remain loyal to God were unable to prove conclusively that God’s judgments are always perfect. To understand this, we need to understand how sin developed.

Sin originated in Satan; before the world was created.  He was the most beautiful and most talented being ever created (cf. Ezekiel 18:13) but he wanted to be adored equal to God (Isa 14:13, 14).  Satan is the master accuser (Rev 12:10).  He covered his motives under a cloak of lies. Due to his brilliant attacks on the perfection of God’s judgments, he succeeded to lead a very large portion of the perfect angels away from God (Rev 12:7).  Not even the loyal angels are sure that God always judges perfectly. Therefore, even the loyal angels need answers.

GOD IS NOT THE JUDGE.

Obviously, God wants to make an end of sin as soon as possible.  Why does He allow sin to continue?

Freedom is freedom without fear of punishment.  If we fear that God will punish us if we sin, then we are not completely free.  God will eventually destroy evil and all beings that have become permanently committed to evil, but it will not be a punishment for past evil deeds. He will destroy evil to protect the future safety and happiness of the universe.

But the destruction of evil will only be to the benefit of the universe when God’s angels and people agree that the destruction of evildoers is the only option.  If unanswered questions remain, if a lingering doubt with respect to God’s goodness remains, that doubt can become the seed in the future eternities for another rebellion.  Only when all questions with respect to the nature and consequences of evil have been answered, to the satisfaction of God’s intelligent creatures, can God safely eliminate the destructive forces from the universe.  God, therefore, is not the judge.

 – END OF SUMMARY – 

THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES
IS TO DEMONSTRATE.

The previous article concluded that the Purpose of the Plagues is not to punish, but to demonstrate that God’s judgments are perfect:

The people with the mark of the beast are the modern Pharisees.  In name, they are Christians, but the plagues will show that they are hardened beyond repentance. Even under the most severe circumstances, they will not repent. Therefore the only solution is eternal death.

The people with the seal of God will be a persecuted minority, but the plagues will also show that they would rather die than to be unfaithful to God by submitting to the image of the beast, and, therefore, are worthy of eternal life. 

Combined, these demonstrations will show that God’s judgment, as to who will live and who will die, is perfect.

HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE FOR SIN TO ARISE?

Why did sin arise in the first place? How was it possible for sin to develop?

God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). He is light, and in Him, there is no darkness (1 John 1:5).  His government is based on unconditional love.  He loves all His creatures.  He loved them so much that He was willing to give His only begotten Son to die for them (John 3:16). 

Love requires freedom – God also wants us to love Him in return (Matt 22:37-38), but that requires freedom.  The only obedience that He desires is obedience that results from love.  Obedience that is FORCED or based on FEAR, even in the slightest degree, is no obedience at all.  Real love is freely given. 

Humans have free choice – For that reason, God creates intelligent beings with the freedom to love or to hate Him.  He could have created robots, programmed to always say ‘I love you’, but He chose to create free intelligent creatures, with the ability to curse Him. 

Sin arose from this freedom.  Freedom creates the potential for evil; to hurt and even kill.

WHY DID GOD NOT ELIMINATE
THE FIRST SINNER?

The above explains why the first evil came to exist, but why did God not exterminate the first sinner (Satan) as soon as he had the first evil thoughts?  God could have erased any memory of Satan from our minds, for He is Almighty.

However, if He would do that, our freedom would not be real.  Since He did not do that, we know that God regards our freedom very high.  We can take great comfort in the fact that God did allow Satan to continue for it shows that, although God is Almighty, and although every thought and every action depend on His supporting power, He protects our freedom, even if it costs Him the life of His only begotten Son.

WHY DID GOD ALLOW SIN TO DEVELOP?

Why did God allow sin to develop to the level of cruelty and suffering we see around us today? Why did He not put an end to evil a long time ago?

In the Bible, we often that Satan accuses God’s people, for example in the cases of Job (Job 1:9, 10) and Joshua (Zech 3:1).  Revelation, therefore, refers to Satan as the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10). Since he specifically accuses God’s people, rather than his own followers, Satan, by implication, accuses God of applying grace where grace is not justified.

God had condemned Satan and his angels to the lake of fire (Matt 25:41). To defend himself and his followers, Satan attempts to convince the universe that God judges arbitrarily and that He is severe on those who do not receive grace.

Furthermore, Satan has myriads of angels on his side (Rev 12:7).  This implies that Satan claimed that his rebellion against God will be to the benefit of all God’s creatures; that his strategies will elevate their existence and happiness.  Satan’s ways did not appear to be evil at first. 

Obviously, God wants to make an end of sin as soon as possible.  But if God destroys Satan his accusations against God were refuted and the true nature of rebellion was revealed, doubt over God’s goodness will linger, even with His loyal angels. God had to allow sin to develop to demonstrate the real nature and consequences of evil.

SEPARATION FROM GOD KILLS.

As stated, the purpose of the plagues is not to punish, but to reveal the truth. More specifically, the purpose of the plagues is to demonstrate that it is not God who kills sinners, but that separation from Him NATURALLY causes degeneration and eventually destruction.  This concept can be argued as follows:

God is our life.  All the energy and all the wisdom that created all things came OUT OF God.  He also continually upholds everything by His power (Heb 1:3; Col 1:17).  He is not somewhere out there, while we carry on down here.  He is, rather, continually upholding every aspect of His creation; even Satan himself. For that reason, it would conceptually not be wrong to say that only God exists and that we are part of Him.  We must not underestimate the meaning of the fact that God is Almighty.  He really can do anything, and our existence, from second to second, depends fully on Him.  Therefore, to reject God is to reject life itself, for God is the life of the universe and of every living being.  

Satan disconnected himself from the Source of life.  That is the cause of the degeneration which we currently endure on this planet. The purpose of the plaques is to demonstrate that it is not God who destroys, but that separation from God destroys.

THE WORLD WILL SELF-DESTRUCT.

The plagues will show what happens when the world is disconnected from God. It will self-destruct:

We see evidence of this in Rev 17:16, where the beast, which always carried the woman, will tear her apart. 

Further support for this idea comes from the reference to the “Gog and Magog” in Rev 20:8, which brings with it the words of God against the “Gog of the land of Magog” (Ezek. 38:1) that they will be “a great assembly and a mighty army,” but “every man’s sword will be against his brother” (Ezek 38:15, 21).

We have no need to be afraid of God. It is of sin that we must be afraid. 

ANGELS NEED ANSWERS.

Many people think that sinless heavenly beings (including angels) do not need more information to understand that rebellion against God is bad. That, however, is not true.  Revelation 5 symbolizes the uncertainty among the inhabitants of heaven, of whether God’s judgments are perfect, as a sealed book (See Book of Life).  To understand why angels need answers, we need to understand a little about how sin developed.

THE ORIGIN OF EVIL

Sin existed before man was created, and was brought from heaven to earth by the Serpent of old (Gen 3; Rev 12:9).

Sin originated in Satan.  God said of him: “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you” (Ezek 28:15). 

Satan was (is?) the most beautiful being ever created (cf. Ezek 18:13).  He was adored by all, but he wanted to be adored equal to God (Isa 14:13, 14).  Logically, evil did not suddenly spring up in Satan one day; it developed slowly over a long period.  Given how God deals with sinners on earth, we can safely assume that God warned Satan clearly and repeatedly of the consequences of the direction he was taking.  But, eventually, Satan became fully committed to the path he chose.

EVEN LOYAL ANGELS WERE NOT SURE.

Sin did not remain only with Satan.  He succeeded to lead many of the perfect angels away from God (Rev 12:7). 

Satan is the master accuser (Rev 12:10).  He is able to confuse anything that is clear.  He did not openly admit his intentions, but covered his motives under a cloak of lies, masterfully flattering the angels when they agree with him but, when they disagree, accusing them of not willing to suffer for the goodwill of the universe.  The angels did not understand what the end result of Satan’s strategies would be.  Even the angels that remained loyal to God did not understand.  Therefore, even the loyal angels need answers.

GOD IS NOT THE JUDGE

Freedom is without fear of punishment.

If we fear that God will punish us if we sin, then we are not completely free, and our obedience is forced.  Therefore, God’s intelligent creatures are free to do whatever they wish, without fear of punishment!  GOD WILL NOT PUNISH EVILDOERS. 

God will eventually destroy evil and all beings that have become permanently committed to evil, but it will not be a punishment for past evil deeds. He will destroy evil to protect the future safety and happiness of the universe.

God knows and understands all things, and He knows what is best. But the destruction of evil will only be to the benefit of the universe when God’s angels and people agree that the destruction of evildoers is the only option.  In particular, they must understand why He will destroy some of the people whom they love. If unanswered questions remain, if a lingering doubt with respect to God’s goodness remains, that doubt can become the seed in the future eternities for another rebellion.  Only when all questions with respect to the nature and consequences of evil have been answered, to the satisfaction of God’s intelligent creatures, can God safely eliminate the destructive forces from the universe. 

Sin will never again arise.

In the new heavens and new earth, which God will create, God’s intelligent beings will have the freedom to sin, but there will never again be any sin because all intelligent beings will understand what the end result of selfishness is.  Then we will live in complete safety and trust in the wonderful, perfect new world which He will create:

“Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev 21:5).

That is the reason for the delay.  Time is required to provide answers to Satan’s accusations against God. (See also, The book which not even God can open.)

God, therefore, is not the judge.  For example: 

In the judgment scene in Daniel, many thrones are set up, and the books were opened (Dan 7:9).  It is therefore not only God that judges and God does not need books. 

The judgment will be given to the saved (Rev 20:4). 

CHRIST’S DEATH

Why did God not make an end to sin after Jesus won the victory on the cross? After all, according to the interpretation of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 by this website, one of the goals of Christ’s death was “to make an end of sins” (Dan 7:24). In support of this, in Rev 1:5 we read that Jesus Christ “released us from our sins by His blood.”

JESUS OVERCAME

There are many theories of the atonement (why Christ had to die).  This website supports the view which the church held in the first few centuries, namely that Christ’s life and death was a battle between good and evil, and He overcame evil with good (see Why Christ had to die).  Jesus’ death demonstrated God’s righteousness:

“Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood … This was to demonstrate His righteousness … so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:24-26)

In other words, Christ’s death demonstrated God’s righteousness.  His death proves that God is just when He justifies sinners who have faith in Jesus Christ.

WHAT ELSE IS REQUIRED BEFORE
GOD CAN MAKE AN END OF SIN?

But if Christ’s death on the cross was all that was required to eradicate sin from the universe, God would not have allowed sin to continue there-after.  Since evil and its consequences are still thriving 2000 years later, we must conclude that, to make a complete end to evil, God needs more than the cross. 

That is explained by the Seven Seals of Revelation. Jesus has overcome to be regarded worthy to open the sealed book (Rev 5:5,9) but He is still breaking the seals. That means that He directs events on earth to reveal the perfection of God’s judgments through the deeds of people. The sixth seal has the signs of His return (Rev 6:12-15). In other words, Christ will return and God will execute His judgments as soon as the final seal is broken.

THE GOG AND MAGOG

As stated, the plagues will provide answers.  But even after the plagues, unanswered questions will remain, for sinners will be resurrected at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:5).  Then Satan will also be released from his prison (Rev 20:7).  The purpose of the war of the Gog and Magog (Rev 20:8) is still the same, namely to provide answers to the questions raised by Satan.  Only when all these questions have been answered, will the devil be exterminated in the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev 20:10).

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

It was possible for sin to arise, despite the fact that God is almighty and good, because God creates intelligent beings with the freedom to love or hate.

If God exterminated the first sinner, the intelligent creatures would have concluded that Satan’s accusations are true. God had to allow sin to develop further to reveal that separation from Him NATURALLY causes degeneration and eventually destruction. 

Even some loyal angels doubt the perfection of God’s judgments because Satan masterly covered his true motives under a cloak of lies.

God is not the judge. He will only destroy evil and evildoers when God’s angels and people agree that that is the only option.

ARTICLES ON THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES

Introduction
     Revelation 15
First four plagues
Not interpreted individually
Overview – refuse to repent
Fifth Plague
The Throne of the Beast
The Mighty Angel of Revelation 18.
Conclusions
Sixth Plague
The Great River, the Euphrates, dries up.
The Kings from the East
Armageddon
Does “coming like a thief” support a secret rapture?
Why the Euphrates has to dry up
Summary & Conclusions
Seventh Plague
Purpose of the Plagues
To show that God judges perfectly
      Why is it necessary to show that God’s judges perfectly?

For further reading on Revelation, Jon Paulien’s commentary is recommended. For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.

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Why Euphrates dries up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE

In the first verse of the sixth plague, the waters of the Euphrates River dry up to prepare the way for the kings from the east (Rev 16:12). In Old Testament times, the Euphrates flowed through the ancient city of Babylon and supported life in the city. Revelation converts both Babylon and her river into symbols (Rev 17:1). Previous articles interpreted Rev 16:12 as follows:

Babylon becomes the harlot of Revelation (Rev 17:2), symbolizing the false religious system(s) that has corrupted mankind for thousands of years. But, in the end-time, Babylon represents false Christianity.

The Euphrates River symbolizes the people that support Babylon (cf. Rev 17:15). Since, in the end-time, Babylon takes on a Christian face, the Euphrates represents the people that support false Christianity.

That the Euphrates dries up symbolizes that, due to the attacks of the first five plagues on the kingdom of the beast, the support for false Christianity dries up.

The Kings from the East symbolize Christ and His angels at His return (cf. Rev 19:16).

The purpose of the current article is to explain why the support for false Christianity must dry up before Christ may return.

PRECEDING EVENTS

The plagues begin to fall in the midst of the end-time persecution of Revelation 13:15-16. To answer this question, therefore, requires an appreciation of the preceding end-time events. Previous articles concluded as follows:

THE END-TIME PERSECUTION

The beast (the beast from the sea – Rev 13:1) is the church of the middle ages. This is a foundational concept. Unless this concept is understood and accepted, very little else in the article will make sense. It was “the elders and the chief priests and the scribes” who killed Jesus through the power of the State. Similarly, the church of the middle ages was dominated by men who were not inspired by Christ’s principles of humility (Phil 2:8; Matt 18:4) but by Satan’s desire to dominate and to be served. Consequently, the church of the middle ages killed many of God’s people through the power of the State.

The beast from the earth looks like Christ (Rev 13:11), implying that it is a Christian religious organization. But it speaks like Satan (Rev 13:11), deceives the people of the world (Rev 13:14), is called the false prophet (Rev 16:13), and receives its authority from the beast (Rev 13:12). Therefore, it symbolizes end-time false Christianity.

The mark of the beast is some unbiblical (blasphemous) doctrine or practice for which the beast (the church of the middle ages) is particularly known but which is still used today by false Christianity as boundary marker to identify and persecute heretics. It is not something that will be developed in the end-time.

The end-time persecution of Rev 13:11-18 is persecution by false Christianity of Christians who protest and preach against the orthodox but unscriptural doctrines of the church.

The image of the beast is a replica of the beast, namely of the system during the middle ages when the church dominated civil government and persecuted “heretics” through the strong arm of the state (Rev 13:15; 14:13).

THE FIRST FIVE PLAGUES

Revelation 15 represents a critical point in human history, during that end-time persecution, when all decisions have been made and all people have received either the mark of the beast or the seal of God (Rev 7:1-3; 14:1). In other words, the eternal destiny of every person has been fixed. From this point forward, nobody will change sides (cf. Rev 16:9, 11). But, strangely enough, Christ does still not return. Instead, the plagues begin to fall, but only on the people with the mark of the beast (Rev 16:2, 10).

The fifth plague falls on “the throne of the beast” (Rev 16:10), which is a symbol of the beast’s authority, which is Christian religious authority.

THE LOUD CRY

The fifth plague is the loud cry of Rev 18. Through this powerful proclamation, all people come to understand that false Christianity “HAS BECOME a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit” (Rev 18:1-2). As a result, its “kingdom became darkened” (Rev 16:10), which means that it suffers humiliation before the people of the world.

COME OUT OF HER

The first five plagues are modeled on the plagues through which Israel was liberated from ancient Egypt. But the last two plagues use terminology from Israel’s liberation from ancient Babylon. The loud cry calls God’s people, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues” (Rev 18:4). The last two plagues, therefore, are “her plagues.” In other words, during the fifth plague, God’s people have come out of the organizations of false Christianity.

BLASPHEMED THE GOD OF HEAVEN

But the fifth plague concludes with the words,

“They blasphemed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their sores;
and they did not repent of their deeds”
(Rev 16:11, cf. 16:9).

Previously, the Christians with the mark of the beast believed that the beast spoke for God. Now they realize that they oppose God. But they do not come out of Babylon. They refuse to repent and continue to “blasphemed the God of heaven.”

THE SIXTH PLAGUE

This brings us back to the sixth plague. After Rev 6:12, where the waters of the Euphrates dry up to prepare the way for the kings of the east, “spirits of demons” come from the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (Rev 16:13). This is the same trio that persecutes God’s people in the end-time (Rev 13:2, 11-12), as described above.

This is a turning point in human history. Due to the onslaught of the first five plagues, the false mainstream churches of Christianity have lost many supporters, but now these churches receive new power in the form of “spirits of demons, performing signs” (Rev 16:14). This implies that God allows Satan direct control over the false Christian churches of the world. False Christianity has now joined forces with spiritualism, which is a religious practice based on communication with the spirits of the deceased, through mediums.

Through the power of these miracle-working demon spirits, the false Christian churches gather “the kings of the whole world … for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev 16:14). In other words, they prepare the world to war against Christ when He returns (Rev 16:16; 19:19).

SATAN ACCUSES GOD OF UNFAIR JUDGMENT.

Before we are able to explain why the support for false Christianity must dry up before Christ may return, we also need to appreciate the cosmic context within which the plagues fall, namely that the rebellion against God, which we experience on earth, actually began in heaven when a huge number of God’s holy angels joined Satan’s revolt against God (Gen 3:1, read with Rev 20:2; Rev 12:4, 7; Dan 10:13; Job 1:6). In other words, the war on earth is the outflow of a war between the angels of heaven (Rev 12:7).

God condemned Satan and his angels to hell. To defend himself, Satan accused God of unfair judgment (cf. Rev 12:10). Due to Satan’s enormous intellect and knowledge of the evil committed by each and every person, many even of the sinless heavenly beings are not sure whether Satan is telling the truth and whether God’s judgments are perfect!

Several articles on this website discuss this. For example, Satan accused God that His judgment of Job is false. In the war in heaven, Satan accuses God’s elect, effectively accusing God of bad judgment. This principle is also discussed in the article on the seven seals, where the crisis in heaven is symbolized by a sealed book (Rev 5:1). This book is the book of life, identifying God’s elect. The seals of the book are Satan’s accusations against the people identified in that book.

THE PLAGUES CONFIRM GOD’S JUDGMENTS.

Given the above, we now able to explain why the support for false Christianity must dry up before Christ may return.

The Christians who persecute other Christians, namely the people who have accepted the mark of the beast, are conservative Christians. They are Bible-believing, well-dressed, respectable, refined and educated church-going Christians. They aim to live according to the law of God. They struggle to put to death the deeds of the body (Rom 8:13).

However, God rejects them. He sentenced them to “the second death, the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14).

This enables Satan to accuse God of unfair judgment (Rev 12:10), for it appears as if some of the people with the mark of the beast are more committed to the law of God than some of God’s elect, as identified in “the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev 13:8).

God is able to see what is really in the heart of every person but His intelligent creatures are not omniscient. For them, it is very difficult – even impossible – to distinguish God’s people from other people.

God wants all intelligent beings to trust Him fully. By faith, we live today and by faith, we will always live. In particular, He wants all intelligent beings to trust His judgments perfectly. He, therefore, will allow this world to continue, even after the eternal destiny for each and every person has been decided, to shows to the universe that His judgments are perfect.

The purpose of the plagues is to reveal what created beings are unable to see beneath Christianity façade: the true nature of the end-time Pharisees. Through the plagues, He will show, to all of God’s intelligent creatures, throughout the universe, that the people with the mark of the beast are truly set against God’s principles. That is why the plagues emphasize the perfection of God’s judgments:

“Righteous and true are Your ways …
your righteous acts have been revealed“
(Rev 15:3-4; cf. 16:5, 7; 19:2).

THE PRINCIPLES OF GOD

The name by which you call your god does not matter. What matters are the principles of your god:

“When Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law,” they are God’s children (Rom 2:14).

In contrast to these Gentiles, “the elders and the chief priests and the scribes” of Christ’s day claimed to be God’s true people, but they put the Messiah to death (Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). Jesus described them as follows:

“This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far away from me” (Mark 7:6).

“Serpents … brood of vipers” (Matt 23:33)

In the same way today, a person can claim to be a Christian, but still put the Messiah to death because he or she rejects the principles of God’s kingdom.

CHRIST DISPLAYED GOD’S PRINCIPLES.

Christ is the ultimate example of God’s principles. He had all power, but He allowed weak men to crucify Him because He never selfishly used His power to His own advantage. “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:4). “The one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant” (Luke 22:26). Christ is the greatest in the kingdom of God because He is the one who loves His enemies and is willing to forsake everything for others.

As discussed in the articles on the seven seals, Satan argued that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. He defended himself against God’s judgments by saying that his own corruption was the result of his power and that even the Son of God, given the right circumstances, would become corrupted. To prove that Satan’s insinuations against Him are false, the Son of God became a human being. He became a human to be tested. Satan arranged for the ‘right circumstances’. He tempted and tormented the Son of God during His entire life. His death, understood as His final hours, was His ultimate test. But He never became corrupted. To the end, He loved His enemies (Luke 23:34) and never used His immense powers to His own advantage.

PEOPLE WITH THE MARK OF THE BEAST RULE THE CHURCHES.

Churches are human organizations and part of this evil world. Similar to other human organizations, the people who rise to the top of the command ladder, often, are those who wish to be served by others, and who intimidate other people with their Bible knowledge, eloquence, fine clothes, and wealth. Humble people are seldom elected to top positions in any human organization. That was the case in Christ’s day and explains why the religious leaders in Israel put Christ to death while the common people were fond of listening to Him.

The same happens in the church of all ages. The religious leaders, similar to the Pharisees of old, seem to hold God’s law in high regard. However, consistent with our fallen nature, they are motivated by a desire to control other people and to be served by others. They are dressed “in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets” (Mark 12:38-39). However, they “devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers” (Mark 12:40). They are the people with the mark of the beast.

THE ORTHODOX TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH

The religious leaders of Christ’s day were zealous for “the traditions of the elders” (Mark 7:3, cf. 8). These traditions were intended to prevent people from sinning but put the focus on outward behavior and ignore what goes on in the heart. These burdensome requirements reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men, rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father, and therefore represented God as a tyrant. For the religious leaders, the traditions were more important than the Bible (Mark 7:8). These traditions allowed them to judge other people according to their norms but, eventually, served to separate man from God.

The same applies to the church today. Consistent with the principles that govern their lives, the “Pharisees” of the church form a view of God as cruel, controlling, severe and quick to judge. Based on this view of God and not based on a careful and unprejudiced study of the Bible, over many centuries, under the leadership of such people, the church has developed doctrines that align more with our fallen nature than the character of the loving heavenly Father. For example:

    • That God decides who must go to hell irrespective of what people are or do.
    • That those whom He has condemned to hell, God will torment for all eternity.
    • That Christ had to suffer to save others because God’s righteousness demands that somebody must suffer.
    • That God is full of wrath and has to be pacified.

Similar to the Pharisees of Christ’s day, the end-time Christian leaders will regard the orthodox teachings of the church above the Bible. They rule the church by fear. Consistent with their desire to dominate and control, they condemn, marginalize and persecute people that teach anything contrary to the orthodox teachings of the church. 

THE PLAGUES REVEAL THEIR TRUE NATURE.

The plagues reveal the principles that govern the lives of the people God has condemned to the second death, for, when the first five plagues show them that they really do not serve God, but Satan, and that they are persecuting God’s true people, they refuse to humble themselves and repent (Rev 16:9, 11).

On the contrary, when Satan sends “spirits of demons, performing signs” to gather the kings (Rev 16:14), due to their pride and the hardness of their hearts, they accept this new power with the full knowledge that this power is from Satan. They allow the miracle-working demon spirits to lead them against God. In this way, the plagues will show that they, similar to “the elders and the chief priests and the scribes” of Christ’s day, are fully committed to the principles of the god of this world (cf. 2 Cor 4:4). They “outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly … are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt 23:27-28).

This will confirm God’s judgment of them. It will show that the end-time Pharisees have opened themselves to the powers of darkness to such a degree that the enemy could use them and they would think that they were being used by God.

This is the final test that is required before Jesus may return to the world He created. Jesus’ death was also a test.  Lot’s torment was a test. Everything is tested because the crisis in the universe is about whether the judgments of the Almighty can be fully trusted.

The end-time plagues serve as a test and confirmation of God’s judgments in all ages. On Judgment Day, there will be many who have died in previous centuries who died in the same spiritual condition and demand:

“Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name?” (Matt 7:22)

And Jesus would answer:

“I never knew you; depart from me” (Matt 7:23).

In conclusion, the purpose of the plagues is to prove to all of God’s intelligent creatures, throughout the universe, that God’s judgment is right and perfect, and that we, therefore, can look forward to spending eternity knowing that we can rely 100% on the Almighty.

ARTICLES ON THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES

Introduction – Revelation 15

First four plagues

Fifth Plague

Sixth Plague

Seventh Plague

Purpose of the Plagues

For further reading on Revelation, Jon Paulien’s commentary is recommended. For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.

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