SUMMARY OF THIS ARTICLE
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.
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?
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- 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.
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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.