Tag: Mark of the Beast

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The purpose of the plagues is to show that God judges perfectly.

SUMMARY

The purpose of the plagues is not to save or to punish.  But then the question remains, why does God torment men with the fearful plagues? 

Revelation uses the literal Egyptian plagues as symbols for the end-time disasters.  This implies that the Egyptian plagues can teach us about the end-time plagues, namely:

God will right all wrongs. We complain that life is not fair, but God will ensure that life is eventually fair, except that God’s people receive mercy which they do not deserve. 

The plagues are a judgment on false religions.

That the purpose of the plagues is to teach.  God purposefully hardened Pharaoh’s heart for His purpose was to teach the Egyptians and the nations about the true God.  The end-time plagues will also serve as a lesson.

The plagues in Revelation 16 teach three lessons, namely:

That the people with the mark of the beast, although they appear to be Christians, are hardened beyond repentance, even WHEN THEY KNOW that they oppose God; This shows that, for the happiness of the universe, the only solution for them is the second (eternal) DEATH.

That the repentant sinners—the people with the seal of God—would rather die than disobey God, and are worthy of ETERNAL LIFE.

Consequently, God’s judgment (assessment) of people, as to who will inherit eternal life and who will suffer the second death, is without fault.

These concepts will now be discussed in more detail.

PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES

Not to save – As indicated by the following, the purpose of the plagues is not to save, for nobody will be saved during plagues:

      • The empty temple (Rev 15:8), which symbolizes that salvation is no longer available; (See Introduction to the Plagues);
      • The repeated mention in the plagues that sinners do not repent (Rev 16:9, 11, 21).

Not to punish – Many believe that the purpose of the plagues is to punish, without any saving purpose. In other words, God will punish the wicked simply for the sake of punishment. This website does not support this view, for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (John 3:16). He loves even the people with the mark of the beast. 

Why then torment? – But then the question remains, why does God torment men with the fearful plagues if nobody will repent? The plagues start to fall after the eternal destiny of every person has been permanently sealed.  (See Introduction to the Plagues)  Why will Christ not return and end the reign of sin as soon as all destinies are fixed?

EGYPTIAN TYPOLOGY

Both the plagues on ancient Egyptian and the end-time plagues in Revelation 16 include sores, water turning to blood, darkness, and frogs (Exo 7:17-21; 8:2-13; 9:8-11; 10:21-23).  In fact, the disasters in Revelation 16 are called plagues because Revelation uses the literal Egyptian plagues as symbols for the end-time disasters. This implies that the Egyptian plagues can teach us about the end-time plagues. 

We can learn the following principles from the Egyptian plagues:

      1. That God will right all wrongs;
      2. That the plagues are a judgment on false religions; and
      3. That the PURPOSE of the plagues is to teach.

GOD WILL RIGHT ALL WRONGS

Israel was enslaved and subjected to harsh treatment in Egypt. In the same way, in the end-time, the persecution of God’s people (Rev 13:15) will serve as a catalyst for the end-time plagues. Revelation contains a strong theme of avenging the blood of the martyrs:

“The souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God” cried out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?” (Rev 6:9-10). 

After the first three plagues, “the angel of the waters” commented, “they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it” (Rev 16:6). 

After Babylon was judged (Rev 17:16), “a strong angel” declared, “in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth” (Rev 18:21, 24). And the “great multitude in heaven” rejoiced, saying, “He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her” (Rev 19:1-2).

These statements imply revenge or punishment, but only the living wicked will suffer this punishment. Therefore, this should rather be understood more generally as that God will correct all wrongs. We complain that life is not fair, but in the end, God will ensure that life is fair, except that God’s people receive mercy which they do not deserve. 

JUDGES FALSE RELIGION

The Egyptians worshiped the sun, the river, and many other things, and the Egyptian plagues were a judgment on their gods:

‘I … will strike down all the firstborn …
and against all the gods of Egypt,
I will execute judgments”
(Exo 12:12)

Similarly, the end-time plagues will show how futile reliance on false religion is:

TO TEACH 

But the real main purpose of the plagues is to teach God’s creatures. 

In redeeming Israel from Egypt, God chose to act very visibly. But when He liberated Israel from ancient Babylon, but He acted invisible, except as seen through the eyes of the prophets. He sent pagan armies against Babylon and arranged these forces to be favorable towards Israel. Why did He act so visibly in Egypt?  God purposefully hardened Pharaoh’s heart for His purpose was to teach the Egyptians and the nations about the true God:

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart …
and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
(Exo 14:4; see also Exo 7:3, 7; 4:21; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:8)

The deliverance from Egypt was to serve as a visible lesson to the peoples of the world.  In His mercy He wanted them to learn about His existence and power:

“I raised you (Pharaoh) up,
to demonstrate My power in you,
and that My name might be proclaimed
throughout the whole earth”  (Rom 9:17).

The end-time plagues will also serve as a lesson, for God will not let people suffer simply for the sake of punishment. But the question is: What is the lesson? To discuss this is the purpose of the current article. The next article discusses the questions: For who is the lesson and why do they need these lessons?

THREE LESSONS

The plagues in Revelation 16 teach three lessons, namely:

That the people with the mark of the beast, although they appear to be Christians, are in reality committed to Satan’s principles and are unable to repent, even when they know that they oppose God;

That the people with the seal of God would rather die than disobey God.

Consequently, the plagues reveal that God’s judgment (assessment) of people, as to who will inherit eternal life, is fully accurate.

MARK OF THE BEAST

Three times (16:9, 11, 21) it is said in the plagues that the people with the mark of the beast blaspheme God and do not repent.  This implies that the purpose of the plagues is to see whether they would repent. 

WHEN THE PLAGUES BEGIN

When the plagues start to fall, the people of the world are divided into two clearly demarcated groups.  For example, the people with the mark of the beast are allowed to buy and sell; the others are not (Rev 13:17).  Just like the seal of God is not a literal mark, the mark of the beast is also not a literal mark, but somehow it will be possible to determine to what group each person belongs, for the one group will persecute the other.

Both groups are Christians.  See, the throne of the beast is Christian religious authority.  People often ask what the mark of the beast is.  That question is unnecessary.  Irrespective of what the mark of the beast is, when we see a Christian persecuting another person, either physically or by verbal abuse, we see the spirit of the beast in action.

THE PLAGUES

The plagues only target the large group with the mark of the Beast (Rev 16:2).  These people must, therefore, become increasingly aware of some sort of supernatural support for the hated minority.  In the fifth plague, the mighty angel of Revelation 18 destroys Christian authority.  Through the plagues, therefore, the people with the mark of the beast increasingly realize that they themselves are opposing God.  

But instead of repenting, they curse Him even more bitterly than ever before (Rev 16:9, 11, 21) and become even more resolute in their opposition.  They refuse to admit that they are wrong, even in the face of these severe judgments. 

CONCLUSION

One purpose of the plagues is, therefore, to show that the people with the mark of the beast, although they present themselves as Christians, are hardened beyond repentance.  The plagues serve to reveal the spirit of rebellion that controls their hearts.  

Sin changed people.  There is a point where it becomes impossible for a person to turn to God.  That is the point at which the person receives the mark of the beast.  It means that that person cannot be saved; NOT because God does not want to save, but because something has changed in that individual which makes it impossible to become one with God again.

The plagues, therefore, are not some arbitrary punishment.  It has an eternal purpose.  Through the plagues, God provides abundant proof of the inability of the people with the mark of the beast to repent.  They confess to being Christians, but the plagues will show what they really are; unalterably committed to evil; that the only solution, for the happiness of the universe, is the second death (e.g. Rev. 2:11):

“The wages of sin is death, but
the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:23)

SEAL OF GOD

The second lesson from the plagues that the people with the seal of God are willing to die rather than to disobey God.

“They overcame him (Satan)
because of the blood of the Lamb
and because of the word of their testimony, and
they did not love their life even when faced with death”
(Rev 12:11). 

The plagues follow and continue the period of the most intense persecution of believers in history.  Under the extremely difficult circumstances created by the plagues, the persecutors continue to blaspheme God (Rev 16:8, 11) and continue to persecute the saints.  God will withdraw His restraining Spirit, to allow the persecutors to do whatever they please with God’s people.  This will thoroughly test the characters of the saints, but they will rather die than disobey God.  It will show the changed nature of repentant sinners who were washed clean with the blood of Christ; that they are worthy of eternal life.

GOD’S JUDGMENTS

In the plagues, God is frequently praised for the righteousness of His judgments (Rev 15:3-4; 16:5-7; 19:2).  This implies that the third lesson from the plagues is that God judges righteously.  The plagues prove to the intelligent creatures of the universe that God’s distinction between the people that will receive eternal life and those that will die is without error:

It proves that the people with the mark of the beast are hardened beyond the possibility of repentance, even under the most difficult circumstances. 

The plagues also prove that the people with the seal of God are not willing to disobey God, whatever the cost. 

Together, these issues prove that God judged rightly.  This is, actually, the only purpose of the plagues.

OTHER ARTICLES

An article that is related to the current article asks why the Euphrates has to dry up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.  That article also concludes that the purpose of the plagues is to teach that God’s judgments are right, but it comes to that conclusion by analyzing the symbolism in the sixth plague specifically.

The current article does not explain why it is necessary for the accuracy of God’s judgments to be confirmed, and who needs that information.  Those questions are discussed in the next article.

 

 

 

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Revelation 16 – The first four plagues target the earth, sea, waters and sun.

This is an article in the series on the vision of the seven last plagues (Rev 15-16).

REVELATION 16:2

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth;
and it became a loathsome and malignant sore
on the people who had the mark of the BEAST
and who worshiped his IMAGE.

In Revelation 13, the people of the earth, on demand of the false prophet, establish the IMAGE OF THE BEAST (Rev 13:14). This image then attempts to compel all people to worship (obey) itself and to receive the MARK OF THE BEAST (Rev 13:15, 16). The people “who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image” are therefore not two different groups of people, but one and the same group.

While God’s people are still being killed because they refuse to worship (obey) the image (Rev 13:15), the plagues start to fall, but ONLY on the worshipers of the beast (Rev 16:2, 10). God’s people do not suffer from the plagues. The worshipers of the beast must now realize that they are working against God. How do they respond? Will they repent? This is discussed below.

REVELATION 16:3

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea,
and it became blood like that of a dead man;
and every living thing in the sea died.

Here, God destroys His creation.  That which God so lavishly created on the fifth day, He utterly destroys with the second plague. We can’t help but think of how pleased the Lord was when He made all the plethora of sea life for man’s pleasure and benefit:

“God created … every living thing …
with which the waters abounded, according to their kind
… And God saw that it was GOOD“ (Gen 1:20-23)!

REVELATION 16:4

Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers
and the springs of waters; and they became blood.

REVELATION 16:5

And I heard the angel of the waters saying,

“RIGHTEOUS ARE YOU,
who are and who were,
O Holy One,
because You judged these things;

Revelation often describes God as “Him who IS and who WAS and who is TO COME” (Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8). This identifies God as eternal. But Rev 16:5 omits the “is to come”-part because, as concluded in another previous article, the plagues are the first stages of Christ’s return. When the plagues begin to fall, God’s people are still persecuted, but when the plagues come to an end, the worshipers of the beast are dead, as explained below.   

The seventh trumpet (Rev 11:17) similarly omits the “is to come”-part, describing God only as He “who are and who were,” for at that point in time Christ has already come:

”The kingdom of the world HAS BECOME
the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” (Rev 11:15). 

This is another indication that each of the main sections of Revelation ends with the return of Christ. For a discussion of this, see Are the events in Revelation in a strict chronological sequence?

REVELATION 16:6

for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets,
and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.”

Later in Revelation, we will read about the harlot Babylon, the mother of harlots: 

She is “drunk with the BLOOD of the saints” (Rev 17:6).

“In her was found the BLOOD of prophets and of the saints,
and of all who have been KILLED on the earth” (Rev 18:24).

God’s enemies have shed the blood of saints and prophets throughout history (1 Kings 18:4; 19:4; 2 Kings 24:4; 2 Chron 24:21; Psa 79:1-4; Jer 2:30; 26:23; Lam 4:13).  Jesus mentioned this in His parables:

“The vine-growers took his slaves and BEAT one,
and KILLED another, and STONES a third.”
(Matt 21:35-36)

Since the rejection of Messiah Jesus, 2000 years ago, the toll of the shed blood of the saints has escalated dramatically. Yet, the persecutions of history will pale in comparison with that which befalls the saints in the crisis when the beast (Rev 13:7, 10) and his image (Rev 13:15) slaughter the saints during SATAN’S FINAL ATTEMPT to overthrow God’s plan.

REVELATION 16:7

And I heard the altar saying,
‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS are Your judgments.’

This is essentially a repeat of what the angel has said in the previous verse (Rev 16:5-6). Both the angel and the altar confirm that God’s decisions are “true and righteous.” This relates to the purpose of the plagues, which is to serve as a “demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). This is discussed below.

ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING

One does not normally expect an altar to speak, but in apocalyptic literature, anything is possible. There were two altars in the Jewish temple area. Both are mentioned in Revelation:

Golden altar: The “golden” altar (Rev 8:3), from which rises “the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints” (Rev 8:4), is also called the altar of incense. It was INSIDE the Jewish temple.  In Revelation, this altar is “before the throne” (Rev 8:3) and therefore “in the temple” (Rev 16:17), which is IN HEAVEN (Rev 11:19).

Altar of burnt offerings: In Revelation 6, John saw “underneath THE ALTAR the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God” (Rev 6:9). This “altar” was symbolized by the Jewish altar of burnt offerings, which was OUTSIDE the temple. It represents the martyrdom of Christ and His people. This altar is ON EARTH because that is where God’s people are persecuted and killed.  

The altar in Rev 16:7 is probably the altar of burnt offering because it is not identified as “golden” and because it responds to the statement in the previous verse about the pouring out of “the blood of saints and prophets.” 

JUDGING AND AVENGING OUR BLOOD

In the fifth seal,

“The souls of those who had been slain …
cried out  … How long, O Lord, holy and true,
will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?”
(Rev 6:9-10). 

The plagues are the answer to this request. In the plagues, the long delay in God’s judgment comes to an end, and the third plague angel says,

“They poured out the blood of saints and prophets,
and You have given them blood to drink.
They deserve it” (Rev 16:6).

REVELATION 16:8

The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun,
and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.

Normally, the sun warms and cheers men, stimulates plant growth, and regulates climate and many other processes necessary to maintain life. But now it sends forth an excess of heat that torments men and destroys life.  But, somehow, God’s people will be protected from this scorching fire (Rev 16:2).

REVELATION 16:9

Men were scorched with fierce heat;
and they BLASPHEMED the name of God
who has the power over these plagues,
and they DID NOT REPENT so as to give Him glory.

The sins of the people that worship (obey) the image of the beast include that they persecute God’s people (Rev 13:15). Since they refuse to repent, it means that God’s people are still being persecuted.

PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES

While the angel of the water and the altar praise God for His final judgments (Rev 16:5-7), the worshipers of the beast curse Him.

As discussed, the beast of Revelation is the mainstream church of Christendom. The people with the mark of the beast, therefore, are not atheists; the Christians, but equivalent to the Pharisees of Christ’s day. When the plagues start to fall but only affect them (Rev 16:2), the people with the mark of the beast should be able to see that the despised heretics do not suffer because of the plagues. They must realize that they themselves are opposing God. But they have become hardened beyond repentance (Rev 16:9, 11, 21). Even in the face of the devastation around them, their hearts are set against God in such hatred that all they can do is continue on their evil ways, and curse God. 

God knows that nothing will convince the people, who accepted the mark of the beast, to repent. God’s creatures, however, do not have His infinite knowledge.  The PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES is to prove to all intelligent beings in the universe whom God condemned to the second death have passed an invisible point of no return, and are unable to repent from their hatred, even under the most severe circumstance. 

The plagues will, therefore, show that God is right when He destroys them, which He will do in the last plague. 

MARK OF THE BEAST

That is actually the meaning of the MARK OF THE BEAST.  Rephrased, a person who has become unable to repent is said to have received the mark of the beast. Because Revelation says that they refuse to repent (Rev 16:9, 11), we must assume that the opportunity to repent still exists; even at this late hour.  God’s hand of mercy is still being extended, but these multitudes will have none of it.  It is not that God does not want to forgive.  It is that these people have become unable to change.

SUMMARY

God is identified as He “who are and who were” because the plagues are part of the RETURN OF CHRIST.  These are the LAST plagues.  When they end, all the people with the mark of the beast are dead.

The first four bowls target the earth, sea, waters, and the sun, but God’s people are protected from the plagues.  The people with the mark of the beast can see this, but they have become so entrenched in their ways that they are UNABLE TO REPENT.  Even in the face of the devastation around them, their hearts are set against God in such hatred that all they can do is continue on their evil ways, and curse God. 

Both the third angel and the altar—a symbol of the martyrdom of God’s people—confirm that God’s decisions are “true and righteous.”  This is the PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES, namely to demonstrate that God is just, namely to prove to all the universe that the worshipers of the beast are unable to repent from their hatred, even under the most severe circumstance. The plagues will, therefore, show that God is right when He destroys them, which He will do in the last plague. 

That is actually the meaning of the MARK OF THE BEAST.  God is always willing to save, but a person who has become unable to repent is said to have received the mark of the beast.

OTHER ARTICLES