The Seven Last Plagues
The seven last plagues are the most horrible, terrifying, and destructive of all the plagues which are to be come upon the earth and humanity:
"For then will be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever will be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened" (Matt.24:21-22 KJV).
All of humanity will not be destroyed because of the promises God has made to the patriarchs and the elect concerning their inheritance, descendants, rulership, and his future plans for the rest of humanity.
Revelation 15:1, 5-8 KJV
"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God" (v1).
As a part of the wrath of God and in preparation for the invasion of the earth by Jesus Christ and his vast army, there will be seven last plagues poured out upon the earth. Remember that the nations of the earth will have already been devastated by the preceding punishments announced by angels with the trumpets. But, there will be seven more of these spirit messengers who will bring even more destruction upon the earth and those who are left alive:
"And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave to the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man [i.e., no one] was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" (vs.5-8).
God's Wrath Poured Out Revelation 16:1-21 KJV
"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth" (v1).
The First Plague
"And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image" (v2).
This seems to be a special punishment that is specifically designed for those who have received the mark of the Beast system and worship the image of its leader. These who are to be punished are the servants of this evil political and spiritual system who still refuse to repent and worship the true God after being given the opportunity to repent during the preceding plagues.
The Second Plague
"And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea" (v3).
The effect of all life in the sea dying will be devastating. Without its cleansing effect on the air we breath, all human and animal life on earth would eventually die.
The Third Plague
"And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, You are righteous, O Lord, which are, and was, and will be, because you have judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy" (vs.4-6).
As was done during the plague upon Egypt, we see that the source of the rivers will again be turned into blood. However, this time it is not only the rivers but the source of all water that will be turned to blood. This plague has the potential to destroy all human, animal, and plant life on the earth.
A Righteous Judgment
"And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments" (v7).
Why are God's judgments righteous? They are true and righteous because the penalty for sin is death (Rom.6:23) and after the first resurrection, there will only be sinful people left on the planet who are all worthy of death.
The Fourth Plague
"And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which has power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory" (vs.8-9).
The prophet Isaiah also speaks of a time when the moon and sun will radiate a tremendous amount of heat upon the earth. It is hard to imagine heat of this magnitude striking the earth and the damage that it will cause:
"Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the breach of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound. Behold, the name of the Lord comes from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: And his breath, as an overflowing stream, will reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there will be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err" (Isa.30:26-28 KJV).
A sevenfold increase in the sun's radiation would immediately ignite all the forests and grasslands and begin to combust and/or vaporize all materials on the earth's surface with a flash point under 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Fifth Plague
"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds" (vs.10-11).
Amazingly, there will still be people alive on the planet after the fourth plague; therefore, we can assume that the fourth plague will not last long. The fifth plague is specifically tailored for the geographical area wherein the nations comprising the Beast system are located. See Ex.10:21-23.
Notice that those who sit in darkness are in great pain. Most likely some of this pain is partly due to mental anguish, from injuries sustained in the previous four plagues, and specifically, the plague of sores with which they are still being afflicted. Nevertheless, they will continue to blaspheme God and refuse to turn away from the things that have caused God to punish them.
The Sixth Plague
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared" (v12).
The Euphrates River will be dried up to allow a vast army from the East to cross over it.
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (vs.13-14).
Not only are the evil spirits who lead the nations to the east of the Euphrates River going to gather their forces to fight Jesus Christ as he returns to earth with his army but also they will gather a great military force from among all nations and assemble them in a place called Armageddon to fight Christ:
"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" (v16).
The Seventh Plague
"And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightning; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found" (vs. 17-20).
Here, we see great atmospheric disturbances and the greatest earthquake in human history shakes the entire earth causing massive destruction on a worldwide scale.
God will remember the evil political, governmental, and religious system of Babylon that caused so much pain, suffering, and agony to humanity. And he will begin the final process whereby he will totally eliminate it and the evil spirits who rule it from the earth.
"And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great" (v21).
This plague contains hailstones that weigh approximately 120 pounds. It is obvious that most things hit by them will be destroyed. Once this final plague is finished, the entire earth will be in shambles; its land will lie ruined, its cities will be destroyed, and its people will be demoralized and living in terror, wondering what horror the next day will bring. Yet, they still will not acknowledge the true God and his Son Jesus Christ and repent of their evil ways; instead, they will curse God for punishing them.
Christ Returns to Conquer
This final plague will lead to the return of Jesus Christ as conquering King and the final destruction of the Babylonian Beast system.
Jeremiah
"A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with the nations; he will plead with all flesh; he will give those who are wicked to the sword, says the Lord. This says the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the farthest parts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be refuse upon the ground" (Jer.25:31-33 KJV)
Isaiah 13:6-13
"Scream in terror, for the Lord's time has come, the time for the Almighty to crush you. Your arms lie paralyzed with fear; the strongest hearts melt, and are afraid. Fear grips you with terrible pangs, like those of a woman in labor. You look at one another, helpless, as the flames of the burning city reflect upon your pallid faces. For see, the day of the Lord is coming, the terrible day of his wrath and fierce anger. The land shall be destroyed, and all the sinners with it. The heavens will be black above them. No light will shine from stars or sun or moon. And I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sin; I will crush the arrogance of the proud man and the haughtiness of the rich. Few will live when I have finished my work. Men will be as scarce as gold—of greater value than the gold of Ophir. For I will shake the heavens in my wrath and fierce anger, and the earth will move from its place in the skies" (Isa.13:6-13 LBP).
During the seven last plagues, anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved from these terrible plagues, just as ancient Israel was protected from most of the plagues of Egypt:
"Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved; even in Jerusalem some will escape, just as the Lord has promised, for he has chosen some to survive" (Joel 2:32 LBP).
THE INVASION BEGINS
Revelation 19:11-16 KJV
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon it was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns;. . . and he was clothed with a garment that had been dipped in blood: and his name was called The Word of God" (vs.11-13).
In this vision, John sees Jesus Christ in battle dress, ready to invade the earth and make war with the nations who have not heeded the warnings to repent of their wickedness.
"And the armies that were in heaven followed upon white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth goes forth a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations: and he will shepherd them with an iron rod: and he treads the winepress of the anger of God Almighty. And he has on his garment and on his right thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords" (vs.14-16).
With the return of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, a whole new era of peace and prosperity will emerge. From the death and destruction caused by the wrath of God on an evil and corrupt world will come a people who will have the opportunity to live in a great time of peace and prosperity.
By B.L. Cocherell b2w13f