There are many people in
the world today who feel quite convinced in their own minds that
we have almost come to the end of all things. But they are not
making any effort at all to prepare themselves to meet the Saviour.
Most folk, although they are troubled in their minds and they
realize that a great crisis faces them, they just can’t be
bothered doing anything. One man said "When the time comes, I will
be ready to take my medicine." Others say, "God is too much of a
God of love to harm anybody."
A Judgment Coming
Matthew 13:37-43; "He answered and said unto them, He
that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the
world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom but the tares
are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is
the devil, the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers
are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in
the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41; The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall
gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath
ears to hear, let him hear."
There is a judgment
coming. There is an end to this present world. That is made very
clear from this statement of our Lord.
In
Matthew 24:14; we read, "And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all
nations, and then the end shall come."
Window
of Opportunity
God has commissioned the
giving of this gospel message to the entire world. Today men have
the opportunity to make their decision either for the acceptance
or the rejecting of Jesus Christ. Soon this opportunity will no
longer be available. It will be too late when Jesus comes.
In
Revelation 22:11; we read, "He that is unjust, let him
be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:
and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that
is holy, let him be holy still."
When Jesus steps down from
His ministration of forgiving sins, when the last case has been
decided, then that fateful decree is issued from which there is no
appeal. No opportunity to become a Christian now.
If a sinner --- such we
shall remain. If a Christian--- A Christian we remain. All changes
in our lives and characters have been made that will ever be made.
If our sins are not forgiven before Jesus ceases His ministry, we
have waited too long to have it done. The Holy Spirit will be
withdrawn from this earth.
Just as Noah was locked in
the ark, by an angel hand before the flood came, and the shutting
of the door of the ark sealed the doom of every man and woman on
earth; those in the ark were safe, those outside were lost. The
rejecters of God's grace were destroyed. And just as there was a
little time between the closing of the door of the ark and the
coming of the flood, so there will be a little time between the
final decree and the coming of Christ.
That time will filled by
the seven last plagues.
God's Wrath Coming
We are told that God's
wrath will be poured out.
Revelation 14:9,10; "And the third angel followed them,
saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured
out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall
be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels and in the presence of the Lamb."
Up to this time God has
always tempered His judgments with mercy. But now His anger is
poured out upon unrepentant men and women.
Why is
God's Wrath Poured Out?
Why does God do this?
There are several reasons. First of all Men and women have become
so evil that they were like the people in the days of Noah.
Genesis 6:5; "And God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually."
Another is that they have
persecuted His people. They have gone to the limit in evil.
Now John the Revelator
brings to us a picture of this wrath of God.
Revelation 15:1; "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."
Revelation 16:1; "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.”
The 1st
Plague
- Boils
Verse 2; "And the first went, and poured out His wrath
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
worshipped his image."
The first plague is a
grievous sore which falls upon those who have the mark of the
beast. Yes, a sore or cancer. Here at last God marks outwardly
those who inwardly have the mark of the beast. The plagues are
poured out on those who have rejected the 3 angels' message. No
word or man can better describe the picture than has already been
done by the prophet of God.
Isaiah 1:6; "From the soul of the foot, even unto the head
there is no soundness in it but wounds, and bruises, and
putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment."
The worship of the beast
is looked upon with such adherence by God that a plague is
directed against those who do so.
When this plague falls
there will be only two classes of people. Those who are sealed
with the seal of the living God and those who have the mark of the
beast.
And it would seem to be
rather appropriate that the first plague of the seven last plagues
falls on those in modern harlot Babylon who are guilty of
spiritual fornication.
This age of ours is an age
of creature worship, and the 7 last plagues demonstrates that the
things that men worship are false gods. The worshippers of the
beast and his image receive the full force of the very first
plague because they are guilty of the most grievous sin of the
last generation.
The
2nd Plague - Sea Became Blood
And now the second plague,
Revelation 16:3; “And the second angel poured out his
vial upon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man.”
The first angel plagued
the earth and the men upon it. The second one has to do with the
sea and the great bodies of water.
Why?
Why does God do this? Yes, why turn the sea into the blood of a
dead man? Moffatt
declares that the “coagulated blood” becomes fatal to animal life.
The death of the creatures of the sea with the stench of their
decaying carcasses strewn along the shore will produce conditions
that are indescribable.
This is God’s answer to why He does this.
Revelation 18:15; "The merchants of these things which
were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for fear of her
torment, weeping and wailing. And saying, alas, alas the great
city that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and
decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. For in one hour
so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all
the company in ships and sailors, and as many as travel by sea,
stood afar off. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,
saying, what city is like unto this great city?"
Great wealth has poured into the Vatican from
all over the world. She has been greatly enriched by international
commerce. The fishing fleets in every country manned by her loyal
subject have brought continued prosperity. But now it is all over.
The end of her prosperity has come.
The 3rd
Plague - Rivers Became Blood
Well if the second plague is bad, the third
is worse,
Revelation 16:4; "And the third angel poured out his
vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became
blood."
The rivers and fountains of water become
blood. Why? Why does God do this? God says, "I will tell you
why."
Revelation 16:6; "For they have shed the blood of
saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for
they are worthy."
You see friends we might be inclined to think
that this plague is too severe and cruel. That is because we
cannot see them from heaven's viewpoint. The angels whose ability
to love is far greater than ours fully approve of them. They are
in a better position to judge than we are.
Addressing God the Angel of the waters
declared, "Thou hast given them blood to drink, for they deserve
it." (Concordant)
Just the other day I read a newspaper report
from Belgrade. "A Yugoslav court yesterday sentenced to death a
Catholic priest by hanging as a war criminal. He was identified by
a Communist newspaper as Marjan Herman, wartime leader of a
quisling group and head of a monastery. The prosecution alleged
that he personally participated in the killing of 600 on July 7,
1941. In another massacre on August 8 of the same year, the
indictment said, he ordered living victims to be sawn in half."
Yes they have shed the blood of God’s people
and they will be given a taste of their own medicine.
The 4th
Plague - Sun Scorched Men with Great Heat
And now the fourth plague,
Revelation 16:8; "And the fourth angel poured out his
vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with
fire."
Verse 9 “And men were scorched with great heat and blasphemed the
name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they
repented not to give him glory."
Friends if you think that it has been hot
lately, I tell you that it will be nothing, absolutely nothing to
the heat of this plague. We are told that men will be scorched
with great heat.
The Prophet Joel gives us a picture of what
it will be like.
Joel 1:18;
"Why do the beasts groan and the herds of cattle are perplexed,
because they have no pasture, yea, the flocks of sheep are made
desolate. 0 Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured
the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the
trees of the field."
Why does God do this? Well I will tell you.
Men have worshipped the sun and now the sun becomes a scourge.
They call down fire from heaven, now they taste it.
Revelation 13:13; "And he doeth great wonders, so that
he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men."
Men have placed Sunday where God's Sabbath
should be, Sunday is the pagan day of worship.
You will remember that in the plagues of Egypt that it was the
things that the Egyptians worshipped that became scourges to them.
Once again the tables are turned. During this plague the world
will have its worst drought, its worst heat wave, the most severe
famine that has ever been known.
The 5th
Plague - Darkness
When the fifth plague
falls we find that the effects of the first plague are still being
felt.
Revelation 16:10; "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."
Verse 11; “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains
and their sores, and repented not of their deeds."
Yes,
when this plague is poured out they are still suffering from the
pain of their sores, now darkness crowds in, after the intense
heat the darkness would be terrifying.
In
Exodus 10:21; "And the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out
thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness, over the
land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt."
When God punished Pharaoh
he brought upon him intense darkness. And so God will bring
intense darkness upon the worshippers of the beast. Why? Because
they have enshrouded millions in the mystic darkness of sun
worship and falsehood. Yes, this plague is directed at the "throne
of the beast.”
And
They Gnawed Their Tongues for Pain
The very power that caused
unnumbered million of martyrs to gnaw their tongues for pain on
the rack and the stake, now receive the terrible penalty of their
fiendish crimes. They are judged as they judged. The tongues of
the Papal leaders, who have spoken blasphemies against God, His
Name, His Sanctuary, and His Truth, are now stilled.
Rome
the centre of the world's intrigue, duplicity, pride, pretense,
arrogance, craft, and hypocrisy will have filled to her, double
the Cup of Suffering and sorrow she had filled for others to
drink. Then it will be that the Question is answered, "Who is able
to make war with him?" will be, “And great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of
the fierceness of His wrath."
Those who have worshipped
the beast will find that the beast cannot protect them. Another
thing, those who find it embarrassing now to be loyal to the
Creator will find it very embarrassing then.
God's People Will be Protected
Yes the Psalmist answers our question; God’s
People will be protected. Yes, during this visitation of God's
judgment they are protected. Jesus has promised to never leave or
forsake His people and now He makes good that promised.
Yes in
Job 5:19
He says; "He will deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven
there shall no evil touch thee."
The people of God are sheltered and
protected. They have honoured God by their obedience and now they
are supplied with bread and water.
Isaiah 33:16; "He shall dwell on high, his place shall be
the munition of rocks, bread shall be given him, his water shall
be sure."
If it is necessary God will bring the ravens
into service again as in the time of Elijah.
The 6th
Plague - Drying Up of the Waters
And now the sixth plague,
Revelation 16:12; "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."
The drying up of the great river Euphrates is
none other than the drying up of powers that
occupy that territory.
Revelation 17:15 tells us that the waters are peoples,
nations, and tongues. Inspired by unseen devilish forces the
nations are whipped into a frenzy.
"The kings of the earth
and of the whole world"
verse 14; The whole world will be a vast battlefield,
the scene of the final contest right here where for so long Satan
has led men against God. Rebellion is to be forever repressed.
In Testimonies by E.G.
White Vol. 9:17;
I read, "So tremendous will be that conflagration that were it not
for the fact that God sends down His mighty ones to protect His
people they would be wiped off the earth. In the midst of the time
of trouble that is coming ....God's chosen people will stand
unmoved. Satan and his host cannot destroy them, for angels that
excel in strength will protect them."
The real issue at stake in
Armageddon will be spiritual. It will be a struggle between the
devil and the wicked nations on one side and God and His peopleE on
the other. It will terminate at the coming of Christ.
The 7th
Plague - Earthquake and Hail Stones
Revelation 16:17-18; "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 lightnings; and there was a great
earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so
mighty an earthquake, and so great.”
The final scenes of this
Earth's history are rapidly brought to a climax during this
plague. The greatest earthquake of all time shakes this earth.
Revelation 16:20 "And every Island fled away, and the
mountains were not found. 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 hail, for the plague
thereof was exceedingly great."
The Earth quakes and
crumbles under the mighty shaking, and then to add to this shaking
the greatest storm ever witnessed by man begins to take effect.
Great hail stones each weighing about 25kg begin their barrage on
this sin cursed earth.
Is it
Possible to Escape the Seven Last Plagues?
The question comes, "How
can we escape the seven last plagues?”
Those who have been
diligent in their service for God who have taken the time to
treasure the words of Jesus. They have no need to fear.
Amos
8:11,12; "Behold the day is come saith the Lord that I
will send a famine in the land, Not a famine for bread nor a
thirst for water, but of hearing the WORD of the Lord: And they
shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east,
they shall run to and fro to seek the WORD of the Lord and shall
not find it."
Now is the time to be
found studying our Bibles as we have never studied them before. To
fill the mind with the precious words of God and there will be no
famine for you or for me.
Listen to this statement,
"None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the
Bible will stand through the last great conflict."
Today Jesus is calling and
asking us to give Him our hearts service. Will we respond by
saying "I will follow thee my Savior wheresoever my lot may be.”
The whole thing demands that we should be ready to meet the great
crisis.
How will it find you? How
will it find me? Waiting or Wanting?
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