Friday: Further Thought – Seven Last Plagues
Further Thought: “None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? … The apostle Paul declared, looking down to the last days: ‘The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine’. 2 Timothy 4:3. That time has fully come. The multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart; and Satan supplies the deceptions which they love.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority – not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support. …
As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15. The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: ‘Christ has come! Christ has come!’ The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him. … In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion”. – Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pages 593-595, 624.
Discussion Questions:
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There is the temptation to believe that if we crack the code of Revelation then we will be safe throughout the "end times". Nothing could be further from the truth. There are two possibilities that we should consider.
1) We are in the "end times" but we do not recognize it. I have already canvassed the idea in previous comments that the Jews in Jesus' day thought they had cracked the code of the first advent but in their blindness they missed it. That is a sad inditement of their theology and an indication of their self-centeredness. It is quite possible that we will be surprised by the Second Coming. There are plenty of passages that talk about the Second Coming in terms of surprise and unexpectedness. If that is the case then we ought to be living a rich and full life in Christ now so the surprise will be one of delight rather than fear.
2) The alternative is that we may not live until the "end times". My great grandparents lived in the hope of seeing Jesus coming, but they died in the 1910s with the threat of World War 1 hanging over their heads. Successive generations have come and gone since then each with its threats to world peace and issues that have challenged their faith. Somehow the hope has survived and I am now a grandparent myself charged with passing on the faith to a younger generation with a very different set of threats, and issues. For me, the issue is to give them a bigger picture of living a Christian life. I have to say that in all honesty, the most serious worldwide threat facing my grandchildren right now is the social media and its persuasive, bullying power, its treatment of spiritual values as a joke, and its corrosive antisocial influence. That is a very real danger to my grandchildren at present. And to us, and them, it is the present reality of the beast. My task is to encourage them to ground their faith now and I am acutely aware that if we don't see them through this crisis, they may not be around for the next one.
The book of Revelation does have a future application, but if we cannot see a present application as well, perhaps we have ignored one of its most important messages. Without apology, I repeat the admonition I quoted yesterday:
To further support what you are outlining Maurice regarding our 'readiness' for the second coming being a consequential outcome of how we "occupy" until Jesus comes, I offer the following.
Within the verse you quoted (Rev 16:15) as well as Rev 7:14 and Rev 22:14 and the parable of the wedding banquet (Matt 22:1-14), the robes/clothing mentioned are metaphorical of a person's character.
Those who obtain an 'access all areas pass' to eternal life (Rev 22:14) are those who have developed a Christlike nature and character: a return to the heart motivation of self-renouncing love that Adam and Eve had prior to the 'fall'. Like David, they have become men and women whose hearts have been re-formed/re-birthed "after God's own heart".
Self-renouncing love cannot function and be developed unless there are ongoing opportunities to serve others. Hence, it is in the way we approach/conduct the activities and interactions of our every day lives that is the place where the 'rubber hits the road' of character (re)development.
Consequently, our 'readiness' for the second coming is a natural extension of the way we live every activity of our life today. 'Ready and waiting' on that day is in actuality the same state as ready and serving each and every today until that day.
The EVENT for which we should be most prepared is the change of Christ's ministration in heaven from Priest to king, as popularly known as CLOSE OF PROBATION.
SOP tells us "I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus' work was done in the Sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues." RH AUG.01,1849
"There will be no future probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments.
The days of our probation are fast closing. The end is near. To us the warning is given, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Luke 21:34. Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment.
“In such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Matthew 24:44; Revelation 16:15." Christ’s Object Lessons (p. 319).
"After John’s description in Revelation 16 of that miracle-working power which was to gather the world to the last great conflict, the symbols are dropped, and the trumpet voice once more gives a certain sound. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15)."—Manuscript 7a, 1896.
The point? The seven last plagues start their work after probation is closed. The warning of Rev 16:15 is for us to be ready before Christ closes His sanctuary ministration. Salvation is only possible for sinners while Christ is ministering in the sanctuary. Once He ceases (as marked by the onset of the 7 last plagues), probation is closed, just the way all who were OUTSIDE the ark were already LOST even if it took 7 more days for the floods to start their work during Noah's time (what one would call 'Noah's time of trouble').
I was under the impression that once you were sealed it was game over.....next stop heaven. Then I read Revelation 16:15 I come as a thief and keeping our garments. Wow. Thats right after the 6th plague. That verse is there for a reason.
Folks we have to keep our eyes on the cross until the day we see Jesus in heaven every single day of our life.
Reynado, your understanding is correct, the plagues do fall AFTER the sealing, after the close of probation; the book of Revelation is not written CHRONOLOGICALLY. For instance, the 7th seal is Christ's second coming in Rev 8:1; the 7th trumpet (Rev 11:15) refers to the same event etc - yet these are followed by more earthly events being described.
The reason why this verse is inserted here is because we are to be warned, those of us in the PRE-PROBATION period, to be ready by receiving the seal of God before the plagues start falling!
A thief in the night refers to the CLOSE OF PROBATION, but this happens long before the plagues start falling, when we shall all realize that the thief in the night CAME, if we were not keeping vigil to realize his coming.
If probation closes before the first of the 7 Last Plagues, what is the purpose of the seven last plagues? Is it just so God can punish the wicked? Is it possible that this is God demonstrating that he is God and giving people a final, obvious warning?...Royce
Royce, maybe we can figure out the answer to your question by stepping back a bit. Since God is the Lifegiver and Sustainer, we know that the natural consequences of sin is death, even if God hadn't explicitly told Adam and Eve that this is so.
So Christ stepped in to bridge the gap that sin had caused so that humanity could have another chance. Another chance at what? What is the purpose of our probationary life (like being on life support in a hospital) on this planet?
How would the "plagues" fit into this picture? (Is it possible that the plagues are also natural consequences of the collective sin on this planet?)
Royce, Rev 16:5-7 says God is righteous because He judged and gave them blood to drink because they shed the blood of the saints.
So I trust the Word of God.
TI see two reasons:
1) justice must be done
2) the universe must see that no matter what happens they do not repent, so they cannot be allowed to have eternal life.
What does the meaning of Rev 16:15 imply for us? It reminds us on how we should live until Jesus comes.
There are two stages of the coming of a thief:
1. When the thief actually breaks in/ steals in (The actual break-in) - Referring to the time of the CLOSE OF PROBATION. In The Noah story, this refers to when the door was closed.
2. When we realize that the thief actually came and stole (this happens afterwards) - Referring to the time individuals actually realize that PROBATION WAS CLOSED. In the Noah story's parallel, this refers to when the inhabitants of the earth saw the rain and experienced the flood.
So how are we to live in view of this verse, in view of our eternal calling?
Noah invested all he had in the ark (time, treasure, talents, and strength): All that he possessed, he invested in the ark… Every blow struck upon the ark was a witness to the people. PP 95 The parable of the Talents illustrates this point.
Watch: (the parable of the good and faithful servant illustrates this) Matthew 26:38, 40, 41, 42 (the coming of the thief), 42-44; 25:13; I Thessalonians 5:6; Revelation 16:15; 3:3. The word means “to be alert, wakeful to pay attention.” Don’t become indifferent and careless. If you leave your house unlocked for a thousand nights and the thief never comes, what is your tendency? You had a tendency to relax and become careless thinking that he will never come and then the thief comes in the 1001st night and robs you. As Jesus delays His coming the tendency is not to become more alert and expectant but rather to lose anxiety and preparedness. As time goes by we should live in greater expectancy but this not what usually happens. I have heard about Jesus’ coming, my parents did and my grandparents did. The result is that the hope grows dim.
Pray (Mark 13:33) Jesus told the disciples to watch and pray in the Garden and they slept.
Be ready: (the parable of the Ten Virgins illustrates this) Luke 1:17; Matthew 24:44; 25:10; Revelation 19:7; Luke 22:33; Titus 1:3. Jesus did not tell us the day and hour of his coming. He knew we would procrastinate till the last minute to clean up our act so He left the element of surprise open. We should be ready all the time. Then it makes no difference whether he comes in one month, one year, and ten years or twenty years, we will always be ready.
A faith that worked to preach and build the ark. When the work of building the church is finished, then Jesus will come. Luke 19:13: Occupy until I come. When we are busy, time flies by in a hurry.
How do we balance our mandate to share the good news, especially the three angels messages and being careful not to be seduced by some people who mostly sound like they are sharing the truth but slip in twisted reasoning?
If we are sure of our understanding of the issue - how long should we continue to engage with them to try and get them to understand where they are going wrong without running the risk of being seduced by their false reasoning?
Is this not the issue - the three frogs will be sending out a message which will sound a lot like the truth but is misleading especially i.r.o. the character of the LORD.
Will the people who believe the lies of Babylon also be closing their ears to the truth of the 3 angels message from us?
I think we should remember that we plant and water but the Holy Spirit converts and Jesus saves (1 Corinthians 3:6). We are workers, not saviors.
Hi William. Many thanks for your insightful comments. I would be grateful if you (or anyone) could explain the following. If as you say the "the 7th seal is Christ's Secnd Coming", then what is occurring during the 6th Seal? (Revelation 6:22-17)
The counterfeit coming of Jesus performed by Satan. This event is described in the SOP quote for today.
Hello, Great Controversy is my best commentary of the book of Revelation. You will note that the first part of the sixth seal is in The Great Controversy, pp. 304, 333. On page 304 Ellen White quotes Revelation 6:12 and on page 333 she quotes Revelation 6:13. She does not quote Revelation 6:14-17 (the second part of the sixth seal) until pages 641, 642.
If you could kindly go those pages you will understand the 2 stages of the 6th seal. The signs in the heavens also have two stages. The first group of cosmic signs announces the end of the first period of tribulation and the soon-to-begin “judging” portion of the fifth seal. The second set of cosmic signs announces the end of the second tribulation period and the “avenging” portion of the fifth seal. In between these two points of time, you have the vindicating judgment of the martyrs and the sealing of the 144,000 living saints.
So what is the 2nd part of the 6th seal? The second part of the sixth seal (6:14-17) deals with the second part of the martyrs’ plea, that is, the “avenge” aspect. This is discerned clearly in Revelation 6:17. The wrath of the Lamb will be poured out upon those who oppressed His people during the second stage of persecution.
In between these two stages of the sixth seal we have the judgment. First, we have the vindication of the martyrs who were slain and then at the very end we have the sealing of the 144,000 living saints. For the living saints the sealing of the 144,000 is the judging phase (Revelation 7:1-8) and the reward given to the great multitude is the avenging stage (Revelation 7:9-17)
The second part of the sixth seal (the “avenging” part) is picked up in The Great Controversy, pp. 641, 642. On these pages Ellen White quotes Revelation 6:14-17. (See also Hebrews 12:25-27; Joel 3:16; Jeremiah 25:30-33; Isaiah 2:19-21; Isaiah 34:4; Psalm 2:2-4) Revelation 19:1-10 presents a great multitude standing victoriously in heaven. Revelation 19:1, 2 clearly indicates that at this point the avenging has already taken place. The harlot has been judged and God’s people have been avenged. Revelation 19:18 refers to the same groups of people as in Revelation 6:15, 16. And Revelation 19:18-20 reaches the same climax again.
Now let\'s look at what the seventh seal deals with.
The seventh seal mentions a period of silence in Heaven for about half an hour. A half hour in prophetic time would be seven and a half days so about a half hour would be seven days. This silence will mark an event that takes place as Jesus comes on the clouds to avenge the blood of His people.
Ellen White assures us that the second coming will take several days:
“And I saw a flaming cloud come where Jesus stood. Then Jesus . . . took His place on the cloud which carried Him to the East, where it first appeared to the saints on earth--a small black cloud which was the sign of the Son of man. While the cloud was passing from the Holiest to the East, which took a number of days, the synagogue of Satan worshipped at the saint\'s feet.” Maranatha, p. 287
The seventh seal involves a question that is asked as Jesus begins His second coming to the earth, an event that will take several days: (see Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13)
“Before His presence \"all faces are turned into paleness;\" upon the rejecters of God\'s mercy falls the terror of eternal despair.”The heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and the faces of them all gather blackness.\" Jeremiah 30:6; Nahum 2:10. The righteous cry with trembling: \"Who shall be able to stand?\" The angels\' song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence [this would be the half hour of silence of the seventh seal]. Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: \"My grace is sufficient for you.\" The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.” GC, p. 641
My apologies as I misread your comment. You were asking abut the seals. The seventh seal is not the second coming. That is the sixth seal. The seventh plague is the second coming. The sixth plague is the counterfeit coming and the gathering of the world under deception to fight Jesus. The battle of Armageddon is the second coming of Christ.
The insertion about Jesus coming as a thief is because the miracle being produced by the false trinity is the counterfeit coming of Christ by Satan. Hence, the GC quote given in todays study
After reading many of the comments about the end time and getting ready, I would ask, ready for what? We are finite humans with limited number of days. We may not have time to get ready. We need to be ready as soon as possible on a daily basis. We have a God that will cleanse us from all unrighteousness and a Savior, Jesus, to help.
Indeed, readiness is a daily comdition in surrender of our lives to God’s.
“But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms." So how, how do we crack the code, or more practical learn the code, and still beable to live a rich, and full life in Christ? Easy, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:5. It may be easy, but there is more than loving the Lord by hearing only. Let's look at Christ prayer. The starter is that we are in this world, but we need to make sure we are not of it. Interesting Christ does not leave us there, He prays that we are not taken out of this world, but sent into this world. John 17:14-17. Christ will for us as His followers, is to be raised to a new life, and be sent back into the world to free others. Reversing: Mark 8:36. Gods people will have Jesus, but not the world.
"But you [still] have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes [that is, contaminated their character and personal integrity with sin]; and they will walk with Me [dressed] in white, because they are worthy (righteous). He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will accordingly be dressed in white clothing; and I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess and openly acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels [saying that he(JohnHerscher) is one of Mine]."
Revelation 3:4-5 AMP
So Paul it is worth being ready for Jesus to come. So we can look up and say, this is our Lord. It is worth taking the time to spend with Him. Yes even if we are only 66, 36, 16, or 6 years old, let alone 80 some.🙂