5/27/07 – 21LAW “The Seven Last Plagues” - Part 3
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s message is “The Seven Last Plagues - Part 3”

Before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, as we study this most important subject regarding the seven last plagues, I pray that You bless those listening today with the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.”
Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.
Today we will focus our study on Revelation’s seven last plagues as found in Revelation 16. First let us again read the most solemn warning ever given in the entire Bible, a warning for the very generation in which we are living, and that is found in 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; …” 

This is the last plea to rebellious planet earth and the Christian church in particular in this the final generation. Jesus is coming very, very soon.

Alright let’s continue our examination of the seven last plagues and understand the significance of each one.
FIFTH PLAGUE – DARKNESS

Revelation 16:10, 11   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,  
  16:11   And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”

The seat of the beast is of course Rome and the beast of course is the Papacy, not so much in it religious aspect as in its assumed role of a world power dominant over other world powers. (Revelation 13:1, 2, 10; 17:3, 8, 9, 11.
	Though men grope unrepentantly for light in a spiritually dark world, God sends them literal darkness, symbolic of the deeper spiritual night that is yet to enshroud the earth for a thousand years.
	This is indeed literal darkness with its attendant cold and misery. The absence of light and heat would be all the more impressive and painful after the intense heat experienced under the fourth plague. Men confirm their perverse hatred of God as they continue to blaspheme as they did under the fourth plague. They do so because of their misery they suffer without relief and the pain from the sores of the first plague which apparently were not fatal.

SIXTH PLAGUE – DRYING UP OF EUPHRATES AND THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON

Revelation 16:12-16 “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.  
  16:13   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.  
  16:14   For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  
  16:15   Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.  
  16:16   And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

There are two views on the meaning of the 6th vial. One is literal and the other spiritual. According to the first interpretation, “the great river Euphrates” represents the Ottoman Empire; the “kings of the east,” the nations of the Orient; and Armageddon, the literal valley of Megiddo in northern Palestine. Thus the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire is seen as preparing the way for the Asian nations to join battle with those of the west in the valley of Megiddo. 

According to the second interpretation, the Euphrates (waters) represent people throughout the world, over whom mystical Babylon holds sway. The drying up of the waters is the withdrawal of their support from Babylon. The “kings of the east,” represent the coming of Jesus with the armies of heaven that accompany Him; Armageddon is the last battle in the 6,000 year great controversy between Christ and Satan for the minds and hearts of the people. Thus, the withdrawal of human support from mystical Babylon is seen as the last barrier to her ultimate defeat and punishment.

According to the first view the battle of Armageddon begins as essentially a political conflict and comes to a climax with the appearance of Christ and the armies of heaven. According to the second view the battle of Armageddon begins when the united religious and political powers of earth open their final attack on God’s remnant people.

Though the two views appear do be mutually exclusive, there are 12 things they have in common:
1.	It is the last great battle of earth’s history and is future.
2.	It is “the battle of that great day of God.”
3.	The great river Euphrates is symbolic of human beings.
4.	The three unclean spirits (verse 13) represent spiritualism or paganism (the mouth of the dragon); the Papacy (the mouth of the beast); and apostate Protestantism (the mouth of the false prophet).
5.	That these three “spirits” constitute the agencies that will summon the nations to battle.
6.	The three unclean spirits are religious in nature and the forces gathered are political and military.
7.	Preparations for the battle take place under the sixth plague and the actual battle itself is fought under the seventh plague.
8.	In one phase, the battle will be a real battle between real people, employing real weapons.
9.	There will be bloodshed on an unprecedented scale.
10.	All the nations of earth will be involved.
11.	Christ and the armies of heaven eventually intervene and bring the battle to a close.
12.	The living saints witness the battle, but not as participants.

Verse 14 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles…” Demonic spirits performing miracles as they are working in and through those persons under their control. Supernatural manifestations of various kinds constitute the means by which Satan, working through various human agencies, succeeds in uniting the world behind his purpose to obliterate those Sabbath-keepers who constitute the only barrier to his unchallenged dominion over mankind.

“Behold, I come as a thief.” That is to the ungodly. “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, …” The saints are to be sober, alert and vigilant, remaining steadfast in faith and character and wholly loyal to God. “… lest he walk naked, …” That is to lose his garment of character as a result of yielding his faith.  “… and they see his shame.” God’s people must become increasingly alert as Satan intensifies his deceptions.

  SEVENTH PLAGUE – GREAT EARTHQUAKE, GREAT HAIL

Revelation 16:17-21 “16:17   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.  
  16:18   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.  
  16:19   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 unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.  
  16:20   And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.  
  16:21   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.”

The angel pouring the seventh vial into the air indicates that the plague will affect the whole earth. The voice from the temple is an official proclamation from the sovereign God of the universe. As the wicked rush to annihilate the saints of God, they hear His voice saying “It is done,” ends the time of Jacob’s trouble, delivers the saints and ushers in the wrath of the seventh plague.
	The great earthquake is felt on every continent of the earth. The Richter scale has no means to measure its ferocity. Cities and mountains will be leveled and islands shall disappear.
“And the great city was divided into three parts …” Mystical Babylon of the last days is composed of the Papacy, apostate Protestantism and modern spiritism. At the voice of God this three fold union of apostate religious organizations loses its cohesion, unity and power to act.

The components of this ungodly trio now turn upon themselves and there is strife and bloodshed everywhere.

As the great hail falls, each stone weighing from 57 to 130 pounds, death and destruction are everywhere and for the third time the God of heaven is blasphemed as their utter contempt for Him is revealed.
Well time is up for this week. Next week we will study the subject of Baptism and the who, what, where, when, why and how of Baptism and we will find the real truths in God’s Word on this very important subject.
If you would like to worship with seventh day Sabbath-keepers, come to the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church in South Hill at 117 W. Danville Street, in the old Citizens Bank building, just a couple doors from the library.
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Come Lord Jesus.