•Suppose
that on a dark, rainy night you were speeding along the highway in your
automobile. Suddenly, seven red lights loomed up out of the darkness, and
stretched across the road in front of you. Would you stop? Of course you
would! Red lights signal emergency, danger and disaster.
•In
Revelation chapters 15 & 16, God has stretched seven brilliant red
lights across the road to the future. He is saying, “Stop! Look! Listen!
Pray! Seven terrible scourges or plagues lie just ahead. Beware!” God
intends that we should soberly consider these awesome plagues, so He
dedicated two chapters of the great book of Revelation to their
presentation, and pronounced a blessing upon all who heed the warnings.
God is loving, forgiving, caring, kind,
patient and gracious beyond description. But people often misunderstand His
love. God does draw lines. We had better understand this. He drew a line once
in Egypt centuries ago and sent ten devastating plagues upon the people.
•He is about to draw a line again. This
time seven severe
and terrible scourges will smite this earth and its people. Thank God there
is a way of escape! The
purpose of this lesson is to clearly reveal the escape He
has made possible.
•1. What are the seven plagues called?
•
The Wrath of God
Rev.
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.
2. What two punishments are given to the wicked?
Rev.
14:10
•“The wrath of God.”
•“ ...and he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone…”
•Note:
The wrath
of God (seven plagues) is for those who receive the mark of the beast (Rev.
16:2). The fire will be experienced by all lost sinners
(& was made for satan and his angels - Matt.25:31)
3. Who will escape the plagues? Rev.
15:2
•Those who have “victory over the beast and over
his image and over his mark and over the number of his name.”
•Note:
•This
passage makes it clear how extremely important it is to avoid receiving the
mark of the beast. Everyone will receive one of two marks. To receive
God’s mark is to be saved. To receive the mark of the beast is to receive
the plagues and be lost. This is a solemn, solemn thought. No wonder
Revelation says so much about these two signs or marks.
4. Whom do the saved praise for their
deliverance?
Rev.
15:3,4
•“Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God
Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”
Note:
Salvation is through Jesus only (Acts
4:12, Matt. 1:21).
“Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).
Salvation’s Door Closes
•5. When will the plagues begin to fall?
Rev. 15:8
“And the
temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and
no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the
seven angels were fulfilled.”
•Note:
No man able to enter the temple in
Heaven indicates that the judgment, which is now in progress there, ends
because every case has been decided. Then the seven plagues fall (see Lesson
15 for details on the judgment [God’s Merciful Judgment]).
6. What did Jesus say will reveal the
judgment has
ended?
Rev. 22:11,12
“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.”
•Note: When
the judgment ends in Heaven, Jesus makes an announcement that everyone has
made their final decision. At that moment probation for everyone closes,
forever.
No Second Chance
•7. Will the plagues cause men to repent
and change?
Rev. 16:10,11,21
•
•They “blasphemed the God of Heaven … and repented
not of their deeds.”
•Note:
•The
reaction of the wicked to the plagues proves that their probation is over.
It is too late. They refuse to change no matter what God might do to
influence them.
•8. How long will the plagues last?
•Rev. 18:8
•“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day.”
•
•Note:
The plagues will probably last one year. Remember, time in Bible prophecy is
symbolic. One prophetic day equals one literal year
(Eze. 4:6).
9. What are God’s acts of
punishment called?
Isa. 28:21
•“His strange work … His strange act.”
•Note: Acts
of punishment and judgment, like the plagues, are so foreign to God’s
nature that the Bible calls them strange. He has “no pleasure in the death
of the wicked” (Eze. 33:11). On the other hand, He is not soft on sin
“and will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum 1:3).
Seven Terrible Punishments
•10. What is the first plague?
Rev. 16:2
•“A
noisome and grievous sore”.
•Note: Each plague strikes a blow at some aspect of
false worship
or apostate religion. This one exposed the fake miracle workers of Rev,
13:13,14; 16:14. Those who claim to heal cannot cure these sores. Worse than
an epidemic of cancer, these sores will cover the entire body (Isa. 1:6).
11. What happens during the second plague?
Rev.
16:3
•“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”.
Note:
The nations who through worldwide commercial pressure
forced people to accept the mark of
the beast by not allowing them to buy or sell, suddenly find commerce and
communication disrupted by the bloody ocean waters. This plague demonstrates
God’s feeling against this evil conglomerate that has used an economic
boycott to force false religion upon the world (Rev.
13:16,17).
12. What is the third plague?
Rev. 16:4 - 7
•V.4:
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of
waters; and they became blood.
•V.5:
And I heard the angel of the waters say, thou art righteous, O Lord, which
art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
•V.6:
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given
them blood to drink: for they are worthy.
•Note:
The lost, who were
supporters of counterfeit Christianity and the mark of the beast, and who
turned the world against God’s true followers by passing a death decree,
must now drink blood (Rev. 13:15). God has exposed them as the real
heretics. When blood comes out of the faucet for the wicked, God’s people
will be given fresh water (Isa. 33:16).
13.What is the fourth plague?
Rev.
16:8,9
And the fourth angel poured out
his vial upon the sun ; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
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.
•
Note: The sun, which men have worshipped
throughout
history, will scorch men with great heat. Even today in so called Christian
nations the majority still pay homage to the sun in giving reverence to
Sunday as a holy day. Joel 1:15-20 gives a graphic description of a scorched
earth during this plague. At that time there will be a great famine for
hearing the Word of God but it will be too late.
14. How does the fifth plague strike the seat
of the beast? Rev.
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.
•Note: When
this plague falls upon the headquarters of the beast power, then its
worldwide kingdom, embracing most of the world’s population (Rev.
13:2,7), will be in
total darkness. This literal darkness results from rejecting the light of
God’s Word (Isa.
8:19,20).
•15.What happened under the sixth plague?
Rev.16:12-16
•v.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.
•Note:
Even non-church people discuss Armageddon today. The devil will work
miracles to assemble the armies of the world under the banners of Atheism
and his false religions called the dragon, the beast and the false
prophet. Rev.16:13,14. All the nations of the world will be engaged in
this last great battle when Jesus returns (Rev.
16:14).
•The
entire sinful world will be on one or the other of two sides in this final
conflict, either God’s side or satan’s. It is called the battle of the
Great Day of God almighty. In the midst of Armageddon, when Jesus appears
with the armies of heaven, surrounded by power and great glory, the
world’s wicked will panic and call for the rocks and mountains to fall
on them and hide them from the face of Jesus (Rev. 6:14-17).
16.The second coming of Jesus takes place under the
seventh plague. What happens? Rev.16:17-21
•V.17:
“…and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the
throne, saying, It is done.
•Note: The
earthquake is indescribably devastating. It is mentioned also in
Rev.
6:14-17, Isa. 24:1,3,19,20
and Jer.4:23-26.
The hail is real, with each
stone weighing over 50 pounds.
17. What happens to Babylon’s threefold alliance?
Rev.16:19
•“And
the great city was divided into three parts …”
•Note:
The combined worldwide alliance of religion, politics and economics which
persecuted God’s people by enforcing the mark of the beast, now falls
apart.”
God Protects His People
•18. What does God promise the righteous
during
the plagues? Psalm
91:10,11
•
•“Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For
He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee …”
Note:
Not a single
plague will strike the righteous.
19. What will God do to anyone
who tries to add anything to these important messages?
Rev. 22:18
“God
shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.”
•Note: God means for Revelation to be
taught
now - just as it is, and with great urgency. Woe to the person who tries
to add something to it. Revelation contains God’s last, urgent warning
message to the people He loves, and that includes you and me.
20. Jesus
desperately wants to assign angels to protect you during the plagues. Are
you willing to obey Him in all things so He can do so for you?
•My
answer: YES!
•Your
answer:
Jesus loves you and me - we
need to accept Him now so we can grow in His strength.
•Reading
Assignment
•Revelation
chapters 8 & 9
•and
•Revelation
11:14 - 19
Lesson
11 Lesson
13