Revelation: The Seven Last Plagues.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is near. End Time Bible Prophecy Anyone Can Understand." E.A. James. Available at lulu.com

Continued from previous post..

(This is Belle writing right now. I just want to say that I believe the seven last plagues are situations we bring upon ourselves. God has held back the devastation that global warming can bring to us but there will come a day when he can protect us no longer. The "wrath" of God is a "turning away and letting those who have rejected him go their way." Paul speaks of this in Romans where he says, "God gave them up.."   I think the plagues are the result of global warming and also the result of wickedness and hatred of nations against one another.)

    The Seven Last Plagues.        

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angles, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”  Rev. 16:1

First Bowl of Wrath:  Sores  

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.  Rev. 16:2

Second Bowl of Wrath:  Sea Becomes Blood.

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.  Rev. 16:3

          The second trumpet heralded one third of the sea becoming blood and one third of the life in the seas dying, but here were see the completion of that disaster with all of the seas becoming blood and all of the life in the seas dying.

Third Bowl of Wrath:  Fresh Water Becomes Blood.

Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood.  Rev. 16:4

          The third trumpet heralded one third of fresh water becoming bitter, but here we see all of it becoming blood.  The death of all fish in fresh water would certainly cause it to turn to blood.

Fourth Bowl of Wrath:  Sun Scorches.

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.  Men were scorched with fierce heat…  Rev. 16:8, 9

            Here we see that the sun shines with such intensity that it scorches.

Fifth Bowl of Wrath:  Sky Darkened.

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores…  Rev. 16:10, 11

          The fourth trumpet heralded the loss of one third of the light during both day and night, the sun’s and the night sky’s time to shine.  Here the fifth bowl completes the darkening of the sky.

Sixth Bowl of Wrath:  The Euphrates River Dries Up.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.  Rev. 16:12

          Up to this point the bowl judgments have been literal and there is no reason to think that the sixth bowl is suddenly figurative and takes on prophetic language.  Therefore we have to look at the sixth bowl as referring to the real Euphrates River in Iraq.  There are many reasons the Euphrates could dry up.  The first trumpet heralds one third of the earth burned and the fourth bowl brings the scorching of the sun, so waters may easily dry up from what are seen as natural disasters.  The Euphrates could be dried up due to man-made interference such as the erection of a dam.  Or it could be caused by a direct act of God:  It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’  And I will make your rivers dry.  Is. 44: 27

Revelation: The Seventh Trumpet.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is near. End Time Bible Prophecy Anyone Can Understand." E.A. James. Available at lulu.com

Continued from previous post..

Seventh Trumpet, Third Woe:  The Seven Last Plagues, The End of the World.

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”  And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened…and there were flashes of lightening and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.  Rev. 11:15, 19

          The seventh trumpet has sounded and Jesus is preparing to claim the world as his kingdom.

          Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.  …the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple…Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.  Rev. 15:1, 5, 6-8

          We saw in the last chapter of this book that the Holy Spirit has left this world and Jesus no longer ministers in the temple in heaven because probation is closed.  Here we see why Jesus cannot minister for us - the temple is inaccessible.  The seven last plagues, or the seven bowl judgments, are about to fall on the earth as a whole but we who bear the seal of God will be protected.  The plagues are going to fall in rapid succession, taking about one year to occur.  …in one day her plagues will come…  Rev. 18:8  (See Appendix 2)

 

Revelation: Persecution, Death and Hiding for God's People.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is near. End Time Bible Prophecy Anyone Can Understand." Available at lulu.com

Continued from previous post..

After the sixth trumpet probation is closed.  Those who have chosen to be on God’s side are sealed and those who have chosen to side with the beast are also sealed.  

Revelation 18:4 says that God’s people will not participate in the seven last plagues about to fall, so why will we still be on this planet?  The Hebrews were in Egypt throughout all the plagues that fell, and the faithful followers of God were in Jerusalem when the Babylonians destroyed the city. So, too, those belonging to God will be on the earth during the plagues.  And again, just as the Hebrews were protected from the final plague to fall on the Egyptians by placing marks on the doorposts of their homes and staying safely inside, and the faithful in Jerusalem were marked by a messenger of God so they would be protected from the Babylonian slaughter, so those who receive the seal of God will be safe from the final plagues because they are hidden in Jesus.  (See Ex. 12 and Ez. 9)

But there is a drawback to being on the earth after probation closes.  The persecutions against those of us who refuse to worship the image of the beast and to receive the mark of the beast will be awful.  Some will be in jail, some will be in hiding, and some will be killed. 

But do not fear because Jesus said, …I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Matt. 28:16  Jesus also said,  Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Matt. 10:28  And, Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great…  Matt. 5:11, 12  It may not seem like it at the time we are going through the persecutions, but Jesus will be with us and in the end it will be well worth it.

  

The Antichrist.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is near. End Time Bible Prophecy Anyone Can Understand." Available at lulu.com

Continued from previous post...

Addendum

The Antichrist

The prefix “anti” is used to describe a person or organization that is against, or opposes, or counterfeits something.  So an “anti” Christ would be a person or organization that is against, opposes, or counterfeits Christ.  In the Bible, the term antichrist is not found in the book of Revelation.  Here are some verses where you will find this term.

“…just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared…”  1 John 2:18  John, the same John who wrote Revelation, says there were antichrists in his time so this term is not limited to one person at the end of time, as many seem to believe.

“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”  1 John 2:22  Here we see that an antichrist is one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and therefore an antichrist is one who denies God the Father and Son.

“…every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”  1 John 4:3  Even in John’s day there were people who said Jesus was just a man, or just a good man, or just a prophet.  They denied then, and millions deny today, that Jesus is from God.

As you can see, there have been antichrists for 2000 years.  There is no reason to use the term in any special way or as referring to any special person in our study of end time events.

Addendum

Prophecy uses symbolic language to refer to literal things and people.  Here is a list of what we covered in this chapter.  Also, see Appendix 2 for a more detailed explanation of these symbols and their meanings.

SYMBOL

MEANING

King of North/                          United States of America

Lamb from Earth

King of South/                           Radical Islamists

Egypt

False Prophet                             US Protestant Leader

Image of Beast                           Unification of Political, Protestant and Catholic Powers

Mark of Beast                             Compliance with Demands of Image of Beast

Babylon the Great                       False Church, Jezebel, Catholicism

Revelation: Probation Closes.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is near. End Time Bible Prophecy Anyone Can Understand." Available at lulu.com

Continued from previous post...

Probation Closed

“But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them (the two witnesses, the two olive trees, the Holy Spirit and Jesus), and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.  And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.”  Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.  And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.  The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”  Rev. 11:11-14

The three and one half years have passed.  Those who received the mark of the beast, whether his name or his number, are locked in with their choice and tremble with great fear.  The Holy Spirit and Jesus stop working and leave the earth on its own.

In Chapter 12 of the book of John a voice came out of heaven and spoke to Jesus.  In verse 29 it says, “So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.””   Just as some who were standing around Jesus knew they had heard a voice while others thought it was simply thunder, so too when probation closes at the end of time on this earth.  Some will know that the Holy Spirit has left this earth and that Jesus has stopped interceding for us, while others will not have a clue.

Will you know when probation closes?  Will you be sealed by God or will you have received the mark of the beast?  Probation is going to close and we must make a choice as to what side we will be on.

  

Revelation: The Third Angel's Message.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is near. End Time Bible Prophecy Anyone Can Understand." Available at lulu.com

Continued from previous post...

The Third Angel's Message:

“Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger…”” “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.  And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.””  Rev. 14:9, 10, 13

          “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Rev. 18:4, 5

          Time is up for Babylon, for the beast and its image, for the dragon Satan.  God has withdrawn from them and is calling those who still have the chance for salvation to come out and join Jesus’ true followers and receive the seal of God: to obey only God’s commandments and to trust only in Jesus for salvation. 

Probation is almost closed and the choice must be made by every person left alive on the earth: will they join God or will they join Satan, will they be saved or will they participate in the judgment plagues God is about to send on the earth?

Revelation: The First and Second Angels' Messages.

The Three Angel’s Messages.

First Angel:  

            “And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water.””  Rev. 14:6, 7

            This first angel’s message states that the gospel has been preached to the whole world; in chapter one of this book we saw that we are already very close to seeing the gospel spread to the entire world.

This first angel also warns the world to worship God, the creator.  Notice once again that God is referred to as the Creator.  This is significant in that it points out one of the things the earth needs to be reminded of one last time. Times and laws were changed by man, not by God, and the law having to do with time and that also contains God’s title as our creator is the law regarding the Sabbath (see chapter five of this book).  Therefore, one way in which we worship God is by honoring his authorship of everything when we keep holy His Sabbath day—Saturday.

Second Angel:   

“And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.””  Rev. 14:8

          We saw in chapter four of this book that “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots…” (Rev. 17:5) was Jezebel, the false church. 

What does it mean that she is the mother of harlots?  Well, if harlots are impure women, and women in prophecy refer to churches, the harlot daughters of Babylon the great would be false churches joined with the mother of all false churches.  Protestantism united with Catholicism.

          The second Angel’s message is repeated in more detail in Revelation 18.

          “…“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!  She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”  Rev. 18:2, 3

          The Holy Spirit is not working in Babylon; demons and unclean spirits are.  Politicians and business people were working with her and becoming powerful and rich by doing so.  But the religious war is going badly (one third of mankind is dead) and Babylon is being destroyed.  Revelation 18:9-19 describes the despair and mourning coming from those who followed Babylon and have seen their world collapse.