Revelation sixteen describes the seven last plagues (Rev. 15:1) of earth’s history. Included in these plagues is the only mention of the word “Armageddon” in the Bible. This section (Rev 15-16) begins with the end-time people of God standing by the sea of glass singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, an allusion to the Exodus (Rev. 15:1-4). Then the seven plagues are introduced with a vision of the heavenly temple emptied because of the glory of God, a reversal of the original inauguration of the Mosaic sanctuary (Rev. 15:5-8; Exod. 40:34-35). This is close of probation imagery. Seven angels were then told to pour out bowls of wrath upon the earth one by one (Rev. 16:1-21). I will explore this part of Revelation through the following themes”
1. God’s People Named by Many Names. Evidence of the text is that names like remnant, 144,000 and saints all refer to the same end-time group.
2. Why Plagues When No Repentance Will Result?
3. The Symbolic Meaning of the Euphrates River in Rev. 16:12.
4. Two Gospels in Revelation. The three angels (Rev. 14:6-12) and the three frogs (Rev. 16:13-14) are contrasting symbols of the gospel.
5. Cyrus the Persian and the Second Half of Revelation. A pagan king foreshadows the Messiah.
6. The Meaning of Armageddon.
The final blog in this series on the seven last plagues explores how the description of the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation (Rev 16:14-16) promotes spiritual preparation for the End-Time.
I’ve had problems with the Adventist view of the last plagues for over fourty years. God began to ooen them up to me about five years ago. He begins by marking those outdide the covensnt. He steps into the world of the Beast system in the next four and shows he is God, even in Egypt like he showed Pharoh that he was God, even there in Egypt, not just up in Cannan land. While they are shown to have been deceived, they still refuse to give God the glory and honor that he is due. God then prepares for the deliverence of his people in the sixth plague. He dries up God’s enemies and prepares for the coming king (from the east).
Whether or not one sees the plagues as active or passive on God’s part, they demonstrate that God’s judgments are right (Rev 15:3-4) in who he lets in and who He keeps out. The safety of the universe is at stake in these decisions.