Revelation-
VERSE 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.
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.
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.
20. And
every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21. And
there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,
p 697 --
(picture omitted)
p 698 -- every stone
about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of
hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
….
(Excerpt from Daniel
and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911)
p 701 -- "And
there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, and from the throne,
saying, It is done!" Thus all is finished. The cup of human guilt
has been filled up. The last soul has availed itself of the plan of salvation.
The books are closed. The number of the saved is completed. The final period is
placed to this world's history. The vials of God's wrath are poured out upon a
corrupt generation. The wicked have drunk them to the dregs, and sunk into the
realm of death for a thousand years. Reader, where do you wish to be found
after that great decision?
But what is the
condition of the saints while the "overflowing scourge" is passing
over? They are the special subjects of God's protection, without whose notice
not a sparrow falls to the ground. Many are the promises which come crowding in
to afford them comfort, summarily contained in the beautiful and expressive
language of the 91st psalm, which alone we have space to quote.
" I will say of
the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress;
my God, in him will
I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of
the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings
shalt thou trust;
his truth shall be
thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by
night;
nor for the arrow
that flieth by day;
nor for the pestilence that walketh in
darkness;
nor for the
destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side,
and ten thousand at
thy right hand;
but it shall not
come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes
shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast
made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the Most High,
thy habitation,
there shall no evil
befall thee,
neither shall any
plague come nigh thy dwelling." Psalm 91:2-10.
*******
An excerpt from
William Grotheer-
'When the seventh
angel pours out his vial into the air, "a great voice out of the temple of
heaven, from the Throne" declares - "It is done." A series of
events involving the earth are pictured to John as following this declaration from
the Throne.
A great earthquake,
Babylon divided into three parts, the "cities of the nations" fall,
"every island fled away, and the mountains were not found."
A judgment call must
again be made. Are these literal happenings, or is symbolic prophetic language
still being used?
It is obvious from context that
"Babylon" is a symbolic term and is applied to the
"harlot." (Revelation 17:18). Then are the "cities of the
nations" the national units of the great international city? Does the
symbolism stop here, and the "islands" and "mountains" are
to be understood literally?
The seventh plague
itself is described as hail, every stone being "about the weight of a
talent." (16:21) It is said to be "exceeding great." This can be
understood only as literal language.
While men
"blasphemed God," those who have been looking at the transgression of
earth's inhabitants from heaven's perspective declare, "Lord God Almighty,
true and righteous are thy judgments." (16:7)
The first section of
the book of Revelation closes with similar language as is found in this 16th
Chapter. Under the seventh angel of the Trumpets, and the Third Woe are
described events when God takes unto Himself, His great power and reigns.
(11:15-19) These must be considered as parallel with the time of the seven last
plagues.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat
before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God
Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee
thy great power, and hast reigned.
Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is
come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and
them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth.
Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven,
and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were
lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
*******
My notes-
Remember when we
started this study weeks ago, we were told we are BLESSED if we read and keep
the things in this book, the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible.
There is so much to
learn in this book of prophecy, and so much we cannot put to history but must
ascribe to the future.
We've read things
from those studying to find comprehension that clearly have them trying to fit
unfulfilled prophecy into their understanding for the time, and isn't that what
many do? Are we doing it as well? We have changed perspective on a few things
because so much time has passed since this author's view was given. Things changed and he had no way of knowing
they would change. Will that happen to us as well? It could.
We are left to
review, to study, to pray, to beg for comprehension that will allow us to be
ready for Christ when He returns.
Are those who
believed all the author was saying back in 1897-1911 going to be Christ's,
given that the author had several things wrong as history records- changes he
never anticipated? I believe if they
lived according to the truth of their time all will be well with them, as with
us. We MUST live according to the truth of our times. We KNOW factually there
will be an end, of that there is NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER.
In 1980 I was 17
years old and at that time a Biblical prophecy was fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles was fulfilled when
Jerusalem once again was taken over by Israelites, something many thought would
never, ever happen again. This just 17
years less than a 100 years prior that Uriah Smith first wrote the book Daniel
and Revelation. Almost 100 years had
passed since that man wrote of prophecy, of things leading to Jesus Christ's
second coming. The imminence of Christ's
return then is still the imminence today, only we have almost 100 years more
degradation of society, more corruption in the world, more wars, more rumors of
wars, more strife, more famine, more crime, more lack of LOVE for our fellow
man, more lack of love for our parents, more abuse of our children, so much
more false religion, and so much apostasy- turning from the truth, from the
landmarks given to God's people. And
during that time we've been able to record in history and even seen some of it
ourselves- prophecy fulfilled.
Will it be another
100 years before another bit of prophecy comes to pass? Who am I to say?
Seriously, who am I to tell anyone it's going to be soon? I will say this, it will be soon especially
for those who die- their probation is up and they will sleep death's sleep
until Christ's return. The first thing they'll know upon waking up from death's
sleep will be the return of Jesus Christ our Lord. In reality it is SOON for
all of us in that perspective, because NONE of us- from the youngest reading
this to the oldest, know when we will die.
Will we be living
when Christ returns and never experience death's sleep? It's possible, it
really is. We are watching for His return and this is something we are told to
do- watch and pray!
Will we be alive
when the plagues are set loose on the unrepentant, loveless, Godless people?
That's possible too.
We will continue to
study and to pray, to read and by the love and mercy of God we will receive the
blessing He longs to give to us!
All through the
mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!
Amen.
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