Are the plagues universal?

Revelation

CHAPTER -- XVI -- The Plagues Poured Out 

(Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911)

VERSE, 4. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.   5.  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.  6.   For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.  7.   And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

The Third Plague. - Such is the description of the terrible retribution for the "blood of saints" shed by violent hands, which will be given to those who have done, or wish to do, such deeds. And though the horrors of that hour when the fountains and rivers of water shall be like blood , cannot now be realized, the justice of God will stand vindicated, and his judgments approved. Even the angels are heard exclaiming,

p 689 -- Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, because thou hast judged thus; for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. 

It may be asked how the last generation of the wicked can be said to have shed the blood of saints and prophets, since the last generation of saints are not to be slain. A reference to Matt. 23:34, 35; 1 John 3:15, will explain.

Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

These scriptures show that guilt attaches to motive no less than to action; and no generation ever formed a more determined purpose to devote the saints to indiscriminate slaughter than the present generation will, not far in the future. (See chapter 12:17; 13:15.) In motive and purpose, they do shed the blood of saints and prophets, and are every whit as guilty as if they were able to carry out their wicked intentions.

Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

It would seem that none of the human family could long survive a continuance of a plague so terrible as this. It must therefore be limited in its duration, as was the similar one on Egypt. Ex. 7:17-21, 25.

Exo 7:17  Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

Exo 7:18  And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

Exo 7:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

Exo 7:20  And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

Exo 7:21  And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

Exo 7:25  And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

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Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Truly, sin comes from the heart. We CAN commit sin long before we take action to physically commit that sin.  We need a new heart and we can only get that new heart from our Savior. We see our own wickedness and realize how helpless we are to change our own hearts. We must yield our hearts to our Savior so He can change our hearts. And we must yield DAILY.

This next plague, the plague of river and fountains of water, given because of the guilt of those who would kill God's people. All the plagues are a result of sins committed- all of them.  Not a single person who feels the touch of a single plague will be guiltless.

I mentioned yesterday the fact that the plague will not fall on everyone - those who receive the first may not receive the second and so on.

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Here's something from another study--

Are the plagues universal???   No.

((MY INTERJECTION HERE-

Read Rev. 16:1-11 -- they are poured out upon different places/people

Rev.

1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.  2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the EARTH; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.  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.  4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the RIVERS AND FOUNTAINS OF WATERS; and they became blood.  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.  6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.  7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.  8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  9And 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.  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,  11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.  

Upon earth.

Upon the sea.

Upon the rivers and fountains of water.

Upon the seat of the beast and his kingdom.

(Now if we take earth to mean the entire globe, the entire planet there would be no need to say that the another plague was poured out elsewhere. Why not just keep saying earth if it is meant to be the entire planet and its population all at once? They are being enacted not universally but here and there. To have all the plagues effect everyone at once with the same affliction could any live? Why would a plague be poured out upon a kingdom- singular- when we know there are many kingdoms? The plagues will be poured out according to God's plan)

(((END INTERJECTION BY ME AND BACK TO MY NOTES)))

SO.. if the first plague isn't universal then... the mark of the beast ISN'T universal, right? Right.

You can't have it one without the other. If the plagues aren't universal, then the mark of the beast isn't universal.

The first plague very clearly falls on those that worship the IMAGE and HAD the mark.

Not WORSHIPPING THE BEAST- but HIS IMAGE.. and because of worshipping His image the receive the mark.

-Rev. 14:9 If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,  10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.

-Rev.16: 2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the EARTH; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which HAD THE MARK OF THE BEAST, and upon them which WORSHIPPED HIS IMAGE.

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It is obvious that the plagues aren't universal. We need to think of these things, we need to know and understand by the grace of God. All in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ!  Please