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KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of
God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 179
THE SEVEN ANGELS WITH THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES
(continued)
Man
has been trying to understand the book of Revelation for two thousand years and
the reason so few understood is because they applied the natural, carnal mind
to it. They tried by human reasoning to analyze
it, work it out, and make it fit some events in the outer world, past, present,
or imagined future. Throughout the
centuries of history since John penned his words on Patmos
men have made the visions of the book “fit” with just about everything there is
in the world. Some supposed that it
applied to events in Israel
and the Roman Empire in the days of the early church, climaxing with the
destruction of Jerusalem,
the Jewish temple, and the priesthood in A.D. 70, followed by the gospel
spreading throughout the earth. Martin
Luther made the book fit the events of his day.
Emanuel Swedenborg applied the book to events of his day. The Seventh Day Adventists interpreted the
book in the light of events of their early days. Charles T. Russell found the great
world-shaking events leading up to and including the First
World War in the Revelation.
When I was a child, Adolph Hitler, Benito
Mussolini, the Pope, and Emperor Hirohito of Japan were believed to be, in
differing interpretations, the beast, the false prophet, or the image of the
beast. In this view the book of
Revelation was being fulfilled by
these world leaders and the events they precipitated, they were going to take
over the world, and if you did not take the mark of the beast which they would
impose, you would be killed. And in our
day people are literally sitting on the edge of their seats, listening to
prophecy teachers, reading news magazines, watching CNN and Fox News, expecting
the book of Revelation to fit the dramatic events unfolding before our very own
eyes. I am confident in saying, however,
that all these prognosticators, prophecy mongers, and eschatological
soothsayers will be just as disappointed and disillusioned, when proven wrong,
as were all the other commentators throughout the centuries!
The
book of Revelation is just that — it
is the Revelation of Jesus Christ! Christ is the spiritual man. Therefore,
the book of Revelation is a spiritual
revelation, a spiritual book! When the text speaks of the earth it has a
different significance than the literal, physical land masses,
mountains, valleys, and seas of our planet.
It symbolizes the earth in a spiritual dimension. When it speaks of sore boils (Rev. 16:2) it indicates
a spiritual condition. When it speaks of
the sea it refers to the state of
being of the masses of sinning, restless, surging, tormented humanity. The rivers
and fountains of waters are
spiritual rivers and fountains of waters.
On and on we could go, but I am sure my reader gets the point!
I
beseech you, look not to the outer world to discover where this unveiling of Jesus Christ is fulfilled,
but look altogether within yourself, and it may be the Lord will show you these
things, and a thousand times more than my feeble pen can write. My earnest prayer for all who read these
lines is that the spirit of wisdom
and revelation from God will open your eyes and give you understanding; for
this day I seek to put such a key into your hands, that unlocks all the deep
mysteries of this book; even as a fine jewelry box, which we know not which way
to open, yet having found the secret lock of the drawers, they all respond to the
turning of your key, and all the precious jewels come to your hand. These, my beloved, are mighty, sublime,
inexpressible things we have now in hand, and if God be but pleased to give us
this key of which I speak, these things will be easy to us! This I pray — that the Father of glory may
give us the grace to do — to deliver
into the hands of God’s called and chosen elect such a secret key, that will
take all the blessed visions of John and so unlock them, that you may come to
see what are the great purposes and workings of God in His people, which before
were dark and hidden, and you could not discern what they meant; now they will
unfold as a rose and fall easily into the comprehension of your spiritual
mind. But, yet, it is not I, nor
anything I can do, that will accomplish this, though I should preach for weeks
on end, or write volumes that would fill the whole earth; nothing will avail
until Christ Himself be pleased to rise up within your soul and work these
things in you, by His own power. The hearing
of the ear, and the seeing of the eye will not do it, it must be the experiential quickening of these things
within your heart, that must teach you these things: it must be the seeing of the spiritual eye and the hearing of the spiritual ear that will
make us with Job see the Lord and abhor ourselves in dust and ashes
(Job 42:5).
The
first prerequisite to being taught by the Spirit of Truth is a readiness to lay
down any, and all, preconceived ideas of what the scriptures teach, with a holy
disposition to sit in brokenness before the feet of Jesus and accept what the
Spirit teaches. It is an obvious fact
that all Christians believe many doctrines simply because they have been handed
down from generation to generation. Our
forefathers, our church, and our brethren believed them for generations, and we
believe them because they did. Much of
what we believe, we believe because people for many years and long centuries
have believed thus, but not one precious child of God in a thousand ever takes
the time or expends the energy or spiritual initiative to discover the origin
of his beliefs, and whether they are truly scriptural or express the heart of
God. We just blindly follow on in the
traditional path because father and mother and friends and brethren believe
that way. But because our fathers, or
the majority of Christians, have believed a thing is no guarantee that it
pertains to the realm of truth! We made
this startling discovery when in the great moving of God the streams of light
began to flow from the realms above and the blessed Spirit of Truth began to
dig down deep beneath the surface of the scriptures, beyond the letter of the
word, beyond the sacred page, opening to our astonished understanding the deeper things of God. We soon found out, however, that when the
Spirit begins to bring to light, and uncover the hidden mysteries of the kingdom of God,
many immediately commence to fight against it.
The
things the Spirit reveals are always different from what men have previously
believed, and how often they are surprised and astonished! The truth is light, and the light reveals the great darkness in the carnal and
childish concepts conceived by the natural mind which interprets through the
intellect the dead letter of the word; and because the truth is so contrary to
the ideas treasured and nourished for so long, many are incited to fight
against it. Because they are not seeking
truth, and not contending for truth, they set themselves to defend to the death
their old established doctrines, never
taking the time to search out whether they are right or wrong. Oh, how subtle, how deceitful and foolish the
heart of man! Only the Lord knows what
is in the heart of man, and He says, “I the Lord search the heart, I try the
reins.” We can be fully convinced in our
heart that we are standing for the truth, when the opposite is the case. How we need to have our hearts circumcised
and broken before God, and our eyes opened, and our ears unstopped, so we can understand
and see and hear what the Spirit has to say to the churches!
Most
of what is taught by the church systems of earth contains some element of
truth. Most Christian church doctrine
has some truth in it, enough to make it acceptable to the people, but I do not
hesitate to tell you that there is much mixed with it that is not truth at all,
and this is what has created all the
divisions between the children of God.
It isn’t the truth that divides, it is all that is false that is mixed
in with the truth that separates. Truth
mixed with falsehood ceases to be truth. Since the book of Revelation is one of the
most supernatural books in the New Testament, and linked to man’s complete
redemption, why is it so variously taught and conceived? Who is responsible for distorting the truth,
and what gain is made by doing so?
Perhaps Paul
furnishes an answer in these words, “The natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14).
THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES
“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 (passion) of God upon the earth” (Rev. 16:1).
Chapter
sixteen of the Revelation describes the outpouring of the seven last plagues
John saw in his vision. The seven angels
waited until a loud voice out of the most holy place of the temple commanded them to go
and pour out the seven bowls of the passion of God upon the earth-realm. The voice John heard seems to be the voice of
God, or of Christ, or of God’s elect, since no other person is allowed to enter
the temple until
the work of the seven last plagues is over.
The Greek construction of the sentence emphasizes the power and authority
of the voice that commissions
the messengers!
It
should now be plain that chapters fifteen and sixteen belong together, and that
chapter fifteen constitutes a mighty prelude to the events pictured in the
sixteenth chapter of the Revelation.
There we saw the overcoming company standing victorious upon the crystal
sea of glass, having the harps of God, and singing the song of Moses and the
Lamb. We found that song was sung at the
occasion of the eve of the pouring out of the seven last plagues. Seven angels stood in priestly attire, ready
to receive the command out of the temple
of God
to go and pour out the last of the plagues, or chastisements and corrections,
of God. This is not an ominous or
frightening scene at all, for the seven messengers are not only in priestly
attire, they are also beautifully arrayed with costly, precious stones; and
there is a reflection of both the mercy and reconciliation of God and of His
holiness in their very appearance.
The
seven messengers have come forth out of the temple of God,
which is filled with the smoke of His manifest presence, ready to fill all the
earth and reveal God’s determined passion to correct once and for all
everything that is wrong in the lives of the Lord’s people who dwell in the
carnality of the soulical religion of the earth-realm. And in their hands they hold seven bowls,
filled with the passion of God! When
these shall have been poured out, God’s passion shall have come powerfully upon
all His people, and His work of purification and purging is finished. This is indicated by the number seven, symbolic of
completeness — a completed work. But
this was also directly stated by John when he says that in these is finished the passion of God. And this does not mean that God has no more
passion and no further perfecting work to be wrought, but that in the context
of bringing all His blood-bought people out of the carnality and immaturity of
the systems of Babylon,
this will be a completely successful administration. As you can see in the chapters that immediately
follow, the great city, Babylon,
shall be completely destroyed, the bride of Christ shall make herself ready,
and the way is opened for the holy city, New Jerusalem, to descend into the
midst of mankind!
As
dew distilling from the heavens comes the revelation of Jesus Christ from every
scene of John’s visions. It is the drama
of God’s great plan of the ages wrought out first in His called and chosen
elect, then in all His people everywhere who call upon His name, afterward in
all the nations of earth, and finally in
all the vast creation of God. Everything
is viewed from the divine and heavenly perspective. It is not the history of Satan’s activity in
men and upon the earth, but the all-conquering power of God’s Christ! It is the spiritual
drama of Father’s dealing in the lives of His people. It is preeminently the revelation of Jesus Christ. The
word “revelation” means to unveil,
uncover, or take the cover off. The unveiling
of Jesus Christ — that’s what is happening in the midst of the saints! That is what is taking place in the earth today! That’s what the book of Revelation is all
about! And that’s what the ministry of
the seven angels with the seven last plagues of God’s passion is about! As that which has been hidden in Jesus Christ
is revealed, uncovered, brought out into the open and exhibited, the glory of
Jesus Christ shall come upon all His people and shine forth from the temple of
His body in all the earth. Christ in us!
Ah, that, my friend, not the rapture, IS THE HOPE OF
GLORY! The Revelation of Jesus Christ
must be upon, within, and out from His people!
As
the seven angels are prepared to pour out the seven bowls of God’s passion,
they are operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. This pouring is called the plague, for the outpouring of God’s
passion or zeal is indeed
a plague to the carnal mind, the soulish disposition, and the flesh life! As you follow these seven angels all the way
through the book of Revelation, you find that their relationship is to everything
that happens in the three realms men live in upon earth. They sound the trumpets that affect the
realms of heaven, earth, and sea. These
same angels later pour out their vials upon the heavenly realm, the
earth realm, and the sea. No individual
part of man, and no man among the Lord’s people, can escape God’s passionate
purpose! The seven angels having the
seven trumpets come out of the temple
of God
in heaven, and the seven angels with the seven plagues also come out of the
most holy place of the temple! The seven
angels blowing the seven trumpets were heralds of God’s great perfecting work
in His firstfruits company. The seven
angels pouring out the seven vials are God’s moving in a ministry out of His
temple of sons in a seven-fold dealing to effect the purification of all the
people of God yet dwelling in the low realms of the flesh and the carnal
mind. All the soulical operations in the
lives of God’s dear people, all the self-hood, every vestige of the believers’
own mind, will, emotion, desire, and inclination to religiosity shall
completely and forever be brought to an end!
Out of this qualified, holy temple
of His
presence proceeds this mighty ministry!
Oh, the wonder of it!
Let
us consider with care the significance of the word “plague.” It is translated from the Greek word plege meaning “a wound caused by a
stripe or blow.” Plege is translated in the King James Bible as “wound” or “wounded”
four times; it is rendered “stripes” five times; and is rendered “plagues” only
in the book of Revelation, and that twelve times. The Greek word is derived from plesso, and plesso in turn comes from plasso,
through the idea of flattening and it means to mold or form. Can we not see by this that these plagues are
not for the purpose of destroying but for the purpose of molding and
forming! It is a wound, but a wound with
the idea of fashioning us into HIS IMAGE.
It is like when a surgeon operates on a person — he takes his scalpel and
makes an incision in their body; that is a wound, but it is a necessary wound
in order to remove or repair something in their body. It is not an activity of violence, but a
ministration of love, concern, and wise purpose. When a person has a tumor the surgeon has to
wound them in order to remove the tumor or that person will die. Thus, the “seven last plagues” may be
characterized as the “seven last stripes” or the “seven last scourgings” or the
“seven last chastenings” in which is filled up the passion of God to correct
His children. The “plagues” poured out of
the bowls bring the spirit of purification and transformation into the lives of
men. This is not an act of judgment,
that is, of punishment, as we think
of it, but rather an activity of purification!
“Last” plagues in which the passion of God is “filled up” or “complete”
signifies that these are the last or final purifying dealings of God with a
people. There is the same truth as it
pertains to the individual
— that is, each one of us in our journey into God. The unproductive natural life and human consciousness,
the flesh with its lustful, sinful disposition, the soul with its emotional tendencies
and its religious inclination, the carnal mind with its humanistic reasoning,
planning, and scheming — all must suffer the seven plagues! Make no mistake about it — God will
touch everything in the lives of His
people! That is the final outcome of
redemption, for He has redeemed us unto Himself and for His pleasure and
purpose!
Therefore the Lord will come to His people as a
refiner’s fire and as fuller’s soap; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier
of silver; and He shall purge the sons of Levi, and purify them as gold and
silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness (Mal.
3:1-3). This is also the ministry of the
seven angels and the seven plagues!
Purging is getting rid of unwanted and unnecessary material. The Lord comes forth from His holy place in a
ministry to purge and to purify His people! He is not getting rid of some of His people,
but He is getting rid of the one man who is deceiving and
polluting His people — old Adam. Oh, yes!
It is the old Adamic
man with his carnal mind, his earthly desires, his fleshly ways, his distorted
vision, his vain philosophies, his soulish religion, his demonic lies and
deceptions — this is the man He comes to purge away! Purging and purification are in reality just
the PROCESS OF ELIMINATION. If you want
to purify water, you simply filter out the impurities, leaving the water pure
or unpolluted. The quickened spirit of
the regenerated man is pure spirit in
the image of Him who created him. But
our spirits have been so mixed, so polluted by the uncleanness of body and soul! Purification does not make water something
different or greater or more than it is.
It merely removes the impurities so that the water is pure — unmixed with the
contaminants. Now it can be and
do
what it was created to be and do! That is the calling of every child of God!
The
message is just this: If you are a carnal Christian living beneath God’s high plan
and holy purpose for you — breaking His living
covenant of righteousness, glory, wisdom,
and power — THE SEVEN ANGELS HAVING THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES ARE COMING AFTER
YOU! You can’t escape, because IN THEM
IS FILLED UP THE PASSION OF GOD!
When
the temple is filled with God’s glory a great voice speaks out of the glorious temple introducing
the seven “plagues.” This immediately
draws our attention to the Old Testament ministry of Moses. His ministry was on behalf of the children of
Israel bound in servitude in
the land of Egypt
and Moses says, in effect, “Now, we’re going to draw a line and begin the
process of deliverance from Egypt.” How does he begin this? The Lord instructs Moses to ask Pharaoh to
let the children of Israel
go out into the desert in order to celebrate their festival of worship. Can you not see the mystery? WORSHIP
IS WHAT IT’S ALL
ABOUT! The entire scene of chapter
fifteen of the Revelation is worship! When Moses goes in before Pharaoh he
says, “Let my people go — let them go and worship!”
Pharaoh, the representative of the world
system, responded, “No — who is Yahweh that I should obey His voice and let Israel
go? I know not Yahweh, neither will I
let Israel
go.” It was following that initial
confrontation that the plagues began!
So
the concept of plagues carries us back to the plagues poured out upon Egypt
at the hand of Moses. It’s important to
remember that the plagues were sent upon the Egyptians, not upon Israel, not upon the Lord’s people, but they
were the judgment upon Egypt. What
was the purpose of the ten plagues? If
God’s intention was simply to free His people Israel, couldn’t there have been a
more efficient way? If we’re already
suspending the laws of nature by the miraculous, the entire Israelite populace could have been released with
one great swoop of God’s hand, and then the Egyptians could have been destroyed
in an explosion of fire and brimstone. But
God’s purpose was to execute judgment
upon the Egyptians. God said to Moses, “Observe! I will be making you like a god to Pharaoh” (Ex. 7:1). God was in the process of breaking and diminishing Pharaoh, and
exalting and glorifying Moses! Hence the
Nile river, recipient
of the Hebrew male babies who were drowned at birth, turns to blood as the
first plague falls upon the Egyptians!
Scripture
reveals that the primary purpose of the plagues that
were inflicted upon the Egyptians
was not to force the Pharaoh to give the Israelites the freedom they
desired. Rather, the primary purpose of
the plagues was to reveal that all the gods of Egypt were in fact false gods — no gods at all — and that Yahweh, the
God of the Hebrews, was the one, true God.
“Against all the gods of Egypt
I will execute judgment: I am Yahweh” (Ex. 12:12). Beyond this, however, lay the goal of
liberating the Lord’s people from the dominion of Egypt, its Pharaoh, and its
gods. The plagues served to weaken the
enemy in order to provide the people of Israel with a military
victory. Therefore, just as those who
lay siege to a city first cut off the water supply, then prevent food from
being acquired, then frighten the citizens with all sorts of noises, then
weaken their bodies and finally kill them off, so Yahweh initially turns the
nurturing Nile into blood, then destroys the
food supply, then harms the Egyptians
with boils, then terrorizes them by arraying the forces of nature against them,
and finally kills off their first-born.
The
contents of the seven bowls are called plagues.
The plagues in the Revelation are a
striking spiritualization of the plagues the Lord sent upon Egypt! As we look at these plagues we see that they
are likened unto the literal plagues upon Egypt, but we know that the book of
Revelation is a spiritual book of spiritual truths and spiritual experiences addressed to a spiritual people and which can be
perceived and appropriated only in the
spirit and by the spirit! Can we not see by this that the spiritual
plagues come upon the spirit of Egypt (also designated as
Babylon) within each of us to bring the release of our spiritual man from the
dominance of the carnal mind that we may march out of the bondage of the flesh,
the Adamic nature, the human identity and consciousness, the falsities of
religion, the spirit of the world, and enter into the full realization of our
inheritance in our promised land — the
fullness of Christ! Is that truth
not infinitely more blessed and meaningful than literal plagues falling upon the
nations of earth! Truly these plagues bring THE REVELATION OF
JESUS CHRIST!
The
plagues of Egypt were sent
upon the people, spirits, and kingdom that held God’s people, Israel, in servitude. The plagues in the book of Revelation are,
therefore, related to God’s spiritual
people— for the message is sent to the church! It is the Lord Jesus talking to His body!
The Egyptian
typology is an emphatic way of saying that these “judgments” or “dealings” of
our Father are but a prelude to His great deliverance of His redeemed people from all
their enemies! In the book of Exodus the
plagues came upon Egypt to
get Israel out of Egypt. In the book of Revelation the plagues come
upon the Lord’s people, the church, to get Egypt out of the people! The plagues in the Revelation represent those
dealings God sends into the midst of His people to break
the religious bondage of spiritual Egypt, the spirit of this world, the controlling of the flesh, the dominance of the soul, the ruling of the carnal mind, the tyranny of the religious systems of man, and the whole
realm of sin, limitation, and mortality! The plagues are not against God’s people as His people, but by them the Lord is breaking the power of every kingdom within
that rules them, usurping the life of the spirit. As each of the plagues is poured out God
is saying to the “Pharaoh” of every believer’s own personal “Egypt” of bondage, “LET MY PEOPLE
GO!” Referring to the plagues of Egypt
the Psalmist said, “He gave also their cattle over to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts” (Ps.
78:48). The “cattle” is the symbolic
figure for the whole bestial nature of man and the “flocks” signify the whole
bestial system of man! Our Father will
bring His people out of their Egyptian
bondage by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm! And what mighty shakings, boils, bloody
waters, scorching heat, darkness, frogs, thunders, lightnings, earthquakes, and
great hail shall take place in the lives of God’s people as He effects this
glorious deliverance! He judges, discredits, humiliates, weakens,
and destroys everything that is contrary to the pure life of Christ. He is leading His people “out” of Egypt
in order to bring them “in” to the fullness of their inheritance in
Christ! Many of God’s elect have already
experienced these things, and we know experientially by what a mighty
hand and outstretched arm our Father has delivered us into His kingdom! Therefore we also know that God has an
appointed time for all the rest of His people, and He will surely bring it to
pass by HIS MIGHTY POWER!
This
is how the woman-bride of chapter nineteen makes herself ready! The bride is so purified and made glorious
within until in chapter twenty-two John beholds a pure river of the water of
life, clear as crystal, flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the
midst of the bride-city. Jesus spoke of
this river when He said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life…he that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn.
4:14; 7:38). The stream of teaching,
preaching, and ministry flowing out from the church systems of man has been so
polluted with error, falsity, deception, carnality, and foolishness — something
must purify
the stream!
You
see, beloved reader of these lines, God is not against you, God is not out to get you,
God is against your enemies, the Egypt within you, the spirit of
this world and the spirit of man’s carnal religious orders which control and
deceive God’s people — God is judging the very Egypt within His people in order
to deliver and lead them out into His great purpose and inheritance — the
fullness of Himself. The Lord said to
Moses, “Take a look at your enemies because after today you’re going to see
them no
more for ever.” What a word that
is! That is what the plagues are all
about — to deliver God’s people out of their spiritual Egyptian bondage. Many have made “bricks” under the whips
of their “taskmasters” for so long that they are not even aware there is a free
and glorious life beyond the river
of Egypt! What a wonder it will be when all the dust
settles and they discover the TRUE RICHES AND THE GLORIOUS AND ETERNAL
REALITY!
A
spoiled child throws a tantrum in a toy store, wanting every toy in sight. His parents try to hold and comfort him, but
since he knows his parents won’t correct or punish him, he spits on them. Onlookers watch in amazement, and the parents
pretend to laugh it off. Similarly, when
believers think God won’t do anything about the carnality in His people and the
pollution in His church, they spit in His face.
But God is not an indulgent
parent! That is why we have the graphic
picture of the “seven last plagues”
in chapter sixteen of the Revelation!
The seven last plagues, the
seven last stripes, the seven last scourgings are the seven last dealings of God His people must
pass through in order to be delivered from Babylon and perfected in
Christ. They are both the severity and
the goodness of God revealed! The
judgment against the carnal nature and systems of man will be so severe that
God’s people ultimately will cry “enough!”
The dregs of the cup will prove so bitter that the “prodigal son” will
be glad to leave the swine pens and the swill troughs and return to Father’s
house of goodness, provision, glory, and honor.
The seven plagues will have served their purpose! They are nothing to be fearful of, rather
something to rejoice in! The passion
of God toward His people is filled up, fulfilled, completed, and consummated in
these seven last plagues! When this seven-fold work is accomplished the
delivering
and transforming work of God in His people is FINISHED! Ah, great is the mystery!
A
Captain, years ago in the days of the sailing vessels, was leaving England. His fourteen year old boy was begging to go
with him but the mother was reluctant to let him go. Finally the father prevailed upon the mother
and the fourteen year old boy went with the father’s promise to the mother that
he would watch after this boy. He said
to the boy, “You will have to be a sailor.”
So after they were out in the sea the boy was aloft in the
riggings. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a
fierce wind came up and it whipped the arm around and the boy was left dangling
there precariously. The next moment, if
that arm continued to turn, he would fall upon the deck and be brutally
killed. The boy, in shock, was afraid to
jump toward the water. The father
quietly, slowly, pulled out his revolver and pointed it at the boy. He said authoritatively, “Son, if you don’t
jump, I’ll shoot!” The boy knew his dad,
and knew he meant business. More afraid
of the gun, he made a leap for the water.
He had no sooner hit the water than great big strong arms brought him
back on deck.
May
I say to you today — the wrath, the passion of God is a gun pointing at
you! It’s loaded with the power of God
which is able to both kill and make alive (Deut. 32:39). God says, “I’ll have to shoot if you don’t
jump.” Oh, yes! God will judge you, my friend, and he will
judge that Babylonian
religious system you cling to, until you come His way, until you jump into His
great ocean of love and divine purpose where you will find underneath the
everlasting arms of His deliverance.
Because He loves you, because He is committed to you, because He has a
high purpose beyond your wildest dreams for you, He will save you, and in His
omniscient wisdom He will do whatever it takes to cause you to
abandon yourself to the ocean
of His
loving purpose. That is the wonder of
it!
You
may have read the following story. It’s
the story of an American
couple who go to England,
celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Both the man and his wife are fanciers of
antiques, pottery, and china. When they
come to Sussex
they pass a little china shop. They instantaneously
stop, back up, and go in. Their eyes
single out a little tea cup on the top shelf.
“May I see that?” he asked. “I’ve
never seen a
tea cup like it. It’s beautiful!” But suddenly the tea cup spoke! “You don’t
understand, I haven’t always been a tea cup.
There was a time when I was red…and that I was clay. My master took me and rolled me, and patted
me over, and over, and over. I yelled
out: ‘Leave me alone!’ But he only smiled and said, ‘Not yet.’
“Then
I was placed on a spinning wheel,” the tea cup said. “Suddenly I was spun around, and around, and
around. ‘Stop it…I’m getting dizzy and
this scares me!’ I screamed. The master
only nodded and said, ‘Not yet!’ Then he put me in an oven…I’ve never felt such
heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn
me, and I yelled, and I knocked at the door.
I could see him through the opening, and I could read his lips as he
shook his head — ‘Not yet.’ Finally the door did open…whew! He put me up on the shelf and I began to
cool. ‘There, that’s better,’ I
said. Then at once he brushed me, and
painted me all over. The fumes were
horrible, and I gagged and thought I would die.
‘Stop it! Stop it!’ I cried. He only nodded — ‘Not yet.’ Then suddenly he
put me back into an oven, not the first one, but one twice as hot. I knew I would
either suffocate or explode. This time I
begged, I pleaded, I bargained, I screamed, I cried. All the time I could see him through the
opening, nodding his head and saying, ‘Not
yet.’
“Then
I knew there was no hope, and I would never
make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and he
placed me on a
shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at
yourself.’ And I did, and I said, ‘That’s not me…it couldn’t be me! I’m beautiful!’ ‘I want you to remember,’ he then said,
‘I know it hurt to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you, you would have
dried up. I know it made you dizzy and
scared you to spin you around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would
have crumbled. I know it was painful and
hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have
cracked. I know the fumes were horrible
and suffocating when I brushed you and painted you all over, but you see, if I
had not done that you would never
have hardened. There would have been no
color, no value, and no beauty to your life!
And if I had not put you back into that second oven, you would not have
survived for very long, the hardness, the quality, and the beauty would not
have held. Now…you’re a finished
product…you’re what I had in mind when I first began with you!”
Ah,
my beloved, that little story beautifully illustrates the purifying and
transforming work of God in His called and chosen elect. It also points out the purpose, the power,
and the process of the seven last
plagues. How ominous they seem! But the end is beauty, quality, and value
inwrought in the lives of those who become the bride made ready for the marriage of the Lamb! Personally, I am very glad that I did not
know all the processings that lay ahead when I began this journey years
ago. God in His great mercy and grace
hid from my eyes the trials, difficulties, disappointments, traumatic
experiences, temptations, failures, and burning furnaces of testings that were
to bedevil the path that He had prepared for my feet. I knew practically nothing about my own
inexperience, immaturity, weaknesses, and inbred carnality and sin. I set my face to be conformed to the image of
God’s Christ, but I did not know at that time that transformation does not come
in waves of glory and ecstasy, but rather in horrible pits of darkness and in
blasts of heat from the fiery furnace of affliction. That is the mystery.
THE SEALS, THE TRUMPETS, AND THE VIALS
“And
when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven…and I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given
seven trumpets. And another angel came
and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him
much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne…and
the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices,
and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound” (Rev. 8:1-6).
“And
I saw another sign in heaven, great
and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is
filled up the passion of God. 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 passion of God
upon the earth” (Rev. 15:1; 16:1).
These
visions reveal the great truth that in the outworking of God’s kingdom
purposes, first something happens in the heavens, and then as a consequence, certain events take place in the earth-realm. John
sees seven angels standing before the throne of God
in heaven, and they are given seven trumpets. As they prepare to sound their trumpets
fire from the censer of the priesthood is cast into the earth. It is a heavenly, celestial scene! But as each angel sounds mighty things
transpire in the earth, in the sea, upon the rivers and fountains of waters,
and in the heavens that govern the earth man. In the next scene the seven angels are
standing in the temple
of God in heaven. The temple of God
is filled with the manifest glory of God, and to the seven angels are given
seven bowls containing seven plagues, in which is contained the fullness of the
passion of God. A great voice out of the
temple of the body of Christ in the heavenly
places of the Spirit of the Lord commands the seven angels to go forth and
begin to pour out the bowls of the passion of God upon the earth-dwellers. As each bowl is poured out there are solemn
and marvelous events that transpire in the earth, in the sea, upon the rivers
and fountains of waters, and in the heavens that govern the earth man. Every divine action that affects the
earth-realm issues forth from the heavenly, celestial realm! The sounding of the trumpets and the pouring
out of the bowls both originate out of the heavens of the Spirit and accomplish
the will and purpose of God within a people who are walking in the earthlies!
We
have mentioned previously that John actually saw throughout the visions of the
book of Revelation three series of dramas, each with seven parts. There is the drama of the seven seals,
then that of the seven trumpets, and finally the seven bowls. As we meditate upon these great
truths, surely we can see that the opening of the seals is the revelation of Jesus
Christ! A revelation is an unveiling,
and it is Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son of God, who is unveiled unto
us and within us as the seals are broken.
Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ is the first of this trinity of
dramas. The further truth is that all our glorious Father
wrought out in the life of Jesus in order to reveal the fullness of God in Him
— in sonship — must now be wrought out also in God’s firstfruit company of
“many sons” brought to His very own glory.
God’s called and chosen elect, purified, perfected, grown up into the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, is therefore the second
company to be brought to full and complete redemption, restoration to
the life, glory, wisdom, and power of God!
The third company brought into perfection and the fullness of God
is the rest of the Lord’s people who are presently enslaved in the bondage of
religious Babylon.
The
point we wish
to make is just this: As the loosing of the seals brings the
revelation of Jesus Christ, the first Son, so the blowing of the trumpets
accomplishes the very same work of God in His called and chosen elect,
the many-membered
body of Christ, or the manifest sons of God. These are seen in chapter twelve as
the manchild caught up into the throne; in chapter fourteen as the 144,000 with
the Lamb upon mount Zion; and in chapter fifteen as the overcomers standing
upon the glassy sea, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. And just as the trumpets show the work of our
Father in His chosen firstfruits company, so the pouring out of the seven bowls
depicts the deep and awesome dealings of God with the rest of the Lord’s redeemed
people — the church! Thus the
seals represent the work of God in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, the
trumpets show the work of God in His many-membered son company, and the bowls
reveal the work of God in the rest of the Lord’s saved people — the seven
churches of chapters two and three of the Revelation. Three series of dramas, each with seven
parts! Three is the number of
completeness, seven the number of perfection.
These three dramas with their seven parts reveal the great truth of
God’s COMPLETE REDEMPTION AND RESTORATION OF HIS PEOPLE, BRINGING PERFECTION,
LIFE, AND GLORY!
There
are three stages in the redemptive program (in relation to the church), and a
full and complete redemption wrought in each stage. Jesus has already been perfected, resurrected,
glorified, enthroned, and come to dwell in the midst of His people! Multitudes who read these lines are even now
in the process of full perfection, redemption, and glorification as sons of
God! And our Father has a wonderful plan
and purpose to restore all His precious people back into the perfection and
glory of God! He will, in fact, restore
the whole
creation, but the three series of dramas now under consideration speak
of His dealings with His church prior to the restoration of the world and all
things in all realms. God must first
bring forth the perfection of glory within His manifest sons and within the
beautiful and glorious bride of the Lamb, so that the nations can then come to
their light and walk in their light, even the light of salvation! Isn’t it wonderful!
It
is my deep conviction that the “third part” (the third part of the trees, the
third part of the sea, the third part of the ships, the third part of the
rivers and fountains of waters, the third part of the sun, etc) mentioned so
often in connection with the second drama, the sounding of the
trumpets, bespeaks the work of God in His firstfruits son company in contrast
to all the rest of the Lord’s people who are dealt with later at the pouring
out of the bowls. When this “third
part,” or the manifest sons of God, has been
thoroughly processed by the Lord, when the work of perfection and maturity has
been fully accomplished in them, there remain yet multitudes, yea, untold millions of the Lord’s people who are
still just babes in Christ and slaves to the man-made (erroneous) creeds and
carnal religious systems of Babylon. But their day will come, too! And it is significant to note that just as
soon as the seven bowls are emptied out upon this last portion of the church — BABYLON BEGINS TO FALL AND
THE BRIDE IS SEEN HAVING MADE HERSELF READY FOR THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB! What great and glorious things God has in
store for His people!
Never lose sight of the
beautiful progression in the succession of the seals, the trumpets, and the
bowls. Each is greater and more
far-reaching than the one before! In
connection with the seals there is no mention of the scope of their effect — for the seals are the unveiling of ONE —
the unveiling of Jesus Christ! Under the
trumpets, however, we find that their work affects one third of everything! One
third, but far short of all! Beyond doubt, this signifies a select
company! But under the bowls everything
is affected — the whole earth, the entire sea, all the rivers and
fountains of waters, the full sun, the very seat of the beast, the full length
of the river Euphrates, all the kings of the earth, the whole biosphere, the
great city Babylon, all the cities, all the nations, every island and every
mountain — absolute totality — all of EVERYTHING! This by no means indicates that all of those literal things will be transformed by
the ministry of the seven plagues, for the literal things themselves represent spiritual
things in the lives and experience of God’s people — and it is they who
are meant, it is they who are delivered, changed, and perfected!
The
following words written by brother Paul Mueller are so meaningful here. “That which our Father intends to do with all
mankind, He shall first accomplish in the lives of His chosen and set-apart
remnant. If the remnant of the Lord
cannot receive the new covenant and walk in the light of its principles and
purposes, how can we expect the masses of the world to receive it? Beloved, it is impossible! As our Father’s chosen remnant in the earth today, we must
grow in the Spirit to know our Lord in greater fullness. Then we will gladly, and with renewed hope
and expectancy, lay aside the old, dead works of the past age! Then every person among us will cease
teaching and preaching, for all the elect will know Him in Spirit and in Truth,
whom to know is Life eternal. And this
is just the basic principle of the new covenant!
“Then
we will blaze a new trail into the kingdom
of God
for the multitudes to follow. It will be
a new and clear trail or highway into the fullness of the kingdom of God! ‘It
shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for
those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous
beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there: but the redeemed shall
walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away’ (Isa. 35:8-10)” — end quote.
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Updated
by Sharon Eby 02/27/2015 04:06:08 PM