THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES, AND THE TIME WHEN THEY ARE POURED OUT by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 29, 1868

THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES, AND THE TIME WHEN THEY ARE POURED OUT.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

I am aware that there is a difference of opinion among Adventists as to the time when the seven last plagues are to be poured out. Many hold that we are now under the pouring out of the sixth; but Seventh-day Adventists hold, on the contrary, that none of them have yet been poured out, nor will they be, till just before Jesus comes. In favor of this position, I offer a few thoughts.

1. I can see no reason why they should be called the “seven last plagues,” Rev. xv, 1, if they cover a period of several hundred years, in common with other judgments, sent upon the wicked. Their being called the seven last plagues, seems to indicate that they will be poured upon the world after all other judgments have ceased, as the finishing stroke of God’s vengeance upon the wicked.

2. Rev. xiv contains three messages of warning to the world. The first one, verses 6, 7, says that the hour of God’s judgment is come. This certainly must be given near the end of the world in order to be true. The second, verse 8, says that Babylon is fallen. The third, and last, warning message, verses 9–12, says, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation,” &c. Immediately after the close of this message, the Son of Man is seen coming on a white cloud. Verse 14. In chap. xv, 1, we read: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues: for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” This language indicates that the seven last plagues are the same as the unmixed wrath of God threatened in the third angel’s message, against those who worship the beast, or have his mark. In one place, his wrath is said to be poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and in the other place, his wrath is said to be filled up in the seven last plagues. This conclusion is proved to be true by the fact that the seven last plagues are poured out on the very class who are threatened in the third angel’s message; viz., those who worship the beast. Thus we read, chap. xvi, 1, 2: “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. 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 worshiped his image.”

Then, the first one of the seven last plagues cannot be poured out till the close of the third angel’s message. But this is the last message of warning to the world; hence, the conclusion is unavoidable that none of these plagues can be poured out till just before the coming of the Lord.

3. That these plagues are all poured out in quick succession upon the same generation of men, and not scattered over a period of several hundred years, is evident from the fact that when the fifth plague is poured out, the men upon whom it is poured, are still suffering from the effects of the first plague, which was a “noisome and grievous sore.” Verse 2. “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, and blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Verses 10, 11.

4. But another fact which seems to me to be decisive as to the time when the plagues are to be poured out, is that it is after the sounding of the seventh trumpet. That this is so, will be seen by comparing the events which occur under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with those which occur under the pouring out of the plagues. Let us read: “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. . . . 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 to them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 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.”

Of course, I need not stop to argue that the seventh angel does not begin to sound till just before the coming of Christ. The events which happen under it, prove this. Under the sounding of this angel, we notice that, 1. The wrath of God comes. 2. Those who destroy the earth, will then be destroyed. 3. The saints will then be rewarded. 4. The temple of God was then opened in Heaven. 5. There were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Now these same events occur at the pouring out of the seven last plagues, chap. xv, 5, to xvi, 21. 1. The temple in Heaven is opened. “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven was opened: and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed with pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.” Chap. xv, 5, 6. This definitely locates the time when the seven angels having the seven last plagues receive their commission, and prepare to pour out the plagues; namely, at the time when the temple in Heaven is opened, which is not till after the seventh angel begins to sound. This is a nail in a sure place. 2. Then the wrath of God comes in these plagues. “And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.” Verse 7. This is exactly what occurs under the sounding of the seventh angel—“thy wrath is come.” Verse 8 contains another testimony as to the chronology of these plagues: it is after probation has closed. “And the temple was filled with smoke, from the glory of God and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” The fact that no man was able to enter into the temple, shows that the ministration there had closed; hence, the plagues are not poured out till after probation has ceased. 3. Under the seventh plague it says, “There were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake. . . . and there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven.” Chap. xvi, 18–21. 4. These plagues will destroy those who have destroyed the earth. 5. So, also, at this time the saints will be rewarded.

Thus we see that the events which occur under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, are the same as those which occur in connection with the pouring out of the seven last plagues. Hence we understand that none of the plagues are poured out till the seventh trumpet begins to sound.

But, says one, verses 12–14 show that we are now under the sixth plague. It reads thus: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are the spirits of devils,” &c. This work of the spirits, it is agreed, is modern Spiritualism, which is now working in the land; therefore, we are now under the sixth plague. At first sight, this argument seems to be conclusive; but let us look a little closer.

At the time when the work of these spirits is noticed in the prophecy, they are seen “coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.” These beasts represent governments. How can anything be said to come out of the mouth of a government? Manifestly when that government speaks to its subjects by the proclamation of its laws. It can mean nothing else. The prophet saw the spirits come out of the mouths of these three governments; that is, the spirits had so far gained control of these governments as to speak through them in their laws. Evidently, this is what the prophecy means. Now has Spiritualism done that yet? No; the spirits must first get into the body before they can come out of the mouth. This is what Spiritualism is now doing. It is working, and spreading, and rapidly making converts among all nations. At length they will become numerous and strong enough to control political parties; then they will issue laws to suit themselves; then will they “come out of the mouth” of the beast, but not before. So according to this proof, we are not yet under the sixth plague.

Then, from all this evidence, I conclude that the plagues are yet future, and that by them God will at last destroy every living thing on the earth. God has said, “I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea.” Zeph. i, 2, 3. All things in the air, on the earth, and in the sea, must be destroyed. Will the seven last plagues do all this? They will; for some of them are poured upon the earth, some upon the sea and waters, and some into the air. Read them. By these means, then, God will destroy the earth.

The above facts suggest a few practical thoughts to my mind. It is not only necessary that we should know that the Lord is soon coming, and that the world is soon to be destroyed; but it is also necessary that we should know the nature of that destruction; that is, how it will be accomplished. If we simply know that a destruction is coming, but do not know the nature of it, nor how it will come, how shall we prepare ourselves for it? “Oh! trust in the Lord, and he will save you,” says one. But faith in God is always active. It teaches us to move out and do something, and trust in God for help to do it. The case of Noah exactly illustrates my idea. The Lord warned Noah that he was about to destroy the world. He believed the Lord, and went out and warned his fellow men of the coming destruction. But was that all that he did? Did he then simply trust in God, and wait for the awful event? No; he went to work preparing for the coming destruction. But suppose he had simply known that this destruction was coming, yet did not know how it was coming, how could he have prepared for it? The Lord not only told him that he would destroy the world, but that he would do it by a flood of water. Now Noah understands what to do. He must prepare to save himself from a flood of water. Hence he built the ark, and was saved. His faith in God taught him that the world was soon to be destroyed, and that it would be done by a flood, and that he must save himself from that destruction by building an ark. His was an active faith. It led him out to do that in which there was no sense unless the flood was coming.

So of Lot. He was not only warned that Sodom was about to be destroyed, but he was told how to save himself; viz., by fleeing from the city. An ark would not have saved him, any more than fleeing from a certain city would have saved Noah. So at the destruction of Jerusalem. Christ not only informed his disciples that the city would be destroyed, but he told them how it would be done; viz., by an army. Luke xxi, 20. Then he told them to flee into the mountains. This, and nothing else, would save them. They not only knew that the destruction was coming, but they knew how it was coming. This enabled them to prepare for it.

Now I believe that the same will be true with respect to the destruction which is coming on the world at the coming of the Lord. The Lord is about to destroy man and beast, the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea. Zeph. i. God’s people will be on the earth, the same as Noah was, while this destruction is going on, till just before the pouring out of the last plague. Rev. xvi, 15–17; Ps. xci. But these plagues will not touch them any more than the waters did Noah. Ps. xci, 7–10. Now is it not reasonable to suppose that the people of God will know the nature of the destruction which is coming, that they may be prepared to stand amid these plagues? If the example of Noah, Lot, &c., teaches anything, it is reasonable. “As it was in the days of Noah,” so it is to be when Christ comes. But looking at the nature of the seven last plagues, we see that God will destroy every living thing by “plagues,” “noisome and grievous sores,” turning the water into blood, scorching men with heat, &c.; also, by famine and pestilence. Joel i; Rev. xviii, 8; Ps. xci. These, then, are what we are to prepare for. This I understand to be the ultimate object of the health reform. But those who believe that the plagues are nearly all now in the past, and that no such things are coming on the earth, but are simply looking for the Lord to come, are they not overlooking the very preparation they will need, so that they will be found unprepared when the wrath of God is poured out? I fear this is so. May the Lord help us to know what is coming, and prepare for it. Amen. D. M. Canright.