p. 60 | THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 25, 1857

THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES.

(Concluded.)

The second feature of the sixth plague to be observed is the issuing forth of the three unclean spirits to gather the nations to the great battle. And as we have taken the position that the agency now already ahead in the world and known as modern Spiritualism, is the means to be employed in this work; or, rather, as we have applied this scripture [Rev. xvi, 14] to the modern manifestations of spirit power, the question has been asked, how we could think that a work was designated by it, which was already going on, when the spirits are not introduced into the prophecy until the sixth plague, which is still future.

We answer that in this as in many other things, the agencies which Heaven designs to employ in the accomplishment of certain ends, are being, for a while, trained to the part which they are to act. Thus before the spirits can have such absolute authority over the race as to gather them to battle against the King of kings and Lord of lords, they must first win their way among the nations of the earth, and cause their teaching to be received as of divine authority and their word as law. This work they are now doing; and when they shall have once got the multitudes of earth under their influence, what fitter instruments could be employed to gather them to so rash and hopeless an enterprise.

To many it may seem incredible that the nations should be willing to engage in such an unequal warfare as to go up to battle against the Lord of hosts; but it is one province of these spirits of devils to deceive; for they go forth working miracles and thereby deceive the kings of the earth that they should believe a lie. Pharaoh might have known from what he witnessed that it was vain for him to withstand the Almighty; yet he rushed blindly and headlong time after time to ruin. Why was it? It was because his magicians "did so with their enchantments." The spirits of devils by the miracles which they wrought through these magicians deceived him and hardened his obdurate heart even to pursue the children of Israel into the midst of the sea. So in the final gathering, the nations will be duped into the belief that they can safely go up to battle against the Lord, the King of saints.

The sources from which these spirits issue, denote that they will work among three great divisions of mankind, represented by the dragon, beast, and false prophet, which we shall call Paganism Catholicism and Protestantism. Not here entering into any particular defense of this application, we shall content ourselves with cursorily remarking that all (at least Protestants) are agreed in regarding the beast as a symbol of Papacy; and that a dragon is the chosen symbol of Paganism may be learned from the fact that it was used to symbolize Rome, so long as Paganism was its national religion; and that the False Prophet is the same as the two-horned beast, may be seen by comparing Rev. xiii, 11-14 with chap. xix, 20. The two-horned beast being a symbol of these United States may fitly be used as a representative of Protestantism.

This gathering of the nations under the sixth vial, is elsewhere brought to view in the Scriptures, chiefly in the declarations of the Lord by the mouth of his prophets. He says by Joel [chap. iii, 1, 2,] "For behold in those days and in that time when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and parted my land. See also verses 9-16: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves and come, all ye heathen and gather yourselves together round about. Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

Zephaniah also hears testimony to the same great event, when he says, [chap. iii, 8,] "Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy."

We have now reached in the course of this article, to the close of the sixth plague; but the Lord has not yet come; for, as we have before noticed, he here declares that he will come as a thief. This is the warning which at this point of time he gives his people: "Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." Verse 15. Dr. Clarke's comment on this passage we deem worthy of insertion as helping to understand the meaning of this language. He says: "Here is a plain allusion to the office of him who was called the prefect or overseer of the mountain of the temple. His custom was to go his rounds during the watches of the night; and if he found any of the Levites sleeping on his watch, he had authority to beat him with a stick and burn his vestments. See Middoth fol. 34, 1, and Tamid fol. 27, 2; 28, 1. Such a person being found on his return home naked, it was at once known that he had been found asleep at his post, had been beaten, and his clothes burnt. Thus his shame was seen—he was reproached for his infidelity and irreligion."

"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. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 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. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." Rev. xvi, 17-21.

Thus has inspiration described to us the last judgment which God has appointed to rebellious man in his present state. Some of the plagues we have seen were local in their application; but this one was poured out into the air. The air is a universal element; hence we may conclude that this plague will envelope equally the habitable globe. It will be universal. The air will be tainted.

The gathering of the nations having taken place under the sixth vial, the battle remains to be fought under the seventh; and we here find brought to view the instrumentalities with which he will plead with all flesh. At this time it may be said, "The Lord hath opened his armory, and brought forth the weapons of his indignation." Here we are surrounded with a great cloud of witnesses.

There were voices. Above all will be heard the voice of God. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel iii, 16. This, as noticed under the sixth vial, is in close connection with the gathering of the nations. Jeremiah also speaking of the time when the Lord will have "a controversy with the nations," says, "The Lord also shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout as they that tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth." Jer, xxv, 30. Again: says Paul, "Whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath promised saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven." Heb. xii, 26. This will cause the great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth.

And thunders and lightnings. Allusion again to the judgments of Egypt. See Ex. ix, 23, "And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground." The cities of the nations fell. A universal desolation of the earth, when every island shall flee away and the mountains not be found. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God. Read her judgments more fully in chap. xviii.

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven. This is the last instrumentality brought to bear upon the shelterless heads of the wicked—the bitter dregs of the seventh vial. We refer again to Egypt for an illustration of the effects of such a judgment as this. Ex. ix, 24. "So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field both man and beast, and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field." Why will not the final storm of hail attendant upon the great and final deliverance of God's people, be as literal as this? Is God any less able now to fulfill his threats? By no means; and he has solemnly declared to the wicked, saying, "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place." Isa. xxviii, 17. Again he says [chap. xxx, 30,] evidently speaking of the same time, "And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering and tempest and hailstones." And he asks Job if he has seen the treasures of the hail, which he has reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war. Job xxxviii, 22, 23.

"Every stone about the weight of a talent." A talent according to various authorities, as a weight, is about fifty-seven pounds avoirdupois. What could withstand the force of stones of such an enormous weight falling from heaven? But mankind, at this time, will have no shelter. The cities have fallen in the mighty earthquake, the islands have fled away and the mountains are not found. Again the wicked give vent to their woe in blasphemy; for the plague of the hail is "exceeding great."

It would at once be presumed that nothing could survive a destruction so terrible. We are not here however informed of its results. But there is another portion of scripture, namely, Rev. xix, in which the great battle is more fully described, and we there learn that after the beast and false prophet are disposed of, the remnant, all there are left, are slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse. The earth will then be rid of its inhabitants. The wicked, without distinction or limitation, will then according to the threatening of the Lord [Jer. xxv, 31.] be given to the sword. See also Zeph. i. Then will be accomplished the declaration of Isaiah [chap. xxiv, 1.] "Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste and turneth it upside down . . . . The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled, for the Lord hath spoken this word.

"And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven 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 made up. 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 the great decision? But what of the saints while the "overflowing scourge" is passing over? They are the special subjects of God's protection, in whose hands not a sparrow falls to the ground. Many are the promises which come crowding in to afford them comfort. We will notice a few. Ps. xci, 2-10. "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; for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at 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."

Daniel speaks of the same time and records a gracious promise of deliverance for those who are written in the book. He says, [chap. xii, 1.] "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

Isaiah also says, speaking of him that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly, "He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munition of rocks; bread shall be given him; his water shall be sure." Isa. xxxiii, 16. Precious promise, when the vegetable world is crisped beneath a scorching sun, and the rivers and fountains of water are turned to blood. When does it apply? When sinners in Zion are afraid, and fearfulness surprises the hypocrites, and when we are to "see the King in his beauty." Verses 14, 17. And in the prophecies heretofore quoted in this article we have seen that the Lord would be "the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel." But on this point we need not multiply testimony, since to produce it all would make it necessary to transcribe a great portion of the Bible. We will offer one reason from analogy. Israel were sheltered from the plagues that fell upon Egypt. When the Egyptians were groping about in thick darkness, the Israelites had light in their dwellings. When the hail was smiting down man and beast, and whatever was in the field, it is said, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail." And when the first born of Egypt were smitten and there was lamentation and mourning in every dwelling, the destroying angel sheathed his weapon of vengeance as he passed over the habitations of Israel.

So will the saints be sheltered from the stormy blast and windy tempest that shall sweep over the earth in the last days. Would you have a shelter then? Ponder carefully the question. Let the voice of true wisdom answer for you, and when she has answered, do her bidding. If we are right in the application of those scriptures to which our attention has been directed, the scenes there brought to view will soon be fearful realities. It is certain that the Scriptures point us to a crowning scene of destruction and desolation as the close of earth's sinful drama. There is yet opportunity for escape. A few moments more yet linger tremblingly upon the utmost limits of probation, ere they pass away and are gone forever. We entreat you to use them well. There is one way to secure salvation, and that is by faith in Christ and a compliance with its conditions. These conditions are not grievous. They simply require a willing and unfeigned obedience to certain precepts which are holy, just and good. "If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments." But obedience is no obedience which does not extend to every requirement which God has given to regulate our conduct, and yield to them each implicit service. Remember then that the course of the world for six thousand years has been one of corruption; that many divine institutions have been perverted by the imaginations and inventions of the human heart. The law of God has not escaped these attempts. A "little horn," a "man of sin," "more daring than his fellows," has endeavored to change and modify it. Be careful then to render obedience to God's precepts in a manner that he requires, lest you be found following the traditions of men instead of the requirements of Heaven, and so rendering to the Lord your God a lame and unacceptable sacrifice, that will not avail you in the day of accounts. The truth only can serve as your shield and buckler in the coming battle. With it may we each, writer and reader, be well girded, that we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.