"for with them the wrath of God is finished." Revelation 15:1

Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

This may not be as exciting as some of my other posts, but I wanted to continue to migrate through Revelation. I am disregarding the admonition I got from Bible Study Fellowship, that “no one really understands the Revelation.” While that may be true, I refuse to accept that statement as truth, for I believe that the Revelation was meant to be understood, even more so today. If I approach the book with the attitude that I can understand it, then I will be ahead of the game based upon attitude alone.

I got some good news, and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first? That always cracks me up when my grandson says it. It does not matter what you say, he is going to tell you what he wanted you to hear. 

• seven angels with seven plagues
• which are the last
• for with them the wrath of God is finished

Revelation 15:1 ESV Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

Is this the same as what we see in Revelation 8?

Revelation 8:7 ESV The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

There are seven angels once again, but no it is not. In Revelation 8:7 the destruction is announced with trumpets; for now we are looking at seven golden vials, and this is seen in Revelation 15:7.

Just to make the statement, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished”, could give one the impression that the fury of God was just getting started. It started alright – we saw that back in chapter six – but now it will end; when it will end is not that clear because God does not give us calendar dates to go by.

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.”

Another sign - allos - a different sign, different from the others.

in heaven, - ouranos - the sky

great - megas - exceedingly big

and marvellous (amazing), - thaumastos - wondered at, causing amazement joined with terror. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter used this word thaumastos when he said, "we were called out of darkness into his marvellous light". We were called into a light that we will look on in wonder.

"another sign in heaven, ..., seven angels with seven plagues,"

Seven angels, with seven plagues, filling the sky with such a display that you stand in awe trying to take it in. The oddity is, what they bring is not good, and yet is an indicator of the end of God's wrath being poured out upon Israel, and the nations.

Consider that phrase for a moment - The end of wrath (how my hearts longs for an end to the violence and we, here in America, do not even know what violence looks like) - and yet, when Jesus returns to earth (physically) he comes with a sword and an army. At that time the blood of those who withstand him, will flow in the streets. Is that not an aspect of his wrath? Perhaps, however I cannot exclude this scenario from the wrath, yet at this point it is directed at those who are specifically fighting against Yahweh.

So many want proof that I am not just making up these concepts, and others have deeply ingrained misunderstandings, refusing to accept truth, even if they are shown from the Word, but here goes any way.

Rev 19:19-21 ESV And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. (20) And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. (21) And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Pay attention to the words - "the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army." So we are seeing Christ and the armies of heaven, coming against armies amassed against him. Verse 21 tells us that the armies are the slain.

We see in Zechariah 14:16 ESV - "Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths."

This particular battle, Armageddon, does not eliminate everyone, and we know this because we see survivors among the nations who are made to come every year and take part in the feast of Tabernacles. They are made to bow. Refusal costs you the rain, and a second refusal ends in a plague that consumes you almost instantly.

There are so many other scriptures that I can give you to show that there are many that are deemed without the Lord, that go into the millennium.

His name is Jesus. He will either return shortly, for those who await him, or you can be caught up in the wrath poured out upon the nations and Israel. I would get to know him now, while we still have his grace being poured out upon the earth. Ask him to make himself real to you. It's like reserving your seat early.

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The question was asked, is the Holy Spirit still involved in the earth after the rapture.

"Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way."

The question was asked, is the Holy Spirit still involved in the earth after the rapture.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 ESV (7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. (8) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

While many translate this passage with the word “he”, that word improperly conveys the sense that we need to understand.

Dake's commentary tells us: “The only argument used to prove that Holy Spirit is the hinderer of this passage is the pronoun he. It is believed that the church could not be referred to as he because it is the bride of Christ; that the church is spoken of as a virgin, a woman, and that it is referred to by feminine pronouns.

On the Contrary, the Church is:

1. Not referred to by feminine pronouns
2. Never symbolized by a woman
3. Never called the bride of Christ
   Revelation 21:9-10 ESV Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." (10) And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
4. The church is called a man
   Ephesians 2:14-15 ESV For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (15) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
   Ephesians 4:13 ESV until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
5. The body of Christ
   1 Corinthians 12:12-13 KJV (12) For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
   1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV (27) Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
   Ephesians 1:22-23 KJV And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (23) Which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
   Colossians 1:18 KJV And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
   Colossians 1:24 KJV Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

Since we are “in Christ”, then it safe to assume that as he is, so are we in this world, and Christ is a man. Yes, I realize that this is a simple answer but to the educated with a Berean attitude, it works.

Dake's conclusion, and mine:

The hinderer of lawlessness must therefore refer to the Church being taken out of the world.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 Murdock (6) And now, ye know what hinders his being manifested in his time. (7) For the mystery of the evil One already begins to be operative: and only, if that which now hinders shall be taken from the midst;

Now, there is no denying the Holy Spirit plays a role in empowering those who are willing to do battle against a formidable opponent, but it is possible, and you are not alone; there are others like you, with a comparable spirit and they are standing with you against the enemy being unleashed in full force.

The Holy Spirit like a dove

Just because the Church gets removed from the earth does not mean that the Holy Spirit gets removed as well. Allow me to make my point.

Peter stood on the day of Pentecost and quoted from Joel chapter 2. He did not quote the entire chapter, it was not pertinent, but there was certainly a context even to what he quoted, and yet by unction of the Holy Spirit he stated that this prophecy had been fulfilled in the hearing of the Jews and visitors in Jerusalem that day. What did he say?

Joel 2:28-29 ESV "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (29) Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Is this what we see today, God pouring out his spirit upon all flesh? It does not seem like here in America, but it is happening, as Muslims are coming to Jesus in record numbers.

What then is the context of Joel 2?

Joel 2:1-2 ESV Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, (2) a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.

Joel 2:10 ESV The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

Joel 2:30-31 ESV "And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

What the Prophet Joel spoke of is the end of time; the time of judgment upon the earth. Considering the number of volcanoes spewing columns of smoke into the air, and smog so bad that many Chinese cannot even see the sun, where are we in this time-table?

Since the Holy Spirit saw fit to use the Hebrew for the Holy Spirit (ruach) wouldn't it be appropriate to think that the Holy Spirit continues doing its work during the seven-years of wrath as well, and we can see this in Zechariah's prophecy.

Zechariah made an interesting prophecy:

Zechariah 12:10 ESV "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”

When the Jews put him on the cross, did they mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, or over a firstborn? No, they mocked and laughed him to scorn. So obviously Zechariah is talking about the end of time, when they shall physically see him once again.

What is it that causes them to mourn? It is a spirit of grace and mercy. Does that come from anything other than the Holy Spirit? No. Isaiah the prophet used the word ruach as well.

Isaiah 59:21 ESV "And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring," says the LORD, "from this time forth and forevermore."

As convincingly as we discovered that it is the Church that hinders the Antichrist from erupting upon the world, we find that the Holy Spirit of God is still a vital aspect of the end times. There are examples to be found showing people being drawn to God, the Father.

John 6:44 ESV No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

I can hear the whining now, “You said the Holy Spirit is an aspect of the end times, and yet you are talking about 'the Father who sent me' drawing them.” Let me ask you, how many names does the Father have? In Genesis 1:1 he is called Elohim.

'ĕlôhı̂ym – el-o-heem' - Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God.

So God, the Father is a plural God, therefore He sent the Holy Spirit, and we know that because people are still drawn to the Father.

We try to attribute the drawing to an act of the Holy Spirit, but search for that combination of words and you will not find it. You will however find things like:

John 12:32 KJV And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Now we have two references of being drawn and they are both from John's gospel. One speaks of Jesus doing the drawing, while the other speaks of God the Father doing the drawing.

Now which is it?

1 John 5:8 BBE There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood: and all three are in agreement.

Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” So this goes for the Spirit as well. They are in complete unity and operation.

Avoid the time of wrath if you can, enlist now. Romans 10:9 ESV because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

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To every nation and tribe and language and people. Revelation 14:6-7

One of the aspects of Revelation chapter 14 is the feeling that we have been thrown back to minutes after the rapture once again.

Why would I say that?

Because if you walked through chapter 13 with me, then you saw the beasts come full force against Israel and the world. The timing of chapter 13 puts us well into the seven year-period, beyond the halfway point. The false prophet is causing all to take the mark, worship the beast, and worship the image that talks, refusal to do so means death.

Since we all seem to read Revelation with a chronological mindset, we get confused when we hit some of the terminology that Chapter 14 gives us. Let me show you what I mean.

Revelation 14:3-4 ESV "..., and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. (4) It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, ..."

Key phrases are:

• "before the throne"

• "who had been redeemed from the earth."

• "Redeemed from mankind"

• "as first fruits for God"

These are all phrases that tell me that something else has happened before the 144,000 got placed here.

Revelation 7:2-3 tells us that:

"...another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, (3) saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."

I point this out because it demonstrates that the 144,000 are marked prior to God unleashing his wrath upon the earth. That wrath is an integral aspect of the seven years that everyone likes to improperly call the tribulation. Death at the hands of evil men is also an aspect of the seven-year period, and it is possible that these have met their fate at their hands.

So with verses 6 and 7 of Revelation 14, we are pulled backward to the beginning of that seven years.

"Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." (Revelation 14:6-7 ESV)

I made the statement to an acquaintance from church that there is nothing holding God back from returning for his church. He angrily replied that not everyone had received the gospel (apparently in written form) and Jesus could not come yet. Isn't that funny how we think we can tell God what he can do? I responded to his rant with my version of Revelation 14:6-7 by saying God had that problem covered as an angel will fly around the earth preaching about Jesus. Sadly, at that moment, I could not give him scripture, so I don't think he was moved enough to believe it. (Paul had a similar problem in that he was preaching what we now call the New Testament, but he was preaching it to Jews who staunchly held to the Old Testament. One group called the Bereans, went back to their synagogues and searched for these things Paul said and proved them for themselves.)

In what?

The Old Testament and they found them to be true and therefore believed. You need to look things up in scripture when you are not sure if what someone says is true. Then you can believe or reject it as garbage.

Sadly, for those living during this time of God's wrath, the atrocities will be beyond words, and that is just the violence that people will commit against each other.

“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come,”

Think about that, a time to fear God, but it is also a time to give him glory.

Who is he talking to?

These are those who did not make the cut, those that allegedly never heard the gospel message and those that flat-out rejected him. Let's break this down a bit more.

We, religious, tend to say that those who are left have no chance. This group, according to Matthew 25, sits beside many of us in church. Some belong to religious groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormon church. I can just about guarantee you that a few of them actually believe in Jesus Christ as the savior. Just for the sake of argument, let's assume that they don't. In a quick instant, these various groups will come to the realization that they were misled. I suspect the rapture of the church will be an eye-opening moment, as well as a deep sense of grief when so many realize that they missed the chance for the grace of God.

Having missed the rapture, what options are left to you?

Get something clear in your head. You have been forgiven through Christ's death on the cross, but you chose not to sign onto the team. Ask Him into your life just as people have begged you to do for years now.

Jesus told us that in this world, you will have tribulations, and since you have now found yourself in the seven years of God's wrath on earth, I suggest you strap yourself in for the ride of your life.

• Islam is going to rise up as the dominant world religion, and they will not tolerate anyone outside of Islam breathing the same air as themselves. They will try to kill you, and if you make it to the halfway point of the seven-year period, it only gets worse.

• I believe that most of the major nations are deeply involved in things like Agenda 2030. Therefore, they, too, will try to reduce the global population. That is one of the reasons that there are guillotines at the FEMA camps scattered across this nation of America. (I originally published this in 2015, and sadly, due to my naivete, I did not realize then that all the medical procedures that have been shoved down our throats, along with destructive events like fires, are all meant to force you to need and submit to big government influence and enforce the so-called need to have a global economy that allows them to track and control every move you make.)

• Marshall law will be declared, and people will be shot. As I made mention, religion will be made illegal under penalty of death. (Again, I published this in 2015. Eight years later, Michigan's legislators passed a bill that makes it a felony to misgender another human being. Followers of Christ, who lean heavily on the Bible, have many scriptures that speak against homosexuality as a disgusting sin. In time Christians will be tracked down and killed.)

• Oh, and the hundred-pound hailstones and earthquakes among the mix that are meant to kill people.

Joel chapter two says that in the last days that God would pour out his spirit upon all flesh, and then you shall do mighty and amazing things.

Joel 2:28-29, 32 ESV "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (29) Even on the male and female servants in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. (32) And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.

The general impression I get is that the world continues to find the hope that is in Jesus during a rather hopeless time.

Have you ever thought about why Christianity has developed such skillful apologists – those who go out and argue on behalf of God?

It is because the Bible, God's Word, is provable and real. Jesus spent a great deal of time telling the disciples, and us, that all things are as he said, and then – just as he said – he allowed the Jewish leadership to kill him for the purpose of paying our debt and then rising again – just as he said - to give us the assurance that there is an eternity with the Father.

Look, I get it. The Christian church has not provided many great examples to follow, and because God will have taken those of us who know what a passionate life looks like out of here – you may not have a clue how to act. I am telling you that this time you will find yourself in is not the time to act like a pansy. You are going to be in warfare. If there is no one else to lead you, then there will be two witnesses from God who show up in the streets of Jerusalem, follow their lead, and do what they do.

You have a voice; use it. Put your faith in Jesus Christ, for there is power in the name of Jesus that will never change.

Part the waters when necessary;

Declare healing over the sick and wounded;

If necessary, call fire down from heaven, in the name of Jesus, upon those who wish to harm you.

If you find yourself here during this time – do it. All the rules will have changed except God's, and He empowered those who put their trust in Him to do exceptional things. Determine now to walk fearlessly through this earth. Oh, they will eventually kill you, but in that instant, you will be with the Father.

They either bow to the God you serve, or they die trying to harm you. When they came to take Elisha captive, he cooked two regiments with fire from God. The third bowed before the God of Elisha's and begged him to come with them. Elisha chose to come with that man. It is your choice.

Find a copy of the movie The Matrix; there is a scene in which Neo figures out what he is capable of. You, too, are capable of acting like the prophets of old. There is nothing to stop you. Use the power in the name of Jesus and change the course of rivers if you must.

Better yet, try living that way today.

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