Revelation: Judgment and Justice

Plague 1 – Sores

[tt] “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 an offensive and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.” (16:1-2)

We are not told what kind of sores are made nor if they are fatal. We know that not everyone will die from the plagues because many people are still alive to see and fight Jesus when He appears.

Plague 2 – Sea becomes blood

[tt] “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” (16:3)

This is no mere “red tide” of algae that we see today. Every living thing in entire seas and/or oceans dies.

Plague 3 – Rivers become blood

[tt] “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, You are righteous, O Lord, which are and were and shall be, because you have judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.” (16:4-7)

There is no mistake made towards those upon whom the plagues are poured out. The Spirit of Life is withdrawn, not from those who are ignorant or still undecided, but from those who hate the life of Christ reflected in His saints. The sufferers of the third plague hate the saints to the point of death.

Plague 4 – Sun scorches

[tt] “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which has power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.” (16:8-9)

Having suffered and/or observed three plagues already, those who are still alive refuse to accept blame for their selfish choices. Among these are many professed Christians who still view God as the source of their problems. They blame God for too much or too little action, for too high or too low a standard. They still expect God to conform to their will.

Plague 5 – Darkness

[tt] “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.” (16:10-11)

These last three plagues are quite probably global. Jesus said He would come as a thief in the night. Plunging the world into darkness would be a sign of His imminent return. It would immobilize the masses and make them think, just as in the days of Moses. “And there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” (Exodus 10:22-23)

Plague 6 – Euphrates dried

[tt] “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water of it 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, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (16:12-16)

The river Euphrates was the life support of Babylon. It flowed right through the city through massive gates lowered into it. To dry up the Euphrates is to dry up all the support of the Babylonian religious system that rules the world at the end of time.

The kings of the east are the Father and the Son. The sanctuary always faced east. Cyrus, the Persian deliverer from Babylonian captivity, came from the east.

Satan and his angels make a last ditch attempt to rally support but rebellious humanity now sees their cause is lost.

Plague 7 – Great earthquake

[tt] “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 the 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 of it was exceeding great.” (v17-21)

God’s justice is done. He does not allow suffering to continue past the point of learning from it. God never causes needless pain. Though the wicked still do not learn and repent, the onlooking saints and universe see that neither love nor suffering will change the hearts of the stubbornly selfish. Babylon falls apart. The whole world is shaken violently and decimated by the fiercest storm in history. The fourth empire has come to an utter and complete end.

Scapegoat blamed

[s] “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come here; I will show unto you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” (17:1-6)

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” (Leviticus 16:21)

The previous timeline jumped us forward in seven big steps to the very end of the fourth empire. This sanctuary scene now slows us down and backs us up to understand why Babylon suffers.

Ever since the supernatural stone smashed the feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, history has been waiting for the destruction of the fourth kingdom. But why? Why does the divided phase of the fourth kingdom suffer such terrible plagues? Because the fourth beast with 10 horns, the little horn, the great horn, Babylon, the empire sitting in the dragon’s seat is drunk with the blood of saints.

In case we have missed the broad outlines and several detailed snippets, we are given still more details about both the final verdict and the final destruction.

Notice that the mother has children. This is no prejudiced conclusion about a single denomination. It is a sweeping condemnation of the entire conglomeration of popular Christianity. It also includes the kings of the earth that have committed fornication with this church-state abomination.

Whore-beast explained

[ad] “And the angel said unto me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he said unto me, The waters which you saw where the whore sits are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (17:7-18)

Symbolically, the woman sits on a beast. Historically, the church sits on an empire. The seven headed beast represents the seven empires that have opposed God’s people. First there was Egypt, then there was Assyria that wiped out the 10 northern tribes, then Babylon, Persia, Greece, then Rome, then the Holy Roman Empire. This seventh and last head was controlled by the papacy until its mortal wound in 1798. It has been reviving as a European and world influence ever since. It was, is not, and yet is the eighth.

From the days of John, Rome has been the seat of Christian power. It is known as the city of seven hills.

For a short time near the end, “ten kings” (the powers of Europe or possibly ten divisions of the whole world) will join together under the moral/political leadership of the Christian church (Catholic and Protestant). This global alliance will war against the truth of the three angels‘ messages, which is the everlasting gospel. They will substitute their laws in the place of God’s laws in the attempt to exercise godlike power over the earth. “They shall put [the 144,000] out of the synagogues: yea, the time comes that whoever kills [the remnant] will think that he does God service.” (John 16:2) This opposition to God and His children brings judgment.

Final condemnation

[fw] “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are grown rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (18:1-3)

The second angel’s message is repeated even louder just before the pouring out of the plagues.

Final invitation

[fw] “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” (18:4-5)

The third angel’s message is repeated one last time with a call to action. Like Lot being hurried out of Sodom, God’s people must hurry out of Babylon. The pure in heart must leave the cities for the wilderness lest they are caught up in the general destruction.

Babylon destroyed

[tt] “How much she has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she said in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is your judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buys their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odors and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that your soul lusted after are departed from you and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from you and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nothing. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, in which were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, you heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets; for God has avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in you and no craftsman, of whatever craft he be, shall be found any more in you and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in you. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in you and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in you for your merchants were the great men of the earth; for by your sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” (18:7-24)

It is very telling that the kings and merchants of the earth cry for Babylon. Big business and big government mourn the loss of big church! Why? Because they are in bed together. The kings of the earth live deliciously with her. The merchants have lost their biggest customer. The whole system of the rich getting richer and the powerful becoming more powerful is brought to an end in “one hour."

Victory celebration

[g] “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, and you that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your fellowservant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (19:1-10)

The war is over! The persecution is over! The enemy is vanquished and justice is served. The entire loyal universe breathes a sigh of relief then lets out a shout of victory. For long years and centuries the cry has gone up, How long? Now that question is answered. Peace and joy erupt in celebration!

Christ rides a white horse

[g] “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (19:11-16)

The camera zooms in closer than ever before to let us see Jesus at His return. He is not the quiet, emaciated Savior returning from the desert after 40 days of fasting and temptation. He is not the bloody corpse hanging on the cross. He is the King of kings with the wholehearted support and understanding of the universe riding to put an end to the cruel government of Earth. Light shines in the darkness and overpowers it.

First death of the wicked

[g] “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” (19:17-21)

The saints have already ascended to be with Jesus. Now the remaining people on earth are killed. All who chose selfishness over the Spirit of faith, hope, and love are dead. They could not be happy on earth and neither can they be happy in heaven. They actually prefer death over life. They cried “to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face...of the Lamb.” Only Satan and his angels remain on the desolate earth.

[s] “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” (20:1-3)

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.” (Leviticus 16:21)

The sins of God’s people have delayed and rerouted God’s plan for thousands of years. It is because of sin within the church that the church fails today to realize its most cherished goal—it’s eternal deliverance. The outside world looks at the church and blames it for the greatest atrocities, genocides, and wars in history. Though accurate, that is not the whole story.

Satan, appearing as an angel of light, even as Christ Himself, has been the invisible influence leading church leadership down the path to hell. The church has paid its price in extended loss and suffering, but now the chief adversary himself must pay for his part in all those long ages of rebellion and rejection.

For 1000 long years, while the wicked dead rest unconsciously in the grave, Satan and his cohort will be in solitary confinement on a desolate earth to ponder their past and future. They are chained by circumstances from tempting anyone because the wicked are all dead. Without any distractions, they have nothing to do but relive past crimes, blame each other, and wait with fear for their future punishment.

Saints judge for 1000 years

[m] “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” (20:4-6)

Starting with Daniel 7, we have been told that the kingdom and judgment would be given to the saints. Now we see it. There in the midst of the great multitude are the martyrs and the 144,000. They have suffered most and therefore have the most cause for justice, vindication, and retribution. However, they do not lose control to their emotions. They live and reign with Christ. They are imbued with the Spirit of the Lamb.

For 1000 years they wrestle with the details of their sufferings at the hands of their former persecutors. They confirm God’s judgment on their loved ones. Now they participate in a public process that determines the amount of punishment. Every condemned person, even the wicked angels (1 Cor. 6:3), are judged by the saints.

During this time, God’s people are with Him in heaven. The earth is a desolate bottomless pit of death, carnage, and smoldering ruin. At the end of the millennium they will return in the New Jerusalem and then the Earth will be renewed.

Wicked resurrected

[m] “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” (20:7-9)

At the beginning of the 1000 years they “shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” at the end of the 1000 years. (John 5:29)

Satan is now loosed from his solitary confinement because now he has people to tempt and lead and control again. He marshalls them together under the delusion that they can capture the city that sits in a bubble of light in the midst of the dark, broken landscape. However, they cannot even begin their losing battle before they are stopped.

Second death of all evil

[m] “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (20:10-15)

My goal in Revelation has been to give a brief overview and a glimpse of a consistent explanation from beginning to end. However, this passage closes out the narrative on evil and so it touches on common hotspots and misconceptions. Therefore, I think it would be wise to give them some extra space and time.