Daily Devotional, Year 3 – August 3 (Revelation 16:1, 2: “The First Plague”)
By admin On February 16th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – August 3
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Revelation 16:1, 2:
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“The First Plague”
To read Part 1, click here… “July 4th (Look Up & Lift Up Your Heads!)”
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“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 worshipped his image.”
Revelation 16:1, 2
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“LET MY PEOPLE GO”
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The plagues poured out in Revelation 16 are similar to those poured out upon the Egyptians in the Book of Exodus.
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But what was the purpose of pouring out those plagues. Listen to God as He speaks to Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron…“Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:” Exodus 10:4
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This was the promise of plagues, and was repeated with the various other plagues.
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But the point is, these plagues were to cause Pharaoh to finally allow God’s people to leave Egypt to serve God alone, no longer held in Bondage to slavery. Likewise, the plagues prophesied in Revelation are to drive Satan (the true King of Egypt) out of the hearts of God’s people, allowing His people to serve God-and-God-alone!
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And so, this whole nonsense that all the torment and plagues mentioned in Revelation are for the mere sake of causing fallen Mankind to suffer, is a product of unsanctified theologians.
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Tissot – The Plague of Locusts – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“But 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.”
1st Corinthians 2:14
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There are many modern-day Bible teachers and theologians who attempt to interpret the Book of Revelation as literal as possible.
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And so, when they read, “And the first (angel) 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,” they cannot see the spiritual nature of this passage.
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Therefore, they confidently say, “Revelation cannot be unfolding! After all, do the people of the world have noisome and grievous sores on their bodies? Of course not!”
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ABOVE PICTURE: 7 Stars pouring out bowls of wrath
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“SPIRITUAL THINGS MUST BE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED”
1st Corinthians 2:13
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And this is the argument used elsewhere in Revelation, to deny that it is already unfolding. “Do you see every mountain and island moved out of their places? Absolutely not!” (see Revelation 6:14)
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But the fact is, the Book of Revelation must be interpreted spiritually to make any real sense.
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magnifying glass on puzzle – Wikimedia – Share-alike license
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SORES, NOISOME BEASTS, FAMINE, PESTILENCE
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And this passage from Revelation 16, concerning the first plague must likewise be interpreted spiritually, to make
any real sense.
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Listen to Ezekiel’s similar statement…“For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?” Ezekiel 14:21
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This above verse from Ezekiel is very similar to our signature passage from Revelation 16:1, 2…“And the first (angel) 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 worshipped his image.“
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Do you see the similarity? Yes, even back in Ezekiel’s day, God’s judgments were being poured out upon Jerusalem, because of their world-loving ways!
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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I HAVE NO LOATHSOME SORES!
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Now of course, many Christians will protest, saying, “I’m a child of God! I don’t have the beast’s mark! Nor do I worship his image! Nor do I have a noisome and grievous sore!”
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But the question is, “Do I have the noisome (wicked) and grievous sores of sin in my life?”
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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DAVID’S DISEASE OF SIN
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Listen to David’s complaint…“For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease:” Psalm 38:4-7
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David’s “loathsome disease” was the disease of sin. And this was akin to the sore judgments poured out upon Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s day, “sword, famine, the noisome beast and pestilence”.
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David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain
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Now just look around at society today.
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Do we not see a world sinking hopelessly into the miry pit of sin?
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Burning Man – 2013 -Chapel – cropped & altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
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NATIONAL POLITICS
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Take a look at our national politics for example.
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So often we see such underhanded tactics used as, revenge, heartless mockery, hypocritical lies, cheating, scandal, thievery, bribes, boasting, back-stabbing, disloyalty, etc.! And these sins are probably just “the tip of the iceberg” as the saying goes!
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Yes, behind every closed door, there are no doubt, myriad more sins and avarice being carried out under the cloak of darkness!
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VOMITING UP OUR SIN
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The Lord is already pouring out His judgments upon this rebellious world, steeped in sin!
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And the world is getting our fill of sin and selfishness! We are filled to the full with every type of selfish pursuit and material possession! We cannot turn on the television without being overwhelmed by the flood of sin and lust coming to us via today’s high-tech inventions! We are literally being choked with sin on every side! The daily news is literally filled with stories about sin and its results!
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Time – New York City Night-lights – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons 2.0 Generic License
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“AND BECAUSE SIN SHALL ABOUND, THE LOVE OF MANY SHALL WAX COLD”
Matthew 24:12
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And as you may have noticed, the tidal wave of sin has greatly increased over the past few years, to the point that humanity is being drowned by all the sin, self-obsessed narcissism, greed, lust, sodomy, atheism, and similar perversions and false ideologies flooding into our living rooms each day via these high-tech devices!
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GOOD NEWS?
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Well, if there is any Good News, it is found in this next passage…“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:20, 21
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ABOVE PICTURE: Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – inspired by Tornado Over Kansas by Curry
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“HIDE THYSELF…FOR A MOMENT”
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Here is where God’s people must hide ourselves during this fearful time when God’s judgments are beginning to fall all around us!
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By unceasing prayer, moment-by-moment contemplation of His Word, by separating ourselves from ungodly television, radio, Internet, novels, newspapers, magazines, and unlawful associations with unbelievers, the Believer may just find refuge under the protective wings of the Almighty!
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ABOVE PICTURE: Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – inspired by Tornado Over Kansas by Curry
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And by hiding ourselves in Him, we may each say along with the Psalmist…
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“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 noisome pestilence…
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 pestilence that walketh in darkness;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday…
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”
Psalm 91:2-6, 10
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me victory over television and secular radio! Help me to begin looking upward, looking unto Jesus…
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Television & The Image That Speaks”, or you can also read…July 25 (Revelation 16:4-6: “The Third Plague”)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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COULD THERE BE A GREATER SIGN?”
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In the opening verse, “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in 
them is filled up the wrath of God.” Revelation 15:1, is a direct reference to the Signs In Heaven, which God is just now graciously revealing.
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Notice that this above verse says… “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous“.
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If ever there was a great and marvelous sign in Heaven, this 7 Star Constellation seems to be just that! And it is the easiest of all constellations to locate (excepting for those in the southernmost latitudes of the Earth who cannot see it). It seems to stand alone in the northern sky, outshining any other constellation in the night heavens!
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As for its significance, it is easy to see the message for which it was created to bring. It looks like a bowl. A giant bowl! And in the winter, it begins to slowly tip through the night, as if it is finally spilling out its contents upon the earth, as stated in Revelation… “And the first (angel) went, and poured out his vial upon the earth” Revelation 16:2.
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And so it is not hard to see the message which this constellation presents. In the summer it begins to slowly tip. But in winter it does fully appear to pour out its contents upon the Earth.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… The 7 Stars & The 7 Bowls of Wrath
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TOMORROW…
August 4 (Nature’s 7 Witnesses, Part 9: “The Signs Of Heaven”)
Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #213 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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