THE FINAL PLAGUE – “IT IS DONE”

With this post we have reached the final plague of the tribulation period.  Just as Jesus declared, “It is finished.” from the cross when His work of redemption was accomplished; so, too, will heaven declare, “It is done.” when the last vial of judgment is poured out upon the earth and His vengeance against the nations accomplished.

Revelation 16:17–21 “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 thereof was exceeding great.”

After the seventh angel pours out his vial into the air, John hears a “great voice” from the throne inside the temple in heaven saying, “It is done.”  In his commentary, David Guzik makes a good point, “The fact that the bowl is poured into the air may show judgment against the prince of the power of the air and his allies.”

Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience….”

“It is done”—God’s wrath is complete; the time has come for Jesus to remove Satan from power and assume His kingship on earth.

The immediate effect on planet earth is to hear voices, thunderings and lightnings.  The resulting earthquake is described as the most devastating earthquake ever to occur on planet earth since the creation of man.

As I have continued to meditate in Revelation, it occurs to me that this seems to indicate that that there might have been an earthquake that would have compared to this earthquake before man was on the earth.  This again takes my thoughts back to the fall of Satan and his angels and that event’s probable impact on our planet.  (See my journal on Genesis 1 at www.momsbiblejournal.com.)

Both Babylon and Jerusalem are referred to as the “great city” in scripture.  I believe John is referencing Jerusalem as the great city divided into three parts.  The statement referencing Babylon begins with “and” (also, too) which indicates the thought of another city.  Also, the important truth about Babylon is that it will be destroyed (as we will see in the next two chapters).  There would be no significance to its being divided that I can see.

I think this means exactly what it says and is referenced by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”

Then the exclamation point—men are pounded with great hailstones from heaven weighing from 83-95 lbs. (as defined in Easton’s Bible Dictionary).  It was the largest Hebrew measurement and was considered to be the largest weight a man could carry.  

Do the inhabitants of earth finally repent?  No.  They again blaspheme God because of the exceedingly great calamity and misery caused by the hail.

There is a section in Job that has application here I believe.

Job 38:22-23 “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?”

I think it appropriate at this point to repeat a quote attributed to John Abent regarding the sixth seal and the seventh vial judgments.  He states that they “form a giant inclusio in the Greek.  With the sixth seal open we are told that the great Day of God’s/the Lamb’s wrath ‘has come’ and with the seventh vial we are told ‘it is done.’”

(to be continued…)