“Then I saw in heaven another marvellous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.”
Revelation 15:1 NLT
John’s vision moved on to “another marvellous event of great significance”. Why should even more misery in the form of plagues be marvellous? Hadn’t the occupants on earth had enough? But in John’s vision, he saw another seven angels and they were holding these plagues. But these plagues were about to bring an end to God’s wrath. No more after this.
One thing we don’t know in all these End Times events is how long a period of time occurred as they were rolled out. I have always been under the impression that these days haven’t yet started, but as I dig further and further into John’s revelation, I am increasingly aware that the End Times epoch commenced some time ago, probably not long after Jesus returned to Heaven. And ever since then bits of John’s vision have appeared, working their way through global events. For example, was the recent Covid pandemic, global in its reach, one of the End Times plagues? Will we see a requirement for global ID’s in our lifetimes? Don’t we already have the technology? But in these days, however they occur in the history of Planet Earth, we displace any feelings of fear with those of faith. Faith in our wonderful Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus, who is preparing a place for us in Heaven.
John saw “another marvellous event of great significance”. What was that? Perhaps the beauty of the angels, all the seven who appeared at once? Or the nature of the bowls containing the plagues? Or the introduction to this last episode of torment for the global population? We don’t really know, but one thing I do know. As a pilgrim myself, I also experienced a “marvellous event of great significance”. There was a day when I moved from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. I became a Christian. Nothing can be more significant in a person’s life than receiving the assurance that one day that person will live in God’s presence for all eternity.
I have met many people over the years who do not believe that there is an afterlife. Or that there is going to be a time of judgement. I share my faith with them, warning them in the process that they are walking a dangerous path. The 17th Century philosopher, Blaise Pascal, a Catholic theologian, came up with this quote, “If I believe in God and life after death and you do not, and if there is no God, we both lose when we die. However, if there is a God, you still lose and I gain everything”. But ultimately, reason and logic are poor substitutes for the love and grace of God. There was that day when I discovered that God was, and is, real. His love for mankind is real. His presence is real. Jesus is real. The Apostle Paul, writing in Romans 8, said this, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” To me, and in my experience, that is not just “another” event, but the “marvellous event of great significance”. I
Father God, we pilgrims are so grateful that You graciously performed a significant event in our lives. You accepted our stumbling and stammering words of repentance and in turn declared us righteous before You through the Blood of Jesus. No words can describe our thanks. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 