The First Plague as explained in R498
Revelation Chapter 16
Verse 2 "And the first went forth and poured out his bowl on the LAND; and there came an evil and malignant ULCER on those men having the mark of the BEAST, and on those WORSHIPING HIS IMAGE."
These evils, called plagues or bowls of wrath, are designed to rid the world of every form of evil and wrong. The class symbolized by the land or earth, we understand to mean all people under religious restraint, of whatever name or order. Land or earth as a symbol represents settled, organized religious society, as sea represents the restless irreligious, unsettled masses of humanity. Those having the mark (characteristics) of the Beast (Papacy) and those worshiping his Image (Protestantism), as hitherto shown, are the great mass of non-overcoming and nominal Christians.
In regards to the false church, note specifically to whom this plague befalls, first of all upon those who had the mark of the beast and secondly on those who worshiped his image.
“It is upon this class that the trouble the first plague comes. Remember the time of trouble coincides with the pouring out of the plagues.
While Roman Catholics constitute an important proportion of this earth class (society), yet the trouble does not affect them at first, as shown from the fact that the ulcer is NOT upon those worshiping the BEAST, but on those worshiping the IMAGE and having the marks or characteristics of the Beast (Papacy), which indicates clearly the various shades and degrees of Protestantism.
Their trouble is compared to an ulcer or “loathsome sore” --"an evil and malignant ulcer." To appreciate the symbol let us consider the literal: An ulcer is a running sore; it is evidence of constitutional disorder, and very painful. A CANCER in its worst stages becomes a malignant ulcer. An ulcer is a cankerous sore, that is, one, which eats, corrupts and destroys.
Now carry the thought—what an ulcer or bad cancer is to a man will illustrate the character of the consuming, life-draining trouble coming upon the SYSTEMS constituting Protestantism, so called, which ultimately will destroy it.
It arises from within itself; it is a constitutional disorder, caused by the errors inherited and retained from the "Mother of harlots and abominations."
There is no cure for this evil --the blood is poisoned, it has permeated the entire body, and death must ensue.
There was a time--in the days of Luther and reformation—when the daughters (Protestantism) might have been radically healed, but her false ministers "healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying peace, peace, when there is no peace." (Jer 8:11) Now there is no balm in Gilead, there is no physician there—therefore she is not healed. Her King is not in her (The Lord is not with the daughter systems anymore, the Protestant congregations, nor is he with the mother, the Catholic congregation); they (great Babylon, the professing church, specifically the Laodicean stage) have been spewed out of his mouth. (Jer 8:22; Rev 3:16 and 18:23)
There is no remedy (no great revival movement), for this, these systems must die, the disorder comes from within. Already these disorders have broken out, and though the canker is carefully concealed, the bad odor and distress are quite noticeable.”
Let us for the moment return again and consider what we had gleamed from our first study on “The Seven Last Plagues”, written by Brother Carl Hagensick.
In that study it was brought to our attention that the seven successive judgments against literal Babylon found in Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jer 50:35-40) paralleled those judgements in Revelation, which are to befall symbolic Babylon, that these judgements in Jeremiah help us to determine just whom the plagues are poured upon, viz.
The first judgement was thus,
“A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord, “Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes and her wise men.” (Jer 50:35)
“The first plague is poured upon the dry ground, organized society, the “princes and wise men” of the Jeremiah text. The sores, more literally “ulcers,” which it produced proceed from an inner infection and correspond to the challenging of religious authority by the late nineteenth century modernists on the one hand and serious Bible scholars on the other. The works of both attacked the superstitious dogmas by which both Papal and Protestant church hierarchies held the laity in subjection.”
We continue with Verse 2 and the first plague in our next post.
