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THE REAL SEVEN PLAGUES

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It is impossible to gain a good understanding of prophecy without having a good knowledge of history.

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The book of Revelation is a prime example of this.

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In Isa 46:9-10 God says "I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done".

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This applies to the history of the Church as outlined mainly in Rev 2, 3, 7, 12 and 14. It applies to the history of Jerusalem and the Jews as outlined mainly in Rev 5 to 11. It also applies to the history of those powers that conquered Jerusalem and the Jews, labelled collectively in Revelation as the "Beast", as found mainly in Rev 13 and 15 to 19.

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 The "seven last plagues", mentioned in Rev 15 and 16, were to be poured out on the Beast powers that ruled the "earth" of God's Holy Land (Rev 15:1-2, 16:1-2), because of their crimes against Jerusalem and God's people. God is protective of His city and people, and He says "vengeance is mine" (Dt 32:35). The plagues, or curses, are called "last plagues" in Rev 15:1 because at the time Revelation was written, five of the heads of the Beast had already come and gone (Rev 17:10). These previous five heads had already incurred God's plagues from the time that they ruled over Jerusalem. The final powers that would rule over Jerusalem were the ones that would suffer the last seven plagues.

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Crucial to understanding the seven plagues, is having an understanding of the seven trumpets of the seventh seal, because they are directly related to each other. The seven trumpets are prophesied major upheavals and calamities in the history of Jerusalem from Christ's time onward, and the seven plagues are God's wrath poured out on the Gentile powers responsible for bringing these great afflictions to God's city and people. See the page "THE HISTORICAL 7TH SEAL - THE 7 TRUMPETS" for an explanation of the seven trumpets.

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The first three trumpets involved the sixth head of the Beast, Rome, and its dealings with the Jewish nation, and as a consequence the first three plagues were poured out on the Romans.

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Subsequently, Jerusalem was conquered by the seventh head of the Beast, Islam, at the time of the fourth trumpet, and so this seventh head was hit with the curses of the fourth plague.

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Islam's rule over Jerusalem was twice interrupted by the eighth head of the Beast, i.e. Roman Catholicism/Christianity, when the Crusaders captured Jerusalem at the time of the fifth trumpet, and so in turn this eighth head was struck with the fifth plague.

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At the time of the sixth trumpet, i.e. the period covering the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the Jews' return to Israel and Jerusalem (1914-1950), the sixth and seventh plagues were poured out on the Beast powers.

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The sixth plague brought the demise of the seventh head of the Beast, Islam, and shortly thereafter the seventh plague brought the demise of the eighth head of the Beast, Roman Catholicism/Christianity. As a result, the 2520 year period of Gentile powers ruling Jerusalem, labelled by Christ "the times of the Gentiles" (Lk 21:24), came to an end.

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Therefore, just as the seven trumpets of the seventh seal have a logical progression through history, so do the seven plagues.

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Let's look at Revelation 15 and 16.

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(My comments are in brackets).

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Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God (on the Beast powers) is complete.

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name (see "Revelation 13 - The Beast" for an explanation of these terms), standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God (a vision of the yet future resurrected firstfruits, much like Rev 7 and 14).

3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”

5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.

7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.

8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed (no one will be resurrected and enter God's Kingdom until the seven plagues have been poured out).

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Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth" (on those who occupy and defile the "earth" of Israel).

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The First Plague

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Curses on the pagan Roman Empire, the sixth head of the Beast 

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Revelation 16:2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth (upon the Romans, who defiled the "earth" of Israel) and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men (these Gentiles treading down Jerusalem) who had the mark of the beast (transgressed God's law, specifically the Sabbath) and those who worshiped his image (they loved the characteristics of Satan displayed in the empire, and worshipped the emperor).

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The Romans, under (then) General Titus, inflicted great suffering on Jerusalem in 70AD at the time of the first trumpet, as shown on the page "THE HISTORICAL 7TH SEAL - THE SEVEN TRUMPETS". God in turn brought great suffering on Rome.

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It is interesting to note that in the year prior to the defeat of Jerusalem, 69AD, while the war in Judea raged, no less than four Roman emperors, Nero, Galba, Otho and Vitellius, met an untimely death.

 

In 79AD Titus became Roman Emperor and ruled for just over two years. During this brief reign, a catastrophe occurred that is still spoken of and written about today. Only two months after Titus took charge, Mount Vesuvius, just south of Rome, erupted in one of the most violent and destructive volcanic eruptions in history. Two cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum, were destroyed with great loss of life. Rome itself was covered in ash and darkness, and according to Roman historian Cassius Dio, the poisonous ash led to an outbreak of pestilence (Book 66:22-23). The following year, while Titus visited the devastated region around Pompeii, a fire broke out in Rome and burned for three days, destroying many pagan temples and other significant structures. This event was then followed by pestilence, the whole disaster earning Cassius Dio's comment that it "seemed to be not of human but of divine origin" (Book 66:24).

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Roman historian Suetonius also recorded these events in his account of Titus in "The Twelve Caesars": "There were some dreadful disasters during his reign, such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Campania, a fire at Rome which continued three days and as many nights, and a plague the like of which had hardly ever been known before" (Life of Titus 8:3).

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This was only the beginning of a long, painful journey for the pagan Roman Empire. As time went on, it was subjected to many more pestilences. Two of the most notable were the Antonine Plague (165-180AD) and the Cyprian Plague (251-266AD), which caused millions of deaths and crippled the empire economically.

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The Second Plague

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The demise of the pagan Roman Empire

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Revelation 16:3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea (Rome, the "sea" (Rev 17:15) that ruled over the "earth" of Israel), and it became blood as of a dead man (its people and armies, weakened by repeated pestilences and continual warfare, were gradually defeated and overrun by foreign invaders)and every living creature in the sea died (when the Roman Empire officially became "Christian", paganism was outlawed and pagan Rome ceased to exist).

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Pagan Rome had destroyed Jerusalem and rebuilt it as a pagan city at the time of the second trumpet, as shown on the page "THE HISTORICAL 7TH SEAL - THE 7 TRUMPETS". Over time, God destroyed pagan Rome. Their demise was brought about in stages:

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Firstly, early in the fourth century, Emperor Constantine moved the seat of government of the Roman Empire to Constantinople. This included the Senate and the entire bureaucracy. Rome had been the centre of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire for some 800 years. It had ruled Jerusalem for well over 300 years. Ending its position of leadership was a great humiliation. Rome didn't rule Jerusalem again until 1099, when the First Crusade, initiated by the independent Papacy in Rome, captured the city from the Muslims and made Roman Catholicism/Christianity the eighth head of the Beast (Rev 17:11).

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Secondly, Constantine, who had adopted the "Christian" religion, initiated laws against paganism. Over time, successive emperors issued more and more stringent edicts outlawing pagan practices, and in 380AD Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the state religion. The Wikipedia article "Persecution of Pagans in the late Roman Empire" states that "In the year 391, Valentinian II issued a law that prohibited sacrifices and that forbade anyone from visiting the temples. A later law of Valentinian II declared that pagan temples were to be closed; this was viewed as practically outlawing paganism". Making sacrifices to idols became punishable by death, and so the state religion that had for so long forced people to worship it and its emperors, itself became the target of persecution.

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Thirdly, the city of Rome was captured in 410AD by the Visigoths. This happened after centuries of recurring warfare and internal strife had led to sustained economic decline, which steadily sapped the strength of the empire. Frequent outbreaks of pestilence had also weakened the armed forces, as described below.

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The following quote is from the website www.ancient.eu:

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"The Antonine Plague, sometimes referred to as the Plague of Galen, erupted in 165CE, at the height of Roman power throughout the Mediterranean world during the reign of the last of the Five Good Emperors, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (161-180CE). The first phase of the outbreak would last until 180CE affecting the entirety of the Roman Empire, while a second outbreak occurred in 251-266CE, compounding the effects of the earlier outbreak. It has been suggested by some historians that the plague represents a useful starting point for understanding the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire in the West, but also the underpinning to its ultimate fall".

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After centuries of decline and social breakdown, Rome was no longer able to repel the various tribes that opposed and surrounded it. After the invasion of the Visigoths, the city was also conquered by the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Huns and the Franks. The year 476AD is often quoted for the ultimate fall of the Western Roman Empire.

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In the middle of the sixth century, Emperor Justinian reincorporated Rome into the Roman Empire which, however, continued to be run from Constantinople in the East. Over time, Rome reared its head again and became the spiritual centre of Catholicism, though it never regained its position as the mighty pagan military power it had been for so many centuries.

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The Third Plague

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Curses on the Christian Roman Empire, based in Constantinople 

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Revelation 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water (polluted by false Christianity) and they became blood (those who caused the pollution were themselves cursed)

And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets (Jews and Christians), and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.

And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

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Israel, the land of the "living waters" (e.g. Zech 14:8), had begun to be polluted by the bitter waters of false Christianity at the time of the third trumpet, as shown on the page "THE HISTORICAL 7TH SEAL - THE 7 TRUMPETS". This was initiated by Roman emperor Constantine the Great in the early part of the 4th century AD. As a result, both Jews and true Christians, as Sabbath keepers, became targets of persecution. God returned the favour by cursing the "Christian" Roman Empire with a litany of wars and pestilences.

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During the first two centuries of the "Christian" Roman Empire led from Constantinople, wars were fought with the Persians, Germans, Huns and Goths, amongst others, as well as numerous civil wars. From around 500AD, the Empire endured more than 200 (!) wars, battles and sieges, until Constantinople fell to the Muslims in 1453. See a list with links to all these conflicts here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Byzantine_battles.

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One of the most zealous proponents and legislators of false Christian doctrine was Emperor Justinian (ruled 527-565AD). Not surprisingly, the pestilence which arose during his reign, the aptly named Justinian Plague, which first struck the Empire in 541AD, is regarded as one of the most devastating plagues of all time. It saw repeated outbreaks over the following two centuries, wiping out an estimated one third of Europe's population.

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The Fourth Plague

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Curses on Mecca/Medina, i.e. Islam, the seventh head of the Beast

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Revelation 16:8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

And men were scorched with great heat (various curses), and they blasphemed the name of God (wilfully spoke against the true God) who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent (of their false religion) and give Him glory.

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The seventh head of the Beast, Islam, conquered Jerusalem in 638AD causing the darkness of a totally false religion to shroud the Holy City for the duration of its reign. See "THE HISTORICAL SEVENTH SEAL - THE 7 TRUMPETS" for a description of this fourth trumpet event.

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As Islam blocked out the light that was meant to emanate from the city of God, symbolised by the sun, it in turn was on the receiving end of the burning wrath of God, i.e. the fourth plague.

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Continual warfare between the various adherents of Islam is implied by the way in which the book of Daniel presents the seventh head of the Beast to us. In the statue of Daniel 2, the power that is equivalent to the fourth beast of Daniel 7 consists of iron and clay. This shows a people who have disharmony amongst themselves, and this fits very well with the followers of Islam. In Daniel 7 this fourth beast has a head and ten horns. As history shows, warfare between the various ethnicities and factions within Islam led to a progression of ten dynasties ruling over Jerusalem. See the chart on the "HOME" page or the page "THE TWO WITNESSES" for the identification of these ten dynasties. As we still see today, Islam spends even more time at war with itself than it does with outsiders.

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The first occurrence of pestilence found in Islamic records is the Plague of Amwas (Emmaus). In early 639AD this plague struck Muslim forces camped in the town of Emmaus, just outside of Jerusalem (Lk 24:13), killing about 25000 men. It struck only months after the Muslims had seized Jerusalem from the Roman Empire.

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Various forms of pestilence recurred all across the Islamic world for centuries, as detailed in this in-depth study: https://www.jstor.org/stable/600071?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

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As time went on, the outbreaks became more severe. Notice this quote from Wikipedia: "Plague was present in at least one location in the Islamic world virtually every year between 1500 and 1850. Plague repeatedly struck the cities of North Africa. Algiers lost 30,000–50,000 inhabitants to it in 1620–1621, and again (was struck) in 1654–1657, 1665, 1691 and 1740–1742. Cairo suffered more than fifty plague epidemics within 150 years from the plague's first appearance, with the final outbreak of the second pandemic there in the 1840's. Plague remained a major event in Ottoman society until the second quarter of the 19th century. Between 1701 and 1750, thirty-seven larger and smaller epidemics were recorded in Constantinople (by this time in Ottoman hands), and an additional thirty-one between 1751 and 1800. Baghdad has suffered severely from visitations of the plague...." (article "Black Death").

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The statement in Rev 16:9 that reads "they blasphemed the name of God" and "did not repent" is worth elaboration. Genesis 16:12 says of Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn son, "He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him." No doubt his descendants, from whom came the religion of Islam, are included in this prophecy. This hot-headed temperament is a very fitting description of the Arabic peoples.

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Islam sprang from a people aggrieved over their lot which is detailed in God's Word. As a result, the Scriptures were rejected and a new narrative was spun where the favoured line of descent from Abraham supposedly ran through Ishmail, rather than through Isaac as the Bible records. Through this gross dishonesty they blaspheme the name of God.

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Even more significantly, they blaspheme God's name by their denial of Christ's deity.​​​​

 

Referring to the Bible, the Koran frequently mentions "the book" and "the people of the book", so they know what they are arguing against.

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The Fifth Plague

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Curses on "Christian" Rome, i.e. the "little horn" and "eighth" head of the Beast

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Revelation 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast (Rome, where the Papacy, i.e. the "mouth" of Dan 7:8 and Rev 13:5, resided)and his kingdom became full of darkness (the "Dark Ages" filled with warfare and pestilence)and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

 

The Roman Catholic Crusades that were fought with the Muslims over Jerusalem, and the large-scale killing of Jews that accompanied them, are the fifth trumpet of the seventh seal of Revelation. Therefore we find that the false Christian power that initiated the Crusades was on the receiving end of the fifth plague.

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After Roman Catholicism became an independent power in the seventh century, and later became the eighth head of the Beast, the curse of continual warfare was poured out on it throughout some of the darkest years of mankind, from the endless wars fought on the Iberian Peninsula, to the wars following the Reformation, all the way to the two World Wars in the 20th century.

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The Roman Empire, led from Constantinople rather than Rome since the time of Constantine, lost control of Jerusalem to the Muslims in 638AD. Rome, however, stood back on its feet, this time as an independent spiritual empire led by the Papacy. When the Crusaders, at the behest of the Papacy, conquered Jerusalem in 1099, Rome became the head of the Beast once again (Rev 13:3). This was the "eighth" head (Rev 17:11), which was in reality a continuation of the sixth head.

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After this, the Papacy/false Christianity initiated the period of the Inquisitions, perhaps the bloodiest chapter in its history, leading to the persecution and death of millions.

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However, Rev 18:6 states "Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her".

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In the Church era message to Thyatira, "Jezebel", a code name for Roman Catholicism, was warned that she would be thrown into a "sickbed" if she did not repent, as explained on the page "THE TRUE CHURCH ERAS". As she did not repent, the greatest plague in man's history, the Black Death, was poured out on this power. 

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Below is a quote from Wikipedia:

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"The Black Death (Bubonic Plague) is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population. In total, the plague may have reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million to 350–375 million in the 14th century. It took 200 years for the world population to recover to its previous level. The plague recurred as outbreaks in Europe until the 19th century." (Article "Black Death")

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The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Black Death was a "pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time" (Article "Black Death").

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The date 1351 for the completion of this devastation in Europe is very interesting. This plague was prophesied to strike the "seat" or "throne of the Beast" as stated in Rev 16:10. Southern Europe, where the Papacy resides, was struck the hardest. As outlined on the page "THE TWO WITNESSES", the Papacy gained its independence from Constantinople in 685AD, making 686AD the first of its 1260 years of power as predicted in Dan 7:25 and Rev 13:5. This was the first year of the rule of a Pope (John V) who was chosen and installed without the approval of the emperor. It was at this point that the Papacy became an independent power, i.e. the "little horn" of Dan 7:8 and 20. Revelation 13:18 informs us that the number of the office of the "man of sin", i.e. the Papacy, is 666. If we count 666 inclusive years (counting the first and the last year) from 686AD, we come to 1351, the final year of the Black Death in Europe which left that continent devastated. However, this is not the main explanation of the number 666. That explanation can be found on the page "REVELATION 13 - THE BEAST".

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Historical records show that Bubonic Plague recurred in countless European cities over a period of hundreds of years after its first outbreak, killing many more millions. The Wikipedia article "History of Plague" gives many of the horrific details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_plague

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History shows that war, pestilence and many other curses have continued to fall on the "Christian" nations of this world since the days that the eighth head of the Beast conquered Jerusalem.

 

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The Sixth Plague

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The demise of the seventh head of the Beast, Mecca/Medina i.e. Islam, ending its rule of Jerusalem and the Holy Land

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The sixth and seventh plagues are directly related to the sixth trumpet. As explained on the page "THE HISTORICAL 7TH SEAL - THE 7 TRUMPETS", the sixth trumpet included a 32 year period (Rev 9:15) from the beginning of WW1 in 1914 until the end of WW2 in 1945. 

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​Revelation 16:12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates (on Ottoman Turkey, which up until the time of WW1 had ruled over the Holy Land for four centuries. The Euphrates emanates from Turkey, and is symbolic of its power)and its water was dried up (during WW1 the Ottoman Empire was defeated and its rule over Jerusalem came to an end, thus ending an almost 1300 year period of Islamic rule over Jerusalem)so that the way of the kings from the east (the Russians) might be prepared (prepared for WW2. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire ended its centuries of warfare with Russia, freeing the latter to focus its full attention on Germany in the subsequent war, i.e. WW2, which brought about the seventh and final plague, as shown below. The Russian Revolution in 1917 gave rise to the brutal dictatorships of Lenin and Stalin, and the formation of the Soviet Union. Stalin was instrumental in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of the Jews in 1945. The recipient of the seventh plague, Roman Catholicism/false Christianity, had its "seat", or "throne", in western Europe, so Russia is to its geographical east and is therefore called here "the kings from the east").

13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan), out of the mouth of the beast (the nations that Satan raised up to conquer Jerusalem and the Jews. At this particular time, the final "horn" (the Ottoman Empire) of the seventh head of the Beast (Islam) controlled Jerusalem), and out of the mouth of the false prophet (the leadership of false Christianity, i.e. the Papacy, the eighth head of the Beast).

14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty (the 32 year period from 1914 until 1945 that saw the demise of the seventh and eighth heads of the Beast).

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame(this verse reveals the timing of these events. Its language is similar to that found in the final Church era message, showing it to be during the Laodicean era. It also shows that as late as the time of this sixth plague, Christ had not yet returned).

16 And they (the demons) gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon (in September 1918 the decisive Battle of Megiddo was fought, which resulted in the comprehensive defeat of the Ottoman Empire by the British and their allies).

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The Spanish Influenza outbreak in 1918, which killed at least 20 million people globally, also resulted in a huge death toll and economic upheaval in "Christian" countries, and badly affected their war effort. So we see that the wars and pestilences unleashed by the fifth plague, i.e. curses on the eighth head of the Beast, Roman Catholicism/false Christianity, continued throughout this period.

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The Seventh Plague

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The demise of the eighth head of the Beast, i.e. Catholicism/"Christianity", ending its rule of Jerusalem and the Holy Land

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Revelation 16:17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake (a great war), such a mighty and great earthquake (World War II) as had not occurred since men (Gentiles, the men incurring the seven plagues) were on the earth (occupied Jerusalem).

19 Now the great city (Jerusalem) was divided into three parts (Jews, Arabs and the British fought each other for control of the city. The 1949 armistice agreement ending the Arab-Israeli War divided Jerusalem into Jewish and Jordanian sections, as well as a demilitarised area controlled by the UN). And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath (the forces and many of the cities of the "Christian" nations, i.e. the eighth head of the Beast, were decimated in WWII, leading to a death toll that is estimated at somewhere around 70 to 80 million people).

20 Then every island (earth in the midst of the sea) fled away (Jews fled from living among Gentiles), and the mountains were not found (powers that once were, disappeared).

21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men (millions of tonnes of bombs were dropped from planes, ravaging the cities of Europe during WWII), each hailstone about the weight of a talent (the talent is said to be about 100 pound in weight. Industrial and strategic targets were bombed with much heavier bombs than that, but residential areas were targeted with lighter varieties, starting from 100 pounds. See chart: http://www.303rdbg.com/bombs.html). Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

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The devastation caused by World War II, as well as the pain and suffering, was immeasurable. The British, who occupied the Holy Land at that time, emerged technically among the victors, but for them it was somewhat of a Pyrrhic victory: their strength was spent, their economy was ruined, and their world standing was eroded.

 

It has often been remarked that Germany, the loser, recovered from WWII better and faster than Britain did. This loss of power and status affected British overseas territories as well, and it came as no surprise when Palestine was rapidly abandoned by them soon after the war. This of course was all according to God's plan, as fully covered on the page "THE TWO WITNESSES".

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It should be noted that the entire "Christian" world was cursed by WWII. The Axis powers of Germany and Italy, and the Allied countries that fought them, including Britain, the USA, Canada, Russia, Australia and New Zealand, were all nominally Christian. Almost an entire generation of young men from these countries was lost during this seventh plague. See the page "JACOB'S TROUBLE" for more on this.

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Concluding Remarks​​​​​​​

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The curse pronounced in Zech 12:2-3 shows us how God deals with nations who come against His Holy City: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it".

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This also applies to those who come against God's people. The "two witnesses" mentioned in Rev 11:3 are the people of Judah and Benjamin, otherwise known as the Jews. See the page “THE TWO WITNESSES” for an explanation of this. Revelation 11:5 states in regard to the Jews "if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire”. This is very figurative language, but the punishment is meted out by God in order to avenge His people who cry out to Him in distress.

 

The pouring out of the seven last plagues shows God's consistency throughout history. Although He had created the nation of Israel to be His people, and Jerusalem to be His city, as a result of Israel's sins God allowed them to be conquered and ruled by Gentile nations for a specified period of "seven times" (Lev 26:24), which equals 2520 years. Even though God allowed this to happen, He sees Gentile occupation of His land and His Holy City as a defilement, and as an affront to Him. Jerusalem is His dwelling place (II Chron 7:1-3,12-16; Joel 3:16-17), and He does not want unbelievers living in His presence. For this reason all the Gentile powers that captured His land and His Holy City were severely punished by having a variety of ongoing "plagues", or curses, poured out on them.

 

The Gentile nations that captured Jerusalem are pictured in the prophecies of Dan 7 and 8 as various "beasts". They are pictured again in Rev 13 and 17 as parts of one overall "beast". These prophecies all foretell the rise and fall of a total of 18 powers, which history shows occurred during the 2520 year period predicted in Lev 26, from 575BC until 1945AD.

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The first Gentile power to conquer Jerusalem was Babylon. Its fate was to be overthrown by the Medes and Persians and for its capital city never to be inhabited again. Jerusalem was then in Medo/Persian hands, until they in turn lost it to the Greeks under Alexander the Great. Alexander died at a young age, which led to the disintegration of his Greek Empire. One of its divisions, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, next conquered Jerusalem, but it suffered ongoing warfare with another of the Greek divisions, the Seleucid Empire, until the latter prevailed and became the ruler of Jerusalem. Both were eventually conquered by Rome, which then became the sixth Gentile power to rule Jerusalem.

 

It was during Roman rule of Jerusalem that the prophecies of Revelation were given (Rev 17:10), and so it was on Rome that the seven last plagues of Rev 15 and 16 began to be poured out. These seven plagues fell in turn on the sixth head of the beast, Rome; the seventh head of the beast, Islam; the ten horns, or Islamic dynasties, that consecutively emerged from the Islamic head and conquered Jerusalem; and the "little horn" or eighth head of the Beast, "Christianity", led from Rome, which was the 18th, and final, Gentile power to rule the Holy City.

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​​​​As stated at the outset, God says that He declares the end from the beginning, and He has been true to His Word. Today the Beast powers no longer rule Jerusalem, nor do they trample down the Jews.

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However, Daniel 7:12 tells us that when Beast powers "have their dominion taken away", i.e. over Jerusalem, their lives are "prolonged for a season and a time". And so we see that as Islam and "Christianity" are both very much alive and active in the world, so the curses on them also continue.

 

Curses on the seventh head of the Beast continue predominantly in the form of their endless wars against Israel and against each other, while curses on the eighth head of the Beast are seen in the form of the crime, depravity, chronic sickness, and migration crises that today wrack the Western World. This is perfectly in line with the predicted fate of the "Christian" nations just prior to the return of Christ, as described in Rev 18. See the page "BABYLON IS FALLEN" for more on this.

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