Seven plagues of the end times

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The seven angels with the bowls of anger. Cardboard box by Peter von Cornelius for the unfinished Campo Santo in Berlin (upper part)

The Seven Plagues of the End Times (or the “Bowls of Wrath”) denote a thematic unit in the Revelation of John in the New Testament of the Bible . Here the visions of the seven seals ( RevEU ) and the seven trumpets ( Rev 8–9  EU ) are followed by the vision of the seven plagues ( Rev 15–16  EU ). The plagues come from the seventh trumpet and are part of God's judgment in the end times .

The seven plagues

The seven plagues of the apocalypse of John are:

  1. severe ulcers on those who bear the mark of the beast
  2. Sea water becomes the blood and death of all marine life
  3. Rivers and springs become blood
  4. Sun scorches people with great heat
  5. The realm of the beast is darkened
  6. Drying up of the Euphrates river
  7. largest earthquake in living memory destroys all islands and mountains; great hail falls on the earth

Climax of the seven plagues

Connected with the plagues in the Bible is the return of Christ . The seven plagues tie in with the last battle at Armageddon , which is the 7th plague, which will be fought when it comes again.

Exegetical interpretation

The seven plagues of the end times have many references to the plagues on land when the Israelites exited Egypt in the Old Testament. While z. For example, the Israelites were able to protect the Israelites from the effects of the 10th biblical plague by painting their houses with the blood of a lamb as a distinguishing feature, Jesus' blood is considered a distinguishing feature in the plagues of the end times. However, there are also some differences:

1. The plagues of the end times are 7 plagues instead of 10

2. The affected area is transnational

Just as the ten biblical plagues were designed to bring the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, the purpose of the seven plagues of the end times is to free God's people. People who keep “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (see Revelation 14:12) are called God's people.

literature

  • Ekkehardt Müller: The first and the last. Studies on the Book of Revelation , Peer Lang Verlag, Frankfurt 2011, ISBN 978-3-631-61132-6 .
  • Franz Tóth: The heavenly cult. Reality construction and meaning formation in the Revelation of John , Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02427-8 .