The Plagues Part II

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Revelation 15:1-8.

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. Revelation 16:1,2.

Part II
by Brother Emerson A. Wilson

The Omnipotent God
The first message that God used Moses to declare to Pharaoh was a song of creation glory. It declared that the earth is the Lord's, that the Lord is the Ruler over all the earth, even Pharaoh. The root and foundation of that song is a truth that needs to be declared today. I want you to see why this is poured out on the earth. It was a song of creation glory.

In Exodus 9:16 and 17, God speaking through Moses to Pharaoh, says, And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Why was God against Pharaoh? My friends, God wants ALL creation to serve Him. Anything that hinders man from serving God alone, God is pouring plagues out on it. Mark it down, He began with Pharaoh and He has NEVER changed His mind.

Verse 29 of Exodus 9 tells us, And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's.

Brothers and Sisters, the first song he sang to Pharaoh was that the earth is the Lord's, that ALL creation was made to serve God, and God wanted Israel to serve Him. Pharaoh had them down in bondage. Moses asked him to let them go, but since he wouldn't let them go, he was going to get plague after plague until he did.

The very essence of Moses' song was teaching Pharaoh and us of God's creation glory. He created the world, and you belong to it. People must get rid of that old rebellious attitude: "I will do what I want to do." We are creatures; we belong to God. All souls are His. He made us for His glory, and were created to serve Him. Anything that won't let you serve Him, God is going to put plagues on.

God's people down through the Bible got fastened up in this and that where they could not serve God, and whenever they got fastened up, God began to turn judgments loose. God began to turn plagues loose. Why? He wants men free to serve Him and Him alone.

I want to tell you, there are going to be plagues. The very Word of truth will plague you service after service until you cut loose and let God have His way in your heart and life so that you can truly serve Him. The very preaching of God's Word will plague you.

This may seem a long way to getting around to the plagues, but I want you to understand why the plagues are necessary. God sent Moses down as a man to intercede with Pharaoh. If Pharaoh would have let the Israelites go, there would not have been any problem, but when Pharaoh rose up and refused the Will of God, God poured out the plagues.

We Belong To God
The same thing is true with you. God's first intercession with you is just like a man, saying that you belong to Him. You are serving the devil, but he is not your Creator. God created you to serve God, but you are bound. How did you become bound? Well, one of the things that bind so many people is the flesh. 1st Peter, the third chapter, talks about "spirits in prison". There is a spirit, a never-dying soul within us. We are a two-fold being: an inward (spirit) man and an outward (fleshly) man.

My friends, God wants you to worship Him in spirit and in truth. In many cases, the very spirit within you would like to serve God. Down within the heart of every creature which God ever made is the desire to serve God. He made you that way, but you allow your flesh to rise up. The flesh does not want to go God's way. The flesh wants to go another way, its own way, and take the spirit away from God, keep it in prison and keep it in bondage. The flesh keeps the spirit bound. Well, don't get excited if God begins to plague that flesh! You are liable to break out with cancer or anything else imaginable. Yes, that is right, my friends! Many of the diseases, conditions, sicknesses, sorrows and trials we endure in our physical bodies are due to one thing and one thing only: we REFUSE, we INSIST on REFUSING to submit our will to God and walk in the way He wants us to. Our flesh-that carnal part of us, keeps our spirit bound, and God will work on that flesh, if we refuse to follow His will for our life!

Now I want you to get this message VERY clearly: God is going to plague WHATEVER keeps His people from serving Him. Why? That is all we are here for. We are NOT here to get rich. We are NOT here to live in fine mansions. We are NOT here to get our names in lights. No, we were created in the image of God, to serve God, for HIS glory. That's all we are here for. The other things are secondary things, and He has promised to bless you and work them out, if you truly, from your heart, will serve Him.

But friends, when we get ourselves fastened in bondage, we can't serve God. I said, when we are fastened in bondage, enslaved to whatever it is, we can't serve God! How many times have you met people in Babylon, in Protestantism, and shown them right in the Word what God wants them to do as a servant of God? They tell you, "Yes, I see that. I ought to do that, but our church does not teach it." Even as they declare that they "understand it", they refuse to come out of that false religion. Why? Because they have found a "comfort zone" and they are bound by the flesh to stay there instead of seeking the fulfillment of God's will for their life. Let me tell you, God has put a plague on Babylon and given it judgment. God wants people to serve Him.

That was the only cry He had against Pharaoh. And, oh, how the Egyptians had to suffer from the hand of God because a man wanted to be rebellious and would not let a people loose to go serve God. He said in Exodus 4:23, And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Now this is God, this God who supposedly (according to modern-day so-called "Christians") does not do things like this, saying in so many words: "Pharaoh, either let My people go so they can serve Me, or I am going to kill EVERY firstborn, irregardless of his age, in this land." So many people feel that God would not do a thing like that. Let me tell you right now: get over it! God will plague ANYTHING that keeps His people from being free to serve Him. Hold that all through the message, or you will miss the point. And let me remind you of something else, right here, too: God will plague ANYTHING, right? That includes His own people, when they refuse to obey His Will. Just as I said earlier, many sicknesses, diseases, trials and tribulations we bring on ourselves simply because we REFUSE to submit to God's Will! Oh boy, folks don't like that!

Friends, because Pharaoh resisted the revealed Will of God, he was plagued with great plagues. Now, let me insert another thought right here: it is NOT God's Will that ANY should perish. If God had His Way (get it? "If God had His Way…"?), nobody would ever be plagued. I hold to the thought that this is His strange work. He would much rather bless you than plague you, but remember what brought the plagues: Pharaoh rebelled against God's known will.

The spirit of this age wants to take the sharp edge off the sword of God's Word. It will tell you that God does not work that way now. I repeat, it is NOT God's Will that ANY should perish. He WANTS all souls to be saved and come to a knowledge of truth. That's not saying that ALL will, but God wants ALL to serve Him. All that keeps God's souls from serving Him will be plagued.

The Blood Of The LAMB
Turn to the 12th chapter of Exodus. We are still singing the song of Moses, and now we are starting to sing the story of The LAMB. I want you to see the mercy of God all the way through. God said that if Pharaoh did not let God's people go, God was going to strike the firstborn of everything. But Thank God, He showed mercy to the Israelites. Yet something was required of them to keep them safe from the death angel: they had to kill a lamb that was without spot or blemish, and having faith in what He told them to do, they were to put the blood on both doorposts and on the lintel. When the destroying (death) angel came through, He would pass over any house with the blood on the doorposts and lintels.

Now, we are getting over to the song of The LAMB. What is the song of The LAMB? My friends, it is of God's mercy show forth to us. That lamb without spot or blemish was a type of Christ, the LAMB of God that takes away the sin of the world. Sin is a destroyer, and there is ONLY ONE WAY to stop the destroyer and the power of the destroyer: get the blood applied! Hallelujah, Praise God for the shed blood of Jesus Christ! Thank God, The LAMB of God takes away the sin of the world.

They not only sang the song of Moses, but they also sang the song of The LAMB. The LAMB is in the middle to stop the plagues. Can't you see the mercy of God? It would have fallen on everybody in Egypt, but God made a way where the destroyer could pass over everyone who believed and applied the blood to the doorposts. When the destroying angel came through that night, every house that had the blood on the doorposts was passed by, untouched. Killing a lamb and putting the blood on the doorposts may have sounded foolish, but it kept the hand of the destroyer away. It was a forerunner of Christ's shed blood and the protection it affords us, today. "What can wash away my sins?" NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS. "What can make me whole again?" NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS.

Now, where do the plagues come in? My friend, let's come up to date a little bit more. Just as in that day, the same is true today. God has ordained one LAMB, and only HIS blood can save. Only HIS blood can stop the destroyer. Well, what has happened? Today, we have the same unbelief: "I don't think we need that portion of God's Word. We'll just do it this way or that way, instead."

In the third chapter of John, we read about The LAMB, that God so loved the world that He gave His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in Him should NOT perish but have everlasting life. Oh, it's so lovely, so wonderful: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16,17. Now, where does the wrath of God come in? In that very same chapter, John 3:36 tells us, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Friends, if you are living in sin today without real salvation, you are already living under the wrath of God. The destroyer is working on you, and you are on the way of destruction, as the Bible calls it. Now, God has afforded a way whereby the destructive power of sin can be stopped. If you will believe in God's Son (The LAMB of God), and accept Him as your substitute, by repenting and confessing your sins, and asking Jesus Christ to come into your heart and life through the Holy Ghost, you CAN be set free from the destroying power of God. You CAN have the wrath of God lifted off of you. If you refuse to believe, however, the wrath of God abides on you. Now we are getting up to date.

To Whom Are You Listening?
May God help us to see how the plagues are poured out and where. In Matthew 3:7 and 8, John was preaching repentance and baptism, and it says, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. Just as John asked them, let me ask you: who has "warned" you? Who has warned you makes a big difference on what you have done. Some people tell you that you are going to flee God's wrath to come just because you were "christened" (sprinkled with water) as a baby. Others will tell you that you can flee God's wrath to come just by joining a church, being baptized, or taking communion every Sunday.

Oh yes, who has warned you makes a BIG difference. Some will tell you that you will never fall under God's wrath to come if you will just take a catechism class, join the assembly, and on and on and on we could go with religious efforts which are supposedly warning people from God's wrath to come. Then John said, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance." That wasn't fruits to be sacrificed. It meant that one's works, the changes God makes in one's life, that which a person does, would show those changes if they had gotten "true salvation" (truly repented).

We read in I John 5:1, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God… 1 John 3:9 lets us know, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. If we have been born of God, we do NOT commit sin. I am talking about fruits which show that a person has repented. See, if you are still living in sin, you have never repented. If you are still practicing sin as you used to, you have never repented.

This is what is NOT being preached from the pulpits today. This is what is NOT being taught in our "Sunday Schools" today. When you are saved, God changes you: you do NOT keep on sinning!

There are preachers today who will stand and tell you that you will sin even after you have been saved; my friends, you'd better get your warning(s) somewhere else. They are lying to you. They are leading you astray. The fruits (proof) that you have repented are that you start living a righteous, HOLY, Godly life, right in this present world. When you have truly repented, you will NOT go on practicing sin!

Remember that the essence of Moses' first song was a song of creation glory that belonged to God as the Creator. Someone might question, "What does this have to do with The Church?" Well, these people standing on the "sea of glass" mingled with fire sang this song of Moses'. The verses of the song said that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Every soul belongs to God: we are NOT our own. First, you are not your own because God made you. Secondly, you are not your own because Jesus bought you at Calvary.

The Preeminent One
Now consider how Paul ties it in, in Colossians 1:12-18.

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Now consider that clause, "that in all things He might have the preeminence". Paul has described Jesus as the author of the old material creation, the first creation, and then he lets us know that He is also the beginning of this new spiritual creation. The same One Who is the author of moral creation is the author of spiritual creation.

Now there is no need to have any confusion here. We have men of every kind running these churches, but the Creator is the head of "The Church". He is to have preeminence. He is to have the last word in all things. When He says, "All things", He means ALL things. I am going to tell you right now that if He is truly the head of The Church and He has the preeminence in all things, there will not be any division.

You will find out, my friends, that the Lord is going to put some plagues on the flesh, because too many are holding out on God and won't let their spirit be really free to serve God as He wants them to. In too many lives, He does not have the preeminence in all things. I will repeat it: if He definitely has the preeminence in all things, it is impossible to have division. Not only within a local body of believers, but it is impossible to have division among congregations (bodies of believers) over the entire land if He has preeminence in all things.

In too many cases, however, He does not have it. This is not taken nearly as seriously as it should be. Why, James believed in teaching the people in his day that they should not even decide that they were going to go shopping the next day unless they said, "If the Lord is willing." The Lord is not even considered today. People make plans ahead without even considering God's Will.

Remember, these plagues are being poured out on the earth, and this is the reason we are not more spiritual: there is too much earth. This thing of being the Church of God means more than a lot of people understand about the thing. There would be lots of things that would not be happening, that would not being going on, if the Lord had had the preeminence in them. And there would be lots of things that would be happening that are not if the Lord had the preeminence He is supposed to have.

So, my friends, there is no confusion about this. There is NO pope as the head of God's Church. He never was and he never will be. There is No bishop as the head of God's Church. They are all abominations unto God. Our Creator is our head of The Church. The same One Who brought us forth physically is the same One Who brings us forth spiritually.

From Ashes To Beauty
Thank God, He can redress all the wrecks and ruins of the old creation. What do I mean by wrecks and ruins? Well, we all come into this world pure, clean and innocent. When we come to the age of accountability (that age at where we know the difference between right and wrong), every one of us in our own rebellion, rebels and goes our own way. We know which way we "ought" to go, but we refuse to go the way we "ought"-we go into sin.

From there, we go from wreck to ruin, on and on and on. We end up all bound up, corrupted, spotted and wrecked. Sometimes even our very flesh is wrecked and our health gone. When we turn to God, Thank God, He can redress the wrecks and ruins and make new creatures out of us through Jesus Christ.

My friends, since He can do that and since He is the ONLY One Who can do that, we ought to be more than willing to humble ourselves and let Him have the preeminence in all things. Friends, it took Him to save us, and it takes Him to keep us. You cannot get saved by your own direction. Your human instrumentality is not enough to show you how to get up out of the gutter. It took Jesus Christ to reach down with His might hand of power. He is THE way, THE ONLY WAY.

Please don't allow your flesh to rise up and take away the preeminence that is still His. Let Him direct you day by day. Thank God, He will lead you on an upward path and in an upward way, to a life of greater victory, greater glory, and greater freedom.

Someone might say, "When you are free, you can't get any freer." Oh yes, you can! Brothers and Sisters, the Son of God will save you and set you free from sin, but if you will stay under the TRUE Word of God, you will find a lot more freedom as you go along. He will free you from false religion. He will free you from lots of customs and rituals that you can become bound by. He will free you from things that you never realized you could be bound with, if you sit under the Word of His truth.

Who Is Your Governor?
So the Creator, and the Creator alone, is the head. It boils right down to this: where is your head? I can tell you whether you are in the True Church of God or not. We only need to consider one thing to see whether you are in or not: Where is your head? What is governing your life?

Some say, "Oh, I know God has inspired men, and I have visited the Church of God, heard the Word and was stirred a little bit. I thought I ought to repent and straighten my life up, but when I went back to our church, the preacher told me that it wasn't necessary, that I was ok just the way I am." Well, where is your head? Who is giving you your instructions? What has the preeminence in your life?

You can tell whether you are in The Church or not. It does not mean you are in "The Church" because you attend this one. No, Sir. One of the first marks whereby we can know if we are in The Church is whether we are giving Him preeminence in all things.

The root foundation of the song which Moses sang was creative glory. It told even Pharaoh that there was a Lord Who ruled over the whole earth, and he needed to submit and let the Lord have His Way. When that man (Pharaoh) rose up against God's authority, the plagues started.

Just mark it down and get this settled in your heart and mind: when you rebel against God's Word, God may be merciful to you for a while. He will dig around you, and He will cultivate you. He will do His best to get you to move, but when you rebel and He sees that you are not going to do His Will, don't get excited when the plagues start. Why? When the plagues are poured out, He is not trying to hurt you; He is trying to loose you from the things that have you tied up, where you can't get loose to serve God as He wants you to serve Him.

God is plaguing everything that keeps His people from serving Him as they are supposed to do. I am going to tell you something: whenever the plagues reach the degree that you give up and know it is the right thing to do, you will be glad you did. Thank God, the blessings will start to flow. Oh friends, people out here are giving supposed excuses of every kind for not serving God as they ought, when the truth of the matter is, there no excuse we can give. If we do try to hold out and give an excuse, the plagues will surely fall.

I am not trying to scare you: I am just trying to warn you. I am dealing with sound Bible truth. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. All things were created BY Him and FOR Him. You and I were created for Him, to be used of Him, to serve Him, to live for Him, to glorify Him, and to lift Him up. This is the reason for our having been created to begin with!

Friends, are we doing that? Are we serving Him that way? Or do we, like Pharaoh, have the attitude: "Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?" I will tell you Who He is: He is the Creator. He is the Beginning. He is the End. He is the First. He is the Last. He holds all power over life and death. He can make you well or He can make you sick. He can keep you alive or He can kill you. He is the Lord of the whole earth, and He is not unjust. And let me tell you this: if He is not Lord OVER ALL in your life, He is NOT Lord at all in your life! Some people feel that God is unjust when He sends plagues. No, He is NOT unjust. He is merely claiming what truly belongs to Him to begin with!

Believe--Now
You might ask, "Well, why doesn't He just take us and make us serve Him?" Because He created us with a will of choice. Then there's the question, "If I desire to not serve Him, why doesn't He just leave me be?" Friends, He will never make you serve Him, but He can sure make you willing. Don't get it in your head that God cannot move you. Not only can He move you, He can also make you willing to move on your own. In any case, it does not pay to wait for that. It is much better to hear His voice, His crying unto the city. What is it saying? "Fear the rod and Him that appointeth the rod." In other words, God is speaking through The Word.

What is He speaking? "Return unto me. Return unto me." It grieves the great heart of God to see man go long in sin and serve the enemy of our souls. The devil, who takes us down, down, down into greater bondage and deeper sin. The devil tries to seal us, if possible, into a long, lost eternity to suffer forever and ever throughout the ceaseless ages. Friends, it is much better for us to suffer some plagues from the hand of God here, if it will wake us and bring us to salvation, than it is for God to leave us alone and let us go on and fall into a lost eternity and suffer forever and ever and ever with no hope.

Oh, hell will bring you around. Someone asked, "Do you think people in hell are convinced?" Let me tell you, I am soundly convinced that there is not one unbeliever in hell, not a one. There are plenty who died as atheists who had testified, "I don't believe there is a God," but it only took 2 minutes in hell. They ARE believers, NOW. It is too late. There is a great gulf fixed. That great gulf is the gulf of sin that separates mankind from God. Now, in this time world, there is a way to span that great gulf: through Jesus Christ. You can get back to God. If you let death come on you, that great gulf is fixed for time and eternity.

The rich man didn't believe while he lived on this earth. God sent Lazarus, a preacher, who came to his house. He had to go by him every day, but the rich man had no thought of Lazarus. He had no thoughts or concerns with heavenly things. Why? He was too tied up in earthly matters. When he reached the pit of hell, he lifted up his eyes, but it was too late.

God created one animal that cannot look up: a hog. They can't lift their heads: all they can do is to look down all the time. That is why Peter used it for us, as hogs returning to their wallow after God has been good enough to pick us up. When we get like hogs, we can't look up. The only places we can look is to the right and left of us, or what we can get out of this earth here. O, earth, earth, earth: people who are bound with earthly things. Not looking up as they ought and thinking about heavenly things.

Friends, I want to ask you, just who is the head of your life? Does Christ have the preeminence in all things? If so, you are a member of the blood-washed band. You are a member of that which makes up the true Body of Christ. You are in the Church of The Living God. You are ready to sing the song of Moses and the song of The LAMB.

Oh, how it needs to be told to a lost and dying world: the creation glory of Jesus Christ. He made us. We are not our own: we belong to Him.