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poisons one third of the water (8:10,11). One
third of the natural light of earth is extinguished (8:12). A great abyss
opens in the earth, opening the way for a great plague of locusts who sting
people, the people suffer terribly but don't die (9:1-6). Two hundred
million troops are sent forth to kill one
third of those not sealed by God (9:15-19). Plague of painful sores (16:2).
The seas turned to blood (16:3). Rivers and springs turned to blood (16:4).
The sun intensifies and burns people (16:8). The area of Antichirst's throne
is plunged into absolute darkness (16:10). The Euphrates River dries up from
one end to the other (16:12). A great earthquake and hailstorm level the
earth (16:17-21).
Warning? There seems to be no direct warning given by
God to a particular person as in the times of Noah and Moses. However, we do
have the written revelation in the Bible. This is God's warning to all about
what will come to pass.
Who's saved/protected? From the beginning of the
Tribulation up to and including the change in the amount of light available
seem to be methods God is using to get people's attention. It's most
probable that some believer's will be adversely affected by what happens,
some will even die. From that point on, God's people are sealed. The seal
set in Revelation 7 protects God's people from the terrible wraths of the
Great Tribulation.
Who's judged/dies? The wraths as set forth in the Bible
for the period of the Great Tribulation affect only those who follow their
own ways or are followers of Antichrist. God's people are protected.
It should be seen, through all of the examples, that God protects his
people. Since the day Jesus was crucified, these are all of those people who
have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. But what about the fact that
some believers die during the Tribulation because of something God did to
show himself to people, say because of the lack of food caused by the seas
turning to blood? I can't claim to know everything about God, but I believe
this is for the same reasons people die in natural disasters today. These
are phenomenon aimed at a larger portion of the population or the world as a
whole and aren't judgments specifically aimed at those who oppose God.
All Biblical examples point to the fact that when God
sends natural disasters as judgment upon the unbelievers he always, with
very few exceptions, warns his followers and they're always spared the
punishment set forth for the wicked. Were these people sealed as in
Revelation? No. However, God knows his people. In the days in which the Old
Testament are set, God spoke directly to one of his people and warned them
of the judgment to come. What about today? As far as anyone knows, God
hasn't directly revealed to any specific person that a judgment was coming
in the form of a natural disaster. If the disasters of today were sent as a
judgment on the wicked, God would send word through one of his people that
it was coming and how to escape the punishment. How can we be so sure? God
works the same way today in these matters that he worked prior to the death
of Christ and that he will work during the times of the Tribulation. |
