And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven (Revelation 16:10-11).
This plague will strike at the throne of the Beast in particular. The Papacy has kept the people of the world in darkness, and so darkness will be their portion. With their tongues they deceived the nations, and they will gnaw their tongues in agony.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
Light emanates from God, and in Him there is no darkness. The Papacy replaced Jesus, the Light of the world, with its own systems. Papal Rome slights Christ’s role as Mediator and crucifies Him again and again in the mass. Instead of the Word, Rome feeds the people on liturgies and earthly commandments.
The Word of God, which had been withheld and distorted by the Papacy, could have cured Rome’s malady, had it been willing to listen. “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130).
But instead of heeding God’s Word, Rome tampered with God’s law and changed His ordinances:
The
earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant (Isaiah 24:5).
If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the
seed of
Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever (Jeremiah 31:36).
God does not change. Rather, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
The fifth plague will bring about a turning point. The inhabitants of the earth, already reeling under the effects of the previous plagues, will witness the agony of the Beast (the papal system) and begin to doubt its credentials. Just as Egypt’s support for Pharaoh waned when the plagues hit (Exodus 10:7), so support for the papal system will begin to wane, opening the way for the sixth plague.
Back to The Seven Last Plagues
Ahead to The Sixth Plague
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This article is adapted from Truth Matters by Professor Walter J. Veith, an international speaker who has studied Biblical issues in-depth in his quest for truth. His popular series Genesis Conflict brings the debate between Creation and evolution to a new climax as he dissects the arguments with a scientific eye. His highly-acclaimed series Total Onslaught sheds light on the state of the world today as we move to a one-world government and an anticipated apocalypse.
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Flood Chronology
Read several authors' thoughts on papal Rome's history.
This article highlights quotes from historical and Catholic sources proving the Papacy's aggressive nature.
Persecution in the First Centuries
An Era of Spiritual Darkness The Waldenses
John Wycliffe Huss and Jerome
Luther's Separation From Rome
Luther Before the Diet The Swiss Reformer
Progress of Reform in Germany
Protest of the Princes The French Reformation
The Netherlands and Scandinavia
Later English Reformers
The Bible and the French Revolution
The Pilgrim Fathers Heralds of the Morning
An American Reformer Light Through Darkness
A Great Religious Awakening A Warning Rejected
Prophecies Fulfilled What is the Sanctuary?
In the Holy of Holies God's Law Immutable
A Work of Reform Modern Revivals
Facing Life's Record The Origin of Evil
Enmity Between Man and Satan
Agency of Evil Spirits Snares of Satan
The First Great Deception
Can Our Dead Speak to Us?
Liberty of Conscience Threatened
The Impending Conflict
The Scriptures a Safeguard The Final Warning
The Time of Trouble God's People Delivered
Desolation of the Earth The Controversy Ended
Is Revelation a Sealed Book?
Revelation 1 Commentary: The Revelation of Jesus
Revelation 1: Jesus, The Heart of Revelation
Revelation 2 Commentary: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira
Revelation 2-3: Letters to Seven Churches
Revelation 3 Commentary: Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea
The Lamb and the Sealed Book
Revelation 4 Commentary: The Throne in Heaven
Revelation 5 Commentary: The Scroll and the Lamb
Revelation 6 Commentary: The Vision of Seven Seals
Revelation 7 Commentary: The 144,000
Revelation 8 Commentary: Seven Trumpets
Revelation 9 Commentary: The Bottomless Pit
Revelation 10 Commentary: A Little Book
Revelation 11 Commentary: Two Witnesses
Revelation 12 Commentary: The Woman and the Dragon
Revelation 13 Commentary: Two Beasts
Revelation 14 Commentary: Three Angels' Messages
Revelation 15 Commentary: Seven Angels, Seven Plagues
Revelation 16 Commentary: Seven Bowls of God's Anger
Revelation 17 Commentary: A Woman Rides the Beast
Revelation 18 Commentary: Babylon Falls
Revelation 19 Commentary: The Rider on the White Horse
Revelation 20 Commentary: Millennium and the Judgment
Revelation 21 Commentary: The New Jerusalem
Revelation 22 Commentary: Invitation and Warning