The seven last plagues described in Revelation are pre-Advent, not post-Advent. They will be God's punishment on Babylon for worshipping the beast. The plagues will happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Christ's second coming will occur after the sixth plague, when he announces "I am coming." Graves will open during the seventh plague, and the wicked will be destroyed. Only after these plagues is Christ's appearance in the sky, when he will resurrect the righteous dead and take believers to heaven to be with him forever. The document examines the biblical evidence for this pre-Advent view and refutes arguments for a post-Advent timing of the plagues.

1. THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES: PRE-ADVENT OR
POST-ADVENT?
re the seven last plagues pre-Advent or post-Advent? Which come first,
Second Coming or the seven last plagues? Some of you might be
confused. But, this issue is solved in this presentation.
God’s Wrath to Babylon
The seven last plagues are Gods’ special punishment to Babylon—those
who will have the mark of the beast and will worship his image (Rev 16:2).
They are called last—“because with them God’s wrath is completed” (Rev
15:1)—because “there will be no more plagues as such, although the ultimate
destruction of Satan and sinners is still future.”1
In “one hour” (mi/a w%ra),the doom of Babylon, in the form of the
plagues, will come (Rev 18:10). The words “suggest a point—rather than a
period—of time, and thus appear to stress suddenness and unexpectedness
rather than duration.”2
Thus, the destruction of Babylon will be sudden and
unexpected.
When Will This Happen?
Rev 16 enumerates “the seven bowls of wrath on the earth” (v. 1). The first
is “ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the
beast and worshipped his image” (v. 2). The second is “the sea . . . turned blood
like that of a dead man, and every living thing is the sea died” (v. 3). The third
is “rivers and spring of water . . . became blood” (v. 4).
The fourth is “the sun was given power to scorch people with fire” (v. 8).
In fact, they “were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God,
who had control over these plagues but they refused to repent and glorify him”
(v. 9). The fifth is that “the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged
into darkness” (v. 10). As a result, the wicked people “gnawed their tongues in
agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores,but
they refused to repent of what they had done” (v. 11).
The sixth is “the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to
prepare the way for the kings from the East” (v. 12). Literally, it refers to the
coming of the Medo-Persian kings during the time of the prophet Daniel in the
Old Testament. Cyrus is a type of Christ. Thus, the sixth plagues prepares
Christ’s coming from the East (see Zech 14: 4, 5).
1
SDABC, Re 15:2
2
SDABC, Re 18:8, one day. CompareIsa. 47:9,11; 50:31; 51:8.
While Christ is preparing for His coming, the “three evil spirits that look
like frogs . . . came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast
and out of the mouth of the false prophets” (v. 13)—for they “are spirits of
demons performing miraculous signs, and they to go out to the kings of the
whole world, to gather them for the battle of the great day of God Almighty” (v.
14).
Before Christ’s coming will happen, Armageddon— an apparent success to
eradicate God’s people—will also take place. The wicked people “are of one
mind” (Rev 17:13). However,when God’s people are almost blotted out from
the earth through the death decree imposed against them, there occurs the
second coming of Jesus.
It will be during the sixth plague that Christ announces something:
“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his
clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed” (v.
15). Grammatically, the phrase I come in the text is in Greek e&rxomai (or
erkomai)—a verb,present middle indicative, first person, and singular.3
The
most appropriate translation of it is I am coming myself as a thief,which
indicates that Christ has not come yet in the sixth plague.
God announces the time of Christ’s coming at the sixth plague. In fact,
God’s voice is heard repetitively during this period immediately preceding
Christ’s return.
As the wrestling ones urge their petitions before God, theveil separating them from the
unseen seems almost withdrawn. The heavens glow with thedawning of eternal day, and
like the melody of angel songs the words fall upon the ear: “Stand fast to your allegiance.
Help is coming.” Christ, the almighty Victor, holds out to His weary soldiers a crown of
immortal glory; and His voice comes from thegates ajar: “Lo, I am with you. Be not afraid.
I am acquainted with all your sorrows;I have borne your griefs. You are not warring against
untried enemies. I have fought the battle in your behalf, and in My nameyou are more than
conquerors.”4
God’s people are waiting for the deliverance at this time. God’s
announcements comforted them.
It is at midnight that God manifests His power for thedeliverance of His people. The sun
appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. Thewicked
look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy
the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The
streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the
midst of theangry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the
voice of God like thesound of many waters, saying: “It is done.”5
3
Ray Summers, Essentials of New Testament Greek,rev.Thomas Sawyer (Nashville, TN: Broadman
andHolman, 1995),50.
4
GC, 632.
5
GC, 636.
A

2. God has to stop the wickeds’ plan to annihilate His people. It is during the
seventh plague that Christ declares “It is done” (Rev 16:17), which means that
the “heavenly gate closes, the invitation of salvation closes”6
and the rebellion
has ceased.7
It is through “It is done” that the heavens and the earth are shaken.8
As also
described during the seventh plague, the voice is accompanied by
a mighty earthquake, “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an
earthquake, and so great.” Verses 17, 18. Thefirmament appears to open and shut. The
glory from thethrone of God seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in
the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming
tempest. Thesea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of a hurricane like the voice
of demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves
of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain
chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports that have become like Sodom
for wickedness are swallowed up by the angry waters. Babylon the great has come in
remembrance before God, “to give unto her thecup of thewine of thefierceness of His
wrath.” Great hailstones, every one “about the weight of a talent,” are doing their work of
destruction. Verses 19, 21. The proudest cities of the earth are laid low. Thelordly palaces,
upon which the world's great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves,
are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God’s people,
who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set free.9
In fact,it is through the voice that
Graves are opened, and “many of them that sleep in thedust of the earth” “awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”[Daniel 12:2.] All who have
died in the faith of thethird angel’s message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear
God’s covenant of peace with those who have kept his law.10
Soon after that awesome event that Christ appears.
Soon there appears in theeast a small black cloud, about half the size of a man’s hand. It is
the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in
darkness. The peopleof God know this to be the sign of theSon of man. In solemn silence
they gaze upon it as it draws nearer theearth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is
a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the
covenant. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror.11
It simply appears that along with the seventh plague, “the Lord himself
will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first” (1 Thess 4:16). And “after that, we who are still alive and are left will be
6
Christ’s Triumphant, 79.
7
Ibid., 277.
8
GC, 636.
9
GC, 636.
10
GC88, 637. See also EW 36, 37, 282–285; GC 635, 636; 1T 353, 354.See also SDABC, Re 16:18,
“It is done.”
11
GC, 640.
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (verse
17). Where will the saved go? “To be with the Lord forever” (verse 18).
When Jesus comes He will not touch the ground (1 Thess 4:16; Matt 24:30,
31). All who are in the graves will be resurrected—those who have done well
will be resurrected to life while those who have done evil will be to
condemnation (John 5:28, 29).
Post-Advent View
The post-Advent view of the seven last plagues is without any biblical
support except to use Rev 16:5-7.This verse says that the prophets have given
blood to drink in the third plague as they deserve. Those prophets are believed
to be resurrected so they could drink the blood they deserved. If this view is
true, then the seven last plagues will be post-Advent.
Post-Advent view lacks biblical support. If graves will be open in the
seventh plague as stated above, then it would be totally wrong to say that these
plagues are post-Advent. It will be better to understand the above text in the
context of the last days and the people who will shed their blood are end-time
saints and prophets. Prophets and saints’ slayers are interpreted as the end-time
wicked people—trying to annihilate God’s people. Prophets may be symbolized
as the Advent people, who prophesied “about many peoples, nations, and
languages, and kings” (Rev 10:11)—after being disappointed on October 22,
1844. In the same way, the saints here are the remnant people “who obey God’s
commandments and remain faithful to Jesus” (Rev 14:12)—which historically
and prophetically arose into existence sometime after 1798 AD.
Summary and Conclusion
Biblically and grammatically speaking, Christ has not yet come even
during the sixth plague. According to Spirit of Prophecy, the appearance of
Christ in the east happens only after the sixth plague—along with the seventh
plague. Thus, the seven last plagues are pre-advent.
To conclude, the teaching that the seven last plagues are post-Advent
surely opposes the long-time position of the church. Not only has it opposes the
church but also against the plain teaching of the Bible and from the inspired
writings of Ellen G. White. The Bible says, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does
nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7,
NIV)—unless we don’t believe to His end-time prophet anymore.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CristopherV. Luaya teaches theology at Northern Luzon Adventist College. He graduated with
a Bachelor of Theology degree from Central Philippine Adventist College (2004) and a Master of
Arts in Religion, major in church history, from the Adventist International Instituteof Advanced
Studies (2013) where he successfully defended his thesis on ecumenism. His first book is
Understanding the Book of Daniel: An Introduction published by South Philippine Adventist

3. College in 2015. Aside from teaching, he is the current pastor of NLAC Church. He and his wife
Alvie are blessed with two growing kids, Chris Alwyneand Hailey Nicole.