John sees 7 angels who are now having seven plagues, which literally means: “strike,” “wound,” “flatten out,” “to pound,” “to inflict,” or “smite.” These seven plagues are the last, there will be no more. In these seven plagues the wrath of God is caused to be finished. It is a time when God will avenge the murder of His servants and destroy those who destroy the earth.

The story line of wrath is paused, and John saw an image ofpeople before the throne of God, in something like a sea of glass being mixed with fire. Those who are overcoming, who are now victorious over the Beast have been standing in the fire. The “sea” is completely still though there is fire.

This communicates that to protect His people from the Beast,from the time of wrath, and from the woman who rides the Beast (religion), they must undergo the fires of judgment and purification throughout their lives. This explains the hardship and suffering believers endure. It is oddly protective for they are being saved through the fire. These fires prove our faith and reveal the quality of our work, whether it was His work or our own.

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