Seven Plagues of the End Time

Matthias Gerung, The Pouring of the Seven Bowls of Wrath / The First Six Plagues, Rev 16:1–16, c. 1530-1532 (Ottheinrich Bible, Bavarian State Library, Cgm 8010)

The Seven Plagues of the End Times and the "Seven Bowls of Wrath" form a thematic unity in the Revelation of John in the New Testament of the Bible. The vision of the seven plagues (Rev 15–16) follows the visions of the seven seals (Rev 6) and the seven trombones (Rev 8–9). The plagues emerge from the seventh trombone and are part of God's judicial action in the end times. The imaginative picture of the seven plagues takes up in a transformed form the motif of the land plagues during the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

The seven plagues are evoked by the outpouring of the seven bowls of wrath:

1. Terrible ulcers appear on those who bear the mark of the beast.
2. The sea water becomes blood and all sea creatures find death.
3. Rivers and springs become blood.
4. The Sun scorches people with great heat. The reunion of the Sun with the Earth, which began with the sounding of the seventh trombone, strives towards its completion. The Earth passes into the astral, i.e. star-like state.
5. The realm of the beast, which resists reunion with the sun, is darkened.
6. The Euphrates, one of the four rivers of paradise, dries up. The way is thus prepared for the kings from the East. Out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet come three unclean demonic spirits in the form of frogs. They perform signs and gather the kings for battle for the great day of judgement. Blessed is he who keeps his clothes, that is, spiritualises his body shells. They are the blessed multitudes whom the Lord gathers on that place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
7. The seventh angel pours out his bowl into the atmosphere. From the temple, from the throne, comes the voice: It is done! Lightning flashes, thunder rolls and a global earthquake destroys all the islands and mountains and great hail falls on the Earth. The great city falls into three parts and the cities of all nations sink in ruins. Babylon the Great appears before the thoughts of the Godhead, that the cup of wrath may be handed to her.

The four streams of paradise, the fourth of which is the Euphrates, are a symbol for the four basic astral forms of matter. They form the four elements, which is why Rudolf Steiner often calls the (lower) astral world the elementary world. The body of man is formed from the four elements, which finally descends completely to the physical plan with the Fall of man. This must now be overcome. The living thing that has passed through matter must purify itself in order to be able to ascend to a higher state.

„The four waters are the symbols of the four astral forms of matter that flow together. The waters always signify the astral in esoteric language. In esoteric language, gold is the symbol of the spiritual; the onyx is the symbol of matter going down the deepest. The onyx is the symbol of how the living must transform itself before it can be absorbed into the higher principle. The living, the prana, must pass through a state of purification; this is called the onyx state. In Goethe's "Fairy Tale", too, one finds the transformation of the pug into an onyx.“ (Lit.:GA 88, p. 222)

Literature

• Franz Tóth: Der himmlische Kult. Wirklichkeitskonstruktion und Sinnbildung in der Johannesoffenbarung, Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02427-8
• Rudolf Steiner: Über die astrale Welt und das Devachan, GA 88 (1999), ISBN 3-7274-0880-4 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.