Today we will look at chapter 15 in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the shortest chapter in the book. Only 7 chapters left. Even in an intense book like Revelation, it’s amazing how fast you can accomplish a deep study of God’s Word if you just stick with it. A little every day and you get farther than you think.
Chapter 15 is a “setup” chapter in that it sets us up for chapter 16. Thus far we have seen a series of sevens in God’s judgement upon the unbelievers left on the Earth. We have seen the seven seals opened, each resulting in it’s own specific wrath of God. We have seen seven angels blowing seven trumpets, each resulting in a terrible judgement from God in His rigteousness. We then saw the seven personalities, including these three; the dragon (satan), the first beast (political antichrist), and the second beast (religious antichrist.) So, in maintaining God’s pattern we will now come to God’s final series of judgments upon an unbelieving mankind that continues to reject Him. These will be the last and the worst. God’s final judgment will be the seven bowls which contain seven plagues upon mankind.
Let’s look at the events in chapter 15 which will lead up to the pouring out of the bowls on the world in chapter 16.
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.”
15:1-2 – “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.”
John has a lot going on in the book of Revelation and He is constantly being bombarded with new sights, new visions, and new experiences. I can only imagine. It makes me think of the old saying “having your head on a swivel.” We see here that His attention was commanded yet again as he “saw another sign, great and amazing.” What a job John had, to document all that He saw in the Heaven and on Earth during this great event.
He sees a sea of glass mingled with fire. This is more than likely the same sea of glass that he sees in the throne room back in Rev 4:6. But this time it is mingled with fire. Fire represents the judgment of God. Judgement had not been unleashed in chapter 4, but here in chapter 15 God’s judgement is rampant. In this scene he sees seven angels holding seven plagues. These seven plagues will be God’s last and most tragic for mankind. And folks, if you have been with me for the entire study of this book, that is saying something. We have seen some downright terrible, horrible events unleashed on an unbelieving world that persistently rejects Jesus Christ. But the worst is yet to come. We also see here, those that accepted Christ during the reign of the antichrist. They refused the beast, it’s number, and it’s image. They stood fast and held Christ close as their Lord, and here they stand in the presence of Christ in Heaven. What a joy to see God’s promises ring true to these that have suffered so greatly for His name. And what are they doing? Playing harps and singing to the Lord. Have you ever been so happy you just sang or whistle a tune? Have you ever been so joyful in the Lord that you just sing a song directly to Him? What a great place for your heart to be!
15:3-4 - “ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
And what did they sing? They sang the song of Moses. In the book of Exodus when God parted the Red Sea it was a massive miracle to the entire Israelite nation. They were minutes away from getting slaughtered by the entire Egyptian army! But God parted the sea and they crossed over safely, all 2 million of them. As they got to the other side, God closed up the sea and destroyed the entire Egyptian army; men, horses, chariots, and all. The people were so relieved and so thankful to God, they simply sang. They sang the song of Moses. Their hearts were full of thanks to God and it flowed from their mouths. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt 12:34b)
15:5-6 – “After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests.”
After this John sees the temple (tent of witness) opened and out come the seven angels with the seven bowls of plagues. The holy of holies in the temple was where God resided in the OT. Therefore, the angels receive these plagues directly from God. It’s important to note again that the judgments, plagues, and disasters that befall the world during the great tribulation are not from satan, from man, or some mere “accidental mother natural disaster." These are judgments directly from God to an unbelieving, prideful world that is in rebellion towards Him and His salvation through Jesus Christ. The seven angels were in pure white which represents God’s holiness and purity. Being the glorious and holy servants of God they had golden sashes adorning their splendid white linen.
15:7-8 – “And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.”
We see here once again, the four living creatures. We saw these guys back in our original introduction to the throne room in Rev 4:6-9. These are battle ready cherubim that have been assisting in the execution of the judgements. Here one of them is responsible for handing out the seven plagues. During this process the sanctuary was filled with smoke. Smoke represents the presence of God. As the Israelites wandered through the desert, heading towards the promised land, they followed a pillar of smoke that was the picture of God for them.
We have now seen the complete setup that will move us into the delivery or the “pouring out” of the seven bowls of plagues in chapter 16. The plagues are horrible, intense, personal afflictions upon the people that still refuse to repent and call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior. Their refusal to believe will come at a cost that is unimaginable.
Have a blessed day walking in the steps of the Lord! ~ Dan
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