Objectives in Studying this Chapter:
1) To see how the stage is set for the final outpouring of God’s wrath upon the beast and upon those who followed him
2) To note the comforting scene of those victorious over the beast praising God for His righteous judgment
A Brief Introduction
Chapter 15contains to major visions. It will also form, then, something of a background for what we are going to see in chapters 16 and following, that is, the pouring out of the “seven bowls,” or, depending on your translation, the “seven vials,” of God’s wrath upon the earth.
PRELUDE TO THE SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH (VERSES 1-4)
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.’”
A Great and Marvelous Sign in Heaven (verses 1-2)
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.”
As this chapter begins, notice verse 1: “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.” Well, here we go! Here, it’s going to come! We’re going to see it!
But wait a minute. There’s a bit of an interruption. Instead of seeing this vision continue on with the seven angels and the seven bowls, or, the seven vials, John sees something else.
We notice here that these two visions are conveniently divided between verses 2, 3 and 4 and then verses 5, 6, 7 and 8. These are the two dividing points in this chapter. So, let’s take a look at the first vision that John has.
THE FIRST VISION
This vision anticipates the final triumph of those who have come out of the persecution and the suffering. It extols, we see here, the justice and the righteousness of God, and it documents, or, exalts, the results of those final outpourings of God’s wrath and judgment upon the evil world.
The Sea of Glass
Verse 2: “2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.”
John sees here what resembles “a sea of glass” reflecting the flashing fire, like a glassy floor. This may be the symbol of God’s glory, or, it may symbolize the final judgments of God about to fall on men.
Those who are victorious—victorious over the beast and over his image and his mark—are standing on this sea of glass, having harps of God. There’s some symbolism that can be seen here, again, related back to the Old Testament, Exodus 15, like the ancient Israelites who, by God’s Own providence, had been delivered from the Egyptians.
These ones, who have overcome the beast, who have overcome Satan, if you will, come forth in their victorious “exodus” from the world, and they sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb.
Singing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb (verses 3-4)
“3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.’”
The song of Moses, of course, in the Old Testament is found there in Exodus 15, verses 2 through 19. However, the words of the song in this chapter, Revelation 15, are not a quote from Exodus 15—not at all! Rather, this song is a combination of parts of the Old Testament, mainly from the Psalms and the prophets. Now, in mentioning the “song of Moses” and the “song of the Lamb” together, it appears that the faithful of both the Old and the New Covenants are here included.
God’s works and God’s ways are justified in this song as “just and true.” Notice again the words of this song of Moses and the Lamb. They are very beautiful, very powerful: “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify YOUR Name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You….”
That word there, that’s translated “true,” has the meaning of genuine, in the sense of there being no sham, no falsity—absolutely, utterly true. As the only true and holy God, all men shall reverence Him; all men shall glorify Him; “all NATIONS shall come and worship before” Him. They shall ultimately acknowledge and honor His sovereignty.
One is reminded of the statement of Paul in which he says that all men shall acknowledge “that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2 and verse 11 [“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:9-11.]. Why should all nations come and worship before God? Verse 4 answers the question. Why should all nations come and worship before God? “For YOU alone are holy.”
God’s “judgments have been manifested” to all nations. All will acknowledge the justice of God’s righteous acts and judgments.
In looking at this song, we are struck with the fact that these singing victors praise God’s greatness, and rightfully so. But notice that they call no attention, at all, to their own victory, or, triumph. They lose themselves in adoration, in the praise of God, Whose justice has vindicated them and Whose merciful love has redeemed them eternally. What a beautiful thought! What a beautiful scene this is! And to think that WE will be a part of that! How wonderful to think that WE will be among those singing “the song of Moses…and the song of the Lamb!”
SEVEN ANGELS AND SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH (VERSES 5-8)
“After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. 7 Then 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 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”
After having seen and heard the glorious song of triumph of those who had been victorious over the beast, we see that “the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven” is being opened [verse 5]. This expression, “tabernacle of the testimony,” is a common Old Testament expression for the ancient tabernacle. It was called this because it contained the Ark of the Covenant, and inside the Ark of the Covenant, as we know, were the tablets of testimony of the Ten Commandments—that’s where they were kept.
And we see that the seven angels coming out of the temple are arrayed “in pure white linen,” [verse 6]. That’s reminiscent of the dress of the priests who attended at the tabernacle. They, too, were dressed in white linen. Also, it is the “dress” of those in heaven. And at the resurrection of Christ, that is the attire that is designated of the angel, Mark 16:5 [“And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.”], Matthew 28:3 [“His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.”].
“One of the four living creatures”gives “to the seven angels” the “bowls,” or, “the vials” that contain “the wrath of God,” [verse 7]. These “bowls” will be poured out upon the disobedient and the hardhearted of the world—those who have rejected all of the appeals of Almighty God. Therefore, the bowls are filled the seven last plagues, and God’s wrath is, thus, completed through them [verse 8: “The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”].
This word that is variously translated “bowl” or “vial” actually describes a shallow bowl that was used for holding incense, or for a drink offering that could be poured out.
The sanctuary [“temple”], is says, is filled with smoke, and no one is able to come into it until these plagues are poured out. The figure of God’s glory filling the sanctuary with smoke, once again, is an image that comes from the Old Testament For example, Isaiah 6:4 [Isaiah 6:1-4: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!’ 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.”], Ezekiel 10:4 [“Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory.”] and 2 Chronicles 7:2-3 [“And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. 3 When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: ‘For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.’”].
Probably, the fact that no one could enter into the temple until these plagues were fulfilled symbolizes the fact that God’s righteous purpose will be fulfilled. In other words, nothing will be able to interrupt; nothing will be able to dissuade, to take the place of, what will be God’s final Judgment and God’s final wrath being poured out.
This 15th chapter is not so much an interlude, but it is sort of the introduction to what we’re going to begin seeing in chapter 16, and that will be these “seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God Who lives forever and ever.”
In chapter 16, we will do some comparison between the seven bowls and the seven trumpets.