That is the translation from Dr. Hugo McCord. He is a member of the body of Christ and has done an excellent job, I think, in translating the New Testament, and now he has translated a number of the Psalms, as a matter of fact.

Again, we look at chapter 15, and we see the continuity there. We’re introduced in chapter 15 to these seven angels who come out of the tabernacle in heaven. As we mentioned when we were studying chapter 15, this certainly is a reference to the tabernacle that the children of Israel used for the worship of God in the desert, and of course, there is a parallel there with the temple in Jerusalem.

The seven angels are coming out of this temple in the vision that John is seeing, and they are dressed in pure white linen [15:6]. That was the dress of the priests in the ancient tabernacle, wasn’t it? It’s also the dress of those in heaven and those at the resurrection of Christ, 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.”] and Matthew 28:3 [“His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.”].

We see that one of the four living creatures gives to the seven angels the bowls (vials) that contain the wrath of God [15:7]. These bowls are to be poured out upon the disobedient, upon the hardhearted world, that has rejected all appeals from God Almighty. Therefore, the bowls are filled with the seven last plagues, and God’s wrath is completed, then, through these bowls [15:8].

At the end of chapter 15, we see that the sanctuary (or, this vision of the tabernacle, the temple in heaven, that John sees) is “filled with smoke,” [15:8], and no one is able to come into it until these plagues are poured out [“The temple was filled with the smoke from the splendor and power of God, and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”].

The figure of God’s glory filling the sanctuary with smoke comes from an Old Testament image. As a matter of fact, there are several. In Exodus 40:35, let us notice and see where this image that John sees is connected to: “And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” You see, we’re constantly going back to references in the Old Testament, seeing the consistency that is there in God’s Word in the use of figures, of images, and so on, that are consistent with the New Testament.

This is the vision that John has in this particular place, and we see that the angels come out; they are given these seven bowls that are filled with the final plagues of God. And we continue with this view in chapter 16.

THE PRONOUNCEMENT (VERSE 1)

The Pronouncement by a Loud Voice from the Temple to the Seven Angels (verse 1)

“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.’”

This voice is clearly the voice of God. We say that for a couple of reasons, none the least of which is, of course, the tabernacle, which is what is in view here (or, the image of the tabernacle), was God’s dwelling place on earth in the time of Moses when the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. It was the place of God; it was the place where God was. So, it would only be natural that it would be God’s voice coming from there.

We can also go back to chapter 15 and verse 8 and see what is says there concerning the glory of God—this is the image that John is seeing now, not necessarily going back to the Old Testament, but it is the image that John sees, and it does have to do with the glory of God [“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,” Revelation 15:8.]. So, again, what voice, other than the voice of God, would be coming out of this image of the temple?