Sep. 18, 2024

“REVELATION”

REVELATION 15:1-8

Setting The Stage Before The Final Scene:

So far, we have watched the first two acts; the seal judgments (Revelation 6:1-17; 8:1) and the trumpet judgments (8:7-9:21, 11:15).

Now the final act, the bowl judgments, is about to begin.

*The Announcement of the Seven Last Plagues On The Earth.

Revelation 15:1 “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.”

These seven judgments, John said, are “the seven last plagues.” The word “last” is the Greek word eschatos, from which we get our word eschatology, the study of last things.

Notice these judgments are called “plagues.” In the Bible a plague is a natural disaster that is supernaturally timed as a manifestation of God’s judgment. 

The word for “plagues” in Revelation 15:1 literally means “blows” or “wounds,” something swift, decisive, and destructive.

And when the final bowl is drained, “the wrath of God is complete.” vs.1 In other words, these last plagues will bring about the culmination of God’s purpose on earth; the final victory of Jesus Christ.

The word “wrath” vs.1 is the Greek word thymos, used also in 15:7. It can be translated as “anger” or “rage.”

Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

The other word translated “wrath” in Revelation is “orge” which is the expression of anger through some kind of judgment.

1 John 4:8 “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

God loves mankind, He is not willing that any should perish:

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

This doesn’t mean none will perish, but He doesn’t want that. He wants all to come to a knowledge of the truth.

But God is also a God of wrath.

Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet.”

His holy nature demands that there is payment for sin.

*The Two Songs of Praise

John now gives a vision of victory.

Revelation 15:2-4 “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.”

*The Song of Moses

The song that the tribulation saints sing was “the song of Moses, the servant of God..” vs.3. Did you know that the very first hymn in the Bible was composed by Moses? After the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea and were delivered from Pharaoh, Moses composed a hymn (Exodus 15:1-18).

*The Song of the Lamb

The tribulation saints also sang, “and the song of the Lamb…” vs.3. The song of the Lamb, is recorded Revelation 15:3-4

Notice that in neither of these songs did the martyrs refer what they did for Christ or how they overcame the beast. Rather, their music was an outburst of praise to God from the first note to the last.

*The Seven Angels With Seven Bowls

Revelation 15:5-8 “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.”

*The Coming to Earth from the Temple.

In the Old Testament, the holiest part of the temple was the holy of holies, where the high priest went in once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people.

God is now going to hold them to the standard of the law and judge there by it. He is going to judge them severely as the law allows.

*Coming To Earth with Bowls of Judgment.

John describes these angels in vs.6 as “… clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.”

The smoke that filled the temple was from the “glory” and “power” of God vs.8.

*Three Practical Truths about God’s Holiness.

What does all of this mean to us today?

1.   No One Can Approach God In His Own Righteousness.

Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”

Philippians 3:9 “And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”

2.   God’s Purposes Are Sometimes Hidden From Us.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

3.   There Is a Time When It Is Too Late To Pray.

Why did the people of Israel go to the temple, or have the priest go into the temple for them? In order to receive God’s forgiveness and help.