Revelation 15

Revelation 15 – 2025 Jun 05

This chapter serves as a bridge for those interested in music. It is a transition between the previous scenes of terror that are happening on the Earth with what is taking place in Heaven at the moment, and you can imagine there is a vast difference in tone and setting. We will see this as we go through the text of the chapter. John tells us that this is a sign [σημεῖον from the text] seen in the heavens, and it is μέγα καὶ θαυμαστόν, or great and marvellous, as it says in the NASB. This text has been used before, in Revelation 12; the woman was also a great and marvellous sign (12:1) and so was the dragon (12:3). As these signs pointed to significant events with meanings, so also is this sign. We will say more as we go through the text.

What this chapter introduces is the final set of judgments that complete (a form of telios) the wrath of God upon a sinful earth that will not turn from their path of death, even with warnings. Some translations call these the vial judgements, some the censer judgements, some the bowl judgements, and there are differences to this, and a very particular word is used; we will look at that, it has implications for the meanings when they are actually deployed. We will see it in the text.

To this point in this history of the future, we have seen the initial seal judgments, all of them the beginning of the wrath of God, that final set of events that will take seven years to complete once they begin in earnest. Somewhere before this begins, there will be an event described by Paul with the word harpazo, in which all actual believers, those who trust in or rely on the Lord Jesus for their salvation from their own sin and walk in the sanctification that results from that justification will be, in Paul’s own words, “…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…” rescued from this present evil age and changed to be like our Lord Jesus Christ in character forever. We will, as real believers, be removed from the path of all of this wrath which we now study. I mention this because this absolutely horrifying account of what will happen on earth can bring about depression and anxiety in a real sense, not just the snowflake version of those things (depression and anxiety). With everything from cosmic disturbances in the heavens to what read like meteorite strikes and worse on the planet, and the wars, and the persecutions of the believers of that time, not to mention the release of demonic armies on earth, people who will not turn to God will experience real uncertainty, leading to that longing to hide from the falling punishment, or even die to avoid it, which we know will not work. There is no escaping destiny. You will be saved, or you will be judged, and you have some say in either outcome while you live. I know, that sounds weird coming from a Calvinist, but the Doctrines of Grace never nullify the responses of humanity to obey the commands of God. Lest you make this to be works salvation, I’m not sure that qualifies if you are obeying (or conversely disobeying) a command of the Creator.

As we begin this evening, our view shifts from the horrors that men are experiencing on the Earth to the things that are happening in Heaven, and next study, we will see how the two are connected as the bowls of wrath are poured out on the earth. Let’s see what this study shows us. I broke down the chapter as follows:

KV7: Preparations for Final Judgment

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.

1-2: The Angels and Saints Praise God

3-4: The Song of Moses and the Lamb

5-8: Preparations for Final Judgment

This is not really an interlude of time, I get the sense this is more of a time of preparation for the coming outpouring of wrath. This is not a pause, this is like the final intake of breath before plunging into the activity that is about to begin. It is a short time, maybe just moments, unlike that pause of half an hour in Revelation 6. Certainly, there was time enough to sing a song, the activity of the first half of this chapter. Let’s get into the chapter.

KV7: Preparations for Final Judgment

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.

As I said a minute ago, this is a moment for preparation. The scene shifts from what is happening on the Earth, a horrific battle, and that being a prelude for even more horror about to arrive in real time there, to a heavenly scene of peace and worship, but with the same subject matter related to both. While the saints and angels in Heaven are praising God for who He is and what He has done (and is doing), preparations are being made for even worse things to occur on Earth than what appears to be what I will call “World War Last.” It isn’t the absolute last one, that will be a thousand years hence from this point, but it will be the most terror-inducing one humanity has ever seen, and probably the one with the most on the line, in terms of eternity lost or won. In the words of the fictional Jean-Luc Picard from First Contact, “The Line must be drawn here!” Let’s look in on the happenings in the text, where we see a very specific group of angels.

1-2: The Angels and Saints Praise God

These angels are the angels that will pour the judgment of God over the Earth at the command of God. They are not random angels, they are specifically identified. They are chosen (elect) angels, chosen by God for this specific action at this specific time, and they are enabled by God and specifically commanded by Him alone to perform their tasks. Let’s get into the text. There is a lot to cover here. I apologize if this is fast and heavy, but if you could hold questions until the end, I would appreciate it. Write them down if you have to.

1: Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

ἄλλο σημεῖον, Another sign. Mega kai thaumaston, great (large or significant) and marvellous (awe-inspiring, the object that causes awe or marvelling). John had to pause to appreciate the greatness of the awe it inspired long enough to write that down. What was the awe-inspiring sight?
It was the seven angels that carried the final seven plagues to be unleashed on sinful humanity. That word “plague” is somewhat of a transliteration from the Greek word πληγὰς, the accusative feminine plural noun, which means (significantly, I think) “wounds” or in older parlance, “stripes.” That bit in Isaiah 53:5, that says “And by His scourging we are healed”? It is about to be repaid. These “scourgings,” or deliberately inflicted wounds as a form of torture during punishment, will be met, stroke for stroke or better. He came and we made Him suffer, inflicting upon “He who knew no sin” the punishment WE should have had to endure. 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “He [God the Father] made Him who knew no sin [God the Son] was made to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [God].” What if that great (mega) gift were NOT accepted? Well, then, that price must be paid in full by any means necessary by each individual choosing to pay in that fashion. The bad news here is that none of us can possibly pay the amount required. We looked last time at the amount of wrath the grapes produced, and we saw that it was at least three orders of magnitude beyond what each individual person could pay. That’s a thousand times more than we can pay. And for those who WILL not pay, but instead criminally continue their mad pursuit of their rebellion against a holy God that requires this payment, He will demand vengeance. A common word for this today is “reparations,” although not completely. Vengeance, or satisfaction, for the crimes committed against the Great Judge Himself. Here is what He says about that in Deuteronomy 32:35: “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.” In context, the Lord is ACTUALLY speaking of final judgement on Humanity as a whole! You can look it up! And this is not the only place He says this. The Apostle Paul tells us in his epistle to the Romans in chapter 12, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’ says the Lord.” (v.19) Does anyone care to guess where that verse is being quoted from in the Old Testament? If you said Deuteronomy 32:35, you would be correct. The writer of Hebrews says so as well in 10:30: “For we know Him who said, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.’ And again, ‘THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.’” That second quotation in this verse is from Deuteronomy 32:36, the immediately following verse!
The plagues are always compared with the plagues from Egypt during the beginning of what is called the “exodus” from Egypt, where God brought them out of captivity by the Egyptians (a type of enslavement to sin in the world in the Old Testament). They probably should be compared directly, and we will do that in the next study, because that is chapter 16. We aren’t there yet, this is just an introduction to the topic here.
What the verse does tell us is that these seven plagues will be the last of the punishing wrath being poured out in a full flow from the judgment tank (forgive the firefighting analogy, it is how I think of this). It says that in them (the plagues) that the wrath of God is “finished” in the NASB. This is translated from ἐτελέσθη in the text, the passive aorist verb in the indicative 3rd person singular. This is a form of the word Telios, to be completed or perfected depending on context. Here, I think “finished” fits the bill, completed, filled up, done, all of those fit. It is literally the perfection of the wrath of God in the literary sense. This will happen when the last bowl is poured out in the next chapter. This scene is simply introducing the angels who will administer the pouring of the bowls.

2: And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

Although I am certain that I introduced this topic when we went through Hebrews, I will reintroduce it here. For everything that was present in the Earthly Temple, there is a corresponding reality in Heaven. This would be like the brazen (brass) laver in the tent where the priests washed for ceremonial duties. We have seen before the throne a sea of glass (Rev. 4:6), and this may in fact be the same sea. At least one of the commentaries referenced that it is connected to the baptism of water and the Spirit that is common to all those who will be priests to God (meaning us), but I see something additional. The Sea, from time immemorial, has always represented chaos and darkness, a place of terror and death for men who breathe air. This is transparent and like glass. There is nothing that holds terror for God, and there is nothing hidden from Him. The purified and glorified saints, believers that now stand on the surface of that sea of glass, are now above it and beyond its power and dangers. The mixed with fire part of this is new to this verse, and perhaps represents the trials that they went through while they were on Earth.
I think that largely because of the description of what is in the next phrase, because it is referencing those who were victorious over the beast and his image and his mark (the number of his name). What victory did they have? How did these triumph? We read this in chapter 12:11: “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” They remained faithful to Christ even though such faith cost them their lives. They knew the truth of Christ, and they told everyone about it…in fact, they probably had to kill them to shut them up. It is THESE who were standing on the sea of glass, given harps by that God to whom they remained faithful. This is their first performance on the Heavenly stage, and it is significant enough to have the angels’ accompaniment.

I know, I know, I tend to see everything in terms of concerts and firefighting and sales, and weird theological concepts. Sorry, friends, you get me. I have been involved in all of those things in my life, and more. Those of you who have known me since university probably already know that. Moving on.

3-4: The Song of Moses and the Lamb

Okay, those of you who know Scripture know the song of Moses is in Exodus 15. It isn’t quite the same, but its theme is the very same in that the people had just been miraculously rescued from the world (by type then or in reality here) by the same God that rescued them in either case, and in both cases, it is reason to sing! Let’s look.

3: And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!

“They” refers here primarily to the saints standing on the sea of glass, but there is no reason to exclude the angels that will pour the bowls. These sand the song of Moses, the δούλου [slave] of God. What does Moses sing about? How the horse and his rider have been cast into the sea. At least that’s the section that the cross-reference is referring to. The evil one [Pharaoh] that is relentlessly pursuing has been removed from the now-disallowed pursuit of the children of Israel. Compare that to these saints now standing on the surface of the sea of glass mixed with fire. The Devil and his son of destruction, the Antichrist, have been, in the very battle that raged below, disallowed to pursue the servants of God, the tribulation saints. Yes, they have died, but they still live in God’s presence, far beyond the reach and influence of the evil that they perpetrate upon the people left on earth, even at this late hour.
These also sing the song of the Lamb. There are many verses of these songs, and the verse that is referenced here is in Rev. 5:9-10, which reads, “And they *sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.’” The Song of the Lamb correctly references that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world, has died in our place, and that He will rescue each one that turns to Him in repentance and faith from the hands of the evil pursuit of the devil and his angels.
They sing out the chorus, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!” They praise the King of the Universe for who He is and for what He has done! True worship is seen here, in Spirit and in truth, just as the Lord said we would worship Him. Hallelujah!

4: “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”

Jeremiah knew a verse, and they sing that. Jeremiah 10:7 reads, “Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.” The second part of the verse is in Psalm 86:9, which says, “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name.” Isaiah echoes in the 66th chapter in his book, “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me, says the LORD.” There will not be a time when all of humanity will cease in the worship and praise of our Lord God Almighty as He reigns. Why do the nations all come to worship before the King of the Universe? Because His righteous acts have been revealed. How? He reveals His works in and through His people! It says in Rev. 19:8, “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” The Apostle Paul tells us. In Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

See the importance of His people in His plan. He has created Humanity with great purpose. He is willing that all obey His command to turn to Him in repentance and faith. However, God is a perfect gentleman with perfect manners. He will not force anyone to do so because His manners are perfect. Instead, He will make His love known through those that He calls as servants, who will turn to Him in that same repentance and faith, as they tell of His love for fallen man and how He died in our place to pay all that is needed to turn to Him and be truly set free from the sinful nature we are all saddled with at birth. Never forget that even in judgment, God loves His people supremely. For the rebels that will not turn to Him, however, His wrath will fall on them and crush them like grapes until all of His wrath is wrung out, as we saw last time. This brings us to our last thought unit.

5-8: Preparations for Final Judgment

Here we begin to see the final intake of breath before the expenditure of effort. Like a wrestler getting ready to compete in the finals, it’s all on the line. To give himself the best chance for victory, He begins to make slow, deep inhalations to oxygenate his blood for the final effort toward victory. The only difference here is that the final victory is not in question. It is already won, and with the overwhelming power of God. That being what it is, the enemy and his servants have no chance, no matter their rage or skill. And what is the first thing we see? The Temple in Heaven begins to open up! Let’s see.

5: After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,

Here is another use of μετὰ ταῦτα. After these things. It is a kind of timestamping statement. It marks a transition from what is happening previously to what is about to happen. The new event (which we will see in chapter 16 starting next time) begins here. Before the starter pistol goes off, there is the final preparation of the runner. That is what we see here, as I have mentioned. I tried to use an example from my own past, but it’s limited. I was a fighter, not a runner. The starter pistol idea was too good an analogy to pass up.
What does John notice when he looks? The ναὸς τῆς σκηνῆς, that is, the temple of the tent of testimony, begins to open up. I see this as both good and bad news. The good news is that the Lord Jesus is about to return to establish His kingdom from the seat of David on Earth. The bad news is that God is now opening up the tent to establish and execute His wrath on all sin and those who commit it everywhere. This will be a fight to the finish, and only one will walk away. This will be God and His servants. I know because I peeked at the ending, but so have we all.

6: and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes.

Who steps out of the newly opened temple in Heaven? Seven Angels who were given seven plagues, chosen for this exact task from before the world began. These were equipped for these tasks by God Himself from His very Throne. They are clothed in λίνον! Yes, the word linen is a transliteration from the Greek! The word itself means “flax,” which was puzzling until I saw this in Vine: “…“linen,” in Rev. 15:6, KJV; the best texts have lithos, “stone,”…” Stone? What does that mean? The Greek word lithos (Heb., ‘eben אֶבֶן). Means stone, but specifically a movable stone, usually made into figurines or jewelry. This stone clothing is “clean and bright” in the text, and the Greek gives some insight. Clean, or καθαρὸν, means without impurity. Bright, or λαμπρὸν, means shining, brilliant, sparkling. Clothing here is given all the properties of a bright, shining diamond. Around their chest is a golden sash, indicative of royal authority. These are servants of the Most High God, breathtaking to behold! These are shining beings coming out of a shining temple from a shining God in all of His glory.

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.

And one of the four Seraphim we met in Revelation 4 equips these seven angels, doubtless at the command of God, with the exact tools they need to perform their duty as ordered by the Ancient of Days. This living being gives them each a golden bowl. Now, some translations use the word “vials,” which is a transliteration, but has come to mean a different kind of container today. A phial or vial is a long, cylindrical container usually containing a liquid of some kind, usually perfume today. In the days John wrote this, a φιάλας was a bowl, and a shallow one, suggesting one that would be able to have its contents rapidly emptied or expelled. Vine says, “The emptying of the ‘bowls’ betokens the final series of judgments in which this exercise of the wrath of God is ‘finished’…” As we have gone along, it seems like the judgments speed up in delivery with respect to the gap between them. With the seals, the seal would be opened, and the words it was sealing would need to be read out for all to hear. This takes time and is important because it will contain conditions and terms of inheritance. The trumpets would involve less time, but there is still the pomp that surrounds the angel raising the trumpet to his lips and sounding for a moment. These bowls are fast in that all that needs to be done is step up to a location and dump them out. This can be done in rapid succession. That kind of kill shot is now upon the planet, which, if you have been following along, has received at least three (I argue 12) to this point. My thought here is that each judgment is a kill shot aimed specifically at some aspect of sin and those who practice it. More on this with the bowl judgments, I think.

8: And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

Now the temple begins to fill with the smoke of His presence. We see it in a number of places, starting in Sodom, where the smoke of the city was a representation of this wrath of God. It obscured the Father as He placed Moses in the cleft of the rock as He passed by Him, and Moses saw His glory. The cloud by day (smoke?) and fire (with smoke) by night! According to 2 Sam. 22:9, that smoke came from His nostrils in anger! I don’t know if that is metaphorical or not, but I have no wish to find out. How about what Isaiah saw in the temple? He saw the Lord, and the temple was filling with the smoke of His presence. The Seraphim (the living creatures) called out Holy! Holy! Holy! And Isaiah saw his own end imminent. He was a man of unclean lips, from a people of unclean lips, and an angel with a coal from the altar touched his lips and made Isaiah clean. This smoke of the Glory of God is a reflection of His mercy at every single burnt sacrifice, as He remembers what His Son had committed to do, and ultimately did on our behalf in dying in our place to pay the price for our sins.
Interestingly, this smoke of His glory filled the temple, and no one was able to enter the temple where He is until the end of the plagues, with which these angels will strike the Earth. We will see those next time, but even with those horrible and deadly judgments, the mercy of God is reflected in an attempt to show men they must turn from their sinful ways even at this late hour in history.

Now is the moment. The preparations are made. Breathing is regulated. Actions are ready. It’s all over but the crying, to use a phrase. Buckle up, we’re in for a terrifying ride.

That’s what I saw in the chapter. Next time, we will look at Rev. 16:1-4, the first three judgments of the bowls, the final wrath of God.