REVELATION CHAPTER 15
TRANSLATION
v 1 and I saw another sign in heaven, great and wondrous, seven angels, having seven plagues, the last because in them is fulfilled the wrath of God.
v 2 and I saw like a sea, glass blended with fire, and the overcomers of the beast, and of its image, and of the number of its name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
v. 3 and they are singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God Almighty! And righteous and true are Your ways, O King of the Nations!
v. 4 Who does not fear, Lord, and glorify your name, who alone is holy, that all nations shall come and worship before you, for your righteousnesses, are revealed (brought to light).
COMMENTARY
v 1 The term fulfilled means complete, from the root telos, to fulfill, to finish (John 19:30; James 1:15).
v 2 Harps again, see 5:8. Victory is guaranteed (13:7, 15; Isa 25:8; 1 Cor 15:54-55). The sea of Glass is discussed in 4:6. Fire is fiery red. Since the “overcomers” are in heaven, they seem to overcome by not following the Beast or taking his mark, and, therefore, suffering the death penalty. They are standing on the sea of glass. In the Old Testament temple, priests would wash in the “brass sea” before entering the presence of God. Here, the sea is crystal, see-through, conveying light, and they are standing on it. They no longer need to be washed. They’ve been washed in the blood of the Lamb and they are clean.
vv 3-4 the phrase translated in King James as king of saints is more likely King of Ages, or nations. The song of Moses (songs of Moses) are seen in Exo 15:1-19 just after the Lord saved Israel from Egypt and lead them through the Red Sea; Deut 32:1-43 just before Moses’ death, and Ps 90. The song of the Lamb is different. What is the song Jesus would sing? This song is in four sections: the praise of God’s works, ways, holiness, and righteousnesses. The Greek word for song is Ode, but this is not an Ode following ancient Greek tradition.
DEVOTIONAL
A Song about God and His Works & Ways
Works
God’s works are evident. He created the universe-that’s a good start. He spoke to people from Adam & Eve, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, through Moses, David, and the Prophets. He delivered Israel from slavery, supported them in battles against those who attacked them, blessed the land for the sake of His people, and brought judgment on those who left Him and His ways (more on His ways in a moment). Then He spoke to us and revealed His works most clearly through Jesus. Jesus, born of a virgin, healing, delivering, casting out demons, teaching truth and goodness, blessing, sacrificing Himself for our sins and rising from the dead, revealed the works of God. But the works of God are only part of the story-those works are built on His Ways-His Nature.
Ways
Moses said to God “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you” (Exodus 33). “that I may know You”. Apparently, Moses got his wish. David wrote in one of his songs “He made known his ways to Moses, his works to the people of Israel” (Psalm 103). The people of Israel knew God’s works, but Moses knew His ways. Paul said “I want to know Him . . .” (Philippians 3). John taught that knowing God and His ways has consequences: We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person (1 John 1). The Way of Christ was complete obedience to the Father. To know His ways is to know the way of daily simple immediate obedience to the gentle impulses of the Holy Spirit. Speaking of Holy Spirit, one aspect of God’s nature, as well as His calling on us, is holiness.
Holiness
What is holiness? Maybe understanding what it is not can help us grasp what it is. It is not a fashion statement-what you wear or don’t (though I think some recent fashion conventions may be difficult for a saint to accept for him or herself). Holiness is not the use of cue words like “brother” and “praise the Lord!” as a greeting. Holiness is the not the opportunity we take whenever possible to belittle others who may not be quite as spiritual as we think we are.
A few things about holiness:
1) holiness and sainthood are associated. Paul, John, Peter-all the writers of the epistles, refer to people in the church as saints. You don’t have to go through any ecclesiastical ceremony or investigation to discover if you’re a saint. You are a saint-one set apart to God’s service-if you believe in and follow Jesus. It’s that simple.
2) Holiness, as often said, does have something to do with being set apart for special, spiritual purposes. It also has something to do with being different. God is holy. In fact the Cherubim in Isaiah 6 call out to each other that He is Holy, Holy, Holy. The repeated emphasis on His holiness is central to understanding who He is.
For us, I think the illustration of the salmon applies. The salmon has to swim upstream, against the current, to get home to its spawning pond. In other words, for the fish to be fruitful and reproduce it has work against the current of everything around it. Holiness is like that. It’s swimming against the current of the day, even the current sometimes exerted against you by Christian friends who sometimes use their influence to motivate you to do things you know are not pleasing to God. It means handling situations and arguments differently than the world, and even differently from the way you’ve seen your Christian family respond. It means skipping, when necessary, the examples and mentoring of this world, and looking directly to Jesus as our model. If you are holy, truly a saint, great joy and reward come along for the ride. But rejection and crucifixion will also loom on your horizon. For if you embrace the judgments of God instead of the judgments of man, man will judge you. But it’s better to embrace His judgments anyway.
Righteousnesses
What do you think of when you think of “righteous”?
I think of a character, maybe a petulant character, someone who thinks well of himself because of what he won’t do. But that is not the biblical idea of righteousness. Righteousness is less about what you don’t do as what you do. When you face a difficult situation and do the right thing, that’s righteous. You see someone stranded on the side of the road and stop to help, that’s right. That’s righteous. You are in an argument and you defer, say the kind thing, are patient and work to bring a resolution, that’s righteous. You see two people fighting and you help them make peace, that’s righteous. You work to make a place beautiful for all those who will visit, that’s right. That’s righteousness. Righteousness isn’t merely being right, nor is it merely avoiding doing wrong. It is active, working out what is right. God deserves our praise because of His righteousnesses, and His righteous acts are far more than we can know, let alone count or list.
For all these reasons and more, we join with the Overcomers, and Moses and Jesus and worship, singing to Him who sit’s on the throne.
Prayer for Today
Father
We glorify you. Thank you for your goodness, your truth, your character, your actions, your never-failing greatness and right.
Thank you, Lord, that when everything and everyone around us seems to be unreliable, you are ALWAYS all-ways faithful.
We bless You, LORD. Make our lives a blessing to You
In Christ Jesus we pray
Amen!
