Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
We come tonight to the Fifteenth Chapter of Revelation. In just a few weeks from now, it will be Thanksgiving and in just 7 weeks from now, it will be Christmas. Those wonderful days of celebration and festivities will be here and gone. There is more work in preparation in the anticipation of these days than there is the actual celebration they entail. There is something powerful about the eve of these holidays - be it the arrival of family, cooking some of the meals, traveling to go somewhere, or the candlelight service on Christmas eve. The eve of these holidays signals a significant shift in our homes and our culture.
Similarly, chapter 15 is in some respects the eve of the coming seven bowl judgments of God. As we will see tonight, for the world, the situation is bad, but for the redeemed, the situation is astounding and worthy of rejoicing. Now, you may be sitting here thinking, how can there be rejoicing over the pouring of God’s wrath on man that is a worldly vantage point? From the throne of heaven, it is victorious and perfect.
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And 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 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. (Revelation 15:1-8)
It is important to understand the character of God and one of the critical characteristics is His holy and perfect judgments. Hebrews 10:31 “31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Over centuries of time, God has warned that the day will come. There have been plenty of warnings and previews of this day. The Bible calls it, “The Day of the Lord.:
The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. (Joel 2:31)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Peter 3:10)
Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. (Isaiah 13:9)
The purpose of this day is when He will pour out His final judgment over unbelieving, unrepentant, and sinful man. For those of us in heaven, it will be solemnly good. God’s judgment will be perfect and in its perfection, we will look upon it as just and good.
It’s important to understand that the judgment of God comes in various forms. For instance, we are as a nation under God’s judgment for our apostasy. We see that in the current state of our leadership and the condition of our land. This is a biblical pattern as seen with Egypt, Sodom & Gomorrah, and even Israel.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse...And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:20, 28)
There is also a personal judgment that will happen in the life of the believer. We are told we are to practice self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28), that God will purify the Body of Christ (Matthew 16:15-17), and there are times when God will discipline the believer (Hebrews 12:5-6). This is a purifying judgment in the life of the believer or to beckon an unbeliever into the hand of God.
Revelation and especially beginning in Revelation 15 is describing the final judgment of God - the outpouring of His wrath - as a means of execution and God’s final vanquishment or deliverance of evil from His creation. This is where we are tonight. After every warning possible is given, the end of fallen human history is on the horizon in this period called the Tribulation.
God is calling sinners now to repent and prepare for the coming of His Kingdom. God is calling sinners to salvation today. He has provided every warning of the day that has come with 144,000, the two witnesses, the angels preaching from heaven day and night. Today He has the remnant church calling out to the world before the sounding of the Rapture’s Trumpet. 2 Cor 6:2 “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. (Revelation 15:1)
This is the third time John tells us he sees a sign in heaven. The first was the image of a woman that represented Israel (12:1). The second immediately followed; Satan in the form of a red dragon (12:3). This third sign is the angels of destruction with seven final plagues (15:1). Seven angels were given seven bowls from which they would pour out the seven “bowl judgments,” the wrath of God, the last plagues to be visited upon the earth. They will be used to destroy Satan, bring the final and complete punishment upon wickedness, and bring about the end of the Antichrist’s reign—it will settle the issue of sin once and for all.
The purpose of the Great Tribulation is judgment is not for the purifying of the church. God is going to remove the church before this time of tribulation because of His marvelous, infinite grace. The bowls of wrath are not the “blessed hope” for which believers are looking. No, we are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). You won’t be going through this terrible time. But you need to know what the unsaved will have to go through, so that might make you a zealous witness for Christ.
Now, Angels have many different functions and purposes. Among them are they serve the saints - they are ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of the Church. They are also used to execute God’s judgment. If you were to go to Matthew 13 you will find Jesus using parables to explain the depiction of God’s judgment and you will see how angels will play a role in the final reaping and judging of the earth. We have seen how angles blew the 7 Trumpets and now they are going to pour out the 7 bowls.
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:2–4)
Throughout the Scriptures, we see pictures of how God’s wrath and His mercy are often manifested together in one event. Here are just a few examples:
• The flood poured out God’s wrath while at the same time demonstrating God’s mercy to Noah
• When God poured out His wrath on Sodom and Gomorrah, he showed mercy to Lot and his family.
• In the Exodus from Egypt, the waters of the Red Sea served to bring God’s wrath on the Egyptian soldiers while at the same time providing mercy to the Hebrews. (John Lowe)
This is an important concept that we have seen repeatedly throughout the Old Testament prophets and in our journey through Revelation. We have often seen that the same event serves to both pour out God’s wrath on the ungodly while at the same time providing a demonstration of God’s mercy for the godly.
For those who have placed their faith in Jesus, we have these comforting words regarding God’s wrath: 1 Thes 5:9 “9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
You will see that they sang the song of Moses here, but there’s the added mention that they sang the song of the Lamb. There are great parallels between how God used Moses to deliver Israel out of slavery from Egypt and how Jesus delivers us out of the slavery of sin. So it is not surprising that they are included together here.
Exodus 15 is probably the most well-known song that was sung after the Pharoah and his army were swallowed up by the Red Sea.
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:1–2)
We also learned of the song of the Lamb found here in Revelation 5:12-13 “12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Look at the Parallels here: The song of Moses was sung at the Red Sea. The song of the Lamb is sung at the crystal sea. The song of Moses was a song of triumph over Egypt. The song of the Lamb is a song of triumph over Babylon. The song of Moses told how God brought His people out. The song of the Lamb tells how God brings His people in. The song of Moses was the first song in Scripture. The song of the Lamb is the last. The song of Moses commemorated the execution of the foe, the expectation of the saints, and the exaltation of the Lord. And the song of the Lamb deals with the same three issues. God’s faithfulness, God’s deliverance of His own, and judgment of the ungodly. (MacArthur)
Even though they have been through the Great Tribulation, they are praising God; they are exalting Him, and they are announcing that His ways are right!
There is no hint of any complaints at all in heaven as this final judgment comes. From Heaven’s perspective, they see that God’s ways have been right all along, and they are singing God’s praise. That is what we will do as well.
Augustine, the great 5th-century theologian, was strolling the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea one morning, engaged in deep thought. He was trying to understand the nature of God. Then his thoughts were interrupted when he saw a little boy running towards the ocean with a bucket. He watched as the boy filled his bucket with water and ran back up the peach to pour it into a little hole he had dug in the sand. Within seconds, the water was gone, soaked into the dry, sunbaked sand. Again the little boy went down to the ocean, filled his bucket with water, ran back to the hole, and poured the water in. And again the sand swallowed the water right up. Augustine approached the boy with a smile and asked him, “What are you trying to do?” The boy, a little annoyed at the interruption, replied, “I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole.” Then it struck Augustine that he was behaving a lot like this little boy. He was trying to pour the ocean of the truth about God into his little head, and he was having no more success than this little boy with his bucket. (Pat Damiani)
After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And 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 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. (Revelation 15:5–8)
Now we see a marked change in the scene in heaven. Two things about the bowl judgments differ from the seal and the trumpet judgments:
The throne in Heaven is the source of the seal and trumpet judgments. But the temple is the source of the bowls. The temple takes the place of the throne in the bowl judgments, introducing therefore an even more violent judgment than ever before witnessed on this earth. These bowls, filled with judgment, come from God in His holy and righteous character.
Second, these bowls contain the wrath of God against the organized systems of evil, which are in power here upon the earth at that time; and the pouring out of these bowls of God’s wrath will mean the end of all evil power here upon earth.
You will remember that it was Jesus who was given God’s cup of wrath at the crucifixion (Matt 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42). This is an image shown also in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 25:15-16; Isaiah 51:17, 22; Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 23:28-34; Habakkuk 2:16). Jesus endured the wrath of God (drank the cup of God’s wrath) so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we may drink of the cup of salvation -- symbolized when we take the cup at communion). Those who refuse Christ’s invitation today will receive God’s cup of wrath at the end of the Tribulation.
We see that wrath being manifested in verse 8 when it says that the “sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.” The fact that “no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled,” indicates that the time for intercession had passed. No one could come before God to stop or postpone His intentions until the bowls of wrath are emptied and the seven plagues have been completed. It seems that even the time of worship and praise was suspended as God brought about this final act of history.
God’s holiness demands justice. His righteousness requires that sin be punished. His integrity insists that all the wrongs be made right in the end, and that’s exactly what will happen.
Sometimes, the idea of God’s just judgment scares us. But it is the very thing that draws us closer to Him. We are to rejoice in the fact that there is a God who WILL right the wrongs; there is a God who WILL judge sin; there is a God who WILL meet out justice in the end. This will be of great comfort to the tribulation saints, who will be persecuted and killed during the Great Tribulation. And this can be of comfort to you and me, who are sometimes unjustly treated today. (Pat Damiani)
So in the midst of your trials and tribulations, get God’s perspective on things. See seven angels and the end to your pain. See a sea of glass and the peace that is ours even in the pain. And finally, see a sanctuary and God’s punishment for sin. God will indeed right all wrongs someday.
Of course, that means He will punish YOUR sins as well unless you accept the punishment already meted out for your sins on the cross. You see, Jesus was punished for your sin and mine on the cross. He died for us and rose again, and those of us who choose to accept it never have to fear being punished for sin ever again. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, I urge you to trust Him today.
