Revelation Chapter 15

Introduction to Chapter 15

Revelation Chapter 15unveils the events taking place in heaven prior to the final judgment on earth inhabitants. Satan working through the Antichrist and False Prophet establishes a world government requiring all to worship the Beast (The Antichrist) and his image. All who refuse to worship the Beast, by submitting to the economic system established by the False Prophet, receiving the mark of his name, 666, are executed if found. (Revelation 13:16-19)

God supernaturally warns those dwelling on the earth by sending three angles to proclaim in a loud voice; the gospel, the destruction of Babylon and the judgment on those who worship the Beast. (Revelation 14:6-11) Those who survive the first half of the tribulation are forced to choose between Satan’s kingdom and ruler called the Beast in Revelation 13 or God’s kingdom. Those who choose God’s kingdom must be willing to die by rejecting the kingdom of Satan. (Revelation 13:10, 14:12-13) Those who choose Satan’s kingdom, choose to receive the mark of the Beast, and worship the image of the beast, insuring their doom in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 14:9-10) Chapter 15 reveals two events; one, the results of the choices made by the earth’s inhabitants between Satan and Christ, second, the introduction of the bowl judgments, on those who dwell on the earth. The bowl judgments take place in the second half of Daniel’s 70^th week and conclude with the return of the Messiah (Christ), who was rejected by Israel at His first coming. The hills of Megiddo (Armageddon) in Israel are the armies of earth called for their final battle; there surviving Israel calls out to the rejected Messiah. (Revelation 16:16, Zechariah 12;9-10, Matthew 23;39, Zechariah 14:12-13)

Seven Angels

¹Then 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. ²And 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.

Revelation 15:1-2

I saw another sign in heaven…(Gr. ..seômeion..... an indication, especially ceremonially or supernaturally:—miracle, sign, token, wonder.) Following the events of Chapter 14 where John witnessed the Son of man sitting on a cloud with a sharp sickle, and angels emerging from the Temple in heaven one with a sharp sickle and the other with fire.

This is the third sign John sees in Heaven. The first was the woman who gave birth to the man child caught up into Heaven. (Revelation 12:1) The woman represented Israel giving birth to the Messiah. The second was a great red seven-headed dragon with ten horns who pursued the woman. (Revelation 12:3) The dragon is Satan, who through various kingdoms has pursued the woman, Israel, trying to prevent the birth of Messiah, the man-child caught up into heaven. (Revelation 12;5)

This third sign is the final victory over the beast, as the seven angels are prepared to pour out God’s wrath on the Beast and his kingdom; those killed by the beast are seen as victors in heaven, standing before the throne of God.

Great and marvelous….John is incredulous at this sight describing it with emphatic terms great (Mega) and marvelous (thaumastos). The sight in John’s view was awe inspiring this is in contrast to everything John has seen up to this point.

Seven angels having the seven last plagues…. The third set of seven angels.

seven angels of the churches,
seven angels with trumpets
Seven angels with bowls.

The wrath of God is complete…The seven angels with the last plagues is part of the 7^th trumpet. Following the 7^th bowl judgment Christ will return with the armies of heaven. (Revelation 19)

⁵The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his ^hand to heaven ⁶and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, ⁷but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. Rev 10:5-7

¹⁵Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The ^kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Revelation 11:15

At this point most saints are dead, captured or in hiding, and the seven angels will pour out God’s wrath on the perpetrators of this persecution.

And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire….This is the same crystal seen in the 4^th chapter. The sea of glass is before the throne of God. This sea had its scriptural foreshadowing in both the Tabernacle and Temple. The bronze sea was for the washing of the priests who were to approach the altar. (Exodus 30:17-21, I Kings 7:23-26)

⁶Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. Revelation 4:6

The difference, the sea of glass now mingled with fire pictures the wrath and anger of God. Fire represents both judgment and purification. The bronze sea’s purpose was to cleanse the priest before they went before the altar. Here the fire represents the wrath of God, poured on the Earth.

Those who have the victory over the beast….Victory is defined here as choosing death and Christ rather then life and the Beast. Those who were able to choose eternal life over temporal life are victorious. The beast, the number of his name (666) and the image are events taking place in the 2^nd half of the tribulation. The saints (Martyrs) of the first half of the tribulation are pictured under the altar in the 5^th seal. (Revelation 6:9-12) The second harvest of saints takes during the second half, called the “Great tribulation”, (Matthew 24:21, Revelation 7:10). Here the ministry of the 144,000, the two witnesses and the three angels reap a harvest of souls without number, gathered from all the earth.

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to ^living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-10,15-17

⁹If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Revelation 13:9

¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

The system set up by Satan is separating the wheat from tares (Matthew 13:36-43).With many of the believers massacred, God is free to allow his wrath fall on those who choose Satan and his kingdom.

Standing on the sea of glass…. The saints of the “Great tribulation” are standing on or the sea of glass, before the throne of God. These martyrs died for their faith rather then worship Satan in the person of the Beast (Antichrist). Those who choose Satan, and submitted to the Beast and his kingdom are able to live for a short time, only to face God’s wrath.

The Song of Victory over the Beast

³They 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.”
Revelation 15:3-4

They sing the song….The song of Moses is a song of God’s saving Israel from the armies of Egypt after crossing the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:1-18) Pharaoh, who is a foreshadowing of Antichrist, pursues Israel and her offspring. In the Red Sea Israel is saved from Pharaoh’s armies who are not able to follow Israel’s escape. The waters of the Red Sea pour on the armies of Egypt as they pursue Israel.

¹Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:
“I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! ² The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
³ The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
Exodus 15:1-4

In Revelation 15:2 the martyrs, who were pursued by Antichrist, who Pharaoh foreshadows, have escaped beyond his reach to the other side. They like Moses and Israel celebrate the song of victory of the armies of the Beast. Now as the walls of the Red Sea came pouring down on Pharaoh’s pursuing army, God is about pour his judgment on Antichrist and his kingdom.

The song of the Lamb is in Revelation 5:9-10, which celebrates the salvation of the church before the throne of God and the Lamb. Following the rapture the church, the believers celebrate their salvation in Heaven with the Lamb. In the same way Israel celebrates their salvation from the armies of Pharaoh, the church celebrates their salvation in Heaven.

In this scene the saints of the “Great tribulation” are executed for their refusal to worship the Beast. In death they pass through the Sea of tribulation are taken before the Throne of God.

The Seven Bowls

⁵After these things I looked, and ^behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. ⁶And 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. ⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angel’s seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. ⁸The 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 15:5-8

After these things…. This followed the celebration of the saints of the great tribulation who were on the Crystal Sea mingled with Fire. The saints killed for their refusal to worship the Beast and his Image. Now the wrath of God will be poured on those who killed the saints. This point is the fourth quarter of the 7-year tribulation period.

The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony… The temple in Heaven, which has the tabernacle of the testimony, the arc of the covenant. The arc of the covenant was placed on Mt. Moriah during the First Temple.

Out of the temple came the seven angels…. The seven angels are part of the great and marvelous sight seen by John at the start of the 15^th chapter.

One of the four living creatures…. One of the Cherubim before the throne of God handed the bowls to the seven angels.

Seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God… (Gr...phialeô..a broad shallow bowl, deep saucer).

The temple was filled with smoke…. This smoke represents the fire of the wrath of God’s holiness. The “Glory of the Lord” filled the earthly temple when Solomon completed its construction and the Temple was dedicated to the service of God.

⁹Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, ¹¹so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.¹²Then Solomon spoke: “The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.¹³I have surely built You an exalted house, And a place for You to dwell in forever.”

I Kings 8:9-13

The glory of God….. The “Glory of the God” is the presence of God

²⁶And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. ²⁷Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. ²⁸Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Ezekiel 1:26-28

No one was able to enter the Temple….During this time of during the 7 year tribulation period the Temple is closed till the wrath of God is complete on the earth. At the completion of the seventh bowl Christ returns with the Church.