SCRIPTURE: REVELATION 15
SEVEN ANGELS WITH SEVEN PLAGUES (vs. 1-8)
I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues – last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
The seven last plagues are also called the seven bowl judgments. The “sea of glass” is mixed with fire to represent wrath and judgment. Those who stand beside it are victorious over Satan and his evil beast.
The song of Moses was sang to celebrate Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The song of the Lamb celebrates the ultimate deliverance of God’s people from the power of Satan.
The temple in heaven that John saw brings back to the time of the Exodus in the wilderness when the Ark of the Covenant resided in the Tabernacle. The angels coming out of the Temple are clothed in spotless white linen with gold belts across their chest. Their garments show that they are free from corruption, immortality and injustice. The smoke that fills the Temple is the manifestation of God’s glory and power. There is no escape from this judgment. Our eternal reign with Christ will begin after the evil is destroyed by his judgment. The faithful must wait for his time table to be revealed.