Revelation 15

Another Glimpse of Heaven

Revelation 15

Chapter 15 is the shortest chapter in the book of Revelation. Its size should not be taken as an indication of its importance, however, for it reveals three things.

1. It concludes the events revealed in chapters 10-15 concerning visions in heaven or conditions on the earth to the middle of the Tribulation period.

2. It serves as an introduction to the Great Tribulation, the latter half of the Tribulation described in chapter 16, when the seven angels pour out the bowls of God’s wrath.

3. It reveals important truths concerning the wrath of God.

John said, “I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign” (v. 1). The word “another” relates back to the two signs revealed to John in chapter 12, the woman representing Israel and the great red dragon representing Satan. This third sign is described by John as “great and marvelous,” indicating that it is the most significant of all the signs revealed to this point. When we bear in mind that it is the sign revealing the final act of God’s judgment on earth, we will understand that it has great spiritual significance. God has inflicted judgment many times: on the Tower of Babel, on the entire world in sending a universal Flood, on Sodom and Gomorrah, on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and on Israel for almost two thousand years. This will be God’s final judgment, the result of His wrath’s being “filled up.”

The word “sign” should not confound or disturb us, for it occurs seventy-seven times in the New Testament. An examination of the use of this word will certainly put an end to the lie that the book of Revelation is clouded with “signs and symbols” impossible for the average person to understand. John uses this term and related words in reference to our Lord’s prediction of his death: “‘But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:32-33). This is not mysterious or hidden, but a plain statement of fact that Christ will be lifted up on the cross. John uses this word again in John 18:32 in reference to His crucifixion and in 21:19 in reference to Christ’s prophecy of the death of Peter. Christ refers to His own death, burial, and resurrection as “the sign of the prophet Jonah,” a period of three days and three nights (Matt. 12:38-40).

The book of Revelation becomes much more understandable when one recognizes that the word “sign” really means a “symbol of revelation.” That is, it is a symbol, picture, or prophetic event that conveys some great truth or principle of God that He wants to convey to His people. As one studies this book and begins to understand the meaning of these signs, he or she receives the fulfillment of Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” As we will see in the next chapter, the sign of these seven angels before the throne of God results in literal events of judgment emanating from the throne of God to the earth.

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.

(Rev. 15:2)

This “sea of glass” is probably the same sea observed before the throne of God in 4:6. The “fire” may refer to the trials of fire endured by the Tribulation saints. On this sea of glass before God’s throne are people described as “those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name,” who stand “beside the sea … [holding] harps given them by God.” These are believers in Jesus Christ, for otherwise they would not be in the presence of God. They are not the saints of the Church Age who were raptured before the Tribulation period, however, but the saints of the Tribulation who are victorious over the beast.

Most Bible commentators suggest that these people have been martyred by the beast during the Tribulation because of their personal faith in Christ. In Revelation 13 we saw that the beast and the False Prophet will come on the scene in the midst of the Tribulation period, seeking to make people worship Antichrist. The complete tyranny of the Tribulation is seen in the fact that during the first three and one-half years the ecumenical church of Revelation 17 will be so powerful that it will dominate Antichrist and kill all believers who refuse to join with it. During the second half of the Tribulation it will be Antichrist and the False Prophet who will kill those who refuse to worship his image and receive his mark. Therefore, this group may be those who are saved out of the last half of the Tribulation, because Revelation 7:9 states that there will be a mighty harvest of souls during the first half of the Tribulation under the preaching of the 144,000 servants of God. This passage may suggest there will also be a great host of martyrs who will be victorious over Antichrist.

DEATH IS VICTORY FOR CHRISTIANS

How could these folks standing on the sea of glass in the presence of God be victorious when they will have been killed during the Tribulation by the wave of persecution inspired by Antichrist? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Death at the hands of a murderous dictator or anti-Christian persecutor is only defeat as human beings look on the situation. People living during the Tribulation will think the Antichrist is overcoming the saints, but in reality he will be sending them out into eternity to be with their Lord.

A vision of human beings unenlightened by the Holy Spirit renders them incapable of understanding the eternal blessings of God. If a person does not incur blessings in this life, the unenlightened consider that defeat, not realizing that what we gain in this life is inconsequential in comparison to what we gain in the life to come. One great blessing bestowed on these souls is the martyr’s crown (James 1:12; Rev. 2:10), which will provide them with a special position of authority during the millennial kingdom and probably throughout the eternal ages to come.

Holding “harps given them by God” indicates that they are playing the heavenly instrument in a beautiful symphony of praise and worship. In addition to the heavenly harps, they will also sing “the song of Moses … and the song of the Lamb” (15:3).

THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMB

These Tribulation saints sing “the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3). This does not mean that they are Israelites; instead, it signifies that they are singing the song of victory over their enemy, which is the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-21. They couple this with the song of praise to the Lamb of God.

To understand the song of Moses, we must remember that after Pharaoh released the children of Israel, he repented of his decision and pursued them furiously with a host of Egyptian troops. When the children of Israel saw their plight-the Red Sea in front of them and Egyptian troops behind them-Moses looked to God, who had instructed him to put his rod on the water. Thereupon the people walked over on dry land. It must have been a harrowing experience when the people barely got across the supernaturally created channel when they saw the Egyptian army in hot pursuit. But no sooner had the people safely arrived on the opposite shore when God permitted the channel to close and drown the Egyptians. The people were naturally overwhelmed, because what looked like complete disaster at the hands of a cruel, satanically inspired king (a brief likeness of Antichrist) was suddenly turned into victory, and they lifted their hearts in gratitude to God.

That exactly parallels the response of these Tribulation saints standing before the throne of God, realizing that they are out of the clutches of Antichrist and Satan. Their hearts are filled with rapturous joy at their deliverance. Since they are not Old Testament saints, they are not content to sing just the song of deliverance, as were the Israelites, who were merely delivered physically from an oppressor, but a song of eternal redemption by the blood of the Lamb.

CHRIST WORSHIPED IN HEAVEN AS GOD

In a day when many have been deceived about the true nature of Jesus Christ, we ought to remember that heaven is not one iota confused about His identity. Understood in the light of Exodus 15 and the song of Moses, this verse makes plain that the God whom Moses and the children of Israel addressed in the face of their great earthly victory was none other than Jesus Christ. For confirmation of this fact we quote selected portions of that great psalm.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

“I will sing to the LORD,

for he is highly exalted.

The horse and its rider

he has hurled into the sea.

The LORD is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The LORD is a warrior;

the LORD is his name….

You will bring them in and plant them

on the mountain of your inheritance—

the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,

the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

The LORD will reign

for ever and ever.”

(Ex. 15:1–3, 17–18)

The fact that these saints combine this song and the song of the Lamb can only be explained on the basis that Jesus Christ is Almighty God. The song of Moses and the Lamb in Revelation 15:3-4 clearly identifies Jesus Christ with the attributes of God Himself. No person or created being has ever been addressed like this. Note the characteristics attributed to Him:

1. Creation: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.”

2. Justice: “Just and true are your ways.”

3. Object of worship: “King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name?”

4. Holiness: “For you alone are holy.”

5. Omnipotence and eternity: “All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

The most pitiful people in all the world are the religionists who, representing modernistic liberalism or the cults and “isms,” do not understand who Jesus Christ is. The book of Revelation certainly clarifies His identity, and if for no other reason, it is worthy of our study because it does what its introduction predicted. Revelation 1:1 announces “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is the only book in the world that truly presents Jesus Christ as He really is today.

THE TEMPLE OF THE TABERNACLE OF GOD

“After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened” (Rev. 15:5). The Tabernacle of the Temple of God is the Holy of Holies. Great significance should be attached to this scene. Dr. J. Vernon McGee points out in his commentary on Revelation:

The temple is referred to 15 times in the Revelation. Its prominence cannot be ignored. Each reference is either to the temple in Heaven or to the absence of the temple in the New Jerusalem. In this instance the reference is specifically to the tabernacle, and the Holy of Holies in which the ark of the testimony was kept. In the ark were the tables of stone. Both the tabernacle and the tables of stone were duplicates of originals in Heaven.29

The Testimony that emanates from the Tabernacle is seen in the Ark of the Covenant. God has always kept His covenant with Israel or with any to whom He has entered into a covenant relationship, including the members of the Church of Christ, who have entered into the “new covenant” through the blood of Christ.

THE SEVEN ANGELS BEFORE THE THRONE

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.

(Rev. 15:6-8)

This is the third time we have encountered a group of seven angels at once. There were seven angels assigned, one each, to the seven churches in chapters 2-3. Then each of the seven angels was given a trumpet to blow in revealing the second quarter of the Tribulation judgments. Now we see the seven angels to whom the judgments of the last half of the Tribulation period are given.

Since these angels come out of the Temple, it seems as if they are given access to the presence of God. Created as holy beings, angels are permitted entrance in the presence of God in the true Temple in heaven, of which the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple were merely patterns or symbols. In those earthly dwelling places of God, no person was permitted except the high priest once a year, and then only after the most scrupulous preparation in righteousness. As these angels leave the heavenly Temple, having worshiped the Lord, one of the four living creatures gives each one a bowl that will be poured out on the earth, the significance of which is revealed in chapter 16.

As soon as the angels come out of the Temple, great smoke from the glory of the presence of God and His power fills the Temple so that neither angels nor human beings can go back into worship until “the seven plagues of the seven angels [are] completed” (v. 8). In other words, from the middle of the Tribulation period no created being will have access to the presence of God on His throne until the end of the Tribulation, for He will not be dealing with people in mercy, as is His usual custom. During the latter three and one-half years of the Tribulation, He will deal with human beings in judgment.

THE WRATH OF GOD

This brief section of eight verses in the middle of the book of Revelation opens and closes with the wrath of God. It depicts the scene in heaven of God’s sending out His angels of judgment to perform His last act of bringing people to Himself. He uses mercy, love, circumstances, the Holy Spirit, and many other divine tools to bring us to Himself. Ordinarily, the unsaved are not judged on this earth, which explains why people can break the laws of God and seemingly get away with it. The judgment they receive on this earth is merely the judgment of their deeds-whatsoever they sow, they reap-but people do not receive God’s judgment until the Day of Judgment, with but one exception. During the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation, God will bring great judgment and calamity on humankind.

FILLING UP GOD’S WRATH

Verse 1 says of the seven last plagues, “because with them God’s wrath is completed.” Verses 5-8 describe the judgment of God being fulfilled. Verse 1 makes it clear that this will be the last judgment before the millennial kingdom. A literal translation of verse 1a is: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, the last ones.” When this judgment is finished, the Tribulation will be concluded and the Millennium begun.

GOD’S PURPOSE IN THIS GREAT TRIBULATION

Not to understand that this impending period of Great Tribulation is of divine purpose and intent is to fail to understand significant truths relative to these coming events. Although we will probably not know the full extent of God’s purpose for the Tribulation until we look down from heaven and see these events transpire, I would like to suggest the following four purposes as being discernible from the Scriptures:

• to introduce a worldwide revival when, under the preaching of the 144,000 servants of God, a multitude will be gathered that no one can number (Rev. 7:9)

• to destroy the wicked followers of Antichrist who are committed to his way, lest they pollute others and corrupt them from the truth of the gospel, thus damning their souls

• to break the stubborn will of the nation of Israel, who will confess her national sin of rejecting the Messiah and plead for His return

• to shake the earth and all things in it so that one’s normal sense of security will be so disordered that one will be more prone to look to God. Crises usually cause people to look to God. The Tribulation will be a time when God creates a climate of crisis, a climate conducive for human beings to call on Him while He is near.