Revelation 15:1–8 (NKJV)

After the scene of of the Son of Man and an angel reaping the harvest with a sickle, the scene shifts to a vision of seven angels that will complete the wrath of God on the earth.

1 Then 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.
2 And 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. 3 They 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 15:1-4

John saw a sign in heaven, namely, seven angels having the final seven plagues. This signals the completion of the wrath of God on the earth. These angels will pour out seven bowls of wrath that will complete the judgment begun by the breaking of the seven seals and the sounding of the seven trumpets. While these seven angels are the initial focus of this segment of the Revelation, there is also a scene including a sea of glass mingled with fire. Standing on this sea was the gathering of those who had overcome or withstood the beast, his image, and his mark and number. As they stood on the sea, they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb. This song extolled the greatness of God, calling everyone to fear the Lord and glorify His name. His holiness will draw all the nations of the earth to come and worship before the Lord.

5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And 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. 7 Then 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 The 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

The scene changes again as attention turns to the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. These seven angels appear to exit from the presence of the Lord represented in the tabernacle. These angels were dressed in fine linen, with girdles of gold around their chests. The living creatures, still standing before the throne of God, are brought into the scene, and one of the creatures gave the seven angels each a bowl full of the wrath of God eternal. The temple, much like at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, was full of smoke from the glory of God, and no one was able to enter the temple until the plagues were completed.

This scene is ominous, reestablishing the power and glory of God and His authority over all the earth, even in this horrible scene of destruction and idolatry brought on by the antichrist. In this horror, God shows that no one is beyond His reach. He will dispatch emissaries and right the wrong that has been committed. What does this tell us for our lives today? We can trust God. He will care for us and protect us and deliver us according to our needs. Do not despair when evil seems to rule the day. Instead, look up, for the Lord sees and knows all your cares. Just like He corrected and judges the sinful and blessed the righteous in this vision of the end times, He can come into your situation today and make things right.

Artwork from https://rickbarbarebiblestudies.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/bowl-judgments.jpg?w=1200

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s