The
writer of Ecclesiastes has correctly
observed, “What has been is what will be , and what has been done is what will be
done , and there is nothing new under the sun “ (Eccl. 1:9) And so we note that
the history of the world is an ever recurring order of events. Kingdoms come and go.
Civilizations rise and fall as they either
decay internally or as they are
externally attacked and destroyed. Where are the great civilizations - the Persians , the Romans , The Greeks ,
the Incas of whom we only read in history books? People flee from this continent to the next,
only to flee again within a few
generations.
With regard to the history of the
church this is also true. Through the preaching of the
Word applied to the heart of the hearers
by the Holy Spirit , gospel
churches have been established . These
churches become lampstands in a dark
world, and they serve for a while , and when the church compromises , the dark world swallows
them again. We see this in Revelation
1-3
We see that God’s people are repeatedly persecuted in this world (Chapters 4-7) and the judgments of God against the persecutors are repeatedly seen, but God’s judgments fail
to move the persecutors to repentance
(Chapters 8-11). Why is it like that ? Why do we fail to learn
from history?
Behind this relentless conflict between the church and
the world there is a deeper, darker reality.
There is continual warfare between Christ and Satan. There is
perpetual conflict between the seed of the woman (the church) and the
dragon (Genesis 3:15 à Rev. 12-14)
The question which now arises is this. Will this continue forever? Will this
endless vicious cycle continue
forever ? Will God do something to stop this? The answer
is twofold. First,
we must understand that God has always acted in history in terms of His temporary
judgments. Every famine , every tsunami , every so called ‘natural disaster’ or plague or war
(and we have seen 2 vicious World wars in the 20th century) –
all these are the temporary judgments of God. Secondly , we need to know that all this will end someday – on that day known
as the day of the Lord - the
final outpouring of on Judgment
day. This day is often spoken about by
the prophets , the apostles and the Lord Jesus Christ. William
Hendriksen says : “ When the wicked , often warned by the 7 trumpets of judgment continue to harden their hearts, death
finally plunges them into the hands of
an angry God.” [1]
As we
come now to the 15th chapter
this day has now arrived. [15:1] 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 . When this day
comes there is
no further opportunity for repentance. This will be
the time for God’s
unrestrained and terrible wrath. The
trumpets have warned and urged the world to repentance , but the bowls are poured out [2] on
those who have not repented. Those who have received the mark of the beast, who
have worshipped the dragon and the
anti-christ and who have believed
the deceitful words of the false prophet – who have lived in the city
of the great prostitute called metaphorically , Babylon will now
experience the full fury of the terrible wrath of God!
It is true
that this vision of the 7 bowls of God’s outpoured wrath
runs parallel to the vision of the 7 seals and the 7 trumpets, and yet this vision of judgment is greater and more terrible. It is
FINAL! The 7 plagues poured out all at once symbolize divine perfection and completeness.
THE SEA OF GLASS MINGLED WITH FIRE : ( vv. 2- 4)
Before
John will tell us what the 7
angels will do with the seven plagues , there is a brief interruption in vv. 2-4
in which we get a glimpse into what happens to the true believer in this time : [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,…
John beholds a sea of glass , and beside the sea there is a
joyful multitude, playing their
harps and singing the songs of Moses and the Lamb. This
imagery refers to the time
when in the time of Moses God closed the Red sea over
the Egyptian troops who were pursuing Israel as they fled from Pharaoh
(Exodus
14), after which Moses sang his famous song of victory in Exodus 15 : “ I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously ; the horse
and his rider he has thrown into the sea…” (Ex. 15:1).
Now
everything in the Bible ( particularly in the OT) has a fuller meaning and purpose. This
victory over Pharaoh and his army
is a small picture of the
deliverance of God’s people at
the end of time over Satan, the
anti-christ and the false prophet. Therefore this song that the redeemed church sings here can be
rightly called the song of Moses and of
the Lamb . In both cases the LORD has given the victory to His OT and His NT people. He has helped them to escape from
the utter destruction.
They stand by the sea of glass. We have come across this term once before in Chapter 4:6 . There the
context was in heaven- a sea of glass before the throne of God , a place of perfect beauty and splendor , and
here too is a picture of the redeemed
people of God who are now in heaven, beside the throne of God , as the Lord prepares
to pour out the seven bowls of
His wrath over the wicked world. They are safe while the fire of God’s judgment upon the earth
comes from the perfection of
heaven.
In response to this act of perfect justice, they praise Him for His righteous judgment in vv.
3&4 … 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.”
Those that have persevered , and who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name represent all God’s people at all times. They have resisted Satan and his kingdom, and have escaped to heaven, just like all of Israel at the Exodus had resisted Pharaoh and left Egypt for
the promised land. Do you see the parallel ?
Almost since the beginning of time
Satan had been at work in this world, undermining ,
destroying God’s work. Abel , Enoch , Noah, Abraham , Isaac , Jacob, Job etc.– all fought the battle. All the witnesses and
prophets of the Old Testament fought that same battle. All the martyrs of the NT fought that same battle. You and I , dear
believer fight that same battle to
escape the coming wrath . The people of
God fight the same battle through all the ages, even though this battle shall be most intense before the end of time . All those that overcome are part of that great line of the men and women of faith mentioned in
Hebrews 11. These are the ones that have reason to
praise the Lord.
The song which they sing has
nothing about man’s glory in it. It is a
song that exalts the greatness and power and glory of God. It
is God's greatness, God's truth, God's righteousness, God's holiness, that is
celebrated here. Secondly , these
singers sing from the perspective
of those that are in heaven . They live now by
sight, and not by faith any
longer ! God's greatness is now clearly
manifested in all His works. His truth and righteousness is now distinctly
displayed in all His ways. It has all been realized. These multitudes sing of the final fulfillment
of all prophecy, and they include the elect people of God from every nation ,
tribe and tongue ( v.4 àsee Rev. 7:9)
THE SANCTUARY OF THE TENT OF WITNESS IS OPENED : ( vv 5-8)
[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.
As said before, the 15th
chapter announces the final judgment which will
come from the temple of God in heaven from the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven. The true people of God have been
accounted for. They have been taken care of.
Now everything is ready for that final judgment on the
wicked of the earth – those who
have despised God , and who have
embraced Satan’s rule. This will be, as
Jesus said a time of wailing , weeping and gnashing of teeth. ( Matt
24:51;25:30).
The 7 angels are His terrible executioners. The fact that they are seven (number
of completion) indicates that they will complete their work now.
Formerly there were the announcements made
by the seven seals and seven trumpets. After both of these there followed a long pause. The wrath of God in these each of
these instances was delayed . It
was partial and not
final. In this instance it is final. All seven bowls are now poured out.
[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.
John now
describes how each of the angels receive their bowls
full of the wrath of God from one of the
four living creatures [3]
who are
around the throne , on each side of the throne (Rev 4:6) - in special relation and proximity to
the throne of God .
Herman Hoeksema thinks that the four living creatures, represent
all animate creation in its state of perfection.[4]
Obviously , all this is yet in the future .
It will be ( apart from the incarnation , crucifixion and
resurrection of Christ) the most awesome event in all the history of the world. It will be the end of the world as we know it .
APPLICATION : WHY SHOULD WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEAVEN ?
1. Because
it will be the end of all evil , strife and suffering .
2. Because this is the only place of safety from the terrible wrath of God
3. Because heaven is a place of unspeakable glory and of joy and peace ; the presence of the
One who
really loves us .
And so Jonathan Edwards said, “It becomes us to spend this life only as a
journey toward heaven … to which we
should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set
our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and
true happiness?”
In his early twenties, Edwards
composed a set of life resolutions. One read, “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the
other world, as I possibly can.”
Scripture tells us we should be “looking forward to a new heaven and
a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). In John 14: 1-7 , Jesus promises
His disciples that He would prepare
a place for them and take them to heaven
.
Unfortunately, many believers
find no joy when they think about heaven. What is your attitude toward heaven? Do you long for
heaven ? (as Paul did in Phil 1:23 ?) . How often do you think of and
long for heaven? How often does your
church talk about heaven ? Do you and your family talk about heaven?
When you fix your mind on heaven
and see the present in light of eternity, even little choices become
tremendously important. After death, we will never have another chance to share
Christ with those who are going to hell.
We will not have the ability to invest
our money in the expansion of God’s
kingdom .
The Bible makes it very clear that the one need of this life is to prepare for the next.
What we need is a generation of heavenly minded people who see human beings and
the earth not simply as they are, but as God intends them to be. Peter
says, “So then, dear friends, since you
are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless,
and at peace with Him” (2 Peter 3:14).
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