Revelation Study

Revelation Study - Chapter 15

Revelation 15:1 "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God."

Many Bible readers have now reached a conclusion: surely these last plagues indicate the end of time. No, these are the final days of Jerusalem and the end of Judaism. This is the fulfillment of the things spoken by the Lord unto Moses when he gave him the law. Please read all of Leviticus 26. In the first part God tells of all the good things he will bestow on Israel if they walk in His ways. The middle part tells of all the bad things that will be their's if they break the covenant. The last part tells of what shall happen to them after their cities and their sanctuary has been made desolate. The final part is actually the blessings of the gospel which will be extended to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. I will reproduce verses 14 through 32 because it seems so well to fit what is taking place from chapter 15 through 19.

Leviticus 26:14 "But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: 16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. 23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; 24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. 27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. 32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste."

This is not the only warning. As we read through the last three books of the Pentateuch, the warnings are multiplied. Sometimes the warnings pertained to their punishment by the Babylonians and sometimes the punishment by the Romans. Consider the context as you read.

But here John sees another sign in heaven and the sign is the seven angels having the seven last plagues. This fills up or completes God's wrath toward them.

Vs 2 "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God."

The sea of glass seems to indicate the period of time or the territory in which these saints had endured persecutions and were now victorious for their's now is a heavenly dwelling.

Vss 3-4 "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest."

They have sung this song before. The Old Testament faithful sing the song of Moses. This was sung upon their deliverance from the forces of Pharoah on the other side of the Red Sea. Those who are the faithful up til this time under the New Testament sing the song of the lamb. These are songs of praise to God for their deliverance from bondage to Satan and redemption.

Vss 5-6 "And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles."

Verse one is generic in regard to the appearance of the seven angels, now we have a specific in their coming from the temple, God's heavenly dwelling place. They are pure and holy, worthy of administering this judgment upon Israel and their importance is associated with their garments of gold.

Vss 7-8 "And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."

We read of the four beasts or living creatures in the fourth chapter. They were then around the throne of God and now one of them delivered the seven vials of wrath. The cloud of smoke in some way indicates the greatness of God. Smoke appeared on Mount Sinai when God spoke to Moses. There is considerable disagreement concerning why no man was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues were fulfilled. But the statement indicates that after the seven plagues, then men would enter the temple. It seems that evangelism had practically ceased during the Roman invasion of Palestine but when it was over, fulfilled, then evangelism would revive and people would be converted. This period of time covers the time when the woman, God's people, fled into the wilderness. Another idea: the physical temple was still standing when the sign begins but after the plagues are completed, that temple will be destroyed, Judaism will no longer hinder the spread of the gospel, the spiritual temple will take its place and men will enter that spiritual temple, the church.