Signs in heaven

Revelation 15 NASB95

1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. 3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5 After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, 6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. 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 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

We are in a transition period in the book of Revelation. In broad strokes we started with the letters to the churches.

Then we saw the scroll judgments: After the 6th seal was broken we see this:

Revelation 6:16–17 NASB95

16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The 7th seal brings the introduction of the trumpet judgments:

Revelation 11:18–19 NASB95

18 “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

Chapters 12, 13, 14

Spiritual Israel with Child and ends with the reaping of the whol earth.

The wheat harvest for those that are in Christ. For those that are not in Christ, those that follow the dragon and the beasts:

Revelation 14:19–20 NASB95

19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

Where is there to go from here?

Revelation 15:1 NASB95

1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

Signs: Seven.

Seven signs:

Woman with Child

Red Dragon

Beast from the Sea

Beast from the earth

The Lamb and the 144,000

The angelic mesengers

Seven angels with seven plagues.

7 Churches

7 Seals

7Trumpets

7 Signs

7 Bowls

Plagues of Egypt

Revelation 15:2 NASB95

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

Something like a Sea of Glass around the throne was seen in Revelation 4:6. Then we talked about that it symbolized God’s Authority, power, and purity.

Mixed with fire: Suggest the additional characteristic of God’s Judgment.

Triumphant holding harps of God: in Rev 5 we saw the 24 elders each holding a harp. (All God’s elect)

Singing

Revelation 15:3–4 NASB95

3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

One or two songs?

Song of Moses

Exodus 15:1 NASB95

1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.

It is a song about God’s deliverance of His people.

Sogn of the Lamb

Revelation 5:9–10 NASB95

9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

It is a song about God’s deliverance of His people.

Sound of Silence

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel

Two different parts of the same song that harmonize perfectly together.

Temple of the Tabernacle

This takes us to the desert. The place where God meets with his people.

7 angels came out of the temple: They were sent by God under His authority and direction. Clean linen and golden sashes. (Sashes suggest a military order. Clean and bright suggest purity: meaning God’s wrath that is about to be poured out is not out of hatred or evil with passion, but pure pursuit of righteousness.

One of the living creatures gives them all bowls full of the wrath of God.

Wrath: Thumos (Ancient Greek: θυμός) is an ancient Greek concept referring to the spirited part of the soul, heart, or mind, associated with strong emotions, life-breath, courage, and righteous anger

God is pure and everything touches either becomes purified or is burned up.

God’s nature doesn’t change, but is experienced differently based on what it comes in contact with.

If you put paper into a large fire, it gets burned up, but if you put gold in the same fire, the impurities burn up and the pure gold remains.

Revelation 15:8 NASB95

8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

God’s good time has come and nothing can stop His judgement.