Revelation Study 19 Chapter 15
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Justice
Justice
How would you define justice?
A. the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments
B. the administration of law, especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity
C. the quality of being just, impartial, or fair
(1): the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action
(2): conformity to this principle or ideal : RIGHTEOUSNESS
English Standard Version Chapter 34
5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8
As God describes His character to Moses in Exodus 34:5-7, what stands out to you?
Merciful, not giving people what they deserve, comes from compassion, forgiving
Gracious, giving people what they don’t deserve, kind, showing favor, a response to mercy, but an addition to mercy
Slow to anger, wrath is not quick tempered or reactionary, it is a quality coming from love, mercy, grace.
abounding in steadfast love, overflowing in long and firmly fixed in place, loyalty in love, obligation to love, love (hesed), to act as faithful or godly, goodness, graciousness,
faithfulness, maintaining trustworthiness, being reliable, a state or condition of being dependable, of constancy, permanency in His love.
keeping steadfast love for thousands
forgiving iniquity (a won, awone, wickedness, wrongdoing with a focus of liability, guilt caused by sin),
transgression (pesa, pesha, rebellion, defying authority, overstepping a boundary)
and sin (hat ta a, hataa, to miss a mark set by God, to wrong, to offend), These are the 3 degrees or levels Biblically of our disobedience, rebellion, wickedness, and inability to completely do right, God can forgive them all.
but, two sides of the same coin, can’t have one without the other.
will by no means clear, to leave unpunished, be pardoned, be without blame, the guilty, one who is justly chargeable and or responsible for grave breach of conduct, contract and of crimes. How does one remain justly chargeable? Reject mercy, grace, love, forgiveness, reject Jesus.
visiting, (to look at, to see, also to command, to summon, to appoint, to afflict) the iniquity (the wickedness, liability and guilt) of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation
To understand the later half of this verse we must look at all societies that have slowly drifted away from God until they ultimately turned from Him. What have we seen here in America, are we as a nation more or less godly than our previous generations? Has decisions, sins, iniquities, transgressions, increased or decreased? Has the affects been felt and also committed by following generations? Is punishment, in quantity not severity, increasing or decreasing? The sins of our fathers is being visited on us.
Ok, so back to the but in Exodus 34:6-7, God is all those characteristics we love, merciful, gracious, slow to anger, overflowing in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping this love for thousands upon thousands, but, He is also just, this too flows and stems from all those characteristics.
God has given us the right way to live rightly with Him and rightly with others, He has expectations.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!
These verses were written to God’s people, He show’s no partiality in His expectations and justice, His wrath is not arbitrary, but in just response to man’s sin.
When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.
but a couple of verses before this we read
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
and it’s repeated
Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
If we were to read through The Law in Leviticus we would see that “justice” is very important to God.
It is not loving to let sin, transgression and iniquity, go unpunished. Not only will it be punished, but its consequences must be allowed to run there course if we are to be real and true independent agents with real and true freedom of will and choice.
All of this is meant to cause change, repentance, forgiveness, salvation.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Now back to Revelation
Where did we leave off in this ongoing saga?
What do we remember from Revelation 14?
We were reminded of the multitude in heaven, with Jesus, worshipping
An angel with the eternal gospel, repent
An angel proclaiming that Babylon has fallen
An angel warning anyone who takes the mark of the beast will incur God’s wrath.
A blessing for those who don’t and die for it.
Then the harvest metaphorically of the saints, the wheat
The harvesting of the wicked, the grapes who are thrown into the great wine press of God’s wrath.
Now let’s look at Revelation 15, it’s only 8 verses
English Standard Version Chapter 15
The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
15 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.
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, 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.”
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. 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.
These events in chapter 15, must have happened before the events in chapter 14, at least verses 17 through 20.
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
If this is the symbolic final judgment of the wicked, then there is no reason for the the 7 plagues. So what we see in 15-16 is a part of what has already happened, or at worst, has happened before the “great harvest” in 14.
Ok, now let’s break down chapter 15
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.
Then, a new vision, or the next vision.
He saw what? Another sign, a visible event intended to convey meaning beyond what which is normally perceived by the outward visible event itself.
This sign was what? Great and amazing, very significant and very marvellous, causing great wonder.
So what is it John saw? 7 angels with seven plagues. The 7 bowls of God’s wrath.
So when we hear the word “plagues” what are we to think of? What would the early church, the Jews think of? The plagues of /against Egypt. God’s progressive judgment that was to cause repentance but also judgment on the unrepentant.
Those plagues were a display of God’s wrath, His judgment against the wicked.
But they were not global, they were not the end, these are total.
English Standard Version Chapter 15
seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
Which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished, they are final.
But we’ve read that before
but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
So maybe the 7th trumpet was the what and this is the how??
“It is finished,” Who said those words? Jesus on the cross. What He had come to do, live perfectly and then die sacrificially.
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
What did Jesus become on the cross? Sin and the sinner, He became all sin, all sinners, all consequences, all shame, guilt etc.
What did Jesus absorb on the cross? Jesus absorbed the punishment of God against sin, transgression, and iniquity. He absorbed the wrath of God so we wouldn’t have to.
So how is there wrath left? Who is it for? For those who have rejected God, rejected Jesus, who have not persevered, who have not been sealed, who have taken the mark, who have aligned themselves with the dragon.
But this is the end, again, there is no more wrath once these 7 plagues are finished. But that is chapter 16
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.
“Sea of glass”—means what? Sea is chaos and threat of satan, glass is calm, controlled, subdued, etc.
But this sea is mixed with something? Mingled with fire, fire is judgment, purification. So how is the sea calmed and satan subdued, with fire, with judgment.
Who is besides the sea of glass? Those who had “conquered” the beast, and its image and the number of its name.
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
English Standard Version Chapter 14
. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
So those who have conquered are who? Revelation 14:12-13
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
These people could very well be these martyrs who now have harps in there hands, an instrument of worship.
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
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.”
A summary of what God has done, taken from songs of Moses in Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32, and also from Hosea 14:9, Malachi 2:2, Psalm 66:23, Psalm 86:6, Psalm 105:5, Jeremiah 10:7,
This song and the others mentioned are a praise to God commemorating God’s victory over evil, deliverance of bondage Egypt. It’s a praise to the Lamb in His victory over evil, His ultimate deliverance from our Egypt, our bondage to sin and death.
verse 3c, “just and true are your ways.” He is just and operating in accordance with what is right.
King of nations—regardless whether or not they recognized Him, He is the ultimate and true King of all peoples.
We know who will not fear Him nor glorify His name. Those who’ve sided with all the beasts throughout history.
He alone is holy, unique, set apart, utterly unlike us, He is the only and One True God.
One day all nations will come and worship Him, Rev. 21-22
His righteous acts in salvation and in judgment have been revealed.
After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened,
The sanctuary—what is a sanctuary? A place dedicated for holiness, set apart for holy purposes.
The sanctuary of the tent of witness is another name for the tabernacle of God when He dwelled with Israel in the wilderness.
This is the word, “naos” again, used earlier for the temple in Revelation 11, the inner part of the temple where God’s presence was.
This is now the heavenly counterpart.
The last time John was allowed to look into heaven, not when he was called up to heaven in chapter 4 but when he was allowed to look into heaven in chapter 11, do you remember what he saw?
Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
The ark of the covenant—the symbol of God’s covenant faithfulness, the Law was in it, manna, Aaron’s staff, the way God cared for His people.
Now John sees what? Inside the sanctuary of the tent of witness he doesn’t see, only what comes out of it, which are? The 7 angels with the 7 plagues and dressed similar to Jesus in chapter 1.
The consequences for Israel of disobedience from their covenant with God is detailed in Leviticus 26:14-39 with this repeated phrase
“Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins.
Take note, from verse 40 on is about confession and repentance, then God will remember His covenant, He will not spurn them, or destroy them, nor break His covenant, He will be their God once again.
The redemptive purposes of God’s judgments.
These angels are assigned the task of pouring out God’s wrath and are given bowls in order to do so.
God, the eternal God, is present in the sanctuary, and in this final judgment. He is sending them, this is ultimately from Him.
His final act of judgment, no one can enter the sanctuary until this is done.
And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Israel and Moses had sinned, he couldn’t freely enter into God’s presence now, something had to be done. For the Israelites, they were given the sacrificial system, some death in their place.
For us it was Jesus, who bore the wrath of God so we could be made right, given the privilege to boldly enter the throne room of grace
In the end, there will be no system or individual to save them, if they don’t repent and believe in Jesus, they will be destroyed
Love + Justice = Wrath
God’s love mixed with His justice produces His wrath. His love is a part of His wrath.