Revelation 15 - Do We Miss God's Glory?

Revelation 15

Today we are going to look at Revelation 15. We will look at the entire passage but we will be paying special attention to the portion known as the Song of the Lamb. To do this well we will have to go back in time. You will have to climb aboard the “way back” machine and travel with me to the time of the Exodus of the children of Israel from bondage in Israel to their crossing of the Red Sea on dry land. We will be looking at Revelation but we are going to see a parallel here that will cause us to have to look at the glory, the magnificence, the power, and the justice of our God as it relates to delivering His people and His vengeance on those who oppress His people and deny His authority over them. Let’s go ahead and pray then we will look into God’s Word.

In Exodus the children of Israel, God’s people, were in captivity and had been for 400 years. For some of that time they were basically free people but then a Pharaoh came into power that did not know Joseph or his family and the Israelites had grown in number so greatly that he decided to enslave them. They were suffering at the hand of the people of Egypt. Then Moses came along raised as a prince in the land of Egypt even though he was Jew. He decided on his own to try to liberate a few of the Jews by killing one of the task masters who was mistreating a fellow Jew. That did not work out well so he had to flee for his life. Some 40 years later God visited Moses on the back side of nowhere in a burning bush and he was changed. God sent him back to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh let God’s people go. Pharaoh refused and increased the burden or persecution on the Jews. So, to make a long story short, God began to show His power and judgment on Pharaoh, the people and on the gods of Egypt. He poured out 10 plagues on the land of Egypt. The first three plagues were major inconveniences but no one died and even the people of God experienced these plagues: The water was turned to blood but they could dig in the ground and find water. Then the frogs came out of the river and infested everything. Then God sent lice to infest the land. The Egyptians and the Jews all experienced these plagues. But the next 7 plagues; flies, death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness for three days and then the last plague the death of the first born were only experienced by the Egyptians. God protected His people from these. As each plague got worse and worse Pharaoh’s heart got harder and harder. Instead of repenting he just kept turning farther and farther away from God. Finally after the death of the first born of Egypt, both man and beast, Pharaoh relented and let the people of Israel go. But his fury just kept growing and he sent his army after them. The Israelites made it to the Red Sea but with the sea before them and the Egyptian army fast approaching it seemed all was lost. But God protected them from behind with a pillar of fire and cloud separating them from the Egyptians. Then God opened the Red Sea and His people whom He had redeemed from slavery walked across on dry land. When they got to the other side the Egyptians who had refused to repent even after seeing all the powerful works of God followed them into the sea. But God let the waters go and the army of Egypt was destroyed. As the people of Israel stood by the Red Sea watching the corpses of Egyptian soldiers and horses along with their chariots wash up on the shore Moses broke out in song proclaiming the glory, the magnificence, the power, the justice of our God as it relates to delivering His people and His vengeance on those who oppress His people and deny His authority over them.

I go back and tell this story because that is what we have seen generally since Jesus was hung on the cross and what we have been observing in Revelation since the Lamb broke the first seal. God’s judgment has been increasing just like the plagues on Egypt. And just like Pharaoh refusing to repent and let the people of God go free, the people of the earth, the Beast and the False Prophet refuse to repent and turn to God. As we saw in the telling of the story of Exodus, at the proper time, God removed His people from Egypt and here in Revelation He has removed His people from the earth. In chapter 14 we talked about the grain harvest of verses 14-16 and tied that to 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.[1] I have made it abundantly clear that I do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church but I do believe in a pre-wrath taking out of the church because 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 says that God’s people are not appointed for wrath. What we have seen is two exodus’. The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt before God released His wrath foreshadowing the eternal exodus of the redeemed of God before He pours out His wrath on the Beast and those who follow him.

With all of that in place let’s look at our passage for this morning, Revelation 15:1-16:1 1Then 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. 2And 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. 3They 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! 4Who 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.” 5After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6And 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. 7Then 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. 8The 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. 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”[2]

Let’s walk through this very quickly because I want to come back to verses 2-4, the Song of the Lamb. In verse 1 John says that he sees in the heavens another sign that is great and marvelous. The last time he said something like that was chapter 12 where the dragon, representing Satan, is pursuing the Woman, who represents the redeemed of God, for the purpose of destroying her. Now he sees another great sign and this time it is seven angels with seven last plagues which hold the wrath of God. Everything in history that stems from Satan attacking the redeemed of God is going to be avenged by the bowls or cups of wrath that God is going to pour out on those who have His redeemed people. The wrath that is going forth from God is His complete wrath. Every judgment up to this point has been a partial judgment; 1/3 of the grass and trees, 1/3 of the seas and sea creatures, 1/3 of commerce, 1/3 of mankind, 1/3 of the light and regional earthquakes. Up to this point God has been offering, through His mercy, an opportunity for the people of the earth to repent. In these verses that we just read there is no hint at all of a call to repentance. In verse 5 John says the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. The last time we saw the temple open was in chapter 11:15 where the declaration was made that the kingdoms of this earth has become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. This time when the temple is opened the wrath of God is symbolically leaving His hands to be poured out, to its fullest, against His enemies converting the kingdoms of the earth to the Kingdoms of the Lord and His Christ. In verses 6-7 it is clear that what God has planned is going to take place because the wrath of God that has been stored up against the enemies of God as Paul talked about in Romans 2:5 has been handed to God’s faithful angels by one of the four living creatures that are continually at the throne of God. That wrath of God is going out to avenge those souls who cried out in Revelation 6:10 “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” It is the just and holy wrath of the Just and Holy God who lives forever and ever. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago, the cup that Jesus described in the garden of Gethsemane was the cup of God’s wrath against sinners. Jesus took that cup to Himself on behalf of all who would believe and repent. He bore God’s wrath on the cross of Calvary. Now the wrath that has been stored up for the day of wrath is for all those who would not believe and repent. Specifically at this time for those who followed the beast but each and every person who does not believe and repent will drink the cup of God’s wrath for himself. Verse 8 is a very powerful statement. When the Tabernacle was finished in the wilderness smoke of God’s glory and power filled the tabernacle so that no one could enter. When the Temple built by Solomon was dedicated in Jerusalem the smoke of God’s glory and power filled the Temple so that there was no room for anyone to enter the Temple. In a couple of heavenly visions by Ezekiel and Jeremiah we see the same thing. This time there is a specific time set for the exclusion of anyone, save for the glory of God, to be in the temple. No one can enter until the seven plagues in the seven bowls had been poured out on the people of the earth. God is going to complete His planned passionate impulse for the purpose of punishment towards those who refused His authority as Creator and persecuted His redeemed. In verse 1 of chapter 16 He simply says; “go do your job”.

That is basically what we see here in this passage except for what we find in verses 2-4 which is an interlude of sorts. So let’s go back and read those verses again. Revelation 15:2-4 2And 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. 3They 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! 4Who 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.”

John often toggles back and forth between visions on the earth and visions of heaven. We have seen this sea of glass before in the throne room scene in chapter 4 but this time it is described as being mingled with fire. Since most everything in the Revelation is symbolic then I have to believe that the sea of glass being mingled with fire is representative of God’s fiery wrath towards those who oppose Him and His redeemed. Those who were there beside the sea, those who had been harvested from the tribulation before God’s wrath was displayed were those who had overcome the beast and everything he threw at them. They overcame the political pressure (the beast as a political and military ruler), the spiritual pressure (his image, they refused to bow and worship), the economic and social pressure (his mark and the number of his name). In His letter to the seven churches in chapter 2-3 Jesus had a lot to say about those who overcame and what they would receive. Here are these overcomers in the presence of God and the Lamb standing on this sea of glass as God prepares to pour out His wrath, and a worship service breaks out. They begin to sing, accompanied by harps, the song of Moses the servant of God and the Song of the Lamb.

When we read the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb side by side one thing becomes gloriously obvious. These songs do nothing except reflect and expose the glory and provision of God. We see this over and over again in the Psalms, in the Law and in the Prophets: Psalm 98:1-21 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. 2The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. Psalm 111:2-3 2The works of the Lord are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. 3His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever. Deut. 32:3 3For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. Psalm 145:17 17The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. Jeremiah 10:6-7 6Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord (You are great, and Your name is great in might), 7Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. Psalm 86:9 9All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. Isaiah 26:9 9With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. That is just a sampling of the proclamation of the glory of God found in the Old Testament and we didn’t even mention Job or Genesis. I have already described the work of God in the Exodus and the fact that as the people of Israel stood on the sea shore Moses sang a song that encompassed all that the Psalmist, the writers of the Law and the Prophets said. I wish we had the time to look at all the songs in scripture side by side, perhaps one day we will do that. The exposition of the glory of God delivered to us in the Old Testament is the same proclamation of the glory of God that we read a moment ago from the Revelation. How can this be? It is a consistent description of God’s glory across thousands of years. This can only be the case because the glory of God and His provision is never diminished. From the creation of God’s universe to the consummation of God’s deliverance of His saints His glory has not changed and it has been proclaimed by His people. And it is proclaimed the loudest and the clearest when God’s people have been delivered from the enemy; the Israelites being delivered from Pharaoh and his army beside the Red Sea, and the tribulation saints beside the sea of glass after being delivered from the Beast are perfect examples of this.

This brings me to the point where I have a question or two. We live in a time when the government has promised to deliver us from the struggles many have experienced due to the corona virus. Over and over again I hear people profess to trust in God and then in the next breath wonder where their stimulus check is. Is the government ever going to deliver us from our struggles? I wonder, does that glorify God and make His provision known? The government is simply giving back what they confiscated from us in the first place yet we know that our God can provide all our needs if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. But we turn first to earthly things. Is God glorified in that? We get up in arms because our federal legislature has proclaimed that a man is a woman or a woman is a man if he/she says he/she is. And yet we do not proclaim God’s grace and coming judgment in love, at best we simply proclaim our own condemnation in disgust. Is God glorified in that? As I said a couple of weeks ago, we complain because the government is taking away our rights as citizens of the United States when we will not even take the responsibility of being citizens of heaven seriously. Is God glorified in that? I wonder, have we somehow lost our ability to see the glory of God because we are too busy looking elsewhere? I’m not saying that we should not take the stimulus check or that we shouldn’t be concerned with the eroding of our God given rights or that we should not be up in arms about the moral decay we see promoted by our government. Those are just examples. But are our eyes focused on those sort of things rather than on God’s glory and provision in our lives, because if we are then the world that needs so badly to know God and His grace will never see it.

We can see that the enemy, Satan, is shining pretty brightly in our culture now, so why should we glorify God now instead of the enemy getting all the glory? In verse 4 the song of the Lamb gives us three reasons. The first reason; “For You alone are holy”. There are several ways that God is spoken of as being holy in the New Testament. Mostly it refers to His otherness, His being in His creation but separate from His creation. But in this verse the fact that He alone is holy is referring to His perfect moral purity. As the world seeks to draw the people of the world away from moral purity we as the redeemed should glorify God because He alone is the standard for morality. Not the culture, the tiktok videos, not some government edict. God in His triune being is the only standard for perfect moral purity. That aspect of God must be glorified today.

Second; “For all nations shall come and worship before You”. That can be taken two different ways and I don’t think that is by accident. It can mean the God will save some people from all people groups. That is why we can celebrate today that there will be people redeemed from every tribe, ethnic group and language group, shade of skin color, yes even some from the political party that you may hate. God will save some of all every nation. But this can also be referring to the fact that one day every knee is going to bow before God and confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Everyone will bow before Him either because they have already glorified Him in this life or they will bow before Him in His judgment glorifying Him in His just and true judgment of their sin.

This brings us to the third reason we should seek to glorify God and the Lamb now. “For Your judgments have been manifested”. God’s judgment on sin and evil has been observed since the fall of man. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden and man began to die. His judgment was made known. The flood of Noah’s time was due to God’s judgment on the wickedness in the heart of mankind with God saving only 8. His judgment was made known. God’s judgment on sin was revealed on Sodom and Gomorrah due to their blatant sin saving only Lot and his two daughters. His judgment was made known. His plagues on Egypt manifested His judgment. His defeat and enslavement of Israel and Judah demonstrated His judgment even on those who would be His people. Throughout history God has manifested His judgment on sin and evil. We should be declaring the glory of God in His judgment because one day His judgment will be final and those who have not turned to Him through Jesus Christ will receive His full wrath, His full and final judgment.

What do we do today to glorify God? We seek to live our lives in His standard of moral purity. When we fail we seek forgiveness and we repent. That will glorify God. We worship Him today, now so that His glory is seen in our act of worship which is service to our God by serving others instead of condemning them. That will glorify God. And we make His grace known as we warn of the coming judgment on those who will not repent and turn to Him. That will glorify God. People of God keep your eyes on Him and stand by the sea shore of deliverance and proclaim His glory and provision. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (1 Th 4:15–17). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 15:1–16:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.