Series Guide

Revelation: The King Wins

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Chapter fifteen

Psalm 111:2-3
2 Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.

Seven Angels With Seven Plagues

15 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
    Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    King of the nations.
4 Who will not fear you, Lord,
    and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
    and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

This hints that we are reaching the very end of history. The plagues remind us of the plagues of Egypt, which were judgement on Pharoah as the great opposer of God’s people of the time.
Again, we have seen harsh judgement through the seven seals and seven trumpets. Now we learn that these seven bowls of seven plagues will be the final act.
The sea of glass indicates that we are once again before the throne of God in heaven, as in Revelation 4:6 (also indicated by the temple [14:5] and the four creatures [14:7]). This time, the sea is said to be glowing with fire, likely a reference to the fiery judgement of the previous chapter and the destruction from which God’s people have been saved.
God’s people now stand beside the sea, where the dragon was standing in Revelation 13:1. Their position symbolises their victory over the beast.
Harps appear again, just as they were played by the 24 elders (Revelation 5:8) and by the harpists who were leading God’s people in song (Revelation 14:2). They are an important symbol of worship, as expressed by the song that they sing here.

Explore: Song of God’s Servant Moses and of the Lamb

There are many allusions to the Exodus story in Revelation, and certainly here with the seven bowls of seven plagues.

We are told that God’s people – those who are victorious over the beast – are singing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb. This is connecting the two great salvation stories of the Bible together.

Prior to Jesus, Israel would have looked upon the Exodus story and their dramatic rescue from Egypt as the defining moment in their history. Exodus 15 records the song of Moses and Miriam, celebrating God’s great act of salvation.

Revelation looks to the death and resurrection of Jesus as the ultimate act of salvation, surpassing even the Exodus event. The encouragement here is for God’s people to remember that, just as God rescued his people from Egypt, and just as he rescued his people through the sacrifice of Jesus, so he will rescue his people from the various challenges they face prior to the second coming of Jesus. While we live in this ‘in between’ time, we will be able to celebrate the great salvation of God for us when it is finally completed at the end of time.

The song sung here in Revelation 15 draws upon these old songs of God’s people, and further reinterprets them in light of the recent acts of God’s salvation.

Exodus 40:35
35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
1 Kings 8:11
11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

The tabernacle was the tent that God instructed Moses to build as the place where he would dwell with his people after leaving Egypt while they travelled in the wilderness, until they could finally build a permanent temple in Jerusalem.
A reference, in part, to the 10 commandments, which were given to Moses along with the instructions for the building of the tabernacle. In the broader narrative of Exodus, God instituted a covenant relationship – a special, binding relationship centred around promises – with his people. This covenant was broken by God’s people, hence creating a divide between God and Israel that required the sacrifice of Jesus to restore on their behalf.
This significant moment indicates that access into the temple – and therefore into the very presence of God – is once more opened. This was also symbolised in Jesus’ own death, when the curtain inside the temple was torn in two, indicating that the barrier to accessing God has been removed (Mark 15:38).
Judgement is often described with the language of plagues in Revelation, again hinting at the display of God’s judgement upon Egypt in Exodus.
The clothing of the angels is very priest-like. The golden sash was also worn by Jesus in Revelation 1:13. These are all indications that these angels and their judgement are coming with the authority of Jesus himself.
These are connected to the golden bowls of incense in Revelation 5:8, which were described as the prayers of God’s people. Hence, these bowls represent the cry for justice and judgement by the people of God.
This time, the bowls are described as being filled with the wrath of God, indicating that they now carry the direct judgement that was previously sought by the prayers of God’s people. It is another sign that everything is about to be completed (as in Revelation 15:1).
There are two instances in the Old Testament where people were prevented from entering the tabernacle/temple due to the presence of God and of smoke (Exodus 40:35; 1 Kings 8:11). Here, there is a temporary prevention until the final act of judgement is complete.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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