Revelation 15:1-8 - Events in Heaven, Preparing for the Final Judgment
Revelation 15:1-8 - Events in Heaven, Preparing for the Final Judgment
The book of Revelation
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Shabbat Shalom, everyone. We are going to look today into the fifteenth chapter of the book of the Revelation. I'd like you to turn to this fifteenth chapter. We are going to read the chapter. In fact, Revelation chapter fifteen is the shortest chapter in the book of Revelation. It has only eight verses, but these verses, of course, as we are aware, are not, verses that have been divided or divinely divided. The Scripture has not been given to us in such a way as chapters and verses. Nevertheless, it is important for us to get some help through those divisions of the chapters to help us to kind of distinguish one portion from another. Well, let's turn to chapter 15 of Revelation, and I'm reading beginning with verse 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 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.
And they sing the new song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of ages. 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. After that I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was open.
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 girdle. 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. 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. And this is chapter fifteen and verses one to eight. Actually, dear brothers and sisters, chapter fifteen really goes along with chapter sixteen, because those two chapters are really leading us to, in a sense, to the end of the Tribulation period.
What we're going to have later on in chapter seventeen and eighteen and nineteen is additional information how there will be the conclusion of the Tribulation period, but really chapter fifteen and chapter sixteen leading us to the end of the seven year Tribulation, which we call in Hebrew Tzarat Yaakov, Jacob's Trouble. Seven years, can you imagine? Where God is going to unleash upon this universe, this world that rejected the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world, God is going to unleash judgments that are going to be so tremendous, such as have never been before. In fact, Yeshua, if you remember, said this in chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew.
There will be such tribulation that have never been such as those, nor from the beginning of the world, nor to the end. There will be those tremendous time of difficult seven years in this universe when God is going to unleash upon this world the righteous indignation against sin. And so here in chapter 15, we are here having a prelude, in other words, an introduction to what is going to happen in chapter 16. And what does that mean, an introduction?
Because in chapter 16, there will be finally, God is going to pour the seven bowls, which in each bowl, they kept a judgment of its own, and God is going to pour it upon this world through the seven angels that we will read about them in this chapter and the next chapter. And these are the final judgment, the final judgment of God. The intensity is going to be so terrible that the world is going, as you're going to see what's going to happen here in this world. You can see that, of course, in chapter 16. But in chapter 15, we have a prelude.
We have an introduction. In fact, in this chapter, we have been taken to heaven, and there is a sight in heaven that Yohanan, John sees, while he was on the island of Patmos, he sees a vision, it is an unfolding vision of what's going on in heaven in the preparation of this judgment, the seven last judgment of God. And so we read, actually, in verse one, that John see this great sign in heaven. What does he see? Look at this. It says here in verse one, And I saw another sign, another sign in heaven. Notice the word in heaven, it mentioned more than once in this chapter, in fact, in verse five, it's also mentioned in heaven. So he looks in that vision, what does he see, that sign? The sign occurs in heaven.
Then he says, it was a great and marvelous sign. It was an amazing sign in heaven. What does he see? He sees seven angels having seven last plagues. Now just pause here for a moment. The number seven is mentioned so many times in the Scripture, and especially in the Tribulation. The Tribulation will be seven years. There were seven seals that had to be opened. There were seven trumpets that had to be sounded. Now we're going to talk about seven bowls later on that will be poured. And we see seven angels there in heaven, and they have seven last plagues. The number seven is a number that speak of the fullness of God.
In fact, what we learn from this number seven, that the righteous indignation of God is rising to its fullness when He is going to unleash His final judgment upon the face of this earth. And so, John is looking and he sees in heaven this marvelous sight, seven angels, having the seven plagues, notice they're called plagues. You know, when we think about plagues, we think about the ten plagues that God have unleashed upon the Egyptian when our own nation, Israel, were in slavery there. And in order to redeem, to take our people out of the land of Egypt, God have unleashed upon the Egyptian who rejected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He unleashed upon them those ten plagues.
When you think of plagues, you think of diseases, you think of judgment, you think of that which is not wholesome, not desired at all, and unwanted, and as far as God's concerned, we read of those seven last plagues that will fall upon the face of this earth. And then notice now what it says in verse one still, it uses this expression, the seven last plagues, for in those seven last plagues is filled the wrath of God. Now what's happening is that John looks to glory, to heaven, and he sees that sight, he sees those seven angels, they are carrying with them those seven plagues, and subsisting those plagues are the wrath of God that had been come to a full. It's like having a cup.
That you pour and pour until it gets to the rim, until it gets filled to the top. In other words, God's wrath, God has been so gracious with man, He has been so faithful to the human race, the human history is an evidence of the grace of God, and He has been so patient with mankind. It's just like in a human way to look at it when parents are patient with the children, when a boss or an employee is patient with the employee, God has been patient with the human race until the final judgment has to come, because the iniquity of men, the sin of men, the rebellions of men have been risen up.
And God's righteous judgment against men, which is called in the Bible here, the wrath of God. The wrath of God. If you just go back for a moment, one chapter back, we looked at less ministry meeting together. In chapter 14, and notice that in verse 9 and 10, it says, And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink. Now notice that, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented. With fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
You see what John is really seeing? He's seeing a sight. It is an amazing sight in anticipation of the final judgment that are going to come in the end of the second half of the Tribulation. That sight he sees in anticipation. And look at this expression, dear beloved brothers and sisters, this expression, the wrath of God. Just turn for a moment to the book of Romans in chapter one for a moment, please, and you will see. What we read in Romans chapter 1 and verse 18, you know, the book of Romans is an essential book to understand because the book of Romans shows us God's ways with men and it brings us to the reality of the dealing of God with men and the passage says in verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
See, God is a loving God, but He is also a holy God. And if men will reject the truth of His grace and love, God will have to unleash His righteous indignation against sin. And here is the anticipation. You know, the Hebrew psalmist said this, if you just also for a moment turn to Psalm 75 verse 8, it says, look what the psalmist of Israel said years ago in the book of Psalm. It was a song of Asaph, and look what he says in verse 8, in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red. It is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same cup, but the drags thereof.
All the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. In the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and it is filled with red wine. And it speaks to us of God's righteous indignation against sin. You see, God is going to unleash His indignation against sin. And so John looks at heaven. He sees those seven angels. He sees in their hands seven plagues. And then what he's saying, he sees that in those plagues that are in the hand of those seven angels, in them is filled up the rest of God.
And he's going to be ready now to unleash it. And remember, brothers and sisters, we just finished to look into chapter six, chapter seven. Chapter eight, chapter nine, and we saw how judgments were coming. We saw the seven seals open, and every seal was a judgment of God. We saw the seven trumpets being sounded by the angels, and every trumpet sound was a judgment of God. And now it's coming up to the end, to the climax, before God is going to unleash His final judgment upon men. It is the wrath of God that is filled in those. Now, for a moment, just look at chapter sixteen of Revelation, where it says there in verse nineteen, which we're going to look at in our next session together. In verse nineteen, we read, And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her, listen to this, the cup of the wine of His fierceness, of His wrath.
Here is again mentioned the wrath of God when God is angry with men. Now this anger, dear brothers and sisters, it's not like you and I getting angry. You know, we get angry when we go and get our own way. We get angry when things are not pleasing to us. We have sinful anger that rises out of our sinful heart. But here is God. This is not a sinful anger. This is a righteous indignation.
This is righteous anger. You remember when Yeshua went to the temple in Jerusalem, and he saw the buyers and the sellers, and they buy and sell in the temple, while the people coming to worship the Lord, they're making business there, and they're not recognizing the importance of the place of God. It is the holy temple of God, when God has His name there. And Yeshua took the tables, and He turned them upside down, and He chased from there those who bought and sell there. Why? That was not an anger that came out of sinfulness, that was righteous indignation against sin. And God is just in doing so. God is right in doing so. So that's the sight that John sees, this great sign in heaven, this sign of those seven angels having the seven plagues, which in them are filled the wrath of God.
But then notice immediately in the next verses, verses two, three, and four. Now John, again, notice again, he says, I saw. Remember verse one, I saw? Verse two, I saw. And then later on, verse five, I looked and I beheld. And you can see this again, I saw, I saw, I saw. And John now sees in verse two, three, and four, what does he see now? Again, brothers and sisters, it is in anticipation of the end of the tribulation. So now John sees in verses two, three, and four, he sees the saints, the Hebrew tribulation saints, who have been victorious over the beast.
In other words, what John is seeing now, as if the second half of the tribulation is over, and he sees the Jewish believers and not only Jewish believers, also others from the nation, those who believed and have been victorious over the second half of the tribulation. He sees them now in heaven. Look what it says here. In verse two he says, And I saw as it were, it looks like, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and notice that, 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.
Now again, you see, he sees vision. It is unfolding vision. He was just talking about the rest of God is going to come upon this world, but then he says, listen, I also saw As it were, a sea of glass, mingled with fire. Now when you think about the sea and sea of glass, it's like exactly what we saw earlier in chapter four, that sea of glass that we saw the saints, the church there, in chapter four and verse six with Yeshua the Messiah, there this expression, the sea of glass, is the multitude that were there, that were redeemed company of the church saints. In chapter four we read of that, in verse six it says, and before the throne there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal.
And in the midst of the throne, around about the throne, there were four beasts, full of eyes, and before and behind and so on. And then there were the twenty-four elders there. The sea of glass will represent to us the presence of God for those who were redeemed by God, they were right around Him. And so at this time what we see, those that had been victorious over the beast, this Antichrist or counterfeit Mashiach, the one that have situated himself in the temple in the city of Yerushalayim, in the middle of the tribulation, the one that had an image made unto him and situated as well in the temple in Jerusalem, and he's the one that was persecuting the people who did not take the mark of his name on his forehead or on the hands. And so what's happening, we see in verse 2, the sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had gotten the victory.
How they were victorious? How do you think they gotten the victory? You see, beloved brothers and sisters, these people that have gotten the victory over the beast, A people that were left here during the second half of the tribulation, they did not take the mark of the beast. They say, no, we do not believe that you are the Messiah, that you are the Savior, the Redeemer. We will not bow our knees before you. And you know what happened to these people? They had paid a price in their life when they did not take that mark of the beast. You remember, if you again please go back to chapter 13, where we have looked at already, and in chapter 13, you remember, it says there in verse 14 at the end, it said that they should make an image to the beast. And that the one that was wound with a sword and did live, verse 15, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, and the image of the beast should speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast, that they should be killed.
Verse 16, and he causes all both small and great and rich and poor, free and bond, to receive the mark in their right hand or in their forehead. And that no man might be able to buy or sell except he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. So apparently, dear brothers and sisters, those individuals that have been victorious over the beast are being the one who has suffered for the name of Yeshua the Messiah during the second half of the tribulation period. In other words, there were those who could not buy and sell. There were those who would not worship the beast. There were those, according to the end of chapter 13, those were the people who suffered, had been persecuted. Some of them had been killed, some of them had been tormented, and they have suffered for the name of Yeshua the Messiah in the second half of the Tribulation.
Some of them died. But the point is that what we see, John seeing that vision, he sees them along with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah at the sea of glass mingled with fire, and he saw them that had gotten the victory, and notice there are four time the word over is mentioned in verse two. They got victory over the beast. That's number one. They got victory over his image, that's number two. They got victory over his mark, that's number three. And they got victory over the number of his name.
In other words, they have successfully, by the grace of God, did not allow themselves to be subjected to the counterfeit Messiah. They did not submit themselves to the false Messiah and the false prophet, and of course the devil himself, Satan himself, who was already cast down to this earth at that time in the middle of the tribulation. Now, that is a wonderful fact that teach us of the preservation of God. You see, they have been preserved. In other words, God had promised that those that belong to him will ultimately be with him. Even if they will lose their life here, they are going to be with Him. Even if they are suffering, going through trials, they are going to ultimately be with Him. Some will end up losing much, but ultimately they are going to be with Him, with the Lord Jesus the Messiah, in the sea of glass.
Now that is very interesting here as well, brothers and sisters, because what we see here, those believers of the second half of the Tribulation, before the sea of glass, representing in a similar way what our own nation Israel have experienced when they, by the grace of God, have experienced the victory through the power of God. You remember when we just read in Exodus chapter 14, you remember that? Israel had been delivered out of the land of Egypt. And God had delivered them in the power of the blood of the Lamb, He passed by every home of Hebrew family who had the blood on the dopos and the linter. And then the next morning, if you remember, Israel were called to leave Egypt and to head on towards the wilderness and later on towards the Promised Land.
And in Exodus chapter 14, which we have read earlier in the reading of the Scripture, we notice how Israel have been now in a dilemma. They are coming, they left Egypt, they have arrived finally to the sea, what we call it the Red Sea, or in Hebrew we call it Yam Suf, the Reed Sea, that's the accurate word for the Red Sea. Well, they arrived there, and what do they see? God now have hardened the heart of Pharaoh. And now Pharaoh is getting, he says, wow, look, the Hebrews have left, we don't have any more slaves here. So he began to pursue them. And if you remember, we read actually in chapter 14, from verse 13, that as the armies of Pharaoh pursuing the Hebrews, and the Israelis is looking now, they are at the sea, the Red Sea is before them, the mountain on the left, the mountain on the right, and they are looking in the back, and what do they see?
The Pharaoh's army is in multitude of, just pursuing after them, and they are ready to take them. And the people of Israel were fearful, they were afraid, what's going to happen? And it says in the same chapter 14, they cried unto the Lord, and they said to Moses, because there is no more graves in Egypt, that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?
And then Moses had to tell them something that the Lord said to Moses, Moses, you tell the people of Israel to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. And here Israel is before the Sina, looking back they see the military of Pharaoh coming, and Moses said unto the people, he says, fear not, don't be afraid. Verse thirteen of chapter fourteen of Exodus, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show unto you today.
So Israel stood still, waited on the Lord, and all of a sudden, dear brothers and sisters, this is something that a lot of people don't believe, but we believe, because we believe the Bible. All of a sudden what happened, that the sea opened. And in a miraculous way, God had opened the Red Sea before the people of Israel, and as they marched forward, it was opening before them. And they were marching forward, and it was opening before them. And the Bible teaches us that the people of Israel was walking on dry land, dry shad, all along, coming on the other side of that opening of the Red Sea.
But then it was not the end, because the military, the army of Pharaoh, is pursuing them. And we find out that all Pharaoh's horses and his horsemen, they were pursuing after them, they were continuing to go after the people of Israel. But then something else had happened. As Israel have crossed to the other side, what happened? Moses, of course, was told by the Lord to put his rod, and then the sea came right over, and all the armies of Pharaoh were drowned in the sea.
And Israel is now on the other side. The Hebrews are on the other side, and what do they see? They see the sea. S E A, and they view, what do they see? The military of Pharaoh is in the sea and totally consumed. As it says in verse 29 of Exodus chapter 14, But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were wall unto them on the right hand and in the left hand. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.
And in a very similar way, dear brothers and sisters, there was a victory that God had provided for his people Israel. There is a victory that God had provided for the church of Yeshua the Messiah. There is a victory that God had provided for the tribulation saints and ultimately the people of Israel in the future day. That sea represent to us the victory of God and the people are there by the seashore enjoying the fact that God had provided the victory for them. And so I'm back now in chapter 15 and look at this again we read in verse 2 and I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire and them notice underline the word them and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over the mark and over the number of his name they stand on the sea of glass having the harp Of God.
Here they are, those victorious of the second half of the Tribulation period. There we see all of them, who have not bowed their knees to Satan and to the beasts and did not worship him. We see them now, they're in the presence of God, on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And what do we do? Now we find out, in verses three and four, that they were singing.
They were singing. You know, singing is wonderful. Every believer in Yeshua the Messiah ought to have a desire to sing in his heart. Now, there is a difference between the song of creation, which we read about it in Job 38, And the song of redemption, which we read about it in Scripture, of all those that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. There's two different songs. The song of creation is a song that angels have sung. We read in Job chapter 38, when the sons of God have sung. They were singing the creation song because God have created the universe. But only believers, only forgiven people, only sinners saved by grace can sing the song of redemption. What is redemption? Redemption, to be redeemed, it means that somebody bought me.
Somebody paid the price for my sin and sin. Somebody took the judgment that I deserve to receive. That is the song of redemption. And only believers in God, in Yeshua the Messiah, whether it is Old Testament or New Testament, whether prior to the coming of the Messiah or after the coming of the Messiah, only redeemed people can sing that song of redemption. And the Bible calls it here, in chapter 15 of Revelation, it's called the twofold song. It says in verse 3, And they sang, first of all, the song of Moses, the servant of God, and secondly, it is the song of the Lamb.
The two aspects, if you will, or the two songs that we have in the Bible, one of them called the song of Moses, the servant of God, the second one called the song of the Lamb of God, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, those two songs. And those two songs, you can find them, the first song, the song of Moses, can be found in Exodus, chapter 15. From the beginning to verse I think twenty one. And the second song we can find the Song of the Lamb we can find it in Revelation chapter five and verses eight to eleven and twelve. Those two songs that are being sung. And I want you to notice that brothers and sisters, Israel could never sing as long that they were in Egypt.
In fact the only side, the only wept, they could not sing when you are in bondage to sin and to fail and to his taskmaster. They could not sing. They could not sing beloved brothers and sisters. Why? Because they were in a sense away from God. They were in bondage in Egypt because of disobedience. They were in bondage in Egypt there because of the fact that they've gone left the promised land. And I'm enter to be then in Egypt in the beginning it was glorious because Joseph was there as the second to Pharaoh but once Joseph died and the nation remained there a new Pharaoh came and he made them slaves.
No wonder today in the world in which we live in the unbelieving world they cannot sing the songs of redemption. Oh yeah they can sing about all kind of music and songs and maybe beautiful melody but it is a song that link with earth. It is a song that cannot lift up your heart and lift it up to a God who love you and care for you and provide for you. It is a song that ultimately gonna die but there is a song that Israel could sing only after they left Egypt.
It is a song that in the Bible is called the song of redemption. Look at that for a moment. If you turn back to Exodus for a moment, again, Exodus chapter 14 earlier, look at Exodus chapter 15. We read, look, after the defeat of the armies of the Pharaoh, of the Egyptian, Israel standing on the other side of the shore of the Red Sea, Yam Suf, the Reed Sea, and then looking and they see the military of Pharaoh defeated, they look at themselves and they know that they have been on the other side now, and now in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 1, they can sing. And we read in verse 1, Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord.
And they spake, and they said, I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation. He is my Father's God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariot and his horse as he cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them, they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, has dashed them in pieces, the enemy. And in the greatness of thy excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee. And we can go on and sing that. So notice in verse eleven they said, Who is like thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
You know, they were singing because they were delivered from the judgment that they deserved, and God had brought them out all the way through the wilderness and took them and took care of them and brought them crossing the Reed Sea to the other side. And he showed them right into the sea. He says, Look, look at the enemies who sought to destroy you.
He delivered his people. It was a song of redemption that only a redeemed nation could sing, a redeemed person can sing. And that's why if a person here is not a believer, you cannot sing that song. You cannot sing that song because one need to be experience the forgiveness of God for all our sins that we have committed in our life. That's what we learn here from this song. So they sung the song of Moses, the servant of God. There's another song that some suggest that the Torah in chapter thirty two that may be also the song where Moses rehearse before Israel all the faithfulness of God. all the goodness of God and what He has done for the people of Israel. So it may be either one of them or both of them together. One was in the beginning of their journey out of Egypt, the other one was at the end of the journey out of Egypt, as they are anticipating to enter into the Promised Land.
So this is the song of Moses. You can imagine how they must have felt Israel years ago when they had been delivered out of the land. Of Egypt. So they sung that song of Moses. The second one that we read here, they also sung the song of the Lamb. You notice that? Now if you turn back to chapter five of the Revelation, and in chapter five you will notice the song that they were singing around the throne, around the Lamb. That's the church is singing there. And look at this, how beautiful. In chapter five, and then the verse there specifically is verse eight and on. It says there like this, And when he had taken, this is Yeshua, the Lamb of God, when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, and they having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sung a new song.
Saying thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God notice the word redeem you have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every kindred and tongues and peoples and nation and made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign over the earth this is the song of the Lamb that the people were singing the church is singing there in heaven singing because of the fact that the Messiah redeemed us with his precious blood Redeemed us, brothers and sisters, realize that the basis of our redemption is the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah. Whether it is for Israel, whether it is for the church, whether it is for the saints of the tribulation period, whether it is for the 144,000, whether it is, every one of us were redeemed on the basis of the shed blood of Yeshua the Messiah, and we can sing that song, and the central portion of that song is the fact that you have saved us.
I don't know if you took a note of it in Exodus chapter 15, where it says in verse 2, the Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. That's the thought that we have. He had become my salvation. Isaiah also mentioned this also in chapter twelve about the future restoration of Israel, that they will say, Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and will not be afraid, for the Lord my God is my song, my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. And that's the reason why they sung that song. And so that song, twofold aspect of this song, the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. And now notice that I'm reading now verse three. Look at the words of this song that they sung here in verse three and four.
The second half of verse three. Look, great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of ages. 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 just judgment or thy righteous acts are made manifest. You notice that song? Though they were redeemed, it is a song of redemption, but the theme of the song is God, is the Messiah. You know, here in these two verses, verse three B and verse four, you find so many times the word thou or thee or you, God. Notice and repeat that, allow me that to do that. Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways.
Or thou king of ages or king of saints. Verse four, O shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name, for thou only art holy, for all nations shall come and worship before thee, before you, for thy judgments are made manifest. Everything here in that song is centered in the person of God, in the person of the Messiah, in the person of the Lamb. You know, when we are going to go to heaven, we will be so taken up by the person of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, by the person of God the Father, that we are going to be totally occupied with Him and what He have done. His works are marvelous, His deeds are amazing, He is almighty, He is just, and He is true, and everything He does, He is just. You know, the world tells us today that God is not just, is not fair.
If God would have been dealing with us according to justice and fairness, we would be consumed because of the holiness of God. But God reached out in grace, provided way of redemption, and here you can see that the song is that God's way are just. In verse four he said everyone is going to be fearful and acknowledge you. In verse four everyone will recognize and glorify his name. In verse four he said you alone are holy. You know brothers and sisters all have gone astray, all have sinned, there is unholiness in the nature of the human race, but God is holy, is pure, his eyes cannot look at iniquity, he cannot look upon sin. But we are the opposite, we are sinners who need to be judged by God and yet he provided for us a way of escape. Look at the end of verse four, he says that all the nations shall come and worship him.
You know the nations today will reject him, who reject the Messiah one day in the coming day at the end of the tribulation in the millennial age, they're all going to come and worship him. The Bible tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Yeshua, the Messiah, is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
The prophet Zechariah, the Hebrew prophet, says in chapter 14 that all the nations will send representation to the city of Yerushalayim to worship the king. They will have to come. The apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 2 says that in the name of Yeshua every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Today he's despised, he's rejected, but there's a day coming when everyone will worship him. Everyone and your righteous deed gonna be made manifest. Everyone will see that God is just in what he have done in this universe. They will all have to behold it and acknowledge that. Well, this is the thought that we have here in the prelude before the actual seven bowls are being poured upon the face of this earth. So this is up to verse four right now. Brothers and sisters, now look quickly at the end of the chapter, the second half of chapter 15.
We look at it. First of all, we see again, John sees the temple in heaven. Notice that now again in verse 5, After I looked, and behold, in verse 5, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. Now remember that when Moses went to the mount in the book of Exodus, God gave him instruction to build the tabernacle. And the instruction that he had given to him, he was told in chapter 25 of the book of Exodus to build the tabernacle according to the pattern that God had given him on the mount.
And Moses built the tabernacle. And the tabernacle was exactly in accordance with the plans that God had given to him on the mountain. He couldn't change it. You know why he couldn't change it, beloved brothers and sisters? Because the tabernacle and the temple are a picture of the Messiah. Every article in the tabernacle speaks of the Messiah.
Whether it is the ark, whether it is the law, whether it is the man, whether it is the rod of Aaron that budded, all the colors and the material, everything speaks of Yeshua, the Messiah. He couldn't change it, because God have an order. God have set an order. And here, what does he see? He see the very same, in a vision, the temple and the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven, it was open.
And he sees it, John in vision, and this is exactly what Moses and what Solomon had to do as they build the ark, the tabernacle, and the temple. It's got to be in according with the pattern that they have seen, that they received the revelation from the Lord. But then what does he sees there? Now after it says it's open in verse five, in verse six, he see those same seven angels that we read about in the prior verses, and they have the seven plagues in their hand. You see that? And the seven angels came out of the temple, the tabernacle, out of the temple, they have the seven plagues, and notice that they were closed in pure white linen.
And having their breasts girded with golden girdle. Now they are going now to act in a sense as the servants of God. They were going out of the temple to do what they were bidden to do by God. The temple was open. They are coming out, their clothes in white, their breasts are girded with golden girdle. And now notice that in verse seven there, verse seven, they receive now from one of the beasts or one of the living creature, they receive those vials or those bowls. And one of the four beasts, you remember there was four beasts or four living creatures around the throne there? One of them gave unto the seven angels the golden bowls.
You know, in Israel, historically, there were always bowls involving, if Aaron would go to minister to the Lord, to go into the Holy of Holies, there would be bowls of the blood, of the blood of the animal that had been killed. So he would take and he would sprinkle it over the ark and before the ark and around the ark. The bowls were to carry vessels in which you carry that which you would need to carry with you. They used water with bowls, they used blood in the bowls, and so on. And here now, they, those seven angels, are going to minister unto God in judgment upon the face of this earth.
So this living creature there gave to those seven angels the bowls. Now again, what those bowls are filled with, look at that, they were filled with the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. They had these bowls in their hand, like a bowl of soup, if you will. They are carrying that, and those bowls were filled with the wrath of God. God is ready to unleash the final judgment upon the face of this world, and they will need to pour one bowl at a time as we look at the final seven judgment in chapter 16. And it is the wrath of God again is mentioned. God is just, and God will have to judge sin in His wrath, in His righteous indignation, He will pour out judgment upon the face of this world. And I want you to notice, brothers and sisters, that wrath for God is a strange judgment. He doesn't like, He doesn't enjoy judging men.
He doesn't want men to be judged. It is a strange service for God to do. He rather to bring man to himself, he provided the Messiah for that, but man refused. And that's the final. And so here in verse eight, at the end of this chapter, we find out that 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 until, listen, the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. That's it. Now those seven angels come out of this heavenly temple.
That were in a sense similar to it built by our people Israel. And they are coming out of seven angels with those seven plagues, the bowls are ready to unleash on this world the final judgment of God, and no one was able to enter anymore into the temple until the final judgment of God is going to happen. If you remember, dear brothers and sisters, when Moses finished to build the tabernacle, and the Shekinah or the Shekhinah, the glory of God came and rested on the tabernacle, no one could come draw near anymore. Because the glory of God was there in the presence of the nation of Israel, the priests could no longer serve.
When Solomon at the end of chapter seven finished to build the temple, not the tabernacle now, The same thing happened, you read it in chapter eight of the book of Kings, that no one was able to serve anymore in the temple because the glory of God, the Shekinah glory, was there, the temple of God. And then now, in conclusion here, you can see, dear brothers and sisters here, that the smoke, in verse eight, the smoke of the glory of God, and shows his power, no man was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled, and immediately we go into chapter sixteen, which one step at a time, one ball at a time is being poured, unleashed upon this world. Because of the full wrath of God, because of sin unleashed upon this world that rejected the Messiah. Well, with this we are going to conclude with chapter 15, but in conclusion I want to mention this.
You know, we can sing today because we have been forgiven. We don't need to wait for heaven to go to sing there, but we can already sing today the song of the redeemed. Apostle Paul encouraged the believers in Ephesians in chapter 5, and in Colossians chapter 3, singing with grace in your heart unto the Lord. We don't need to wait. We can sing in heaven, that's for sure, but we can sing today. We can sing when you go through trials, when you go through difficulties in your life, we can still sing to the Lord and thank Him for what He have done for us. Brothers and sisters, Yeshua paid the price for our sins, and we are forgiven. We have a hope today that unbelievers don't have.
We can sing to the Lord. Don't get discouraged to the point that you don't sing to the Lord today in the day of rejection. Let's encourage each other as we are singing to Him. Let us making sure that we are still those redeemed people that can sing and praise the Lord for what He have done for us. Can you say amen to that? Amen.