Revelation-Part 32

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THE SEVEN BOWLS INTRODUCED

John, the author of Revelation, has provided us with substantial information in prepara­tion for the seventh trumpet judgment. Now as we reach the fifteenth chapter of Revelation, the time has arrived to introduce the contents of that seventh trumpet. The trumpet consists of seven bowls (or vials) filled with the anger of God (15:7), bowls that are carried by seven angels who are ready to inflict the seven last plagues (15:1) on a world in rebellion against God. The fifteenth chapter consists of two parts, rejoicing over the seven last plagues (15:1-4) and preparation for the seven last plagues (15:5-8). Both scenes are set in heaven as that heavenly base of operations prepares to impose these plagues upon the earth.

Rejoicing over the Seven Last Plagues (15:1-4)

The first of two visions that comprise chapter 15 pictures those who have come off victorious in their encounter with the beast, recalling of course the victorious 144,000 in 14:1-5. This is a celestial interlude such as interludes that preceded both the seal series (Revelation 4–5) and the trumpet series (8:2-6). The first verse of the chapter is a super­scription especially for chapters 15–16 but also for the remainder of the visional portion of the book through 22:5. John sees another sign in heaven, following up the signs he de­scribed in 12:1, 3, but he describes this sign as “great and marvelous.”

The sign consists of seven angels who had the seven last plagues. A note of finality such as was absent in the description of the angels with the trumpets in 8:2-6 associates itself with these angels. They are bearers of seven plagues that are termed “the last ones,” plus the account goes on to note that “the wrath of God was completed in them” (15:1). These plagues also comprise the last of three woes announced in 11:14, just before the sounding of the seventh trumpet in 11:15. Some try to soften the tone of ultimacy, abso­luteness, and universality connected with these plagues, but the force of the language is overwhelming in emphasizing these plagues as being the very last ones.

Five of the plagues recall five of the ten Egyptian plagues in Exodus 7–10. The first and third plagues (also called the first and third bowl or vial judgments) are particularly reminis­cent of how God punished the Egyptians in delivering His people Israel from slavery. Other aspects of this series that are familiar in connection with the Exodus account are the cross­ing of the sea (16:12), the song of Moses (15:3), the giving of the law amid the smoke of Sinai (15:8), and the erection of the tent of testimony (15:5). In describing how the anger of God overtakes all sin, the series includes the venting of that anger all the way through the seventh bowl (16:19), the second coming of Christ (19:15), the casting into the lake of fire of rebellious mankind (20:12-15), and the same fate for the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (19:20; 20:10). The wrath of God and of the Lamb, begun under the seal judg­ments (6:16-17), reaches its final great climax with the seven last plagues.

John’s next scene divulges a heavenly sea in which glass is mixed with fire and a com­pany of those “who have overcome the beast and his image and the number of His name standing on that sea and holding harps of God” (15:2). This is a picture of victory, peace, and tranquility. This crowd has withstood the murderous persecution of the second beast (13:11-18) without compromising their stand for Christ, and are now in heaven ready to sing and celebrate the culmination of God’s wrathful visitations upon the earth.

They sing two songs, one of Moses and the other of the Lamb (15:3a). In recounting the faithfulness of God to Israel, the former recognizes the large number of Israelites that are among those who have overcome the beast. The latter song celebrates the ultimate victory over sin and the forces of the dragon, a victory that has as its basis the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Both songs rejoice in the same theme, that of deliverance. John cites only the song of the Lamb in 15:3b-4, leaving it to the readers’ memory to recall the song of Moses in Exodus 15. The Lamb composed this song through His actions that have domi­nated the process of deliverance, a process that reaches its climax at this point.

The song celebrates God’s great and marvelous works and His righteous and true ways in 15:3b, and continues in 15:4 by recounting the inevitability of fearing God and giving Him glory. When the last plagues are finished, everyone will willingly reverence and glorify the name of God. After the purging of the earth through the plagues, the survivors will respond positively to God. Universal fear of God will replace a blatant unwillingness to repent and defiant blasphemy (cf. 16:9, 11, 21) and a repudiation of His “everlasting gospel” (14:7). That incontrovertible fact is what the singers are celebrating.

Preparation for the Seven Last Plagues (15:5-8)

The next heavenly scene to meet John’s eyes centered about the seven angels whom he had seen previously, in verse 1 of chapter 15. It is now time for the main actors intro­duced at that point to receive their tools of misery. The description locates the scene in “the temple of the tabernacle of testimony” (15:5), emphasizing the presence of God as the source from which come the troubles about to transpire on earth. “The tabernacle of the testimony” in the Mosaic tabernacle housed the sacred record of laws from God who is about to execute His judgments against all lawbreakers.

From that heavenly temple came the seven angels with the seven last plagues (15:6). Their garments resembled those of the bride of Christ (19:8) who will compose His army when the bride returns with Him to earth (19:14). Their golden girdles are positioned the same as Christ’s in the initial vision of Revelation (Rev. 1:13), marking the punitive mission on which they are about to embark.

One of the four living beings who are in heaven then distributes to the seven angels seven golden bowls (or vials) filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever (15:7). The part of the living beings in preparing for the seven last plagues recalls the similar role of all four living beings in imposing the judgments of the first four seals earlier in the book (6:1-8). The fullness of these bowls denotes the devastating character as well as the finality of the coming divine judgement under the bowl judgments. The words “who lives forever and ever” emphasize the eternality of God and consequently the eternal character of the wrath about to be inflicted.

Next in sequence in John’s vision, with the bowls in the hands of the angels, the heav­enly temple undergoes an awe-inspiring transformation into an environment accessible only to God (15:8). The “smoke” as a symbol of God’s presence emphasizes His role in the judgments to come. It recalls the Shekinah that first filled the tabernacle and later the temple in Israel. In this case it arises “from the glory of God and from His power” that will be on display in the seven bowls about to be emptied onto the earth by the angels. The inaccessibility to heaven lasts through the duration of the seven bowl judgments.

The awesome preparations for the seven last plagues recall earlier warnings in the book of Hebrews: “Our God is a consuming fire” (12:29) and “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:31). Any person today can choose either that awful fate of becoming an object of God’s anger or that glorious future of joining the overcomers who celebrate their victory over the beast (Rev. 15:2-4). It is a choice between black and white, with no gray areas between. The reasonable choice is simple: trust Jesus Christ for salva­tion from sin and become His follower. That decision will provide sure refuge from the wrath to come (see 1 Thess. 5:9).

Note: For more details about the preparations for the seven bowls in Revelation 15, see my discussion in Revelation 8–22 (Moody Press, 1995), pages 227-245. To order this volume, you may contact Grace Books International at (800) GRACE15 or www.gbibooks.com.

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