Revelation 15:1-8
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2 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.
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.a
4 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.
5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6 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 girdles.
7 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.
8 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.
From Now to the End of Time
Revelation
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 15
The 7 last troubles - Revelation 15:1-16
Preparation for the troubles - Revelation 15:1-8
v1 Then I saw something else in heaven. It was great and wonderful. There were 7 *angels, who brought the 7 last awful troubles to the world. These were the last troubles because they satisfied the anger of God. v2 And I saw what seemed to be a sea of glass and fire. I also saw those who had defeated the *beast and its image. They overcame the number of the name of that *beast. Those who overcame the *beast stood on the glassy sea. They held in their hands the *harps that God had given to them. v3 And they sang the song that Moses (the servant of God and the *Lamb) had sung. ‘*Lord God you are all powerful. You do great and wonderful things. You rule as king over the nations. All that you do is right and perfect. v4 *Lord, everyone will respect you and everyone will give honour to your name. You alone are the holy God. People from all nations will come and *worship you. They will come because they have seen your deeds. And your decisions are always right.’
v5 After this, I saw the *temple in heaven. And the most holy place, which was in the *temple, was open. v6 The 7 *angels, who had the 7 last awful troubles, came out of the *temple. Each one wore bright white clothes and each one had a gold belt round his body. v7 Then one of the four *creatures gave a gold bowl to each *angel. The bowls were full of the anger of God who will always live. v8 Smoke that came from the greatness and power of God filled the *temple. Nobody could go into the *temple until the 7 troubles had ended. The 7 *angels would pour out these awful troubles.
Verse 1 What John saw next was great and wonderful. He saw in heaven 7 *angels. These *angels controlled the 7 last troubles that came upon the world. These will be times of awful trouble and pain, because God will be angry. God will be angry because people refused to accept his love. God will be angry because people became very wicked. And God will be angry because people *worshipped the *beast and his image instead of God.
These last troubles will bring the anger of God to an end.
This does not mean that God’s anger has finished. He still has to punish the devil. And he still has to throw the *beast and the false *prophet into the lake of fire. But it does mean that this will be the final act of God’s anger on the earth.
These 7 troubles will be the last ones. When they have finished, Christ will return to the earth.
Verse 2 John again sees a glass sea (Revelation 4:6). This sea seems to be glass, but it glows like fire. It was a solid sea rather than like water. A large crowd stood on the sea.
The crowd was of all those who had defeated the *beast and its image. They did not *worship the *beast. They did not have the mark of the *beast. That mark was the number of the name of the *beast. God gave to them *harps in order to make music. They held these *harps in their hands.
Verses 3-4 They sang a song of praise to God. They sang about the wonderful things that God had done. They sang the song that Moses had sung. It was a song about how God saved *Israel from Egypt (Exodus 15:1-18). They sang about the way that the *Lamb had saved them.
They praised God because he is all-powerful. God fixed limits on the power of the *beast. God had control over all things. They praised God because he had been with them during the troubles. Now God had brought them to safety in heaven. They declared that all God’s deeds are right and perfect. He is the king of the ages. He rules all things through time and beyond time.
In the end, all who remain will be afraid of God. They will give honour to him. Nobody will *worship another god because there is no other. He is the one and only holy God.
This song is about the time after God deals with the *beast. The nations will then see what God has done. God as the judge will punish the workers of evil deeds. People from all the nations will *worship God.
Each phrase in the song comes from the Psalms or the *prophets of the *Old Testament.
Verses 5-6 Then John saw the *temple in heaven. In the *temple was the most holy place. It was open and 7 *angels came out of it. The *angels came from God. They would bring the final awful troubles to the earth.
Verse 7 Each of the 7 *angels received a gold bowl from one of the *creatures. These bowls contained the 7 last troubles. In other words, each trouble would happen when the *angels poured out each bowl. These troubles were the anger of God. This means that the troubles were the result of God’s anger.
Verse 8 As the *angels received the bowls, smoke filled the *temple. This smoke was from the *glory and power of God. This smoke showed that God was present in his *temple. Because of the smoke, nobody could enter the *temple. Nobody could stop the awful troubles that God sent on the earth.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.beast ~ an animal. In this Book of Revelation, the beasts describe Satan, Antichrist and the false prophet.
Satan ~ the name of the devil.
Antichrist ~ a powerful ruler who imitates and opposes Christ. The Book of Revelation also describes the Antichrist as ‘the beast’. The Antichrist hates Christ. The Bible also refers to many antichrists. These are people who hate Christ like the Antichrist.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future. The Book of Revelation also describes a false prophet. This false prophet speaks on behalf of the Antichrist and Satan.
harp ~ an instrument of music.
lamb ~ a young sheep.
Lamb ~ a name for Jesus because he died as a sacrifice for our sin. He is the Lamb of God.
sacrifice ~ the priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. This was to ask God to forgive sins. Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are called sinners.
altar ~ the special table where priests burned animals and other gifts that they offered to God.
forgive ~ to forgive is to remove sin.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all people and things.
lord ~ a title for someone who rules.
worship ~ the act when someone shows honour to God (or to an idol). Someone who worships, praises God. That person thanks God. And that person respects God.
idols ~ objects that people worship instead of God.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God. But at other temples, people worshipped false gods.
worship ~ the act when someone shows honour to God (or to an idol). Someone who worships, praises God. That person thanks God. And that person respects God.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
idols ~ objects that people worship instead of God.
creatures ~ Things that are alive. In the Book of Revelation, there are 4 special angels in heaven called creatures.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future. The Book of Revelation also describes a false prophet. This false prophet speaks on behalf of the Antichrist and Satan.
Antichrist ~ a powerful ruler who imitates and opposes Christ. The Book of Revelation also describes the Antichrist as ‘the beast’. The Antichrist hates Christ. The Bible also refers to many antichrists. These are people who hate Christ like the Antichrist.
Satan ~ the name of the devil.
beast ~ an animal. In this Book of Revelation, the beasts describe Satan, Antichrist and the false prophet.
Israel ~ the country of the Jews.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the holy things that the writers wrote before Jesus’ birth.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.