Prelude to the Bowl Judgement (Chap. 15)
Chapters 15 and 16 present the specific phenomena of the final outpouring of God’s wrath before Christ’s returns. The Apostle John saw the seven angels holding the seven vials or bowls of God’s wrath, poised for action. We must understand that God’s nature encompasses not only righteousness and holiness but also grace and mercy. Even during the judgements of the tribulation, God continues to call sinners for repentance and salvation. He will do this through 1,44,000 Jewish evangelists and the 2-unique witnesses (perhaps Moses and Elijah Rev.11:3-13) and a host of redeemed Gentiles and Jews (7:9-17), even an angel flying in the sky (14:6-7). God is busily working to save sinners from His own wrath. We must understand God created the Hell for the rebellious Satan and his followers. But Satan made a host of human beings as his followers along with his demonic forces. During the tribulation God’s evangelistic effort will escalate.
The vengeance of God: (15:1-2): Before the angels pour out their judgments, there is an “interlude” of blessing. Before sending the “third woe” (11:14), God once again reassures His faithful people. The Apostle John sees a great and marvellous sing. The sign itself consists of 7-angels who had 7-plagues which literally means “blows” or “wounds.” They are not diseases or epidemics, but deadly blows that will strike the world with killing impact.
The 7-bowls or plagues are the last and worst plagues because in them the wrath of God is finished.
Then the Apostle John “saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire.” The sea was not an actual ocean, because in (21:1) he “saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea.” What John saw was a transparent crystal platform before God’s throne, shimmering and glistening like a tranquil, sunlit sea. But the beauty of tranquillity was mixed with fire. It is true that “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).
John saw the believers from the Tribulation who had overcome “the beast” and his system. These are the people who “loved not their lives unto the death” (12:11). Since they did not cooperate with the satanic system and so didn’t receive the mark of “the beast,” they were unable to buy or sell (13:17). They were totally dependent on the Lord for their daily bread. Some of them were put into prison and some were slain (13:10); but all of them practiced faith and patience.
The character of God: (15:3-4):
The song sung by the glorified saints before the throne is an anthem of praise God to uphold God’s righteousness and holiness. This entire scene is reminiscent of Israel following the Exodus. The nation had been delivered from Egypt by the blood of the lamb, and the Egyptian army had been destroyed at the Red Sea. In thankfulness to God, the Israelites stood by the sea and sang “the song of Moses.” The theme matches with the song of Moses in (Ex.15 and Rev. 5). They extol God’s character as the omnipotent, immutable, Sovereign, perfect and righteous creator and Judge. Because of this God will judge sinners, if He ignored their sin, He would not be Holy, righteous and true to His nature.
The song closes with joyful anticipation of the millennial reign of Christ when all nations will come and worship before God. “All the earth will worship You and will sing praises to You; they will sing praises to Your name” (Ps. 66:4).
The Plan of God: (15:5-8):
“The Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony” refers to the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary where God’s presence dwells; emphasizing that God is the source of the plagues. All the 7-angels will unfold their assigned duty according to God’s will.