This chapter not only tells
us that the wrath of God has a conclusion to it, but it also gives us the first
glimpse at the opening of the thousand-year reign of Christ.
During those thousand years, Christ will reign, as our king and High
Priest while Satan is locked away and out of the picture.
Rev
20:1-3
1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the
key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
2 He
seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound
him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked
and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the
thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. NIV
Now the thousand years is a time when all mankind
will be taught the knowledge of the Lord… or the truth.
And that knowledge will cover the earth, so fully that it is equated with
the waters covering the sea, which was told to mankind way back in chapter
eleven of Isaiah.
Isaiah
11:9-12
9 They will neither
harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a
banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest
will be glorious.
11
In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a
second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from
Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath
and from the islands of the sea.
12
He will raise a banner for the nations and gather
the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the
four quarters of the earth. NIV
Revelation
4:2
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in
heaven with someone sitting on it.
Revelation
4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of
thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven
spirits of God.
Revelation
4:6
Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass,
clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures,
and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. NIV
Now that we have been reminded that it is God Almighty who sits on this throne atop the symbolic sea of glass let us begin chapter fifteen of Revelation.
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. NIV
We know that our creator is the author of love; nonetheless He threatened
His wrath time and time again over the ages.
Now had God not been true to his word and brought forth that wrath, then
among other things, a major lesson would have been lost to mankind in general.
Still his wrath, as has been pointed out before, was tempered by His
love, His sense of justice, and His compassion, but most of all by His
righteousness… all the things that make our creator holy.
And so there will be no misunderstanding we will repeat the
definition of the word holy…it
means to be separate, distinct, one of a kind.
The point of this is that although the warning to mankind that
his wrath would be forthcoming, if the ways of man were not mended, had to take
place. It had to take place at the
time assigned for this wrath by our Creator or He would have made His own word
unreliable.
Just the same, God’s wrath was not to be endless, for with the
end of the seven plagues comes the end of that wrath just as the first verse of
this chapter has just told us with the words…
because with them God's wrath is completed.
Now as has been said before in these pages when one thing ends something else begins. That something else was the time for the beginning of the new heavens and the new earth, which the creator has also promised. Lets take a quick peek ahead in Revelation and see where our Creator confirms this.
Revelation 21:1-3
1 Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and
there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will
live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. NIV
All of above has, at the future time assigned to it, a start that begins with the next verse.
And
I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the
sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the
number of his name. They held harps given them by God NIV
The
sea of glass mixed with fire represents a time, allotted by our God, for a
period of refinement being set for the sea of people or mankind in general.
How does that period of refinement take place?
It is a period of time overseen by those that have been victorious over
the beast, (SATAN)
his image (HIS
GOVERNMENT OR SYSTEM OF THINGS)
and his number (MANKIND IN GENERAL)
A number we have already learned in chapter 13, which is clearly stated as 666.
This
calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the
beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
NIV
However,
verse 2 is telling us that those that have been victorious over Satan and his
teachings are given authority and instructions to teach the sea, or people in
general, during this thousand-year reign of Christ. These instructions are
coming from the Almighty Himself. This
is verified by the words “They held harps given
them by God”
These
words tell us this victorious group we learned of in chapters seven and fourteen
of Revelation goes about refining the general population with a distinct voice
or message, such as a harp. Now God's word or message is being symbolized as a
harp because a harp has a distinguished sound and is clearly recognizable even
when mixed in with the sound from a whole orchestra.
It is telling us this victorious group of members of the family of God
play one tune and one tune only, which is the word of the Almighty.
As you might recall what John said, after he had been instructed to eat
the small scroll in Revelation chapter ten that it would taste sweet in his
mouth but bitter in his stomach.
9 So
I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me,
"Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it
will be as sweet as honey."
10 I
took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as
honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
11 Then
I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages
and kings." NIV
So it will also be to those that hear this song for the first time. It will be sweet to taste the knowledge of God’s truth without Satan to confuse it during the thousand-year reign of Christ… but it will also be bitter knowledge, that in the past, they had swallowed and stomached the lies of the great deceiver. Yet during this thousand-year reign of Christ even though all people will be instructed in the truth as God has revealed it, will all people accept the word with their hearts as well as their minds? The answer to that unfortunately is no, which is what was learned in Chapter fourteen of Revelation.
And
they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and
the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed
from the earth. NIV
Yet
the scripture above from chapter 14 is telling us not everyone will learn this
new song. In fact, only the true
members of the family of God or 144,000 will be able to learn it… “…No
one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the
earth.”
Which
means that at the end of the thousand years when Satan is released from his
chains for a short time only those that have truly believed will remain
faithful, the rest will become part of Satan’s Gog and Magog.
Nonetheless, the time of a thousand years has been decreed by God to
teach his message to all nations, tongues, and peoples, unhindered by anything
or anyone. Why?
So that at the end during the period when all men will have to answer to
God for their actions no one will be able to say…”Gee Lord no body ever told
me, I was never given a chance to learn your truth.”
That
this group of victorious members of God’s family will be teaching the world
during this time is verified in the next verse of chapter 15 as it continues the
thought concerning “They held harps given them by
God”.
and
sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great
and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages. NIV
We
have already learned in previous chapters that this song is the Gospel the good
news of the kingdom of God. What
was the song Moses sang?
15:1 Then
Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
2 The
LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I
will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. NIV
13 "In
your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength
you will guide them to your holy dwelling. NIV
It
might be noted that the leading out of the people of Israel by Moses was a
foreshadowing of the leading out of the kingdom of Satan the people that follow
Christ. Moses and the people of
Israel understood the kingdom as only an earthly kingdom. However, when Christ came he explained there was also a
heavenly side to that kingdom and all was to the glory of his God and his Father
and the parallel is easy to see.
Moses taught the law of the Old Covenant. Christ introduced us to the law of the New Covenant, Love God with all your heart, mind and life and also love your neighbor as yourself. Christ told us that if we obey these two commands we are obeying all the law given to Moses and the house of Israel under the Old Covenant.
So
in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up
the Law and the Prophets.
NIV
35 One
of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 "Teacher,
which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus
replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.'
38 This
is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And
the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.'
40 All
the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." NIV
Who
will not fear you, O 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." NIV
After
this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the
Testimony, was opened. NIV
3 Behind
the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
4 which
had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant. This
ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the
stone tablets of the covenant. NIV
It
was this curtain enclosing the Ark of the Covenant that was torn in two from top
to bottom by The Almighty the moment Christ died. This tearing in two of the curtain signified that Christ had
opened the way to God and that God Almighty had accepted the death of His Son as
the ultimate sacrifice. That verse
five of this chapter in Revelation refers to the opening of “The
tabernacle of the Testimony” means that once again God will take up
residence with mankind but at that time in a very different manner than before.
Where before he was available to mankind through the High Priest only.
In the future our Eternal High Priest, the only begotten Son of God,
through his earthly act of sacrifice has made the way to God open to all the
family of God.
That
God Almighty is also coming along with His Son is so mind boggling to me that
all I personally can say to that is… WOW.
But
it can also be pointed out that this residence with man by the Almighty himself
is verified in
And
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is
with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself
will be with them and be their God. NIV
22 I
did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are
its temple.
23 The
city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God
gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 The
nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their
splendor into it.
25 On
no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
26 The
glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. NIV
3 No
longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the
city, and his servants will serve him.
4 They
will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5 There
will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of
the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and
ever. NIV
I
saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. NIV
Rev 21:1-3
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Genesis 3:17
"Cursed is the ground
because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it
Revelation 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. NIV
And again let us be reminded that Revelation is a book of symbolism so why should we suddenly get the idea that this is a literal city that falls out of the sky. The city spoken of here symbolizes the body of Christ or all of Christendom. Since that is so the next verse relates its wonder…
Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. NIV
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.
NIV
And
among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a
robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
NIV
Job 1:6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. NKJV
Job 2:1
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. NKJV
Now these seven angels come out of the temple of God
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.
These bowls were to be poured out onto the earth but these are not just a new set of plagues that fall on the earth but also a new and more detailed presentation of the events concerning the seventh trumpet, which has not sounded as yet, but will herald Gods final Judgment when it does. In other words we are given some information on how God will judge the world.
These events are here being
portrayed as being dished out from golden bowls because golden dishes were
considered royal dishes in days of old. Solomon had golden dishes and cups that
he ate and drank from. Since there is no one more Royal than our Creator we have
seven angels being given seven golden bowls which we shall learn more about in
the next chapter.
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. NIV
If
those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the
elect those days will be shortened. NIV
Who then are the elect? Remember
the saints who cried out for vengeance for Gods word back in chapter five?
They are the saints who make up the firstfruits of the spiritual family
whom God adopted from the earth. It
is their prayers that God has already decreed to be answered
7 He
came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
8 And
when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls
full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And
they sang a new song: NIV
So the smoke in the temple is God telling us that the prayers of the saints are not only being heard but they are also being answered, therefore God shortens the time, which also allows the thousand-year reign of Christ to begin sooner. These are the same seven angels that are being referred to in this chapter but even though they are each holding seven golden bowls of incense in chapter five, here in chapter 15 notice they are given seven different bowls filled with God’s wrath.
The
second thing verse 8 of chapter 15 in Revelation is telling us is that “…no
one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were
completed.” In other words
the unquestioned and uncontested kingdom rule by Christ, on the earth, will not
begin until the wrath of God is finished.
We will restate here that the purpose of God in the Bible is to create a spiritual family for His only begotten Son. That family is supplied by those adopted from the earth. However, in the future world the earth will have been cleansed and made righteous in order for the plans and purpose of God to be completely filled so that His righteous family will continue to grow forever.
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