Revelation 15:1-8

(Rev 15:1 KJV)
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.

John now begins the fourth vision which contains the seven last judgments which are known as the vial judgments. In these judgments we will see that they will affect the entire earth. The first vision affected one quarter of the earth and the second vision affected one third of the earth. These fractions denote that the judgments were limited in scope but now in the third set of judgments, they are affecting the entire earth. This is known as progressive revelation when God builds upon something He previously mentioned. The judgments represented in the three sets have become progressively intense. In this vision we will end up at Armageddon which is the final battle between God and Satan. In 15;1, John is seeing another great sign in heaven. He is seeing the seven angels which have been dispatched with the final seven plagues. Revelation 10:7 states that when the seventh angel sounded the mystery of God will be finished. (Rev 10:7 KJV) But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. The last seven plagues completes the wrath of God on the earth. The term “filled up” carries with it the meaning of “complete or finished.”

(Rev 15:2 KJV)
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.

Here John sees a wonderful sight. John is seeing a sea of glass which is mingled with fire. The word “mingled” carries with it the meaning of “mixed or blended.” One thing we know is that fire represents judgment. In Rev. 4:6, we saw the sea of glass which was like crystal. Here we have the glass mixed with fire. (Isa 48:10 KJV) Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. We also see the believers standing on the glass which is mingled with fire. In Isaiah 48:10, we are told that God has purified His people but not with Silver. He has chosen us in the furnace of affliction. That fire which has purified the believer was the fire of judgment which the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself for all the Elect on Calvary. It is through Christ that the true believer is victorious and that is why we see the believers standing on the glass mixed with fire. All the true believers went through the fires of affliction with the Lord Jesus Christ and were declared pure as we saw in Revelation 14:5. The true believers can stand in the fire and it will not hurt them because they will never again face any judgment for their sins since they have been removed. This is why the fire of judgment does not affect them because they have already faced judgment for their sins and have been found not guilty because of Christ. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego also faced the furnace which was heated seven times hotter but because they were with Christ in that furnace, they were not affected by the fire, in fact, they didn’t even have the smell of fire on them. (Daniel 3) The believers in 15:2 are rejoicing in their salvation that they have harps of God in their hands. The believers were totally victorious over the entire world system and the beast and his mark through Christ.

(Rev 15:3 KJV)
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.

Since the believers will never face any type of judgment again and they are safe in Heaven, they begin to sing the song of Moses as found in type in Exodus 15. As the Israelites sang the song of deliverance from Egypt, the believers in heaven begin to sing the song of total deliverance from the evil world system and Satan and his beast and false prophet. They also sang the song praising the Lord Jesus Christ for the greatness of His works and lauding Him as being God Almighty. He is also being praised for His ways which are true and just. The just part would be that the final assault on the kingdom of Satan is about to begin and the Lord is just for bringing judgment on a kingdom and its followers who are in total rebellion to Him and His Kingdom. (Psa 145:17 KJV) The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. (Psa 145:20 KJV) The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. David knew this very well and the same characteristics he saw in God are the same ones that the believers are praising their Redeemer for.

(Rev 15:4 KJV)
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.

Then in the song they ask the question as to who shall not fear Him and glorify His name? The whole world is about to fear the Lord when for many millennia the name of God and the name of the Lord Jesus was used as a swear word. His existence was doubted and belittled by the intellectual establishment but very soon when they see Him in all His glory, they will fear and give glory to His name but at that point it will be too late. (Phil 2:10 KJV) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; All the unbelievers, from the first one to the last one, who vilified the Lord Jesus Christ will be made to acknowledge Him and will worship Him. These will worship Him by force but the true believer does not need to be forced to worship his creator. The unbelievers will acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ because the judgments which He will be executing on the earth will be devastating as we will see, because these vial judgments will affect the entire earth and no unbeliever will escape.

(Rev 15:5 KJV)
And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

As in the wilderness wanderings of Israel, the tabernacle was the place where God’s presence was and where He met with His representatives. The tabernacle was where Israel would receive their directives and also where they would receive any judgments for any sins they committed against God. In 15:5, we are seeing the same principle that these vial judgments are coming from God Himself which is represented by the temple of the tabernacle. This is not a physical temple or tabernacle but it is symbolic of where the direction for the final plagues is coming from.

(Rev 15:6 KJV)
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.

Here is the description of the seven angels which have now been dispatched to pour out the vials of judgments. The dress is an indication that they were in the presence of God receiving His direction. The white linen and the golden girdles shows the purity and sinlessness of those who have been dispatched to deliver the final judgments. The golden girdles also are dress for a priest and a king which shows that their mission comes directly from God the Father Himself.

(Rev 15:7 KJV)
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.

One of the four beasts who attend to the throne of God hands the seven vials over to the seven angels. These contain the wrath of God which is destined for the whole earth. The golden vial represents that the judgments are pure and there is no mixture of any kind. In Revelation 5:8, we read that the prayers of the Saints were in vials and these vials may be in response to those prayers as the martyrs have been asking God when the end will come and when they will be avenged. Here we see that the end is very close as the vials are about to be poured out on the whole earth.

(Rev 15:8 KJV)
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.

Just as the Glory of God filled the tabernacle in the time of the wilderness wanderings of Israel. (Exo 40:34-35 KJV) Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. {35} And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. The same situation in 15:8 is being given. Once the seven angels were dispatched with the final judgments, the Glory of God became evident in Heaven and because the smoke from the Glory of God was so great, no one was able to enter the temple. This was the same situation that Moses encountered as he was unable to go into the tabernacle while the Glory of God abode upon it. What we have here in 15:8 is the fact that once the judgments of God begin, there is no stopping them until they are completed. When the high priest went into make an atonement for sins then normally the judging hand of God was stayed but here no one is allowed to enter that temple because the time for sacrifices and atonement is over. The time for judgment has begun. This is symbolized by no man being able to enter the temple while the wrath of God is being poured out upon the unbelievers of the earth. John is also seeing this vision and he is relaying this scene because he wants the world to know that the judgments of God are absolutely awesome and devastating, just like when God descended upon Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19 and His glory was so great the people trembled in fear. This is the mindset that John is conveying that the final seven judgments are about to bring the same fear, but this time the fear will be on the entire unbelieving world.