GOD MEANS WHAT HE SAYS
Opening Prayer
Lord, great and marvelous are Your works.
Read REVELATION 15
Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
15 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. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.[a]
4 Who will not fear you, 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.”[b]
5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 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. 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. 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.
Footnotes
a Revelation 15:3 Some manuscripts ages
b Revelation 15:4 Phrases in this song are drawn from Psalm 111:2,3; Deut. 32:4; Jer. 10:7; Psalms 86:9; 98:2.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
O Lord, You search us and You know us. Nothing is hidden from Your eyes. Have mercy on us, for Jesus’ sake.
Think Further
A new cycle begins. This chapter is centered around seven angels, seven plagues and seven bowls. It may be helpful to see each cycle as a spiral whose intensity increases every time we start again. The vivid language is meant to wake us up and move us to prayer, action and ultimately reform. We are expected to think in fresh ways, to see the world with fresh eyes, not just to have our curiosity satisfied.
The mention of plagues immediately connects this story with the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh in Exodus. It is the Red Sea all over again, mirrored in the Christian era. Pharaoh learned that you cannot play around with God. Israel’s redemption from Egypt is a striking visual aid to an understanding of Christ’s redemption. The plagues, the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea led to a great song of celebration by Moses and Miriam. Now the victorious people of God who have resisted persecution sing praises to the God for whom they forsook Egypt. The song of Moses has become the song of the Lamb and is made up almost completely of Old Testament quotations. Its theme is entirely about the greatness of God. God stands alone, holy and unique, and deserves the glory.
John sees the tabernacle of the temple opened and, from the place where the Law was kept, angels emerge as agents of judgment. Although we instinctively fear judgment, for we know our shortcomings, within us is a desire for justice for our world: for wrongs to be righted and for evil to be dealt with. Justice and judgment are cries of the human heart, and at the right time they will come. These are the last plagues. The time for praying has passed. The trumpets are a warning: God now acts. There will be no access to the temple until this time of divine retribution is completed.
Apply
“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God“ (Heb. 10:31). Watch and pray.
Closing prayer
Lord, retribution belongs to You, for You alone are worthy. You are perfectly righteous in all Your judgments.
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