CHRISTIAN LIFE TRAINING DATE: May 14, 2014 TITLE: “VICTORY AND JUDGMENT” MAIN SCRIPTURE: Revelation 15 KJV “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous; seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up of the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten 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. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb; saying, ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. 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.’ And after that I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 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. 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. 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.” We have been in Chapter 14 for awhile. We discussed the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000 Jewish evangelists that God has chosen to proclaim the gospel and sealed with His protection. We discussed the lessons that we can learn from them and apply to our own spiritual lives. Then we discussed the three angels who fly over the earth proclaiming the gospel one final time—and to announce impending judgment on those who persist in rejecting Christ. We talked about the call for endurance of the saints and the blessed (happy) state of those who die “in the Lord,” for they now have rest from their labor and suffering. We talked about the One (Jesus) Whom John saw seated on a cloud holding a sickle, and how this is the last picture of grace before it dies, for the final breath of grace expires when an angel comes out of the temple bringing a message that the time has come to reap. We discussed two symbolic harvests—a grain harvest and a grape harvest. But what has ripened for harvest is not the literal fruit of the earth but rather the evil and wickedness that has rotted the earth. Another angel carrying a sickle gathers the “vine of the earth”—that is, those who have rejected every plea of the gospel and clung to their own ways—and throws them into the winepress of God’s wrath to be crushed under the feet of His judgment. The death and devastation of this judgment will be more gruesome than any spectacle Hollywood can produce, more horrific than any massacre the world has ever seen, more devastating than any divine judgment that has come before—and the reason is that there is no more grace. Chapter 15 is the shortest of Revelation’s chapters. As usual, John is faithfully recording all that the Lord is showing Him, and he indicates a new vision by the words “another sign.” This indicates that there were previous signs. “Great and marvelous” indicate that these signs are amazing beyond belief. He has seen the Son of God as a Lamb (ch.5) and God’s protection and provision for the nation of Israel as Satan pours out his wrath upon it. (ch. 12) Now he will see a third great sign—the seven angels with the plagues and the victorious saints singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. The seven angels John sees are responsible for releasing the final judgment upon the earth. The number seven represents perfection, or in this case, completion, for it will be the complete and final judgment of God. There is no more chance for restitution. There is no more mercy. There is no more forgiveness. There is no more grace. And with the release of this judgment the full measure of the wrath of God is finished. Just as we cannot measure the limits of God’s love, we also cannot measure the limits of His wrath. This seems incredible to many people. They only want to hear that God is love. God is love, and the Scripture confirms this, but repeatedly, it also warns of His wrath. God is holy and He cannot look upon sin. There is no way that we can ever measure up to His holiness on our own, and this is why He made a way for us at Calvary. If we reject the only means of our salvation in an attempt to do things our own way, then we have chosen to reject Him. People ask “Why would God send anyone to hell?” He doesn’t. We choose to go there when we reject Christ. God does not want to see anyone go there, and for that reason He extends grace over and over, even during the time of tribulation. But that grace will eventually run out, and the world will face His judgment. Revelation 14:10 speaks of the full strength of God’s wrath. It will be poured out like tea out of a pitcher—only this won’t be sweet. There is nothing worse that God can do than what He is about to do at this point. The “sea of glass” John saw is not a literal sea or literal glass, but rather a transparency. All eyes will be on God’s shekinah glory. “Mingled with fire” indicates that His power and His presence will be tempered with His judgment. One of the most fascinating pictures I have seen recently was that of a tornado which had collided with a wildfire, creating a “firenado”—a twisting column of fire that instantly brought to mind Prince of Egypt and the Scriptures where God’s leading presence for Israel by night was manifested as a pillar of fire. Fire often represents judgment in the Scriptures as well as God’s power. His power is clear, pure, and majestic but judgment will be seen. “Those who had gotten victory over the beast” are the martyrs who will turn to Christ during the Tribulation and will refuse to worship the antichrist or his image set up by the false prophet and they will refuse to take his mark or his number (666). Because they will die for this, it might seem to the world that they were defeated, but the truth is that they were the conquerors, as believers are today, by the blood of the Lamb! Just remember when the world says “defeated.” God says “victorious”! We conquer the world, not by rising to power but by being a servant of God! John saw those people whom most would have thought defeated standing victorious in the presence of God! Notice that they are holding the “harps of God.” We can see two main purposes for harps in the Scripture—peace and praise. First, they could be used to bring peace, as David used his harp to soothe King Saul when an evil spirit tormented him. Second, they are an instrument used in praise, and this is why we see them in Revelation. The saints are singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb! The song of Moses (see Exodus 15) is a celebration of God delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt. The song of the Lamb is a celebration of Jesus delivering sinners from bondage. Hallelujah! The Lord’s instructions at Passover, which point directly to Jesus Christ, were very interesting in the references to taking a lamb. First, it was “take a lamb,” (generic), then “take the lamb” (specific), and then finally, “Take your lamb”(personal). When we come to accept Jesus, His salvation is not just a mysterious or church-like concept to us anymore, but a personal relationship with Him! When we have Him as our Savior, we have reason to sing and celebrate! We are not defeated but victorious! The words of the song as recorded in Revelation 15 are awesome and breathtaking. “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?” The antichrist will try to copy Christ by appearing to die and then come back to life, and the world will fall for this deception, asking “Who is like the beast?” But there is no one who will not bow their knee in submission to Jesus Christ one day, whether out of love or out of terror. There are many who want to see Jesus as their buddy, their best friend, their equal. Now, it is true that Jesus is the greatest Friend we will ever have if we know Him, but He is not our equal! He is above us, holy and worthy of our praise. “After that” indicates a change in direction. The scene shifts from the saints celebrating victory in God’s presence back to John’s previous statement about the seven angels. He sees the same seven angels coming out of the heavenly temple, the Holy of Holies where the Ark of His Covenant is kept. The earthly temple, ark and mercy seat were the symbols of God’s presence and these angels come from the heavenly temple—directly from the presence of God. These angels bear seven golden vials, or bowls full to the brim with God’s wrath. They are clothed in pure white linen, girded with gold, signifying their pure and completely justifiable motives in carrying out God’s judgment. Gold also symbolizes majesty, pointing to the One Who sends this judgment. And these golden bowls are not big deep bowls which can pour slowly at first and grow in intensity. We have already seen divine judgment of this nature, but these bowls are shallow but full to the brim, indicating that what is poured out will be poured out swiftly. No remedy, no repentance. No grace. No turning back. It’s not like God will let a little spill out and say “Oops, maybe that’s too much.” It is the emptying of God’s wrath. Notice John’s comment in v.7 “And one of the four beasts [these are the living creatures around the throne of God noted in an earlier chapter] gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.” The antichrist might pretend to die and come back to life but our God has always been and He will always be. He lives FOREVER! The smoke filling the temple reminds us of Isaiah’s vision and Solomon’s dedication of the temple. Smoke indicated God’s power, presence, and judgment, and John saw the heavenly sanctuary filled with all three of these! God is showing the world the existence of His wrath. The eyes of every living creature will be fixed upon a wrathful God and no one will be able to enter the temple until the plagues have been fulfilled. How much better is it to come to know the God of love today than to answer to the God of wrath tomorrow! We are not promised tomorrow. If we do know Him as our Savior, we may either step into eternity with Him or be caught up in the rapture. We have been redeemed and we have a reason to sing and celebrate, but we also have a responsibility to share His love with those who are lost, and warn them of what is coming. People may scoff at the gospel but God’s Word is clear—one day EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil. 2:9-11 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.” Rev. 15:4 KJV
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 01:23:44 +0000
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