Preparation for the Bowl Judgments
1 Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign in heaven: j seven angels with the seven last plagues; for with them God’s wrath will be completed. k 2 I also saw something like a sea of glass l mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, its image, and the number of its name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God. m 3 They sang the song of God’s servant Moses n and the song of the Lamb:
Great and awe-inspiring are your works,
Lord God, the Almighty;
just and true o are your ways,
King of the nations. ,p
4 Lord, who will not fear
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy. q
All the nations will come
and worship before you r
because your righteous acts
have been revealed.
5 After this I looked, and the heavenly temple—the tabernacle of testimony s—was opened. t 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes wrapped around their chests. 7 One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. u 8 Then the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, v and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
15:1–4. The celestial opera that began with two great signs in heaven—the cosmic woman (12:1) and the red dragon (12:3)—ends here with a third great sign: seven angels with seven plagues (15:1). The seven angels represent the churches in Asia Minor (1:20), and they also symbolize the church universal, whose prayers and witness play a key role in unveiling God’s judgments on the world (8:2, 6). Those who have conquered the beast with their faithful suffering are about to sing the anthem of the Lamb (15:3a). The fire (15:2) alludes to the wheels of flame and the fiery rivers that flow from God’s chariot throne (Dn 7:9–10). Together the crystal sea and fire testify to the Spirit’s reordering of creation (cf. Gn 1:1–2, 6–8; Ps 74:13–14).
15:5–8. John’s attention is now drawn to that part of the heavenly temple called “the tabernacle of testimony” (15:5). If the earthly tabernacle represented for Israel a better way of meeting God than previously, in the burning bush, the pillar of fire, a cloud of thunder, or an unapproachable mountain (Ex 25:8–9), then the heavenly tabernacle, with its curtains open so that the ark is visible (Rv 15:5; cf. 11:19), anticipates a further step. A revolutionary new way for believers to commune with God is the resurrection (21:1–5). But before this can take place, God’s ultimate justice for the world must be executed through the last cycle of bowl judgments (15:8). Seven angels dressed in priestly, ceremonially clean, bright linen robes (15:6; cf. Ex 28:40–43) receive the libation bowls from the cherubim within the tabernacle (cf. Ex 29:40). When the angels pour out the wine offering, it becomes the wine of God’s wrath (15:7; cf. 16:19; Jr 25:15–29).