Revelation 15:1–8

15:1 John now sees another marvelous and amazing sign in heaven (cf. 12:1, 3), described as such because of the wonder and fear engendered by God’s sanctuary. He sees seven angels with the seven last plagues. “Plagues” echoes the judgments poured out on Egypt (Exodus 7–12) and other judgments of the Lord directed against those who turned away from him (Lev. 26:21; Num. 11:33; 25:8–9; Deut. 28:59, 61). The plagues here are the “last” ones, in which God’s wrath reaches its consummation. It seems, then, that the bowl judgments, although they overlap in part with the seal (Rev. 6:1–17; 8:1–5) and trumpet judgments (8:6–9:21; 11:15–19), focus on the end of history, on the final and climactic judgments God pours out on humans. It may be that all seven of these bowl judgments describe from various angles the nature of the last judgment.

15:2 Earlier we saw a sea of glass like crystal before God’s throne (4:6; cf. Ezek. 1:22). Here John sees a sea of glass mixed with fire. This probably signifies the gulf between human beings and God, for the sea represents chaos and destruction in Hebrew thought (cf. comment on Rev. 21:1). Approaching him is like walking on a beautiful sea of glass, but the sea burns with fire! Nevertheless, the saints are standing without harm on the sea of glass, as the preposition epi here probably means “on” (so NKJV, CSB), not “beside” (ESV, NRSV, NIV). They are not consumed by God’s holy and awesome presence. Instead, they carry harps (cf. comment on 14:2) to praise God for his deliverance and salvation. They stand before God because they have conquered the beast, the image (13:14–15; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4), and the number of his name (13:16–17). Conquering, as we have seen, is one of the major themes in the book (cf. Introduction). Only those who conquer can stand on the glassy sea before God’s throne. Ultimately, the saints triumph on the basis of the blood of the Lamb (12:11), which washed them clean from their sins (7:14).

15:3 Those who have conquered the beast and stand before God’s throne on the glassy sea have harps and sing the song of Moses, God’s servant (Num. 12:7; Deut. 34:5; Josh. 1:2, 7), and the song of the Lamb. When Israel was delivered from Pharaoh and Egypt, she sang with triumph and joy (cf. Ex. 15:1–18) because of her salvation and the judgment poured out on the Egyptians. The sea designates evil and chaos (Rev. 13:1; 21:1), but Jesus has conquered the forces opposing God. The deliverance under Moses anticipated and pointed forward to the greater redemption accomplished by the Lamb. Hence, the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb are genetically related, since the promises made to Moses are finally and ultimately fulfilled in the salvation accomplished by the Lamb. Likewise, the exodus from Egypt points forward to the redemption, the exodus from sin, accomplished by Jesus Christ.

The saints sing because they are saved, while their enemies are judged. The saints exult in God’s “great and amazing . . . deeds.” The word “great” is often used of God’s saving work on behalf of his people (cf. Deut. 10:21; 11:7; Pss. 106:21; 111:2; 135:5) and reflects God’s saving work at the exodus. Similarly, words like “amazing” and “awesome” are used of God’s saving his people in the exodus (cf. Ex. 34:10; Ps. 106:22; cf. also Mic. 7:15); God is truly “awesome in glorious deeds” (Ex. 15:11). Believers are full of praise for the new exodus, the climactic act of redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ.

The connection between Revelation 15:3 and Psalm 98:1 is clear: “Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him” (Ps. 98:1). Here we see three themes that match Revelation 15:3: singing, God’s amazing work, and salvation. God’s salvation of his people is inseparable from his judging the wicked and rescuing the saints from their baleful influence. He is able to save and judge because he is Almighty God (Rev. 11:17; cf. Amos 3:13; 4:13), the “King of the nations” (cf. Jer. 10:7). His “ways” are “just and true.” Revelation 15:3 also reflects the Greek of Deuteronomy 32:4, which declares that God’s “works are true and all his ways are just” (AT; cf. also Ps. 145:17).

15:4 God’s plan for the world, including his judgment and salvation, is awesome. When people see God’s work in saving and judging, they fear him and give glory to his great and awesome name. They recognize God alone as holy (cf. Deut. 32:4), utterly unique and distinct from anything in creation, in a category by himself. Hence, “all nations” will come to worship and bow down before the one true God (cf. Ps. 86:9; Jer. 16:19; Mal. 1:11). John may include unbelievers here, for all will acknowledge God as the Lord of the world, even if they hate him and reject him (Phil. 2:9–11). God’s deity will be recognized in his righteous acts, and his righteousness is displayed in both judgment and salvation, for God always does what is right and true and good. Alternatively, “all nations” may refer to believers from every nation, and thus the reference is not to every single person in the world without exception but to believers from every nation without distinction.

15:5 John then sees the sanctuary of the tent of witness opened in heaven. Here we have a scene of heaven itself, of the very presence of God, for the sanctuary of the tent of witness is a symbolic way of designating God’s dwelling place. The opening of the sanctuary signifies that judgment is at hand and God’s kingdom is coming. The parallel in 11:19, which records the sounding of the seventh trumpet at the arrival of Christ’s kingdom, verifies this: “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.” The opening of God’s temple means judgment is at hand.

15:6 Seven angels with seven plagues emerge from God’s sanctuary. These judgments were anticipated in the plagues Israel faced for its disobedience (Lev. 26:21) and the plagues Egypt experienced. The angels are glorious and powerful, coming from God’s very presence. They wear “pure, bright linen” and have “golden sashes around their chests.” The description has some similarities to the glorious angel who appeared to Daniel (Dan. 10:5) and to the vision of the Son of Man (Rev. 1:13), confirming the glory and goodness of these angels and their connection with the Son of Man.

15:7 The seven angels hold the seven plagues, but now the four living creatures before God’s throne (4:6) give seven golden bowls to the angels. These bowls are containers of the wrath of God (cf. 14:10; 16:1; 17:1; 21:9). The seven plagues will be poured out on unbelievers in the way bowls turned upside down spill their contents on the ground. Perhaps John notes that God lives forever in order to certify that his purposes and designs will come to pass. He is the everlasting one, and thus he will outlive the period in which evil seems to triumph.

15:8 Before the judgments strike, the temple is filled with smoke from the glory and power of God, just as in Isaiah the temple filled with smoke because of the holiness of God (Isa. 6:3–4). In the OT, when the Lord first came down to dwell in the tabernacle or temple, Moses and the priests could not stand in his presence because of the splendor and greatness of his glory (Ex. 40:34–35; cf. also 1 Kings 8:10–11; 2 Chron. 5:13–14). The holiness and justice of God are featured, for no one can enter God’s presence until the seven plagues are completed. We have a hint that these bowls represent the final judgment, for they are called the “last plagues” (Rev. 15:1), and with them God’s judgments are completed (15:1, 8). Furthermore, after these bowls are poured out, people can enter God’s presence again, for his justice is satisfied with these plagues.