Revelation — Chapter 15
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1Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.
2And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God,
3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
4Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.
6And out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean and bright linen and girded with golden sashes around their chests.
7Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
8And 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.
1And 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.
2And 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.
3And 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.
4Who 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.
5And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6And 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.
7And 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.
8And 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.
1And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having seven plagues, [which are] the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.
2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God.
3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.
4Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.
5And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed with [precious] stone, pure [and] bright, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles.
7And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
8And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished.
1Then I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues (they are final because in them God’s anger is completed).
2Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.
3They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful! Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!
4Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy? All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5After these things I looked, and the temple (the tent of the testimony) was opened in heaven,
6and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean bright linen, wearing wide golden belts around their chests.
7Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever,
8and the temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and from his power. Thus no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues from the seven angels were completed.
1I saw another great and marvelous sign in the sky: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God’s wrath is finished.
2I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
3They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations.
4Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.
6The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out, clothed with pure, bright linen, and wearing golden sashes around their breasts.
7One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
8The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power. No one was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels would be finished.
Summary
John sees another sign in heaven: seven angels holding the seven last plagues, through which God's wrath will be completed (v. 1). Those who had triumphed over the beast, its image, and its mark stand on what looks like a sea of glass mixed with fire, holding harps and singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, praising God's great and marvelous works and declaring that all nations will come and worship before Him because His judgments have been revealed (vv. 2-4). The heavenly temple then opens, and the seven angels emerge dressed in clean, bright linen with golden sashes, each receiving from one of the four living creatures a golden bowl full of the wrath of the eternal God (vv. 5-7). The temple fills with smoke from God's glory and power, and no one can enter it until the seven plagues are finished (v. 8).
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the last plagues, the overcomers' song, the Song of Moses and the Lamb, and the temple filled with glory.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Revelation -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Wrath With a Limit (v.1) — The seven angels carry the last plagues, the point where God's wrath is finally completed. Even judgment has an end — how does that shape the way you see God's character?
- Standing With the Overcomers (v.2) — Those who refused to bow to the beast now stand triumphant beside a sea of glass, harps in hand. What would you refuse to compromise on, even if it cost you everything?
- Worship Before Judgment Falls (v.3) — Before the final plagues are poured out, heaven responds with song, not fear. Is worship the framework you return to when hard things are coming?
- Reverence for a Holy God (v.4) — All nations will one day worship because His judgments have been revealed as right. Do you approach God with real awe, or has familiarity worn it down?