| 1 And 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. | This is the heavenly preparation for the seven bowl judgements upon the earth. These seven judgements come at the end of the "wrath of God" period just prior to the Millennial Reign of Christ. These events are described as being "great and marvellous", that is, awesome, since they are the final part of God's wrath. The bowls are filled to the brim with God's righteous anger against the rebellion of mankind. | |
| 2 And 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. | Here is revealed the viewpoint of Heaven regarding God's judgement of the world. The sea of glass typifies the multitudes of martyrs who died during the Antichrist years. This holocaust deserves the full weight of the wrath of God. They might have died under his hand, but they are the ones who are victorious. Why? Because they did not conform, compromise, or submit to the beast. These have something special to praise God for. God kept them throughout those terrible years, and He gave the strength to endure even to the death. In the face of death they were strong in the faith. | |
| 3 And 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. | They had a two-fold song of praise to sing. The song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. The song of Moses (see Exodus 15:1-19) worships God for giving deliverance from Pharaoh and the crossing of the Red Sea. These saints are now free from the last tyrant of this world. The song of the Lamb is the victory song only those who are washed in His precious blood can sing. There may be an indication here that these martyred saints come from both the Jewish and Gentile lines. It is a song of victory because they are the crowned ones ... "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him" (James 1:12). They praise God for being the Almighty King of the saints. We must remember that God is always true and just in everything that He does. The saved will see very clearly that nothing less than full judgement fits the crimes against God. | |
| 4 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. | This verse directs our attention to the Millennial Reign of Christ on the earth. All the nations, with their kings, prime ministers and presidents will have to bow the knee to Christ. During the 1,000 year reign of the Lord all will worship Him as the true God. The "all" here can only refer to those who have not submitted to the Antichrist, yet have survived the seven year tribulation / wrath. We must remember that there is a huge number of Jews living under God's protection in Petra until this time. There will also be nations who never came under the beast's government (European Community), possibly America, Australia, New Zealand and others | |
| 5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: | John sees the door of the Heavenly Temple being opened. This indicates that even until this time the door of salvation is still opened. Notice the text says "the temple of the tabernacles" meaning the Holy of Holies - the very presence of God. Both salvation and judgement come from the same source. | |
| 6 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. | Seven angels come from His presence with the final part of God's wrath. The white garments represent absolute holiness, and the golden sash reveals divine authority. In their hands are the seven last plagues. | |
| 7 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. | Each angel's bowl is filled with the fulness of the merciless wrath of God. It all depends on which bowl we have drunk from in our lives. The cup of salvation or the cup of judgement ... "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD" (Psalm 116:13) ... "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them" (Psalm 75:8). | |
| 8 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. | No one can enter into the presence of God while His wrath is being outpoured on the earth. This means that no one else can get saved. We see here that the wrath of God means that His grace and mercy are withdrawn. No day like this has ever been seen. Why is this happening? Simply because they rejected Jesus Christ as Lord ... "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). It is too late now to plead for salvation - it is over - the way in is blocked. There is no getting passed God's wrath ... "Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied. Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through" (Lamentations 3:43-44). |