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5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And 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. ~ Revelation 15:5-8
Today, we come back to Revelation 15 to a scene which happens in heaven at the end of the Great Tribulation. After having looked through the transparent platform beneath the throne of God, and seeing the believers, the Apostle John hears them sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Then, he sees the tabernacle of the covenant law.
In v.5 we read, "After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened."
Here, the Apostle John sees the tabernacle of the covenant law opened. In other words, it was accessible. You see, within the tabernacle in the Old Testament was the Holy of Holies. This was the most interior room, the place of greatest intimacy with God. Only the high priest had access into the Holy of Holies. The high priest was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, within the Holy of Holies, there was the ark of the covenant. Within the ark of the covenant were the two tablets of stone on which God's law was written. Interestingly, the most complete listing of the contents of the ark of the covenant is found in Hebrews 9:4 which informs us it contained a gold jar of manna, a picture of the Lord Jesus, Aaron’s staff that had budded, the sign of life, and the stone tablets of the covenant which required the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin. That is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus is the bread of life who shed His blood so that we could have eternal life.
The ark of the covenant also had another name, the tabernacle of testimony. And, once a year, only the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He made it possible for all people to enter into a personal and an intimate relationship with God. And, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you have access to God's presence, at any time and anywhere. This is due to the fact that we have been made alive to God through believing in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. God, since the cross, now lives not in a tabernacle or a temple, He lives in each believer in the Lord Jesus via the Holy Spirit. So, in a sense, we are all, little tabernacles. The point is we have access to God through the High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have access 24/7, anywhere we go.
In v.6 we read, "Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests."
In this verse the law will be opened so that the judgment of God would come out. And, right out from the very presence of God, these seven angels come with seven plagues. Their clothing is evidence of their holiness. And they’re girded with golden sashes or girdles which are golden belts running from their shoulders to their waists. These belts are evidence of their royalty and their untarnished glory.
In v.7 we read, "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever."
The four living creatures are cherubim which are very unique angels. These are the highest ranking angels. They first appear in the Bible in Genesis 3:24 where they were placed by God, after the rebellion of Adam from the garden of Eden. Their role was "to keep sinful man from the tree of life." Otherwise, mankind would have been forever in our sinful state with no hope of escape from our sinfulness and damned condition. Here, in today's text, these cherubim have "seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God."
In v.8 we read, "And 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.
Throughout the Bible, smoke symbolizes the powerful glory of God. Perhaps this is where the saying, "Holy Smokes" came. At any rate it fills the great temple so no one can enter until the work of the angels is completed. This is symbolic. It means it is too late to pray! By faith and by prayer we can enter into the presence of God, by trusting the finished work of the Lord Jesus, but here a personal relationship with God has become impossible. The time has come when men can no longer repent. It is too late to pray when this judgment scene begins.
In Revelation 16, the seven angels pour out their bowls in rapid succession. It is a terrible time of judgment, the most intense period of tribulation the world has ever seen. It is what several of the Old Testament prophets call "The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord." It is what the Lord Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:22, when He said, "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive." No one! All the population of the world would have been destroyed. It is a brief, intense period which comes at the close of the last half of the Great Tribulation. As we go through this passage you will notice that it covers the same areas of judgment as the trumpets did.
The psalmist said, “In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, I will take the cup of salvation.” The cup, in the Bible is illustrative of the wrath of God. And, all of the Bible has as its singular subject: the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s plan has always been holiness and peace and joy. The Scripture says, “Today is the day of salvation.” Now is the time to hear, before it is too late or before our hearts get so used to rejecting that we will reject even in the direst of times. The Lord Jesus took that cup so that you and I would not have to. And, because He took that cup, we can receive His salvation.
The Lord Jesus spoke of a man who planted a fig tree, and he went back three years and it bore no fruit and he said cut it down. And another man said give it another year and then if it doesn’t bear fruit, cut it down. You see, there is a time of patience and there is a time of mercy, but it is limited. May the fact that the judgment of God will fall on unbelieving man grip our hearts with a such a fear for them that we might be cautioned enough to persuade others to come to the truth before, for them, it is too late.
