Revelation 16:12-16

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12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates so that the water in the river was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east to come. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 These evil spirits are the spirits of demons, which have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. 15 “Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Blessed are those who stay awake and keep their clothes on so that they will not walk around naked and have people see their shame.” 16 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon in the Hebrew language. ~ Revelation 16:12-16

Today, we return to Revelation 16 where we find the last of the judgments of God, the seven bowls. From Revelation 6 through Revelation 15, we have been given frighteningly clear details of the coming wrath of God upon the unbelieving world. Today, we come to the beginning of God's description of the end of the world.

In v.12 we read, "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates so that the water in the river was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east to come."

With the pouring out of the sixth bowl judgment, the Euphrates River will be dried up. This isn’t the first time, by the way, in the judgments of the book of the Revelation that the Euphrates has been mentioned. Back in Revelation 9:14, the sixth angel blew his trumpet. That reference to the Euphrates river indicated that a barrier will be removed so the Eastern armies can come into the west. Then, here in Revelation 16 we find the Euphrates river appearing again and this time it will be dried up so that the armies of the east can freely advance on up to Israel.

John refers to the Euphrates river as "great" because it is eighteen-hundred miles long. In fact, its headwaters are found in  Mount Ararat where Noah's ark ended up. The summit of Mount Ararat is somewhere around seventeen thousand feet. It is snow-capped all year long. The great Euphrates River begins there and it flows downhill all the way to the gulf of the Arabian Sea, clear across the Middle East in what we know as the Fertile Crescent. At certain spots it is as wide as thirty-six hundred feet, and as deep as thirty feet.

The sixth bowl dries up the river to prepare the way for the kings of the East, the armies of perhaps, India and China and maybe Japan. This was at the battle of Armageddon which will be the final Great War between those loyal to Satan and the Antichrist and the tiny nation of Israel. At Armageddon the Antichrist and his followers will be overthrown and defeated.

In v.13-14 we read, "13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 These evil spirits are the spirits of demons, which have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the battle on the great day of God Almighty."

Here we are given insight into how nations of this world will be manipulated by the unseen forces of Satan. The nations will be unaware of the fact but they will be made to do certain things. Three evil spirits that look like frogs which come out of the Satanic trinity will deceive the nations. They will trick them into launching World War III. This will be a terrible time when the nations of the world launch their nuclear warheads. This will be the time when, as we saw in Revelation 9, the armies from the east, some 200,000,000 gather around Israel, to make war.

In v.15 we read, "Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Blessed are those who stay awake and keep their clothes on so that they will not walk around naked and have people see their shame."

As we have seen before, there is always a parenthesis between the sixth and seventh of each of the seals and the trumpets. Here that parenthesis is found in v.15. This includes a pause and a word from heaven. This will come in the form of a promise to the believers, because between the sixth and seventh seals there was a pause to give promise and hope to the believers, and between the sixth and seventh trumpets there was a pause to give promise to the believers. So, it makes sense here that between the sixth and seventh bowls there will be a pause and a promise to give hope and encouragement to the believers. 

In v.16 we read, "Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon in the Hebrew language."

This will be Satan's final attempt to destroy the people of God, to make one final attack on Jerusalem and destroy the Jews once and for all. So, he will lure the strongest and the greatest armies on the earth to Israel to try to destroy her.

The cross of Christ and the valley of Megiddo are two altars of sacrifice that dominate the history of the world. Both describe God's wrath upon sin. Both are brought about by God’s enemies. From each proceeds a supper: the first the Lord's Supper for the people of God. The second, a feast of God's retribution upon rebellious and stubborn man. And, both end with the victorious cry, "It is finished."

And I might add that the comparison is apt because the judgment on Calvary provided forgiveness and grace for those who are humble enough to admit they are sinners and are in need of a Savior. The judgment at Armageddon will provide destruction and damnation for those who will be so proud they will not admit they are sinners and are in need of a Savior. One is a saving judgment on sin, the other will send the unwilling to Hell for eternity.

Revelation 16:8-11

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8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and he was given power to burn the people with fire. 9 They were burned by the great heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these disasters. But the people refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and darkness covered its kingdom. People gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They also cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had, but they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did. ~ Revelation 16:8-11

Today, we return to Revelation 16 where we find the seven bowl judgments of God. In today's text, we come to the fourth and the fifth bowl judgments.

In v.8-9 of today's text we read, "8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and he was given power to burn the people with fire. 9 They were burned by the great heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these disasters. But the people refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God."

The fourth bowl will happen in rapid succession after the third. And, at this point in time, for a brief time, the sun's heat will suddenly and dramatically increase. This will be a much more intense form of what happens from time to time when flares of fire burst from the surface of the sun, sometimes causing havoc with the magnetism of the earth, and affecting radio waves. With the pouring out of this fourth bowl, an enormous flare from the sun will create intense heat upon the earth. People will be in anguish, and, they will see that this burst of heat will come from God. 

This sounds a lot like a radiation burn. In the electromagnetic spectrum that measures wavelengths of radiation, there are long wavelength radiations like radio waves, and then there are short wavelength radiations like gamma rays. The shorter the wavelength, the more dangerous it is to the human body. In fact, short wavelengths can alter cell structure in the human body. A photon, for example, can kick an electron out of orbit in the cell structure and cause all sorts of damage.

In a practical sense, when we go to the beach on a cloudy day and think there is no danger from the sun because there is cloud cover, and at the end of the day we discover that we are burnt, we will have discovered this phenomena. The long wavelengths had been stopped by the clouds but the short wavelengths had penetrated the clouds and our bodies will show the impact.  

This fourth bowl will cause an alteration in the earth's atmosphere. We know that the core of the sun is helium and if it were to expand outwardly it would incinerate the earth. There have been some problems with explosions on the sun causing power outages on the earth in the past. 

In Isaiah 24:5-6 we read, "5 The people of the earth have ruined it, because they do not follow God’s teachings or obey God’s laws or keep their agreement with God that was to last forever. 6 So a curse will destroy the earth. The people of the world are guilty, so they will be burned up; only a few will be left."

In Malachi 4 we read, "There is a day coming that will burn like a hot furnace, and all the proud and evil people will be like straw. On that day they will be completely burned up so that not a root or branch will be left,” says the Lord All-Powerful." 

This will be the end, and it will come fast. It will be awful, no seas, no fresh water, burning sun. We would think that if the people on the earth at that time were scorched with fierce heat like this, they would repent. But, according to v.9 of today's text, they will "refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God."

In v.10 of today's text we read, "The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and darkness covered its kingdom. People gnawed their tongues because of the pain."

With this fifth bowl, darkness will cover the earth. The entire system that will be called Babylon will then be engulfed in darkness. In Mark 13:24 we read, "In those days the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light. The stars will be falling from heaven and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken."

This will be the mother of all power outages. It will be directed at the kingdom of the beast or the Antichrist. Ironically, his kingdom will become full of darkness. The intense heat in the previous bowl will come from the sun expanding into a supernova and after that phenomena occurs, a blackout. And, it will be darker than dark. 

And, the people on earth will know who will be behind all of this, but they will refuse to repent and turn to God. They will know it’s God. But, they will be so in love with their sin, they will still not repent. They will be just like their leaders, Satan and the Antichrist. This is the height of arrogance and pride and stubbornness. Neither grace nor wrath will impact the hearts of these people. This underscores a very important point: If we will not be won by God's grace we will never be won at all. 

At the end of v.10, the pain will be so bad they will gnaw their tongues. They will literally chew on their own tongues to distract themselves from their other agony. And while they’re chewing on their tongues, you might think they would repent, but no.

In v.11 we read, "They also cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had, but they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did."

This is the last reference to the unbeliever's unwillingness to change. So, they will curse God. These first five plagues were sent by God in order to get people to wake up and repent but they wouldn't do it. At this point their fate will be set and they will not be able to turn to God because it will be too late.

Revelation 16:3-7

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3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” 7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” ~ Revelation 16:3-7

Today, we come back to our study of the book of the Revelation. Our text for today informs us about the second and third bowl judgments of God. Throughout the book of the Revelation, the Apostle John uses the land as a symbol for the people of Israel. And, when he writes about the sea, he speaks symbolically of the Gentile nations surrounding Israel. In yesterday's passage, the wrath of God was poured out on unbelieving Israel. In today's passage judgment is poured out on the unbelieving Gentiles.

In v.3 we read, "The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died."

With the pouring out of the second bowl, the sea literally will become blood red. This could be similar to the phenomenon known as "Red Tide," which is caused by a microorganism which turns the waters blood red. Eating fish contaminated by this tide produces severe symptoms caused by potent nerve poison and resulting in possible death to people. An unchecked population explosion of this toxic microorganism would kill all the fish in the sea. Maybe that’s what will happen in the second bowl judgment, which as a result, will kill every living thing in the sea. And when they die, to the surface they will go with an awful stench. And the world’s seas will become putrid pools of death. This will be like the plague that fell on Egypt in Exodus 7:20-25 when the Nile River turned to blood. But, this will be much more intense and extensive. 

In v.4 we read, "The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood."

The same thing that happened in Egypt, according to Exodus 7:19-21, will happen all over the world. And, it will not just happen in the saltwater, it will impact fresh water, as well. And, according to Revelation 11:6, rain water will be in short supply. These will combine into a situation where drinking water will be very scarce throughout the world. 

And, according to Revelation 7:1 the four angels standing at the four corners of the earth will be holding back the four winds so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 

As a result, rain clouds will not allow the rain to move across the land for it is by wind that clouds are blown across the land. There will be no wind, no cloud, no cloud development and no cloud movement. It may well be a time of unbelievable draught and then compounding, all the fresh water on earth will be turned into blood.

In v.5-6 we read, "5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

As people, no doubt, across the world will be cursing and blaming God, an angel, in v.5, will declare that God is righteous and holy. This is an appropriate response to rejection. It’s not as if rebellious man didn’t have any opportunities to repent. In fact, according to v.6, they will have mercilessly killed those who believe in the Lord Jesus, along with His messengers. The truth hurts exponentially for those who have rejected it so many times.

The Lord Jesus in Matthew 24:21 told us that there is coming a time, and He was speaking of this time, the likes of which there has never been. This will be a time of retribution like there has never been before. And, because of this, God will clearly be just in His response. 

In v.7 we read, "And I heard the altar respond: 'Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."' 

The altar here is personified because it is the altar under which the saints had been praying. And now, in v.7, the altar is affirming the responsibility of God. And, the actions of God are justified. You see, God sets the standard for what is right by what He does. He doesn’t have to live up to a standard. He sets the standard. He is the standard and when He acts, His actions are the righteous standard. So, when the seas are destroyed and the fresh water is scarce, God will be justified and His word will be true. If He did not judge sin, He would not be God.

These people will reject the Lord Jesus so much, their hearts will have become so hard against God, it will be too late. Due to their unwilling hearts, their condition will be cemented. The answer is turning away from our way and turning to Him. It involves feeling sorry about who we have been, but it is more than just that. There are many people who are sorry for their sinfulness. But, their failure to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus will be their undoing.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the answer to all of our troubles. He is the fulfillment of God's justice and love which met at the cross. At the cross we see God's love for people and His wrath upon sin. The Lord Jesus was our substitute. He tasted death for every human being and bore the punishment for every sin. None of us can imagine what He endured. He endured hell for us, so that none of us would have to endure it for ourselves. This is why the Lord Jesus is the key, and life's supreme question becomes, "What will you do with the Lord Jesus Christ?"

Revelation 16:1-2

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1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. ~ Revelation 16:1-2

Today, we transition into Revelation 16 wherein we have the seven bowl judgments. As with the trumpet judgments, these are both literal and symbolic. They actually do occur as described, but they have a hidden meaning, as well. They reveal something that otherwise would be unknown. Some scholars have called this "the great chapter" because the word "great" occurs eleven times. Today, we will just consider the first of the seven bowl judgments. 

There are those who say, "The Old Testament was written by a God of judgment and the New Testament was written by a God of grace." And some would go as far as to say that each testament has two different authors. This is not so. There is equal judgment in the New Testament as there is in the Old Testament. All writers of the Bible agree that God’s love and God’s judgment are two sides of the same coin. Fire can both burn and give warmth. It all depends on where we stand in relationship to the flame.

In v.1 we read, "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, '"Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”'

As we will see in v.2, this first bowl will be a judgment upon the land of Israel. It will fall upon the unbelieving Jews who will be so deceived that they will follow the beast whose lies and deception will convince  them that he is their long awaited Messiah. 

In Joshua 10, when Israel fought the Amorites, we are reminded that God sent hailstone from heaven on the enemies of Israel. And the hail didn't hit the children of Israel. It hit just the Amorites. That judgment was very selective. More were killed by the hailstones that fell from heaven than the army of Israel. Then there was the worship of the calf in the wilderness and Scripture says the Lord plagued those who worshiped the calf. In our text today, we learn God will judge the worshipers of the beast. God has always been clear in His word with warnings against worshipping idols. 

In Revelation 14:9 we read, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 

This verse speaks of eternal judgment. These will have rejected the warning of the flying angel who continually said, “Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come.” These will have chosen the antichrist over the Lord Jesus Christ who grew up in Nazareth. 

Here in Revelation 16 there will a clear difference in this expression of the wrath of God. The difference will be seen in that which is partial and that which is total. Here, we will have a gathering of all the horrors and all the terrors that were most severe from all the history of the judgment of God in all the past plagues, only now not partial, but now completely inundating the entire world in total disaster. This will be the judgment of God on all those who have heard the gospel multiple times and will have rejected it.

By this point in time, God will have demonstrated His love, mercy and grace in enormous ways. He will have sent His Son to die. He will have raised up messengers who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel. He will have given mankind tastes of His judgment. And still, they will say, "no" to the very One who created them. They will resist His appeal to be recreated. They will love themselves and their sin more than anything else. They will knowingly worship Satan and they will bow down to the antichrist. They will believe the false prophet, and they will reject the eternal Son of God.

And so, sadly, God's final judgment will come. The first judgment that came in Egypt happened over a period of time. The seven seal judgments and the seven trumpet judgments will take place over a period of years. This last series of judgments, the bowl judgments, will come very fast. In a matter of hours and days, and it will be all over.

If we understand love, it is because we understand the harmful nature of hate. If we understand truth, it is because we understand the deceptive and painful expression of lies. If we understand goodness, it is because we understand how wickedness rips mankind apart. If we understand reward, it is because we understand punishment. And God cannot love righteousness and faith unless He hates sin and unbelief. He cannot love truth unless He hates lies. He cannot love goodness unless He hates wickedness. He cannot reward unless He also punishes. Otherwise, He would not be God, for God is the standard bearer.

Revelation 15:5-8

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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.

Revelation 15:1-4

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1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” ~ Revelation 15:1-4

Today, we transition into Revelation 15. The book of Revelation surveys God's solution to the crisis of history; how God will bring about the long awaited and promised world of peace and blessing. After centuries of patient waiting and putting up with man's arrogance, hatred, greed and the bloodshed that has long been going on, God says there comes a time when He will call a halt to it all. Revelation 15 is the shortest chapter in the book of Revelation because it is a preliminary to Revelation 16.

In v.1 of today's text we read, "I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed."

We have reached a turning point of history when we come to these seven bowls of God's wrath. God will then begin to set up his kingdom upon the earth. 

The word “plagues” is quite an interesting word. In the Greek language this word means a blow, or a stripe, that is a wound, a scar. It can even mean a calamity. When we think of the word plague, we think of some kind of illness or a disease. The term is used, for example, in Luke 12:48 of flogging someone, where you take a whip made of leather with pieces of glass or stone or shell and you strike someone until their back is beaten down to the very end of their tissue and even leaves their organs, in some cases, exposed. These plagues come in rapid-fire in these final seven judgments that are poured out in hours and days, right at the very end in rapid succession. And they are death blows, mortal wounds that come with deadly force. 

In v.2-4 we read, "2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

In this scene John describes a great host now seen in heaven standing on the sea of glass. We first saw this sea of glass in Revelation 4, and there we understood it to be a symbol of the righteous holiness which the Holy Spirit imparts to those who come to Christ. This is the only basis for man to appear in the presence of God. This righteous holiness is described as mixed with fire, because it is a holiness manifested in the midst of persecution.

By the way, in heaven there will be no sea. John isn't describing water here, he is describing cut glass that refracts light. There will no longer be any separation of nations by virtue of seas. There will not be any sea in God's eternal kingdom, and yet, there will be a river of life. More about that later.

Before the throne of God in heaven there will be some kind of a crystal platform, some kind of a transparent, glistening crystal platform, perhaps so transparent that John is looking up through it and seeing the throne of God. In Ezekiel 1:22 we read, “As the color of awesome, dazzling crystal stretched across the sky.” In this verse Ezekiel describes the base of God’s heavenly throne. 

In v.2, these martyrs are said to be "victorious over the beast." It appeared as though when these left the earth they were losers, but when they arrived in heaven they are winners! Man is under the illusion that what he sees happening is actually according to the way he views it, but it really is not. The antichrist thinks he is getting rid of his enemies, but what he is really doing is running a shuttle service to heaven! 

This host of martyrs sings two songs, the Song of Moses (recorded in Exodus 15 as the Israelites came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea), and, the Song of the Lamb here in Revelation 15. These songs are the first and last songs in Scripture, and both of them are a description of the deliverance of God's people by His power, based upon a blood redemption. When Moses and the Israelites sang the Song of Moses they were looking back to the blood of a lamb put on the doorposts to keep them safe when the Angel of Death passed through the land of Egypt. In today's text, the martyrs are praising God and honoring Him for His power that has delivered them from the wrath of the antichrist, and of God, based on the blood of redemption shed by the Lamb of God.

The striking thing about this Song of the Lamb is, there is not one single word about their own achievements! The only pronoun used in this song is "your." In v.3 they sing, "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations." 

This brings up a great point. You probably have noticed that there are times when God seems to say that we get to heaven because of our good works. We saw this in Revelation 2-3 when God addressed the seven churches. This is not the case. But, when God looks at us through the lens of His Son's applied perfection, we appear as such. Make no mistake about it, my friend, it is only through Christ's perfection that are we acceptable to the Father.

In Job 21:30 we read, “The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction. They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.” 

Even way back in Job's day the people knew there was the wrath of God on the horizon. Whatever a man sows he will reap. When we sin, there will be consequences. This is the kind of wrath by which God destroys the whole world of sin. 

In Romans 1 we see that when God turns the rebellious over to their sin, it will come with built-in consequences that will engulf them. And, all of history is rushing to this final expression of the wrath of God. And the longer I live, obviously, the closer we get to it. But, there is a great paradox to be found in all of this. God has always been working behind the scenes to save sinners from His own wrath.

Herein lies the marvelous reality of the nature of our God who encompasses both righteousness and holiness alongside mercy and grace that makes justice and judgment the twin of love and kindness. And as we’ve learned in the book of the Revelation, even up to the very last scene, judgments falling all over the place in the world, all of the sealed judgments and the trumpet judgments, all through that period of time right down to the shattering of the universe, the devastation of the earth and the final bowl judgments that we will see in Revelation 16, all through all of this final expression of judgment that is coming in a time called the tribulation, God has always been calling sinners to salvation.

In v.4 of today's text we read, "Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

When all of His love is refused, when all of His grace is rejected and all His mercy is scorned, the only thing left is His inevitable and final wrath. Why? Because man chooses not God's umbrella of protection. We have a choice to make, whether to bow our will to Him or to have it our way.

Revelation 14:17-20

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17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. ~ Revelation 14:17-20

We come back to our study of Revelation 14 where we find ourselves in the middle of the final harvest. Without even a break, another vision comes immediately. And, this vision is described as a grape harvest. Whereas, yesterday's text described the outcome for those who will be on the earth at the end of the Tribulation and had believed in the Lord Jesus, today's text describes the outcome of those who will choose not to believe.

In v.17 we read, "Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle."

This angel will come out of the Temple in heaven and he will have a sharp sickle. Both the Lord Jesus Christ in the first vision of this passage, and this angel in the second, will have this instrument of judgment in their hand. 

In v.18 we read, "Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 

Note that this altar has already been mentioned in Revelation 6:9, and there it is obvious that this altar is an altar of prayer. This altar takes us back to the Tabernacle in the book of the Exodus. And, this angel has power over fire that will come out from the altar.  

This is hard to understand until we are reminded that in the Old Testament Tabernacle and in the Temple there was a fire. Twice a day, at the time of morning sacrifice and the time of evening sacrifice, the priest would go into the bronze altar and he would get the fire which was always burning symbolizing the ascending prayers of the people. The priest would then put the fire into the censer. And then he would go into the holy place, and he would wave the censer about and the smell of the incense would rise symbolizing the prayers of the people.

In v.18 of today's text, the angel is the fire angel who responds to the prayers of the believers. He is responding to the prayers of God's people. And, as we will see in the following verses, this is the time for the grape harvest. Whereas yesterday's text described the harvesting of those with faith in the Lord Jesus, today's text describes the judgment upon those who will not believe in the Lord Jesus. 

In v.19-20 we read, "19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia."

Throughout the scriptures, Israel is illustrated as the vine. As a symbol of Israel, the wine-press describes the judgment of God upon unbelieving Israel. Strangely, most Jews today do not believe their own Scriptures. Many of them are atheists. Many of them deny that they are a special people to God. 

In biblical days, while using the winepress, they would use a large carved out piece of stone, and the grapes would be thrown into this press and then trampled under the feet of those who did the work. And as they would crush the grapes, the juice would flow downward to the trough and run down into a basin which would catch it.

In v.20 there is a change from the symbol to the literal meaning of the symbol. The grapes were thrown into a winepress (the symbol), but blood pours out (that is the literal meaning of the pressed grapes). As a result of this final great battle between God and Satan, the blood of the rebellious will cover the land for 1600 stadia or 180 miles. Interestingly, that is the length of the nation of Israel. We are not told how wide this stream will be, but it will be a reminder that no created being wins in any battle with the Lord God.

This very moment which was described so long ago in Isaiah 63, Joel 3, Zechariah 14, and Daniel 11. In those passages we discover this battle that will happen around Jerusalem, and the blood of God's enemies will splatter to the height of the horses’ bridles, which would be four feet. The battle will rage from one border to the other. Millions will rush in to engage themselves in this final great battle against God. We know this battle as Armageddon. And, at that point the Lord will come. And, with His return, the end of time as we know it.