CHAPTER 15

(A.D. 96)

SEVEN VIALS

¹And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvellous, seven Angels having the seven last plagues (proclaims the concluding Judgments upon the territory of the Antichrist, which will be the worst); for in them is filled up the Wrath of God (should have been translated, anger of God).

²And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire (is that which is immediately before the Throne of God and mentioned in Rev. 4:6): and them who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name (this group was murdered by the Antichrist), stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God (presents a picture of peace and tranquility).

³And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God (is the song given to us in Deut. 32:1-43; it is recorded that Moses wrote this song and taught it to the people [Deut. 31:22]), and the song of the Lamb (this is the second song, and begins with the Crucifixion, which was absolutely necessary if man was to be redeemed, and closes with Jesus Christ as King of kings, Lord of lords), saying, Great and marvellous are your works, Lord God Almighty (refers to Christ; while all His Works are great and marvelous, what He did at the Cross presents itself as the greatest work of all); just and true are Your ways, Thou King of Saints. (Christ is our King by virtue of what He did at the Cross, and our Faith in that Finished Work.)

⁴Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? (This leaps ahead to the Millennial Reign. At that time, every human being on the face of the Earth will fear the Lord, and will glorify His Name as well.) for You only are Holy (speaks of the origination of Holiness, and that this Holiness can be given to Believers by virtue of what Christ did at the Cross): for all nations shall come and worship before You (refers to the Millennial Reign); for Your Judgments are made manifest (refers to the fact that the Judgment of God will be poured out upon the Antichrist during the Battle of Armageddon, where he will be defeated along with the entirety of his Army).

THE TEMPLE

⁵And after that I looked (refers to the Vials about to be poured out), and, behold, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony in Heaven was opened (has reference to the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept; this is a witness both to the Holiness of Gods Character and the Justice of His Government):

⁶And the seven Angels came out of the Temple, having the seven plagues (constitutes the Vial Judgments), clothed in pure and white linen (indicates the perfect Righteousness of the acts that are to be performed on Earth), and having their breasts girded with golden girdles (presents the same attire as that of our Lord [Rev. 1:13], signifying that what they are about to do pertains solely to the Work of Christ; in other words, Christ is in charge of all the Judgments).

⁷And one of the four Beasts (Living Ones described in 4:7-8) gave unto the seven Angels seven golden Vials full of the Wrath of God (proclaims the fact, as stated, that these Judgments on the Earth will be the worst of all), Who lives forever and ever (proclaims the fact that God is Eternal).

⁸And the Temple was filled with smoke from the Glory of God, and from His power (presents itself as very similar to the dedication of Solomons Temple, in which the latter Temple was a replica of the one in Heaven); and no man was able to enter into the Temple, till the seven plagues of the seven Angels were fulfilled. (Constitutes the last few months of the Great Tribulation. The idea of no man being able to enter the Temple during this period of time seems to be that no one would be permitted to enter to make intercession, to turn away Gods wrath, to divert Him from His Purpose.)