,, 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. 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. 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. 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. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 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. 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. 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.”
Rev. 15: 1-8
"And I saw another great sign in heaven, and a miracle: seven angels having the last seven plagues: for the wrath of God was perfect in them."
John has already seen two signs and now he sees the third. The first sign is "woman" and we saw that it is Israel, the second sign is "a dragon with seven heads and ten horns" and it is the kingdom of Satan and now John sees more one sign which is both a miracle, "a sign in heaven and a miracle" and it is a sign of God's last judgment on Satan and his kingdom. This "miracle" is: "seven angels who had the last seven evils, because anger is perfected in them Of God. "
What will happen has been sown by man for centuries and will now be "harvested", the sin that has been sown so far is coming to people because it has "matured and the harvest is coming" God has been sending mercy, warning and thus giving new ones for thousands of years chances to people but now comes the end of God's patience because it's time for that.
"For the wrath of God is perfected in them."
,, God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”
Ps.7: 11
The wrath of God fell on Jesus Christ for those who believe in him, and at the end of the great tribulation the wrath of God reaches its climax and it will be "a special time of God's wrath."
"And I saw like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who defeated the beast and its icon, and its mark, and the number of its name, where they stand on the sea of glass and have the fiddle of God."
John saw a vision of seven angels preparing to pour out the wrath of God on earth to the kingdom of the Antichrist, and we immediately read that John saw a people in heaven standing on a "sea of glass" mixed with fire.
In order to understand what the "sea" is, we have to go back to the time when the Israelites traveled through the desert. They had a tent from the meeting there and in front of the sanctuary they had a honey basin that the priests used to wash their feet.
,, Thou shalt also make a laver [of] brass, and his foot [also of] brass, to wash [withal]: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, [even] to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”
Exodus 30: 18-21
Later when they built the temple they had a similar thing and they called it the sea,
,, And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under the brim of it round about [there were] knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops [were] cast in two rows, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea [was set] above upon them, and all their hinder parts [were] inward. And it [was] an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits [was] the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.”
1 Kings 7: 23-27
Washing the feet symbolically represented the cleansing of the sins of those who are Christ's through daily repentance
,, Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”
John 13:10
The feet speak of our walking and as long as we are on earth we need this washing, that is, we no longer need to do this ceremony, but daily confession of sin is obligatory. And when the Church is in heaven, it will stand on a solid and crystal clear sea, which means it is in heaven absolutely clean and we studied that earlier and now it says here:
"And I saw like a sea of glass mixed with fire" This sea is different from the sea for which it is written:
,, And before the throne [there was] a sea of glass like unto crystal:…”
Rev. 4: 6
The fire speaks of troubles and all those whom John saw went through the "fire of great troubles" because it also writes, "those who defeated the beast and its icon, and its mark, and the number of its name, where they stand on the sea of glass."
"And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, O kings of the saints."
The song of Moses is the song of victory as can be seen from Exodus 15 and it is a song sung by the Israelites when they crossed the Red Sea as a thanksgiving to God that the Lord delivered them. And here the Israelites are saved from great tribulation and they sing, , the song of the Lamb "which means that they are saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ the pure Lamb.
At the end of his journey through the wilderness, Moses sang this song about the Lord Jesus Christ:
,, [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.“
Deuteronomy 32: 4
We see that they glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with the following words: "Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God Almighty, righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints." And below we have some of the reasons for worship:
Creation and maintenance - "Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God Almighty"
Righteousness and truth - "Your ways are just and true"
The object of celebration - "Kings of the Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
Holiness - "Because You are one world"
Almightyness and eternity - ,, because all pagans will come and worship before You; for thy judgments are manifest.
It goes on to write what John saw.
"And after these things I saw, and behold, the church of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened."
After that vision, John now sees another in which he sees the opening of the heavenly sanctuary, and John sees the temple by which Moses made the tabernacle of the meeting in the wilderness. From the following verses we can conclude that this refers to the opening of the inner sanctuary. God's holiness. John had the privilege of being allowed to stare there, and the "church of the testimony" testified against man. Through the tent, God showed the Israelites the way of salvation, but also their sin. No one could come to the tent without shedding blood. The sacrifice is testified that the wages of sin is death and that no one can satisfy God's righteousness with his goodness. The opening of this heavenly sanctuary is the opening of God's wrath against man, that is, against all who have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God suffered for a long time and gave new chances, but the time has come when the beam comes to an end and he writes about this:
,, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.“
2 Pet.3: 9-10
The day of the Lord is great trouble, and then the strongest wrath of "heaven against earth" will be revealed, and that is because people reject God's mercy and grace.
In order to get a better picture of the temple in heaven, we will describe the tent that Moses made according to the image of this temple that he received from God.
,, And look that thou make [them] after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.”
Exodus 25:40
,, And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.”
Exodus 26:30
The tent was made of various skins and ropes and there were various objects used for ritual purposes. On the tent and later in the temple there was only one entrance door and so one could access the brass altar for sacrifice which teaches us that there is only one way to approach God through innocent blood. There was only one light burning in the tent and it was a shrine modeled on God and only by that light could the priests serve inside which tells us that God's things can be done and to understand only with the help of God's light, and that is God's Word and the Holy Spirit. Inside there was also an incense altar where incense was constantly placed and smoke was raised, which was a picture of the unceasing prayer of God's people. only the high priest could enter it once a year on the great feast of purification, and he had to choose a lamb without blemish, he had to sacrifice it on the altar for his and the people's sins. Then he had to take blood. , incense from the incense altar and threw it through the curtain inside, only then could he enter the sanctuary above the sanctuaries and it was a symbol to enter the presence of God through the prayers of the people as well as his own.
Then he would enter the part where the ark of the covenant was located, which had two angels facing each other with the task of guarding the ark, and the light of God's glory could be seen between them, and that was the announcement of God's presence among his people.
On the ark was the throne of mercy where the high priest put blood and received mercy for the people. In the ark were stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments of God and these are new tablets because Moses broke the first tablets because of the sin of the people. These tablets are a testimony against sin and a rejection of God's law. Then there is a vessel with manna since the people began to grumble against the "heavenly food" given to them by God which is a symbol that they have rejected the daily bread of God. And the third thing is Aaron's rod which flourished unlike the staff of a group of apostates from the people who wanted to take the lead from Moses and Aaron By blossoming the rod, God has confirmed the leaders of the people and it is a symbol against those who have rejected God's leader.
All these three things testify to the complete rejection of God, and the righteous judgment of God deserves confirmation.
Let's go back to the high priest who was supposed to sprinkle blood on the sanctuary seven times the golden throne of mercy that was on the ark and this symbolically showed that sin was covered from God's side. When God "looked" at the ark he saw the blood of a lamb and so the justice of the law was satisfied, and so the throne of judgment was transformed through blood into the throne of mercy, and all who came to God by faith in blood were received by God.
And all this is the image of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way by which one can approach God and through the blood of Christ we get complete purification of sin and only through Christ the throne of judgment is transformed into the throne of grace.
John saw the heavenly temple and it is no longer a place of grace where sinners can approach but now this is the place where God's judgment comes from and this is now the "miracle" he writes about at the beginning of this chapter, a radical change that John probably understood because was a Jew. He still writes:
"And there went forth seven angels out of the church, having the seven plagues, clothed in clean and white robes, and girded on their breasts with golden girdles."
We see that seven evils are coming because God's commandments are broken and rejected, then the rejection of God's bread and the third rejection of God's leader, and all this suggests the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled God's law with his sacrifice and He becomes "Bread and Leader" and finally great troubles reveals with God's wrath through Him against those who have rejected all these things.
These seven angels are dressed in priestly garments with a golden girdle and they appear as judges. They have access to God and when they come out of God's presence they are given cups of wrath.
"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."
One cherub standing next to the throne of God gives these angels cups of wrath and all those who did not want to drink from the cup of salvation will now drink from the cup of wrath.
The cup of salvation is mentioned in Psalm 116.
,, I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”
Ps.116: 13
and the cup of wrath in Psalm 75
,, 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.”
Ps.75: 8
And now that the angels have received the cups, it says:
"And the church was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power; and no man was able to come into the church, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were accomplished.
And now we have a situation where the "time of grace" is coming to an end and the judgment begins and no one can approach until these angel missions are over and we can also say that God will no longer listen to the "cries" of the ungodly who rejected his grace because the time has come court.
And all this was written so that we would know what awaits the human race in the future, and the smartest thing would be to listen to the advice that God gives us in order to avoid all this.
,, For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,…”
Rom.15: 4
,, And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Acts 16:31