Revelation 15. This evening I would like to take up where we left off this
morning. John had said that he saw in the first verse
of the 15th chapter. He saw another sign in heaven. It was a great and it was a marvelous
sign. And this is what he saw. Seven
angels having the seven last plagues. For in them is filled
up the wrath of God. Now the comfort for God's people
in what we're about to look at was found in those first few
verses we looked at this morning. That in the midst of that which
shall surely take place, there shall be for the people of God,
God's elect, that they shall stand on the sea of glass, having
the harps of God. But the seven last plagues. That's a very interesting and
very sobering thought as we look at actually what John saw. I know we consider, as I said
this morning, we think in a chronological way of thinking. And as you've
noticed in the book of Revelation, it's not written chronologically. It is as if as the chapters are
being revealed and unfolded, we are seeing aspects of different
things that happen not only in our age but in the age past and
shall come. So the seven angels, the preachers
is what it is, those men that God has raised up to preach the
gospel of free grace, have what the scripture sets forth as seven
last plagues. And these last plagues don't
represent just, as I said this morning, what shall take place
just prior to the second coming of our Lord, but these last plagues
have been happening, coming forth in every generation. So to what
do the seven last plagues refer? Well, if we look at the wording
of what they are, the seven, the perfect, the last, the final
or the ending of, plagues are the wounds. These are the latter
wounds. is what is actually God's latter
wounds that happen in every generation upon the wicked. These seven
last plagues speak of, I believe, those just warnings whereby afterward
God Almighty is going to leave a man to himself because of the
hardness of a man's heart. The latter wounds. Now, I realize
that without the regeneration of grace of Almighty God, by
His power, a man will never repent. He'll never turn to God. But the Scripture reveals something
of a state whereby men are turned over to what the Scripture reveals
is a reprobate mind. I want you to turn to Romans
chapter 1. Romans 1, and I'm going to read
a few verses here that speaks of the seven last plagues, referred
to as seven last plagues in Revelation. But here is the revelation, I
believe, of what it is. Romans chapter 1 verse 18. It says, For the wrath of God
is revealed. Now, we understand one thing
for sure, that whatever is following, Carl, is the wrath of God. Seven
last plagues, God's wrath, the wrath of God, verse 18, Romans
1, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. because that
which may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has
showed it unto them, for the invisible things of Him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse." So I understand this so far.
Whatever is going to happen, the wrath of God, God's wrath
from heaven is sent upon men because that which is known of
God, they are without excuse, the Scripture says. They are
clearly seen, verse 20. Because, verse 21, that when
they knew God, they saw Him in creation, They've heard the gospel
because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God,
neither were thankful, but became vain in their imagination and
their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds
four-footed beast and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave
them up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts,
to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worship and serve the creature
more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen? For this cause, God gave them
up unto vile affections, and even their women did change the
natural use into that which is against nature. Also the men,
leaving the natural use of women, burned in their lust one toward
another. Men, and with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving
in themselves that recompense of their error, which was meat
or fit. And even as they did not like
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate
mind to do those things which are not convenient, being filled
with all unrighteousness and fornication and wickedness and
covetousness and maliciousness. full of envy, murder, debate,
deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, despicable,
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful, who, knowing the judgment of God,
that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only
do the same, but also have pleasure in them that do them." This world
not only has the gospel preached within it, but also has the evidence
of God's creation. Men are without excuse. Though they knew or were aware
of His existence, the scripture says, they were not thankful,
for the knowledge that they had, their foolish heart, the scripture
says, was darkened, deprived of light. Well, it is. Now, think
on seven last plagues. It's the last and final judgment
that is poured out upon men, wicked men and women, who love
darkness rather than light, and this is leading up to the final
judgment. Now listen, these seven last
plagues are not going to take place just in what we think chronologically
is the last time or just before. This started from the beginning.
with the fall of man. Becoming fools, the Scripture
says. They created images that they
said was not God. I remember when I was growing
up as a small child in Roman Catholic Church, there were statues
all over the place. And I can remember then being
told, now that's not God, it represents God. That seemed harmless
to me at the time. The Scripture says that they
created images. They said, was not God, but was
an image or reminder of God. Wherefore, God gave them up. How many times in the Scripture
did we just read, God gave them up? The seven ladder wounds. The seven last plagues. that
has happened in every generation is that God Almighty gives a
man up to the lust of his own heart. God committed them to
impurity, gave them up, the Scripture says, to vile affections, left
them without restraint to dishonor their own bodies, Naturally,
their homosexuality and perversion of all kinds, God has left them
up, even if they didn't like the Scripture says. To retain
God in their knowledge, God again gave them up, gave them over
to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Gave them over to minds that
are so void of restraint. that they justify and approve
of their evil. Exodus 10.27 says, But the Lord
concerning Pharaoh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh would not
let the people of God go. Why did Pharaoh not let the people
go? The scripture says God hardened
his heart. Well, there's a scripture in
Jeremiah 7.26, seven last plagues in every generation, in the life
of every wicked man or woman left to themselves, and the only
difference between that man that is found in his sin, accountable
for his sin under the wrath of God, answerable for his own guilt,
the only difference in that man and another man is the grace
of God. The only thing. But you think
about God's final wounds, God's latter wounds before that great
day. It is not as though men are just
let off scot-free. In Jeremiah 7.16, now you listen
to this. God told Jeremiah about a people. You go back and read it, but
Jeremiah 7.16, Therefore, Pray not thou for this people. Neither lift up cry nor prayer
for them, neither make intercession to me, for I will not hear you."
If Almighty God leaves a man or a woman to Himself, that man
has no hope whatsoever. In every age, There has been
the saints who have been sealed, the trumpets that warn of judgment,
the battle that rages between the wicked and the blessed, and
those last plagues. Every generation, God has given
men that refuse the gospel of free grace. Over. to do that which is pleasing
in their own sight. looking diligently, Hebrews 12,
15, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of
bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator
or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright, for you know how that afterward when he would
have inherited the blessing, He was rejected, for he found
no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."
Sought what? He didn't seek after Almighty
God. I can tell you that. Do you know
what he was seeking after? He wanted the blessing of his
Father back. I want something in this world that I can have
for right now an Almighty God left unto Himself. The vials
of judgment. that shall be viewed in chapter
16. And we will start seeing those,
Lord willing, next time. Those vials of judgment that
are going to be poured out, the seven last plagues that will
be described, that we're just looking at tonight as, what are
they? What are the things that shall
happen in this life? These judgments, that are pointing
to and leading to that great and final judgment. Set forth
in every generation the wicked, those that have been left to
themselves, that possess the mark of the beast in their forehead
or in their right hand, those that worship the beast, those
that have no fear of God, though they think that they shall escape
the wrath of the Lamb, God does not allow or permit a complete
absence of regret or remorse or shame in this life. They think
they get by. Whatsoever a man sows, he is
going to reap in this life. But in every chapter after that
the Spirit of God has settled the heart and mind of God's people,
then he reveals that which surely is going to come to pass concerning
the judgment of the wicked. So John says in this 15th chapter
in verse 5 concerning what he saw Seven last plagues that were
held by seven angels. He says in verse 5, And after
that I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the
testimony in heaven was opened. We are taught that wrath and
judgment is God's wrath and God's judgment. The temple of the tabernacle
of the testimony. Now there is a picture. It's
a full revelation of what was actually pictured in the wilderness
when the priest would go in. It was behind the veil. There
was that tabernacle, that testimony, the ark of the covenant. And
that ark was where God would meet with people, His people. He said, I'll meet with you between
the cherubims upon the mercy seat. That's where God would
meet. And He was pleased to meet with
His people in peace. So we know that there's got to
be a mediator. There's got to be one, an advocate.
One that would not only be of God's choosing, but also of God's
character. It would be God Himself who would
meet with Himself. and His people stand for His
people. If there's no mediator, there's
no peace. If there's no mediator, there's
judgment. There's one mediator between
God and all men, and it's the man, Christ Jesus. John looked and he said, I saw
the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony of what God
had promised I saw it. And that vision gave evidence
of the testimony of the presence of Almighty God among the people. That's what Acts 7.44 calls. It said our Father had the tabernacle
of witness in the wilderness. There was the verbal and the
visual presence of Almighty God. They saw it. John saw it. So John sees a witness or evidence
of God's presence. He realizes that the wrath of
God is getting ready to be poured out. These seven last plagues. These latter wounds and what
they are. These latter wounds is as a man
goes through this life, God wounds that man by turning him over
and leaving him to himself. Can you imagine the plagues?
And a man has no idea of what's going on. God's giving him exactly,
Bob, what he wants, what he desires. I will not have that man rule
over me because they did not want to retain God in their mind. God gave them over. Men are not
going to stand before God and say, it's your fault because
you didn't choose me. Oh, they may say it, but they're
not going to get away with it. Men are doing exactly what they
want to do. The difference between one left
in his sin and rebellion and a believer is that God didn't
leave that chosen, that elect sinner to himself to do what
he wanted to do. God gave him a new heart. God
changed him. He regenerated him. He rebirthed
him. He was born from above. But leave
a man to himself and he'll reject God every time. And God sends
seven last plagues. Giving him exactly what he wants.
Turning him over. I don't want God. You won't have
Him. I don't want to retain Him in my mind. You won't. God sends
the plagues and He sends them by preachers. Telling them, telling
them, God Almighty is just. But John looked and he said,
I saw the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven, verse
6, and the seven angels came out of the temple having the
seven plagues, clothed in pure white linen and having their
breasts girded with golden girdles. God's instruments of these seven
plagues, these last plagues, are the means by which God sends
the latter wounds before that final judgment we said, are his
preachers, proclaiming the glorious gospel of free grace. Preachers of the gospel. And to all those whose hearts
are opened by the Spirit of God, who see the beauty of Christ,
the gospel is the sweet fragrance of life now. It's life unto life. In 2 Corinthians we see this,
it says to the one, we are the saver of death unto death. Men left to themselves. God Almighty
is pouring out seven last plagues throughout a man's life, left
to himself. Man that is dead in trespasses
and sins. The gospel is death unto death. Death now, He has no heart for
it, and it's death unto eternal death. Spiritual death to eternal
death. But to one who God Almighty has
purposed to set His affection on. It's life, like now, unto
life. To eternal life. So these seven
angels, they come out. Where have they come out? They
came out of the temple. They come from God Himself. They came out of the temple sent
by the Holy and Just One. And they have, the scripture
says, the seven plagues. They have the proclamation of
the gospel. That which men hear by nature
and reject, it's death unto them. Death unto death. They're clothed
in pure and white linen. They're all robed. in the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they have their breast girded
with golden girdles." This golden girdle by which they are girded
is a symbol of service and strength. I want you to turn over to Luke
17. Luke 17.7. Luke 17.7. It was
a parable A story that the Lord was telling. Luke 17, 7. He said, But which
of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto
him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down
to meet? And will not rather say unto
him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve
me, till I have eaten and drunk, and in afterward thou shalt eat
and drink? Turn over to John 13, the Gospel
of John, chapter 13. Here's a glorious picture of
our blessed Lord, the servant of His Father. John 13, verse
3, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His
hands, that He was come from God and went to God. He riseth from supper, laid aside
His garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that
he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded."
Ephesians 6.14 says, "...stand therefore, having your loins
girded about with truth." So the seven angels in Revelation
chapter 15 The true preachers of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ are the servants, is what is being said, of the living
God, fulfilling the commission given to them by their Master. John sees these preachers coming
out of the temple. They have the seven plagues,
clothed in pure white linen and having their breasts girded with
golden girdles. And the scripture says in one
in verse 7 of the four beasts, one of the four beasts gave unto
the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God
who liveth forever and ever. Now these seven angels received
seven golden vials that were full of the wrath of God. What is being set forth here
is that the measured bowls of God's wrath is going to be poured
out. The judgment of Almighty God
is going to be delivered in the exact proportion that God Almighty's
justice dictates. God is going to give a man exactly
what God says he deserves. They're in golden vials expressing
the judgment in this life, God's judgment. But I want you to notice
who gave the seven angels the seven vials. It's one of the
four beasts. It says, one of the four beasts. Now you remember these four beasts
that we looked back, I think it was in chapter 4. The cherubims,
the four beasts. These are, I believe, heavenly
pictures, heavenly manifestations of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The four beasts, one of them,
now who they were, which one they were, you go back, turn
back to Revelation 4-7. Revelation 4-7 describes these
four beasts, these cherubim. It says the first beast, Revelation
4-7, the first beast was like a lion. The second beast, a calf. Third beast, the face as a man. The fourth beast was as a flying
eagle. Now, of which one? One of them,
the Scripture says. One of them. The lion, the calf,
the man, the eagle. But they're all one and the same.
So whoever gave, or committed, or showed, bestowed the message
of this judgment was Christ Himself. the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Matthew 10.16 says, Behold, I send you forth as sheep into the midst
of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents
and harmless as doves. But before we leave this next
to last verse right here, I want you to notice the last portion
of of God's description here. It says that one of the four
beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the
wrath of God who liveth forever and ever. This is the eternal
God with whom all men without Christ must suffer eternal judgment. No rest, no reprieve no intermission,
no end. As Christ ever liveth to make
intercession for his own, the scripture sets forth that as
the judge of the wicked, he ever liveth in the execution of his
judgment. This one with whom men must deal
in judgment is the God who liveth forever and ever. And verse 8
says, 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. The temple being filled with
smoke represents the divine presence of Almighty God. When Solomon
dedicated the temple back in 1 Kings 8, it says that the smoke
filled the temple and even the preachers, the ministers, were
not able to minister because of the presence of Almighty God. In Exodus 19.18, it says, and
Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke because the Lord descended
upon it in a fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke
of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." So John sees
the temple, the one out of which the seven angels come, with the
seven last plagues, those judgments that are poured out on men justly
prior to the final judgment of God. He seized this temple out
of which they had come, filled with smoke from the glory of
God and from His power. And no man was able to enter
into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were
fulfilled. Now there's two wonderful thoughts
in closing on that portion of Scripture that deals with God's
preserving grace of His people. First of all, if you think in
this vein, and I'll admit, these are two thoughts, and as I express
these two thoughts, I'll leave it to the Spirit of God. to give
us all understanding as to what is exactly being set forth. But I know that when the seven
angels came and set forth the seven last plagues toward the
wicked, and remember we looked this morning at God's preserving
grace and keeping His people. What we're dealing with tonight
is God pouring out judgment These seven angels came forth and they
preached the gospel. And to those God left to themselves,
it was death unto death to them. They wouldn't have it. I hear
what you're saying, but I'll not have that man rule over me.
I told you one time, I had a sister-in-law that made this statement, says,
the God that you're preaching is my devil. And you're going
to stand before that God. I'll tell you that. I'll not
have that man. I'll not have him. Well, no man
was able to enter into the temple. First of all, this first thought
is this. You remember that the temple
represents the picture of God's abode where God resides. The church Himself. And it's
an abode that is protected, that's kept and maintained by God Himself. You know that. God keeps His
people. Keeps them from Himself. Keeps
them from themselves. God keeps them from His judgment
by providing Himself a Lamb. God is just and He must judge
sin. So He provided Himself to satisfy
Himself, brother Scott. Well, no man was able. That means
it was not possible to enter into the temple until or while
the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Now you think about what was
just said. It was not possible, no man was able to enter into
the temple whenever God sent Noah to preach the gospel. How many years? 120 years. 120
years. I heard Noah preach, built an
ark. That ark in itself, picture of
Christ. What Noah was saying in type
was, see this ark right here? That's the only salvation. No
other salvation. It's going to rain. God's never
had rain before. When God shut the door, what
was the possibility of entering into the ark if God shut the
door? None. None. None. It says no man was able to enter
into the temple. If God Almighty leaves a man
to himself and sends the seven last plagues and turns a man
over, leaves him to himself and turns him over to a reprobate
mind, Do you think that that man has the ability within himself
to pull himself up by his own bootstraps? No, sir. That was
the first thought. No man was able. But then the
second thought was this. No man was able to enter into
the temple. It could also mean that there
was no intercessor, no intercession. to turn away his wrath or to
divert him from his purpose. The Lord Jesus Christ has come
for one purpose, to redeem his sheep. He said, I come to seek
and to save that which is lost. All that the Father gives me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise. I lay down my life For the sheep
I lay down my life for the elect, if Christ Himself did not die
for a man or a woman." Are their sins ever going to be put away?
No. No. The destruction of the wicked
is certain if God leaves them to themselves. You remember the
word that we read concerning God's grace in keeping His people,
but also God's justice. We just read a while ago, Jeremiah
17, verse 6, Therefore pray thou not for this people, neither
lift up a cry nor a prayer for them. Don't make intercession
to me, I will not hear. Oh, the blessed thought of him
that is holy and just and good, that he has set his affection
upon me." The scripture says that John saw these seven angels
coming out of the temple. They had the seven last plagues. One of the four beasts, the Lord
Jesus himself, gave them the measured judgment from God Himself
and the scripture says in the smoke of the presence and the
power of Almighty God came out of that temple and no man was
able to enter the temple until the seven last plagues were fulfilled. Almighty God is going to do that
which is right and just and holy. and good. We are dealing with
God. We're not dealing as the one
that men preach that's trying to be God. This God is God. He is the true and the living
God. You look and behold you that
believe the mercy of Almighty God that did not leave you to
yourself, that did not leave you and turn you over to a reprobate
mind because that's what you desire. It is by His grace that
we behold Him.