Revelation chapter 15 today. I'm taking the title from what
is said in verse 3. Verse 3. Great and marvelous
are thy works, Lord God Almighty. I like that, don't you? Great
and marvelous. And they sing the song of Moses. Moses, a servant of God. And they sing the song of the
Lamb. It's the same song. Glory to His name. Salvation
to the Lord. We sing great and marvelous are
Thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are Thy way, Thou
King. Remember, he's called King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. The Lord Jesus Christ is described
as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is described as the Lamb of
God that takes away our sin, but He's also called the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
Almighty God who is God our Savior, who cannot fail. Everything He
does is absolutely effectual, absolutely successful. He is
a God of all the earth. He is a God of all the earth.
He created all things by the word of His power. In the beginning,
God said, let there be light. God created all things by the
word of His power. He rules and sustains all things
by His sovereign will. And one day, He's coming back
again to destroy this earth as we know it. And He's going to
make a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now, He has how much power? He
has all power in heaven and earth. He prayed that in John 17. He
said, Father, You've given me power over all flesh. That I
should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given to me. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God. the only true God,
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." So we see from those words
that He has all power, and that salvation is found in Him. He is the only true God, our
Savior, and eternal life is in Him. Now, in chapter 15, we're
introduced to the seven last plagues, for
in them is filled up the wrath of God." You see that in verse
1. And then over in chapter 16, we're going to see the pouring
out of those seven vials of God's wrath upon all people with the
exception of those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. We see
the pouring out of the seven vials or bowls of God's just
and holy wrath upon those who refuse to believe the gospel
because they wear or identify with the mark of the beast, they
worship his image, of idolatry. They deserve nothing but the
judgment of God, for they are sworn enemies of the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you take a stand against
Him, and you're in big trouble. You remember what we studied
in chapter 14, verse 9? That third angel followed them,
saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and
his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is
poured out, verse 10, chapter 14, poured out without a mixture
of mercy into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of his holy angels
and in the presence of the Lamb. and the smoke of their torment
ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest night or
day, day or night, who worship the beast and his image, who
receive the mark of his name." Now, what does the beast represent
and the image and that number of his name, 666? It's a religion
of man. It's a religion of failure. That's
what the number 6 means. Failure, failure upon failure. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the number seven, completeness, perfectness in Christ Jesus. Now much like the seven trumpets
that we studied in chapter 8, 9, 10, and 11, and the seven
vials of judgment that are poured out in chapter 16, This includes
the entire gospel age from the first coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ until His second coming. We see these vials of wrath,
trumpets of judgment poured out upon those who deserve nothing
but the wrath of God. Now something particular I want
to point out to you, mentioned this last week, neither the trumpets
of judgment nor the vows of wrath bring men to true gospel repentance. Now I wrote this note to myself,
and let me read it to you. The holy wrath of God, and I
underscored this word alone. The holy wrath of God alone will
never change the sinner's heart, mind, or will. It will never
make him a new creature. Only the goodness of the gospel
of Christ is designed and purposed to make us new creatures in Christ,
to draw us unto the Lord Jesus Christ, who is all of our salvation. You see, it's the goodness of
God the good news of the gospel that calls us and leads us to
repentance. It's not the wrath of God alone. Now, that's involved. We see
something that our sin is due His wrath, but the wrath of God
alone won't bring us to true gospel repentance. It's the gift
of God. Salvation and grace and repentance
is the gift of God. Now look, let me show you what
I'm talking about. Look at chapter 16, verse 8. Now give an example of this.
Chapter 16, verse 8, And the fourth angel poured out his vial
upon his son, and fire was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Now that's pretty terrible, isn't it not? And men were scorched
with great heat and blasphemed the name of God, which had power
over these plagues, and they repented not. Now, if anything
would drive a man to repentance, instead of blaspheming God, read
on, verse 10, And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the
seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness. And they
gnawed their tongue for pain, and they blasphemed God. That's
evil, speaking against God, the God of heaven, because of their
pains and sores. And they repented not to give
Him the glory. You see, we do not use the fear
of punishment nor the promise of reward to entice sinners to
look to Christ. It's the good news of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. God must grant and give repentance
to acknowledge the truth. In Romans chapter 2, I've read
this to you before, but it says, The riches of God's goodness
and forbearance and long-suffering leads us and brings us to true
repentance before God. You see, it's just not the wrath
of God. You can preach all day about hell, fire, and brimstone.
but that'll never reveal the gospel to a sinner. You see,
it's the good news of Christ enduring the wrath of God for
us that causes us to look to Christ for all our salvation. Now, having said that, let's
take a look at verse one. And I saw another sign or wonder
in heaven, great and marvelous. 7 angels, having as seven last
plagues, for in them these vials of God's wrath, in these are
filled up with the wrath of God." The total, holy wrath of God. Now, the word sign here that's
used in verse 1 of chapter 15 is the same word that we read
about in chapter 12. Turn over there to verse 1. It's
the word wonder. In chapter 12, verse 1, And there
appeared a great wonder in heaven, a great sign. A woman clothed
with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head were
a crown of twelve stars. Now that woman there is a picture
of the church, and that's a great wonder. A great wonder that God
would be pleased to save sinners through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Another sign or wonder from heaven, great and marvelous. Everything God does is great.
He is the great God. He is a marvelous God. These
are great and marvelous miracles, wonders or signs. Everything
connected with God is wonderful, marvelous. All His decrees of
mercy and judgment are marvelous and great to see. They are wonderful. But what His name is, what's
His name? His name is wonderful, Counselor of the mighty God,
the everlasting Father. Now, these seven angels are His
holy messengers of judgment, servants of God, sent to execute
the Lord's will, sent to execute the Lord's decree against all
unrighteousness. Look at chapter 16, verse 1.
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven
angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of wrath upon the
earth. And they have been doing that
since the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. These seven
angels have the seven last plagues, are the holy decrees of God that
must be executed in the earth. They will be executed because
God said, I've spoken it, I've purposed it, I will bring it
to pass. In these last plagues are filled up the just wrath
of God against all sin. God's wrath is His holiness stirred
in the activity against sin. God is too holy to look upon
sin with favor. Remember what we read over here
in Revelation 14, verses 18 and 19. Turn over there, Revelation
14. And another angel came out from
the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry
to him that had the sharpsicle, saying, Thrust in the sharpsicle,
and gather the cluster of the vine of the earth, for her grapes
are fully ripe. and the angel thrust in the sickle
into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast
it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." God is going
to separate and gather out everything that opposed to His sovereign
purpose in Christ. Now, chapter 15 verse 2, and
I saw as it were a sea of glass. A sea of glass mingled or mixed
with fire. Fire usually indicates judgment,
the fiery judgment of God. Our God is consuming fire. And
John also sees them that had gotten the victory over the beast,
over his image, over idolatry, over his mark, over the number
of his name, and they stand on the sea of glass. They stand
with the Lord Jesus Christ. The sea of glass, which is before
the throne of God, and they have harps. That is, they have a melody
in their heart singing about the grace of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Another wonderful, great, and
glorious, marvelous sight We see the victorious redeemed,
the elect of God, the redeemed of God in glory, standing with
the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember, look back at chapter
14 verse 1, they stand on the sea of glass because they stand
in Christ. Revelation 14 verse 1, and I
looked, And lo, a lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him the
hundred and forty-four thousand, having his father's name written
in their foreheads." So they stand on this sea of glass, which
is before the throne of God, and we stand with the Lord Jesus
Christ, and we stand in Him, accepted in the Beloved. In the
Beloved. Standing with Christ. Now again,
this sea of glass is a symbolic picture of salvation by the blood
atonement of Christ. The blood atonement of Christ
cleanses us from all our sin. The redemption of our sin by
the blood of Christ who cast our sins into the depth of the
sea. And the Lord Jesus Christ bare
the fiery wrath of God for our sin against us. That's why it's
a sea of glass mingled with fire. The Lord Jesus Christ took all
our sin, the guilt of it, and He took the wrath of God, bearing
our sin in His own body on the tree. And His blood cleanses
us from all our sin. Now, these standing upon the
sea of glass are God's elect. redeemed with the blood of Christ.
These standing upon the sea of glass, that's mingled with fire,
are victorious over every enemy of God, over the beast out of
the sea, the beast out of the earth, You remember what they
represent? The religion of men, false religion,
over His mark, over His image, over His number, and over His
name. They overcome by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
overcome. You remember, turn back to Revelation
chapter 12, verse 11. Revelation 12, 11. They overcame
Him. The accuser of the brethren,
who would accuse us day and night, they overcame him by the blood
of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not
their lives unto death." Revelation 12. How do we overcome? By the
blood of the Lamb. Again, he said, turn to Revelation
17, verse 14. Revelation 17, verse 14. I told
you we were going to turn and read a little bit. I think it
will help us to retain these things. Revelation 17, 14, These
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for
He is their Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that
are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. That's the description
of God's people, called, chosen, and faithful. And we overcome
only by the blood of the Lamb. Our victory is always set forth
by Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He is the conquering King of
kings and Lord of lords, who took the fire of God's wrath
due our sin, laid upon Him, and satisfied the wrath of God for
us. substitution and satisfaction. The standing with Christ, redeemed
by His blood, saved by His grace, always give Him all the honor
and glory. They know who saved them from
their sin. God forbid we should glory save
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. They stand on a sea of
glass, Having the harps of God. Now, what do we harp about? We
don't harp about what we've done. We don't harp about how good
we are. We harp about unto Him who loved us and washed us from
our sin in His own blood. Where is that written? Turn back
to chapter 1. I poke this verse all the time,
but maybe we should turn and read it. Revelation chapter 1.
verse 5 and 6. What do we harp about? We harp
about all that He has done, His love, His grace, and His redeeming
blood. Revelation chapter 1 verse 5,
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the first begotten of
the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth, unto Him that loved
us unto Him who washed us from our sin in His own blood." It's
unto Him. We harp about Him. We sing about
Him. And it made us kings and priests
unto our God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Now who gets the honor and glory?
What do we sing praises about? We sing praises unto our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 3. And they
sang the song of Moses. Just as the children of Israel
that day when they were redeemed by the power of God, by the will
of God, by the mercy of God, they knew who delivered them.
They knew God did it. They knew salvation was of the
Lord. And they sing the song of Moses. What do we sing? We
sing that same song. The song of the servant of God,
Moses, and the song of the Lamb, same. The Lamb, same. What do
we say? Great. Great and marvelous are
thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are all your ways,
thou King, King of all, King of all. Moses, the servant of
the Lord, rejoiced to see the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
as the cause of his deliverance from the bondage of his sin.
Our Lord said of Moses, what did Moses write about? You remember
our Lord said in John 5, for had you believed Moses, you would
have believed me. Moses wrote about me. You mean the first five books
of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
All the writings of Moses are all about the Lord Jesus Christ. To Him give all the prophets
witness. Every believer can identify with
Moses and the children of Israel when God delivered them and can
sing with Moses about the great and marvelous works of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord, is
it not? It's of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus
Christ said this, I finished the work He's prayed to the Father
in John 17, I finished the work you gave me to do. And then when
he's nailed upon Calvary's tree, you remember his last sayings? It is finished. He finished all of salvation
for us. So we sing that song. You remember
the words of it? Turn back to Revelation chapter
5. Revelation chapter 5. I love this song. It's the song
of the redeemed. It's the song of Moses. It's
the song of the Lamb. Revelation 5 verse 9, remember? They sang a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof, for
Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of
every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, and hast made us
kings and priests unto our God, and we shall reign forever, saying
with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb. Verse 12. that was
slain to receive all power, honor, glory, and blessing both now
and forever. Amen. Worthy is the Lamb who
redeemed us from all our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
Lamb, the Lamb of God, the Lord God Almighty who bought us with
His own blood. His hand is not shortened that
it cannot save. We studied that recently, didn't
we? Isaiah 59. His hand is not shortened that
He cannot redeem, that He cannot save. The Lord Jesus Christ came
to save sinners. He came to save sinners on purpose
with His own redeeming blood, and He cannot fail. He's the
Lord God Almighty. Just and true are all His ways. His ways of providence, His ways
of salvation are just and true. Everything the Lord does for
us in saving mercy magnifies His holy justice. and His mercy,
that He might be just and the justifier of those who believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. David said, Thou hast made me
glad through Thy work. I will triumph in the work of
Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works,
and Thy thoughts are very, very deep. Just and true. are all
His ways. Because He's holy, His ways must
be true to His character and must honor His holy justice.
And that's what the gospel is all about. It's the good news
of salvation in Christ. And He is the King. You see that
in the last part of verse 3? He is King. Now, He is Lord. He's called King of Kings, Lord
of Lords. Now, did we make Him King? Was this up for a democratic
vote? Is He Lord by some vote we cast? No, He is Lord and King by the
everlasting decree of God. God said, I've set my King. He
made Him King. He made Him Lord. God said in
Psalm 2, I've set my King upon my holy hill's eye. Now bow to
Him. Submit to Him. Submit to His way of salvation
by the sovereign grace of God alone. One day, every knee will
bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And
He's the King of His people. He's made us saints. He's made
us kings and priests unto our God. But He's King of all the
nations. You see that in the marginal
reference? That word saints, nation, and ages. He's every
man's King. He's every man's Lord. At one
day, at one time, every knee is going to bow, and every tongue
is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now, look at
verse 4. Who shall not fear Thee? And
that word there, fear, has to do with worship. Who shall not
worship 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 revealed. Now, when they're revealed, because
our Redeemer, our blessed Redeemer, is the Holy God, we do fear Him,
we do worship Him. Holy and reverent is His name.
This here is a celebration of worship for Christ who accomplished
our salvation. All humanity will glorify the
Lord Jesus Christ, either as a trophy of His grace, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, or to a trophy of His justice,
to the praise and the glory of His justice one way or the other. He doesn't glorify His mercy
or glorify His justice, but all things, the grand design of all
things God does is the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thy
judgments all nations shall come and worship before Thee. Well,
I want to do it right now, don't you? To worship Him, to believe
Him is to honor Him. And by His grace, that's what
we desire in our heart. In our heart. Now, in verses
5, 6, 7, and 8. Verses 5, 6, 7, and 8. John said,
After that I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle
of the testimony was opened in heaven. And the seven angels
came out of the temple, having the seven plagues full of the
wrath of God. And these angels were clothed
in pure white linen, because they're the servants of God,
they have to be holy as God, having their breasts girded with
the golden girdles, and that's symbolic of his everlasting,
eternal decrees. And one of the four beasts gave
unto the seven angels seven golden vials, all of the wrath of God. It's the wrath of God who liveth,
he ever liveth, Forever and ever he ever lived to intercede for
us. He lived forever and ever, and the temple was filled with
smoke. Verse 8, from the glory of God and from His power, no
man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues
of the seven angels were fulfilled. These messengers come from the
throne of God, from the temple of the tabernacle of His testimony. The basis of judgment is always
based upon the testimony of God, the Word of God, the Gospel of
God. His law, His Word, His testimony are true and righteous all together. All together. These messengers
of judgment, verse 6, Last plagues full of the wrath of God to be
poured out on all those outside of Christ. Our God is a consuming
fire. In Christ there is salvation.
Outside of Christ is nothing but judgment. Judgment. Judgment. That's why Paul said, Oh, that
I might win Christ and be found in Him. In Him. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. Right? He that believeth not
the Son shall not see life, but what? The wrath of God. The wrath
of God abides on them. These angels are the messengers
of God. They're clothed in pure white
linen. They're holy messengers. They're girded with a golden
girdle protected by the holy decrees of God that cannot be
altered, that cannot be changed. This also is a picture of true
believers, how they stand before God. They have this pure white
linen, which is a symbol of what? The righteousness we have in
Christ. And we are girded about with God's glorious protective
grace, protected by the golden decrees of God. We're told to put on the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to stand with your loins
girded about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness,
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above
all taking the shield of faith, that you may be able to quench
the fiery darts of the wicked, take the helmet of salvation,
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. He's given
us all things to defend ourselves He's given us these golden girdles
of protection. He's given us these white linen
righteousness we have in Christ. Turn over here to Romans Revelation
7. That'll work better. Revelation
chapter 7. You remember over here in verse 14, verse 13 says,
one of the elders, Revelation 7 verse 13, saying unto me, What
are these which are arrayed with white robes, and whence came
they? The same white linen. And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. They are before the throne of
God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth
on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more,
verse 16, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat,
for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water, and
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. That's how we
stand in the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless. Bless. Now look at verse
7. Revelation 15, verse 7. And one
of the four beasts. Now these four beasts, remember
from chapter 6, verse 4, these four beasts here, these four
living creatures represent the ministers of the gospel. And
they gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the
wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. Now I looked at that
a long time. I looked at that a very long
time. There is something here most mysterious and glorious
that I cannot fully enter into, but here's what I know. Here's what I see. There's a
connection between the four beasts and the seven angels full of
the vows of the wrath of God, and here's what it is. It's the
Word of God. It's the word of truth. The gospel,
the everlasting decrees of God, the everlasting gospel that reveals
not only His mercy, but also His wrath. That's what they have
in common. The four beasts and the seven
angels all have the decrees of the word of God that cannot be
altered, that cannot be changed. Now, our Lord said this, He that rejoiceth in me, He that
rejects me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judge
him, the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the
last day." It is the gospel of Christ that men will be judged
by. All judgment is relative to the
Lord Jesus Christ. For he said, You are either with
me or against me. There is no middle ground. There
is no neutral ground. Our Lord said, He that is not
with me is against me. He that gathers not with me scattereth
abroad. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of
God abides on him. Now in closing, look at verse
8. And the temple was filled with
God's presence. The smoke is indication and symbolic
of His presence. The temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God. You remember when the tabernacle
in the wilderness was completed? the glory of God descended upon
it, and the smoke, it was filled with smoke, indicating God's
presence. The same thing when the temple
was completed, it was filled with smoke, indicating the presence
of God dwelt there. The temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God, from the glory of His power, and no man
was able to enter into the temple, to the seven plagues of the seven
angels were fulfilled." Although judgment will come according
to the Word of God, the wrath of God will come upon this reprobate
world. It will come. However, it will
not fall upon those who are filled with the glory of God's power
in Christ, the power of His presence. The smoke here is a symbol of
His presence, like the cloud in the wilderness. There is therefore
now no judgment, no condemnation to those who are in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Believers are filled with His
presence. We are called the temple of the
Holy Spirit who dwells within us. But notice this saying here. No man was able to enter into
that temple. No man apart from the Lord Jesus
Christ. No man is going to enter into
God's presence apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember He
said in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, the life, No
man comes to the Father but by and through Me. And the second
thing I see is this, no man is going to assault the sovereign
throne of God or harm His covenant people. Now let me show you that.
Turn over to Revelation 21, verse 27. Revelation 21, 27.
No man is going to enter into that temple apart from Christ,
and no man is going to enter into that temple and assault
the people God in Christ. Revelation 21, 27, There shall
no wise enter in anything that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written
in the Lamb's book of life. We enter in as Christ enters
in, and we enter in in Him. Remember our Lord said, I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. His glory, His grace, His love,
His power, all the reasons of our eternal salvation. The seven last plagues will be
executed, and the gospel of Christ shall endure, because God lives
forever and ever, to see that all things are complete to His
satisfaction." Now, that last word there, fulfilled. You see
that? Fulfilled. All things must be
fulfilled. All things must be accomplished
to His ultimate glory and our eternal good. Remember the risen
Lord met with His apostles and He told them in Luke 24, all
things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses
and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me And then he opened
their understanding. And again, our Lord said this
in Matthew 5. Think not that I came to destroy
the law or the prophets. I'm not come to destroy the law
or the prophets, but to fulfill. He said, Heaven and earth shall
in no wise pass until all things be fulfilled. Not one jot or
tittle will fail or fall from the word of the Lord till all
things be fulfilled. The temple was filled with His
presence from the glory of God, from the power of God. We are
delivered by the power of God. And no man was able to enter
into that temple, no man apart from Christ, until the seven
plagues, seven angels of the seven plagues were fulfilled.
God's purpose must be fulfilled. Must be fulfilled. Now, I want
to turn to Romans. Have you turned to Romans 11?
Turn there. I'm going to quit with this. Romans 11. Could you
find it? Romans 11. Romans 11. Verse 33,
Romans 11. Oh, the depth of the riches. both through the wisdom and knowledge
of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past
finding out. Romans 11, 34. Who hath known
the mind of the Lord, who hath been his counselor? Who hath
first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. All things must be fulfilled.
To whom be glory forever and ever. Remember, He liveth, what
we read over here, who liveth forever and ever. To Him be glory
forever. And I say what Paul says there,
Amen. Amen. So be it. So be it. Well, we got through it. Okay.