All right, all right. You can find your seat, and I hope that you have the right answer to that song's question. Are you washed in the blood? If you are, can you say amen tonight? And uh I love Love that song, and I love being able to be here and excited about diving back into the book of Revelation.
It's been almost a month since our last week in Revelation.
Some of you showed up tonight, and you had already forgotten that we were ever in the study of the book of Revelation. And I know it's been a while, and we are diving right back into it today.
So, looking forward to what God has for us. Just because we're a little out of routine, if you did not grab an outline on your way in today, we have some guys, one in the front, one in the back, that would be more than happy to get one to you, or a timeline of events. If you didn't get one, just slip up your hand. And they'll bring one to you. And I understand we kind of slip in from time to time and that kind of thing and miss out on that.
This is just going to help us stay engaged here this evening. But it's been a while and looking forward to it. We'll do a little bit of review before we're going to dive in. But if you have your Bible, we're going to be in Revelation 15. Revelation chapter 15, it's the shortest.
chapter in the book of Revelation. And only eight verses, and we're only going to look at those eight verses here this evening while we have our time together. But just to kind of get us some runway into where we're going, I am going to show the timeline up on the screen. We've been sharing this. We are in the church age.
That is where we exist right now today. And the church age is the part of Revelation, Revelation 1 through 3, where we learn about the seven churches. And then, after the church age, in Revelation chapter 4, we learn of what the scripture called the rapture of the church. And that is that catching up or snatching up where those who know Christ, when He comes back at that trumpet sound, we will be called up together to meet Him in the clouds. Notice that the rapture of the church is not the second coming.
They are different. And so the second coming happens in Revelation chapter number 19. We will see that. That's going to be after the end of the tribulation period. And so the next thing on our timeline of events to happen is the rapture.
And just so that you know, there's nothing. Holding that back. And so at any point, Christ could come up in the clouds, and then we which are alive and remain shall be called up together to meet Him in the air. If you want that to be today, can you say amen? And I tell you, it could be.
And the question is: are you ready? And I hope that you are. And really, over the last several weeks that we've been looking at this, we find after the rapture starts the seven-year tribulation. And this seven-year tribulation is described in Revelation chapter 6 through 18. Chapters 6 through 18 talk about the tribulation period and what things are going to look like.
The judgment of God in those chapters is depicted in three main ways. The first one is in chapters 6 through 8, which we've already looked at. It is the seven seals that will be broken. And then in chapters 8 through 11, seven trumpets will be blown. And then we are about to approach chapters 16 through 18.
And it is described as seven vials or seven bowls that will be poured out. As we've been looking at God's judgment on really humanity and on the wickedness that is on earth. The theme that I think we just keep coming back to is: you need to get ready. You need to get ready, and now is the time to repent, and now is the time to get ready so that you can be on the first flight out of here.
Okay, because we've learned that during the tribulation period, there is going to be an opportunity, and God's mercy is still showing forth here on earth where there is going to be opportunity. People are going to get saved during the tribulation period. But I'll tell you this: that if you have the opportunity now, you're going to want to make that decision now and not wait. Don't delay. Make that now so that you can join us on the first flight out of here.
And so at the Rapture. Of the church. And so, as we come to chapter number 15, we've looked at the seven seals, we've looked at the seven trumpets. Chapter 15 is really a preview of the vile and the bold judgments, which are the worst judgments that we will see. It is a preview of the seven vials that are going to be poured out on earth.
Now, remember that in John's visions, he is seeing clusters of visions. They're happening somewhat quickly, and so he continues to see new things. And sometimes, what he sees is a vision in heaven, and other times, a vision on earth. When he gets a vision of what is happening in heaven, a lot of times you're going to see worship, and we're going to see that here tonight. And then, other times, when he comes back down to earth, you're going to see God's wrath being poured being poured out.
So, chapter 15 is a heavenly vision, a heavenly sign that John gets here in chapter number 15. And it previews the coming judgments that we are going to see in chapters 16 through 18 that contain the seven bowl.
So we're going to break down chapter 15 here tonight together. And so the first thing that we're going to see, it's on your notes here tonight, is that in verse number one, you are going to see that as we approach these last judgments, you are going to see that God's wrath. will be completed. God's wrath. will be will be completed.
Look with me, if you would, in verse number one. of chapter 15. says this and I saw another sign in heaven Great and marvelous. Seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath. of God.
Now There's quite a bit of stuff happening here in the next several verses, and so I want to kind of break this down with you as slow as possible so that we can understand exactly what is happening here. But the first thing, really, the theme of verse number one is this: that God's wrath will be completed. There's three things in this verse that I want you to just see. First of all, you see the beauty of the judgment of God. You see the beauty.
Of the judgment of God. And I'm going to show you why that is. First of all, the word sign, he sees this sign. It is the same word that he uses in John chapter number 12 and verse 1. It is the same Greek word for wonder.
And so they can be used interchangeably. And here you could say that John saw another wonder. He saw a wonder in heaven, and this marvelous and great. Wonder. The word great speaks of something that is important and astonishing, something that is amazing.
And what he is seeing is so important that he is wanting us to turn our attention to what he is seeing here in this chapter. The word marvelous, it speaks of something to be wondered at.
So, what's happening here with this sign, with this incredible wonder, is John is seeing this, that it is great and it is marvelous. And the reason it is great is because it is amazing and astonishing, and it's marvelous, and something that we should look at, and something we should take heed about.
So he's wanting us to turn our attention to that because it is beautiful. And here's what I want you to understand is that our God that we get to serve, and in our humanistic minds, we're not going to fully understand this because our human minds have such a limited understanding of what holiness really looks like and what holy righteous judgment really looks like. But when you really understand, and in this case, John is getting a glimpse of this, he actually finds the judgment of God. Beautiful.
Now for us, it's hard to see it that way. Like, if you're like me, you kind of wrestle with that idea. But the way that he's describing this, this is going to be such a terrible time. And you're going to see some of that. And then when we get into chapter 16, you're going to see a lot more of it.
And what he's doing is, he's saying that the God that we serve. Is going to pour out wrath. Like he's already been doing. and it is great and marvelous.
Something that that is really Amazing. And so we see the beauty of the judgment of God, but secondly, in this same verse, You see the finality of the judgment of God. You see the finality of the judgment of God. What he sees in this sign, this wonder. Is he sees seven angels?
Having seven last Plagues.
Now Um uh when you see numbers in scripture Numbers many times or oftentimes mean something.
Now, you can go really deep into numbers in Scripture and probably reach just a little bit at some of it, but numbers do mean something, specifically the number seven. We know that the number seven is the number of completion. And so the number seven, what you're going to see, and that's why really this idea that God's wrath will be completed is really one of the major themes that you're going to see in chapter number fifteen. Because the number seven, this number of completion, it's mentioned eight times in this chapter alone. Eight simple verses, and John continuously uses the number seven because he is trying to show us that God's wrath is coming to an end.
That it is coming to an end. The final judgments are upon us here. The angels have seven last plagues. The word last it really is referring to these final judgments, the bold judgments that we are going to see. The word plague, if you look it up in the Greek, it literally means a wounding or a hitting.
What you get here is that these seven angels, they have these seven plagues, and they are about to deliver them to harm the earth. They are about to deliver them and wound The Earth. The seven final judgments are going to be poured out on all that are living. and on the entire earth. God is about to strike the earth with these final judgments that are.
Upon us. And then number three, so you see the beauty of the judgment of God here in this verse, but you see the finality of the judgment of God. And then number three, very closely connected to the finality, is the completion. of the judgment of God. There's a phrase that I don't want you to miss that is so good here that shows that God's wrath is coming to completion.
At the end of verse 1, after we see the seven angels having the seven last plagues. It says that for in them, in these plagues, is filled up The wrath of God. Everybody say the phrase filled up?
So, this phrase filled up literally means in the Greek. Complete. It means complete. In fact, what's interesting, and I didn't know this before, you know, I was studying this this week, but when you look this up, and I'd encourage you, and by the way, if you're wondering, you don't have to go to like seminary to do word studies and things like that. There are so many great resources out there, free resources, books, online resources, and stuff, that you can go really deep into scripture and understand what words mean and different things like that.
And so, when you look at that, you can go back to the original Greek and have a better understanding of what God, you know, what John was saying really here. And so, the word that is used there, this phrase filled up. is teleos. And you're going to see it up on the screen. I always butcher the pronunciation of some of these Greek words.
But the reason why this is so important is this Greek word actually means to end or to complete or to fulfill. To end, complete, or to fulfill. And so if you go back now to the text, it says, For in these last plagues is filled up the wrath of God. In other words, the completeness. Of the wrath of God is in these final seven plagues.
In other words, here's what I want you to understand, and what John is trying to tell us right here in this first verse is that God's wrath is coming to an end. The good news for you and for me is this. And I know that this tribulation period, it feels like forever. Chapter 6 through 18, it's like, when are we going to get through this? Is God's wrath ever going to end?
The answer is yes. The answer is yes, God's wrath is coming to an end, and you see that. That's the idea here. This Greek word had several usages in. in Scripture, such as when a servant, when he comes back to his master with a task that he was commanded to do, he would come back and he would use this, basically telling his master, it is finished.
Merchant declaring this word, saying that the debt is paid in full. A priest, when they would examine a lamb, they would use this same Greek word about the lamb, saying that this lamb it is perfect. It is complete. And you would know this word very well because it is the same word that Jesus used while he was on the cross. John 19:30, when he said it is finished, that's the same Greek word that you find right here.
So on the cross, when Jesus hung there for your sins and for my sins, and he cried out, It is finished, he used this exact same Greek word, it is completed. In other words, the redemptive work of God, the redemptive plan of God, has been fulfilled. It has been completed. And now, this same word John chooses to use here about the wrath of God. In other words, what he's saying is that God's wrath is coming to an end.
God's wrath. is about to be forever fulfilled. In this moment, as these vile judgments are about to be poured out all over the earth, God's wrath is about to end. You see the answer to the psalmist's question back in Psalm 85, verses 5 and 6. The answer to the psalmist's question is found here in Revelation 15.
The psalmist says, Will thou be angry with us forever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? You see, God's anger is coming to an end. And the theme is what we learn is that as much as God's wrath is at play and God's wrath, because He is perfectly holy, has to be poured out on all of mankind that doesn't believe in Him and the sin and the wickedness and those who choose to reject Him, He's holy and just, so He has to punish sin.
But here's the good news. His wrath has a completion date. His mercy doesn't. His wrath has a completion date right here, but the scripture from cover to cover says, but his mercy endures forever. And so, what I want you to learn here is that what John is saying is that, hey, there's coming a day, there's coming an end to God's wrath that's going to be perfectly fulfilled forever.
But his mercy continues to endure. And we get to experience that. That's what you see here. In verse number one, that God's wrath is going to come to an end. It will be completed.
But number two, what you see in verses two through four is that God's people will worship. God's people will worship. Look at verses 2 through 4 with me here in chapter 15. It says, And I saw.
So remember, he's getting these clusters of visions.
So, verse one, he saw the sign, the wonder, and now he sees a sea of glass.
Now, don't miss one key word. He saw as it were.
So, this isn't an actual body of water. This is something that, when he sees it, it's like a sea of glass. It's as a sea of glass. That's the way that he chooses to describe what he's seeing. And this sea of glass is 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 marvelous 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.
made manifest. And so, what you saw in verse 1 is that the judgment and wrath of God, it was coming to a close. And now, right after that, you see worship.
Well well the question is, is this In verse number two, it says that he saw something ads that were like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had victory. Standing on the sea of glass.
So the question is. Who does John see? Who's the them that is mentioned here? Because he doesn't really tell us. He just he kind of describes them, and so we have to see it.
Well, like I said, the sea Is uh It is figurative. It's something like a sea of glass, so not an actual body of water. And so what you can say is that this sea represents, and you can jot this down if you want, the sea represents humanity. And then it was mingled with fire. That represents Judgment.
So, humanity and judgment, you see that on this sea.
So, it's a sea of glass, humanity mingled with fire, judgment. And on top of the sea that is mingled with fire, Are these These people, who who who are they?
Well, it says that they had gotten victory over the beast. That's the Antichrist. Over his, the Antichrist, his image, over his mark, the number of his name, 666.
So who is it that John saw?
Well, the answer is this, those who were martyred during the tribulation period.
So the answer of who he saw was those who were martyred during the tribulation period.
So these people that we have seen accept Christ during the tribulation period. And because of their faith in Jesus, they ended up getting martyred and killed for their. their faith. That's the ones that you see here standing on the sea. They're the ones who gained victory over the Antichrist, victory over his mark, and they're the ones who endured.
So what's John trying to say to us right there? Like with this vision that he's seeing, this sea of glass and humanity, right? And judgment mingled with fire, and these people standing on top of the glass. What is he trying to say? And here's really just a truth for you to take with you that'll encourage you: is that I think the message here is that for those who trust in Jesus, Physical death is not final.
And that's true for you and for me. That's true of your loved ones. I mean, tonight we talked about that. And several of you have prayer requests of loved ones that are suffering and different things like that. Here's what I'm going to tell you: for the Christian, for somebody who knows Christ, physical death is not final.
Physical death is not the end. You could say physical death is actually the beginning. For us. It's not the end.
Now those who die without Christ It doesn't get better for them, but for us, that's why the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 1, verse 21, he says that for to me to live as Christ is gain. Or for to me to live is Christ, but to die is gain. In other words, for the Christian, for the believer, the follower of Jesus, for us, physical death is just gain. In other words, what you get in death as a believer is better than anything we could have here in this life. That's what the scripture is saying.
And that's what you see here: that physical death, because what John's seeing is all of these people who had to endure this terrible time during the judgments and they accepted and believed on Jesus during those times, they lost their life, many of them in terrible, terrible, gruesome ways. martyred because of their belief in Jesus. And now John is seeing them after they were martyred, after they lost their lives. And he sees them. Singing.
He sees them here standing on the sea. Got a little ahead of myself. You say the question is, what were they doing? The answer is, they were singing. They were singing.
These redeemed martyrs. That got saved during the tribulation. They are now around the throne. Remember, this vision is happening in heaven, and they are singing, they are worshiping. You can see that they were they had harps And these were harps of God.
So after they, you know, they died, and the scripture says that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord.
So no matter what you do to us, our bodies as believers here, our spirit goes, and we get to live forever with Him. To be absent from the body is to be fully present with the Lord. And so for them, they might have died a gruesome death here on this earth because of the judgment, but now they're around the presence of God and He gave them harps. And now they're there playing their harps, and it says in verse 3: they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of. of the Lamb.
They're singing this song. That was as if it's almost like John saying that this song that they're singing is like co-written. From Moses to And the lamb. In other words, it's like this song that they have pieced together: Moses and Jesus Christ. And many believe that if you do some study on this, most commentators believe that the song that they're singing, which we'll break it down here in a moment, kind of blended what Moses represented in the law with what the Lamb represented in grace.
And this song of the redeemed is blending those two together.
Now, Moses, we know a lot about, one of the patriarchs of the faith, and we learn a lot about him throughout Scripture. But one thing that we don't really remember Moses being, but the scripture mentions it several times, is that Moses, along with many things, was a songwriter. You see a song that he wrote with the Lamb here, but then also two times in the Old Testament, you also see that he wrote a song. One of those is in Exodus chapter number fifteen. And this is right after God had led them out of Egypt, and the Red Sea had just happened, this incredible story where the Red Sea parted.
And in Exodus 15:1, here's what it says: Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord. And he spake this, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. What a great song to sing for your enemies if you have any enemies tonight. Ask God just to throw them into the sea.
Okay, okay. Your pastor didn't just tell you to do that. But the point is, is here, after this incredible moment where God's enemies, this pagan nation of Egypt, was cast into the Red Sea and swallowed up in the sea, Moses, after that, he sits down, he pins this song, and now all of the nation of Israel is singing this song about the victory that God had given them by delivering them out of the nation of Egypt. of Egypt. In Deuteronomy chapter 32, it's a long song that he wrote, but he wrote it, and that's the second song in the Old Testament that we learned that Moses wrote.
And that song was at the very end of Moses' life. And then here you see in Revelation 15 that they're singing a song of Moses. Along with the Song of the Lamb. There's three parts of this song. And I would sing it for you, but I do not know the tune.
John did not give us the tune, so I'm going to refrain from doing that. Here in this, it really outlines, and this is straight from what you see here. And here's what the song is. First, the redeemed, these people who were singing, they praised God in their song for his works. For his works.
It's what it says here in verse number three. They said in the song, great and marvelous. Are your works? In other words, what you see here in this song is that all of these saints, these redeemed people who had come through just a terrible time of judgment, but they accepted Christ, they're lifting their voices and singing to God, ascribing honor to him for his works. And by the way, he has done great things.
And we should also join in this song. But the second thing that we see is that the Redeemed praise God in this song for his ways. for his ways So not only do they say, great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. But then they say just and true. are your ways.
Just and true. What is so interesting to me about this song. is that they're singing this. after coming through and also during This time where angels are going to be dispensed and dispatched from heaven to come down to earth to deliver these judgments.
So it was sung during. Judgment. And there was this incredible, and something you can learn, and something I can learn. There was this incredible honor. Given to God.
And glory given to God for the way that he chooses to work. Isn't that a sermon in and of itself? Because here's what I'm saying. We sometimes give him praise when he works exactly the way we want him to work. But God is worthy of our praise.
When he does the complete opposite of what you're asking him to do. God is worthy. Just because of who he is. And what you learn here is that in the midst of judgment, you have these people who had literally lost their life for their faith. And on the other side of this side of heaven, they now are experiencing that side of heaven, and they lost their life terribly here, martyred for their faith just because they believed in Jesus and wouldn't take the mark of the beast.
And now they've died this horrible death, and they're on the other side with the saints, singing this song, praising God, and ascribing Him honor and glory for the way that He chooses to work. These are people who lost their life. That's the lesson that we learned. That for us, we need to realize that He is just and He is true, and because He is the Creator, and that He is the King, and that He is the King of all kings, that He can work however He wants, and regardless of what your circumstances look like today, He is worthy of your praise. He is worthy of all of our praise.
And that's the message that we learn here in this song. But number three, the redeemed, they praise God for his, this is the word I'll use, the word worth. They praised him for his his worth. The reason why we're using that word is in verse 4. John uses the word worship.
Look at what it says. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord? Adonai, by the way, and glorify thy name, for thou only art holy, for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest.
So here they worshiped him in their song for his works, his ways, and also what you see here in verse number four is they're worshiping him for his worth, for who he is. Like, he's not only worthy to be worshiped because of what he's done, he's worthy to be worshiped because of who he is. Because he's God. And what you see is... He's holy.
He's worthy of glory. He is Lord Adonai, our Master. And they're ascribing all glory and honor and majesty. To him.
So you see this incredible song of the redeemed who had lost their life, and these martyrs on the other side standing on the sea that represented humanity and represented the judgment of God. And these martyrs are standing on the sea, lifting their voices in praise to the king of God. Of Kings. Can I just say this? That If you're redeemed.
There should be a song in your heart. If you're redeemed, there should be a song in your heart. I'm not just saying those who like to sing. No, I'm saying that if you know Jesus, there should be a song in your heart. Every single one of you.
We should want to sing. It should be a natural overflow of what is happening inside of us. Because one day we will all gather around his throne and we will all join in on the song that they are already singing. And for me, I was looking at this and I'm thinking, you know, how often I've heard, you know, people on this side of heaven that, you know, know Christ as their Savior, and they say things like, man, I just don't like to sing.
Well, I'll tell you this: you will there. Like, I don't understand. I don't know what to tell you because here, what I see in my Bible from time to time, and listen, I'm not a singer. You're not talking to like anybody who can carry a tune. I can't read music.
I don't know anything about this. But here's what I will tell you: because of what has happened inside of me, the redemptive power of God that is alive and well in me, I'll tell you that sometimes I just have to sing. I can do nothing but sing. And what I look at in Scripture is that time and time again in Revelation, people in heaven who have experienced the fullness of God's presence. They are singing.
And I think that the reason why that is It's because Over there we've experienced the fullness. of the gospel. We've experienced glorification and we've seen our Savior face to face. And so, what I'm going to tell you this is that for us, the challenge is: this: on this side of heaven, we need to go as deep in our understanding of the gospel as possible. And here's what I'll tell you: the deeper that you go in your understanding of the gospel, the louder that song will boil up inside of you.
So, here's what I want you to know. If you're in here today and you sit like this during the times that we sing in this church, you do not understand God's redemptive power in your life. Because what I see in scripture from cover to cover is that when God changes a person and when people experience God, it gives them a song in their heart. It's like that song that we used to sing, Making Melody in My Heart. That's what the gospel does in our life.
It makes a melody that just flows outside of you. And for some of us, it might not sound that good, but for him, It's the perfect song. And that's the point. And that's what we learn here. You might say, hey, I can't sing.
I don't want anybody to hear me. And yes, because some of us can't sing, yes, it might distract the few of you around here. If you ever sit near me, I'm probably a big distraction. Because I can't sing, but I'll tell you this: that one day we're going to get with these glorified bodies, we're going to get glorified voices. And I can't wait to that day.
I'm going to join the choir for the first time in my life. I can't wait. And I'm going to join the choir and I'm going to be singing and I'm going to be lifting my voice. And maybe, I don't know if everybody gets one of these harps that God gave them, you know, but maybe I'll be playing a harp up in heaven. I don't know.
Never played an instrument a day in my life, and I can't read music, but up there with my glorified body around the throne of God, I'll tell you this: I don't know if I'm going to be playing an instrument if I'll get that lucky, but here's what I'll tell you: there will be a song coming out of my mouth, and my hands will be raised in worship to the King of Kings that has redeemed my soul from hell. That's the point, and that's what we learn here. But number three. The third thing that we see here in this passage. is this.
God's justice. will be served. And it's on your notes. I forgot to highlight this, so it's probably not up on the screen. But God's justice.
will be served. And in verses five through eight. You you see this. It says this. And after that, I looked.
And behold, so he gets this other vision. 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. Verse 8, I think, is one of the hardest verses to read in Scripture.
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. Until The seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Here God's justice is going to be served. And as much as there is praise in this chapter, in this incredible song of the redeemed.
It ends with justice. We serve a just God. We just praised Him for Him being just and true. and holy. And you see two things here.
First, justice is first seen in verse 5. John looked. And he beheld You say, What did he behold? It's right there: the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. This vision is the heavenly tabernacle.
And I will be honest with you, we did a study a couple years ago on the tabernacle. And I would, in some things, God just wants to leave to mystery for us. I'm very curious about what this looks like. And what this exactly means in the heavenly realm. But John sees this vision in heaven and what he sees Is the tabernacle the testimony that was in heaven?
So there's this heavenly tabernacle that we learn about. In fact, you can even read about this, and if you want to go back, you can find these online. When we did our study through the tabernacle, the very first sermon in our sermon through the tabernacle, we learned on two different occasions that when God was giving Moses the instructions of the tabernacle, he took him upon Mount Sinai and he gave him a look into heaven. And he gave him this picture of this heavenly tabernacle where God dwelt. And so the earthly tabernacle that we learned about and that Moses ended up building that they kind of packed up and they would take with them, it represented the presence of God, but it was just a mere shadow of the heavenly one.
And here, John sees this heavenly tabernacle, and it says it's called the tabernacle of the testimony.
Well, the word testimony, you gotta, what does that represent? The word testimony really represents and refers to the law that was given to Moses. In the earthly tabernacle, the ten or the tablets of stone, they were given to Moses and they were placed in the Ark of the Covenant. And it sat at the mercy seat in the most holy place. Where the blood would be poured out.
And it would satisfy the wrath of God. But the tables of stone represented God's standard. The law represented God's standard. And it represented his standard of righteousness. God's perfect standard.
And it revealed What we Could never Do you And so, when you see this tabernacle of the testimony, it's almost as if you're reminded here that God's law. is perfect. And his standard is the standard that you and I, and nobody that's ever lived, could ever keep. None of us. And so what we learn here is that the law It actually was just a reminder to us and a reminder to the nation of Israel that we all fall short.
And that we're all in need of a Savior. And that's what you're seeing here: that God's standard is so perfect that none of us come close. And we learned through the gospel that when Jesus came, that's why the beauty of the gospel is so much more. Yes, he died for us, and I'm grateful, but really, the difference is he came and he's the only one that has ever lived that standard. He's the only one that has ever come to earth and actually lived up to the standard that is worthy of a relationship with God.
And why would he do that? He did it because you couldn't. And because I couldn't. And so he came to this earth, and he did that for us, knowing that we would be. we would be guilty.
And so what you see here is that John is seeing this vision, this tabernacle of the testimony, and you see that justice is seen. But then in verses 6 through 8, you see, unfortunately, that justice is delivered. It's delivered. Because there are so many guilty people that can't abide and live up to God's standards. Justice had to be given.
And on the cross, Jesus died, paving the way and paying for all the justice. For all of mankind. But the problem is. That some refused. to believe on him.
Some refuse to believe on him. And so, out of the place of holiness, this tabernacle where God dwells. He dispatches. Seven. Angels.
carrying seven Plagues. That contain the seven vials. of the Lord. In fact, one of the beasts that says here, these angelic beings that we first learn about in Revelation chapter number four, one of the beasts came and gave these seven angels these seven bowls or vials that they will pour out, and they will really just pour out onto the earth and inflict and wound The Earth. Many commentators believe these bowls are like the bowls that the priest would use in the tabernacle when he would burn incense, and that aroma would go up to God, satisfying the wrath of God for the sin that had been committed.
And these bowls are going to be sent down, poured out onto the earth. Three things about the angels: first, the seven angels' clothing. You see, very quick, you can jot this down next to that. I don't think that there's a blank on your notes, but they're wearing pure and white linen with golden girdles or golden belts. You see that in verse 6?
In other words, that they're coming in full righteousness and full holiness. They have majesty because they've been in the presence of God. They've been in the heavenly tabernacle. And so anybody in that heavenly tabernacle that is with God is going to be wearing these white garments because they're righteous. Not because of anything they have done, but because of everything that the Lamb of God has done on their behalf.
And then you see number two, the seven angels' purpose. Their purpose is in verse seven. You can jot this down, to pour out. The Final. Wrath of God.
And then, number three, in verse eight. The seven angels fulfillment. The worst part about I think, and I mean, I hope I can say this because I'm, you know, a human being just like you, so I don't know if that I don't want to be disrespectful to God's word in any way. But the worst part that I think I've studied in this entire study of Revelation is the end of verse 8 of chapter 15. What you see here Is that These final bowls that are going to be poured out, the worst of the worst of the judgments of God.
You see that as these angels are dispatched with these terrible judgments that are about to inflict the earth in chapter 16. you see that the temple That heavenly tabernacle. You see that no man was able to enter. In other words, you could go as far to say that the door. was shut.
Time. What's up? That was it. God who who has given humanity Time. And chance after chance after chance after chance.
So many chances. I mean, think about it. Before you got saved, I bet you were given chance after chance after chance, and you should be grateful for that. And then, even into the tribulation period, these terrible judgments are being poured out. And what do we see God constantly doing?
Giving people chances. And giving people chances and opportunities and all these opportunities. And even in the midst, what we've learned through our study of the judgments is this, that even in the midst of more and more opportunities, some people still say, Notes.
Some people refuse to repent.
Some people refuse to believe. And so there's coming a day. As the wrath of God is about to be fully completed, at the end of the judgment, before the second coming of Christ, there's coming a day that at the very end of this moment, before these seven vials are poured out, that the temple is going to be shut, no more chances. And And I In Matthew chapter 25. We don't have time to turn there.
But in Matthew chapter 25, there's a parable Jesus is speaking. And uh and Jesus He tells a parable. And in this parable, I think it's verses 1 through 10. He tells a parable about ten virgins. And in this parable, he's likening this parable to the kingdom of God and what that is going to be like.
And he says that there were ten virgins, and they were awaiting the bridegroom who would come. And when the bridegroom would come, all of the wedding festivities and different things would begin. And so these ten virgins were waiting for the bridegroom to come. And it says in Jesus' parable that five of those virgins decided: hey, we're going to be, you know, it calls them wise, that those five are going to put and gather a bunch of oil for their lamps.
So no matter when he comes, they're going to be ready. They're going to be ready. If he comes in the middle of the night, we have all the oil that we need. We're going to be ready. And then these other five that the scripture calls foolish.
Decided to just spend their time doing whatever that they wanted, living life, if you would. And then an announcement and alarm came that the bridegroom comes. And it says that the five wives were prepared for the bridegroom. They were ready for him. And then these five foolish begin to ask these others for oil and there wasn't enough.
So they go out to like maybe the marketplace or something to get oil and they come back and it says that the door to this wedding feast was shut. And they beg to get in. But the bridegroom said. I don't know you. The point is is that unfortunately Unfortunately.
That parable will be.
Some people's reality. That parable of begging to get in. I mean, some of us saw just a glimpse of that when we went to sight and sound when it came to the ark. Those people who didn't believe what God had told Noah and his family. And when the rain started to fall, you remember that people were banging, begging God to let them in, or begging Noah and his family to let them in, and they couldn't.
And then they eventually died. One day, unfortunately, this parable, it's going to look something like this. I don't know how all that's going to look, but there's going to be people begging. I mean, the scripture says there's going to be people saying things like, Didn't I prophesy in your name? And Christ is going to say, depart from me.
I never knew you. Person That parable will be people's reality one day. But today, God is offering salvation. to all who believe. To all who believe.
And my challenge is to every person listening here in this place tonight or even online, if you're in here tonight and there is any shadow of doubt, I don't care how long you've been in church. I don't care if you're serving in our church. I don't care what it is that you do in our church. That does not matter because one day when we stand before God, we're not going to stand there and say, wow, I served in church. No, you're only going to stand there and say, I'm only here by the grace and mercy of Almighty God.
I don't deserve to be here. I did nothing worthy of being in God's presence, but yet Christ died for me and I believe that that was my only way to be here. And that's why I'm here today.
So some of you, I don't want you to die just thinking like I've done enough or I've been in church my whole life.
So of course I'm a Christian or whatever. Don't die with that get things settled tonight. Don't wait. You're not promised another day. None of us are.
And I don't want these parables that Jesus was teaching about. I don't want that to be your story one day. Do not delay. We're not promised another day. Believe on him so that when you die, You can experience.
Great gain. and forever being with him. Because for the Christian Physical death is gain. for us. It's not the end.
For the believer. If you have a loved one who's gone on before you, let me tell you this: they're more alive today than anything this earth could ever give them. They're alive and well today. And one day, because of what Jesus has done for us, we get to join in with them. And there's songs going on in heaven right now.
Singing praises To God.
