Chapter
15 of Revelation introduces seven angels about to pour out seven “bowls of wrath”
that will unleash “the seven last plagues upon the earth.” Chapter 16 describes
the effects of the plagues. The seven bowls complete the “wrath” of God.
This
is the third of the book’s sevenfold series of judgments; the Seven Seals (Revelation
6:1-8:1), Seven Trumpets (8:6-11:19), and the Seven Bowls of Wrath
(15:1-16:21). As in the previous
two, this series culminates in a final judgment scene accompanied by “flashes
of lightning, and voices, and thunders, and a great earthquake” (6:12-17, 8:1-5, 11:15-19, 16:17-21).
Old
Testament images are used including the plagues of Egypt, Israel’s exodus from
Egypt, the defeat of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, the Song of Moses, and the Tent of
Testimony in the wilderness. Each plague corresponds to one of the ten plagues
of Egypt.
The
targets of the plagues include the “inhabitants of the earth” that take
the mark of the Beast, the political authority of the Beast, and “Babylon.” Though
the Beast, False Prophet, and the “kings of the earth” are gathered to
war in the sixth bowl, their destruction is not described until the “battle”
in Revelation 19:17-21.
The
punishments of the “inhabitants of the earth” and of “Babylon”
were announced in Revelation 14:6-10
(“the hour of judgment is come,” “fallen is Babylon the great,” “If
any man worships the beast and receives a mark on his forehead, he also shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God”). The Seven Bowls of Wrath detail
the previously announced punishments.
Literary Structure
The
first paragraph is transitional (15:1-4).
It introduces the bowls of wrath and concludes the preceding literary section (12:1
- 14:20).
Chapter
15 is structurally parallel to Revelation
8:1-6. The opening of the seventh
seal introduced seven angels standing before God with seven trumpets (8:1-2-5). Before the seven trumpets
commenced, there was a worship scene to prepare for what was to follow.
The
prayers of the saints were offered on the altar to ascend unto God. An angel
then hurled fire from the altar onto the earth, which resulted in “thunders
and voices and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” The seven angels
then began to sound their trumpets (8:6-7).
The
literary section that began in Revelation
12:1 consisted of seven visions with each marked out by the formula, “and
I saw,” or, “and behold.” The
seven visions are as follows:
1) The Dragon’s war against the woman and “her seed” (12:1-17).
2) The Beast from the sea (13:1-10).
3) The Beast from the earth (13:11-18).
4) The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion (14:1-5).
5) Three angels announce the impending final judgment (14:6-13).
6) The final judgment and the Son of Man’s “harvest” (14:14-20).
7) The saints’ victory song on the Sea of Glass (15:2-4).
The
saints seen standing on a sea of glass is transitional and builds on the last
judgment announced in Revelation 14:6-20.
Having triumphed over the Beast, the redeemed men and women praise God for His
“just and true ways” (15:3). This
prepares for the seven bowls that complete His wrath.
The
seven trumpets and seven bowls are parallel to some extent. In both, the first four judgments affect the
earth, sea, freshwater supplies and heavenly bodies, the fifth causes darkness
and pain (9:2-6, 16:10), the sixth judgment unleashes
malevolent hordes from the Euphrates River, and the seventh concludes with the final
judgment. Both series use language and imagery from the ten plagues of Egypt to
describe their respective judgments.
The Seven Angels (15:1)
(Revelation 15:1) – “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and
marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, the last ones, because in them
was completed the wrath of God.”
“And
I saw another sign in heaven” is almost identical to the opening clause of Revelation 12:1, “and a great sign
appears in heaven.” It marks the end of the preceding section and the start
of the next one.
The
plagues unleashed by the seven bowls were anticipated by the judgment pronouncements
recorded in Revelation 14:6-11. The seven
bowls portray the execution of those judgments and culminate in the destruction
of the “great city,” Babylon, and the cities of the earth (Revelation 16:1-21). The seven angels carrying
the bowls may or may not be identical with the seven angels that sounded the seven
trumpets.
“The
seven plagues, the last ones,” refers to the literary order in which John
received them, not to their chronological sequence. The plagues are called the “last ones”
because they complete God’s righteous judgment on unrepentant humanity. The destruction
of the seven seals and trumpets was partial; the seven last plagues have universal
consequences. The seven plagues are “the last ones” because in them the
judgments of God are consummated.
The
verb teleō can be used metaphorically
for “filling” something to the full. The context suggests this to be the case. The
wine of God’s wrath has been “prepared unmixed in the cup of His wrath”
(14:10). All who take the mark of
the Beast are compelled to drink it. Further, the seven golden bowls are “filled
full of the wrath of God” (15:7).
The picture is of cups “being filled full” or even “brimming” to the point of
overflowing with wrath (cp. Revelation
21:9, the seven bowls are “full of the seven last plagues”).
The Sea of Glass (15:2-4)
(Revelation 15:2-4) – “And I saw as a glassy sea mingled with fire,
and them who are overcoming from the Beast and from his image and from the
number of his name, having stood upon the glassy sea, having 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 your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Just and
true are your ways, O King of the ages! Who shall in anywise not be put in
fear, O Lord, and glorify your name, because alone full of loving-kindness;
because all the nations will come and will render homage before you, because
your just deeds were made manifest?”
The vision of victorious saints
standing on the sea of glass and singing the “song of Moses” serves to emphasize the Exodus theme of the
seven last plagues. The glassy sea
corresponds to the Red Sea, the Beast to Pharaoh, and the victorious company to Israel after its deliverance from Egypt, hence overcoming saints sing the song of Moses AND of the Lamb.
In the Old
Testament, the sea is the
abode of “beasts” and “Leviathan.” The latter, in places, represents Pharaoh (Psalm 74:12-15, Isaiah 51:9-11, Ezekiel 32:2).
Therefore, the glassy sea mingled
with fire represents the persecuting agents of Satan now subdued by the Lamb.
Previously, a “sea
of glass like crystal” was seen before the heavenly throne, now John sees a “glassy sea mingled with fire” (cp. Revelation
14:6). The “sea” is also the place from which
the Beast ascended, as well as from the Abyss (Revelation 13:1, 14:7). “Fire” most often refers to divine
judgments in Revelation (e.g., 8:7-8, 9:17-18, 11:5, 14:10, 16:8, 21:8). In the
Exodus story, liberated
Israel stood “beside” the
Red Sea, here the
victors stand “upon it.”
This portrays their victory
over the Beast and its allies.
The Greek verb for “overcoming from
the Beast” is a present tense participle, which signifies ongoing action. This suggests saints are in the process of “overcoming” the Beast.
This group
is the same as the 144,000 males from the tribes of Israel previously seen standing on Zion with the name of the Lamb on
their foreheads (Revelation 14:1-4). In both passages, the victorious
saints have “harps” and sing a song to the Lamb (cp. 5:9). The group from Zion now stands
victorious on the other “side” of the sea. It is also the same company as the sealed “servants of God” (Revelation 7:1-8) and the innumerable multitude of men seen “coming out of the great tribulation” to stand before God and the Lamb (7:9-14).
The use of the nikaō
or “overcome” provides a verbal link to the churches of Asia summoned by Jesus to overcome (Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21, 21:7), to the “brethren” who overcame
the Dragon (12:11), and to the Lamb who
likewise “overcame” to sit on his Father’s throne (3:21, 5:5-6).
The Temple (15:5-8)
(Revelation 15:5-8) – “And after these things I saw and the temple
of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And there came out
from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, clothed in linen,
pure and bright, and girded round the breasts with golden girdles. And one of
the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of
the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with
smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into
the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be completed.”
The Temple and the seven bowls are connected
to the fifth seal where the “souls” of martyrs underneath the altar pleaded
for vindication and retribution on the “inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation
6:9-11). They were told to wait
for the assembling of the full number of their “fellow servants and brethren
who should be killed even as they.” The completion of God’s “wrath” is now
poised to take place in response to their plea.
The Tabernacle in the wilderness contained
the altars of incense and of the whole burnt offering. The functions of both are now combined. The “souls
under the altar” corresponded to the blood of sacrificial animals poured
out at the base of the Altar of Burnt Offering (Leviticus 4:7. Cp. Revelation 17:11). In the prelude to the seven trumpets, the prayers of the
saints ascended like incense on the altar. An angel cast coals from the altar
fire onto the earth to release the seven angels to sound their trumpets (Revelation 8:3-5).
The “seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God” (verse 7) is
parallel to the “seven golden bowls full of incense”
(Revelation 8:3-5). The bowls of
incense represented the prayers of the saints. This suggests this group’s
consummated prayers are about to be answered by the bowls full of wrath.
When the seventh trumpet sounded, the temple was
seen “opened” and the Ark of the Covenant seen within it (Revelation 11:19). The Temple has now opened again,
but what is seen is the “testimony.” Considering the Exodus typology, this
alludes to the table with the ten commandments (Exodus 16:34, 25:21, 31:18). God’s “testimony” is His
law and it is about to be enforced.
The angels arrayed in “linen” echoes
the priestly garb worn by Aaron and his sons in the Tabernacle (Exodus 28:5, 28:40-43), as well as their “golden girdles” (Exodus 28:40). The seven angels perform
priestly functions in the heavenly Tabernacle.
Under the Levitical system, linen was a
ritually clean material, unlike wool and other fabrics derived from animal
carcasses. According to the regulations of the burnt offering, priests were
required to wear linen garments before removing ashes from the altar and
placing them along its east-facing side (Leviticus
6:9-11). Later, the priest changed into another set of linen garments to
carry the ashes outside the camp where he “poured
out” the ashes from the whole burnt offerings; likewise, any
remaining blood was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offerings (Exodus 29:12, Leviticus 4:7, 4:12).
The seven bowls correspond to the basins used
by the priests in the tabernacle to remove and dispose of ashes from sacrificial
animals (Exodus 27:3). Ashes
symbolized the complete offering of an animal to God; nothing remained except
the ashes, which demonstrated its complete consumption.
The picture is as follows: the lives of the martyrs have been fully
consumed by the persecution of the Beast. They have become “sacrifices” on the
heavenly altar. The seven angels carry out what remains, the “ashes,” so to
speak, to pour it out on the followers of the Beast, the full “wrath” of God.
Also, in Isaiah
51:17-23 Yahweh promised that the “bowl of the cup of His wrath” (thumos) that sinful Israel had been compelled to drink would be
given to Babylon for afflicting His people.
This picture is fitting; end-time “Babylon” is the chief
target of these plagues (Revelation 16:17-21).
The image of “the
temple filled with smoke” echoes Yahweh’s presence when the Tabernacle
was consecrated. Not even Moses could stand at that point (Exodus 40:34-35). And when Solomon’s Temple was consecrated, “the
priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud” (1 Kings 8:10-11).
Above all, verse 8 alludes to Ezekiel where a
man in “linen” was commanded to take live coals from between the cherubim and to
cast them into the city in preparation for judgment. This same passage was alluded to previously when
the prayers of the saints caused an angel to cast live coals onto the earth.
(Ezekiel
10:2-4) – “Then said he unto the man
clothed in linen, ‘Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub,
and fill both thy hands with live coals of fire from between the cherubim, and
throw over the city.’ So he went in before mine eyes. Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the house when the
man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. Then arose the glory of Yahweh from off the cherub unto the threshold
of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled
with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh.”
No
one can enter the Temple until the seven last plagues have been poured out upon
the earth; final judgment has arrived, and no one can approach the throne until
the judgments are completed. The martyrs’ plea for vindication is at an end;
their prayer for justice is about to be answered.
The
destructive effects of the seven trumpets were partial (“a third of the
earth”). In contrast, those of the seven bowls are universal; nothing and
no one escapes. There was still the opportunity to repent during the trumpets,
but no call for repentance is issued during the seven bowls. The seven bowls
further harden the hearts of the wicked, justifying the universal extent of
their plagues.
The
bowls represent God’s final wrath on the Beast and all those allied with it. Like
the plagues of Egypt, the seven trumpets prepared the new exodus of God’s
people from bondage (Revelation 15:2-4).
In contrast, the seven last plagues follow the exodus of the saints; their
combined destructive force corresponds to the destruction of the Egyptians in
the Red Sea.
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