Revelation chapter 15

The Seven Angels, Sea of Glass, and Heavenly Tabernacle

This passage (Rev. 15:1-16:1) contains the necessary introduction to the terrible vial judgments of the last part of the Week.

The Seven Angels

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God . . . And 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” (Rev. 15:1, 6,7).

This passage is clear as to the seven angels, their reception of the vials, and what they contain. The expression “seven last plagues” indicates there will have been plagues preceding these as we have seen in the first of God's wrath.
These seven angels will not be ordinary ones, but seven redeemed men who will already be in heaven with glorified bodies at the time of this fulfillment of the book. Also shows to us that redeemed men will take part in the fulfillment of God's work here in preparation for the kingdom. According to Rev. 17:1, one of these angels (messengers) showed John the judgment of the great whore and the beast that carried her. In Rev. 21:9, one of them, perhaps the same one, came to show John the Holy City. After showing him the Revelation, John fell down at his feet to worship him, but was told “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God,” Rev. 19:9,10; 22:8,9. This proves that one of them is a redeemed man, for he is expressly called “a man” in Rev. 21:17; and if one of them is a man, the other six most likely are.

The Sea of Glass

(Parenthetical passage, Rev. 15:2-4)

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev. 15:2-4).

This “sea of glass” is the same as seen by John when he was first caught up to heaven, Rev. 4:1-6. It is a literal pavement before the throne, like unto crystal mingled with fire. It was unoccupied in Rev. 4, while here it is occupied by the tribulation martyrs.
These saints will have “harps of God” and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, thus implying that this company will have already been victorious and resurrected. The song of Moses and of the Lamb is one of victory. We do not know the exact words of the song of the Lamb, but we know that its theme is one of victory.
This parenthetical passage shows the position in heaven of those who get the victory over the beast. The expression,“for thy judgments are (were) made manifest” seems to show the scene will be fulfilled after the judgments are finished.
The message concerning the seven angels is broken into here by this passage and such would not be the case if it were not parenthetical. In Revelation 15:1the seven angels are spoken of, then abruptly left and not mentioned again until after this picture of the saints on the sea of glass. The purpose of the vials is to judge the men who have taken the mark of the beast, hence this picture at this juncture to show the blessedness of those who do not worship the beast and who get the victory over him.

The Heavenly Tabernacle

“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened . . . 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 . . . And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth” (Rev. 15:5, 8; 16:1).

In this passage, the vision of the seven angels and the heavenly tabernacle is resumed, after being broken into by the vision of the tribulation saints upon the sea of glass. The temple in heaven is a literal temple in which God sits on a throne. The words “temple” and “temples” are used 206 times and the words “tabernacles” are used 339 times in both Testaments.

There are two Hebrew words for our English word “temple”

1. Haykawl means “a large public building,” such as a palace or temple, Isa. 6:1.
2. Bahyith means “a house” in the greatest variety of applications.

There three Greek words for our English word “temple”

1. Hieron means “a sacred place, sanctuary, or temple of worship.”
2. Naos means “dwelling, a shrine, or a temple.”
3. Oikos means “home, household, or temple.”

There two Hebrew word for our English word “Tabernacle”

1. Ohel means “a tent, covering, house or tabernacle.”
2. Mish-kawn means “residence, shepherds hut, animals lair, temple, dwelling, tent, or tabernacle.”


There are three Greek words for our English word “Tabernacle”

1. Skene means “habitation or tabernacle.”
2. Skenonia means “encampment, man's body, or idol temple.”
3. Skenopegia means “festival of tabernacles or a temporary home.”

Every time these words are used they are to be taken in their plain natural sense unless there is an explanation that they are used differently. The fact that the temple will be opened at different times and that beings will come out of it, shows that the temple is literal, Rev. 4:1; 11:19. The Greek word ek translated “out” in Rev. 14:17,18; 15:6; 16:1-17; etc. denotes motion from the interior and means “out from” as distinguished from ”away from.” Such could not be possible if there were no temple and if it were impossible to go into and out of it as with any other building.
The temple will be filled with smoke of the glory of God and His power after the seven angels come out of it with the seven vials which are to poured out upon the earth, and no man will be able to enter the temple until the seven vials are completed, Rev. 15:8. Smoke, in connection with the glory of God, generally, if not in every case in the Bible, means “judgment.” Next, John heard “a great voice out of the temple” saying to the seven angels, “Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” This indicates that they knew just what to do and when to do it.

This chapter in the book of Revelation sets the stage for the last seven vial judgments that cover the last three and one-half years of the tribulation which are described in Revelation chapter 16.

The last seven plaques indicate that these are in order and this finishes the 21 total plaques on mankind before the end of time.