The Seventh Vision: Intro to the Seven Plagues

Midweek of Trinity 10

Revelation 15:1-8

Last week, in the sixth vision of the set of seven visions, we heard about the harvesting of the earth, both the wheat and the grapes, the believers and the unbelievers, the believers for eternal joy and peace in God’s home, and the unbelievers for eternal crushing in the winepress of God’s wrath.

This evening, we bring to a close the set of seven visions with the seventh vision, which, as in the previous three sets of visions, serves as an introduction to the next set of visions, which will be the visions of the seven bowls filled with the final seven plagues of God’s wrath.

John sees something like a sea of glass mingled with fire. He had seen this sea of glass earlier in the book, too, where it was “before God’s throne.” This isn’t the turbulent sea of this world in which we live at the moment. It’s the smooth, calm, surface of perfect peace in God’s presence. Standing on that perfectly peaceful sea were those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name. Remember, in an earlier vision, we encountered this beast, along with the other one. The beast from the sea, which stood for the secular forces, led by the governments of the world, which persecute Christians in any number of ways, from physical torture, imprisonment, and execution, to promoting falsehood, to marginalizing the Christians who refuse to go along with the falsehoods; and the beast from the earth, which stood for the Antichrist and all the false teachings that are designed to lead God’s people astray from Christ and His Word, even within the outward Christian Church. Earlier, John saw the beast being victorious over the saints, that is, succeeding in making life miserable for the saints and in executing them, too.

But here John sees the reality. The saints are actually victorious over the beast. By refusing to give in to the world’s requirement that we abandon the true God, by refusing to be led astray by the lies of the Antichrist, by clinging to Christ and His Word, the saints prevailed. They won. They now stand in the presence of God in perfect peace. As Paul writes to the Romans, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

John sees them here with the harps of Gods, singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb. Harps signify music and joy and praise. These harps are provided by God Himself. He is the One who inspires our thankfulness. He is the source of our eternal joy. The words sung by the saints echo the words of Moses in the book of Exodus and again in the book of Deuteronomy. He sang to the Lord after the Lord brought Israel safely across the Red Sea on dry ground, having destroyed their enemies, the Egyptians, by the waters of that same sea. That’s reminiscent of the Flood, too, isn’t it? By those waters God saved Noah and his family as the waters lifted them up to safety, even as the same waters drowned the unbelievers in the world. Which, as Peter writes in his first Epistle, symbolizes what God does for us in Holy Baptism, saving believers by those waters, even as the unbelieving world will be wiped out with fire. So, too, the saints in heaven sing for joy about how God gave them the greatest deliverance, washing them in the blood of the Lamb through Holy Baptism and granting them final salvation in heaven as their enemies in the world are about to be destroyed.

Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.

Right now, in these days before the end of the world, it’s hard for the saints confess that the Lord’s ways are just and true. The righteous don’t always prosper here, while the wicked often do. Christians who do the right thing are often punished for it by the unbelieving world, while evildoers go free. Such is the way of things here, and that’s not justice. It’s injustice. But we will finally see. We will finally understand what the Lord was doing as we look back, after the fact. As the world meets its doom, the saints will see how the Lord God Almighty worked everything out perfectly. And justice will then be done.

Then John sees the heavenly temple being opened. Right now it appears closed. In other words, right now, we can’t see God’s justice. Right now, we have God’s Word proclaiming His Law and His Gospel. But the wicked don’t listen. The wicked go on in their wickedness, thinking that God’s Word is untrue, thinking that God doesn’t see, that God doesn’t care, or even that God doesn’t exist. But in the end, God will make Himself known to the world. And when He does, it won’t be for another chance at salvation. When He finally opens His heavenly temple, it will be for the final revelation of His wrath against impenitent sinners.

And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. These angels seem to symbolize heavenly angels, not the human preachers of God’s word, like the seven angels of the seven churches, although some think they do represent preachers of the Gospel. These are clothed like the angels who appeared at Jesus’ resurrection, but with golden bands wrapped around their chests signifying their divinely given authority to carry out the work they’re about to do.

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. If the four living creatures represent the prophets and apostles, as we’ve surmised, then it makes sense with what John says here, because throughout Scripture, the prophets and apostles have prophesied the coming of the day of wrath and the destruction of the wicked. That’s why we see the four living creatures handing over the bowls filled with God’s wrath to the angels who will implement the will of God.

The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. When the glory of the Lord fell upon Solomon’s Temple at its dedication like a bright cloud of smoke, the priests weren’t able to minister in the temple until the glory of the Lord lifted. So at the end of the world, when God opens His temple and determines that it’s time to bring final judgment and destruction on the wicked, no one will be able to intercede for them or delay God’s wrath any longer. When it’s finally time for the day of wrath to come, there will be no stopping it.

So, look forward to that day, as those who have been brought to repentance and faith. Keep hearing and learning God’s Word. Cling to His promises. Hold on as the world spirals to its demise. And, instead of having God’s wrath poured out on you, you will be saved, by faith in Christ Jesus, and you will join the endless worship of the victorious saints on the sea of glass. Amen.