REVELATION 15 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL JUDGMENTS2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 15 Preparation For The Final Judgments

We're continuing our journey through the book of Revelation this morning, going through chapter 15.

While you're turning there, I do have a few announcements to make. There's a lot of things going on. I do encourage you to spend some time looking over your bulletins and the different flyers and events that are going on in the back table as well. There's a lot happening at the end of the year. It's very common for us to get very busy. But be seeking the Lord on what you should be a part of and what he would have you to participate in.

This coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday, is going to be our Children's Ministry Christmas Play here in the sanctuary on Saturday and Sunday evening at 6.30 p.m. Every year the kids work really hard. They put together a musical for us and we get to just enjoy the Christmas story through these different perspectives as they display them and share them with us.

And so this year will be no different. Encourage you to come on out and to be a part. It's a great opportunity as well to bring those who wouldn't normally come to church, but they would come to here and watch some kids perform. And the gospel message is always presented in the Christmas plays. And so I encourage you to invite those around you as the Lord gives you opportunity.

Next Sunday is the 19th. We will be having our Christmas services next Sunday morning. They'll be our normal services at 8.30 and 10.30. And Pastor Tom will be sharing the word, teaching the word next Sunday and focusing on Jesus Christ and the reason for the Christmas season.

The following Sunday, December 26th, is the day after Christmas, and just so it's clear and so everyone knows what's happening, we'll continue our services as usual on the 26th. 8.30, 10.30 a.m. we'll have our normal services, so you can put the toys away and all the Christmas gifts and come on in and focus on the Lord the next day, the day after Christmas, and we'll be continuing our journey through the book of Revelation there on the 26th.

Coming up at the end of the month, December 31st, is our annual New Year's Eve talent show. And we invite you to come on out to that. It's always a great time. You might get hurt because you laugh so much that your cheeks, you know, begin to ache and your face hurts. Every year that happens to me. So just be warned about that. But man, it's a great time. And if you want to participate, there's plenty of opportunity. We'll have a sign-up sheet in the back table.

And you can, if you want to put together a skit or a song, we call it a talent show, but it's also a demonstration of how little talent we have. And so don't be afraid. You don't have to be a professional or anything. You know, we just like to just goof off and have a good time and just fellowship together. And we start at 6 p.m. and we end by about 9 o'clock. So that way you can head on out there to home or wherever it is that you're going to bring in the new year. And so we'll be looking forward to that at the end of this month.

And then coming up in January, we're going to be offering a course called Equipped to Lead. And it's a course that's designed for preparing those who are in leadership or those who are called to lead within the body of Christ. And so if that applies to you or if you just want to come and hear some good Bible studies and have some good discussion, then you're welcome to participate as well. And that's going to be starting on January 16th.

And it'll be Sunday evenings here at the church at 6 p.m. for seven weeks. So starting in January and then heading in, I think the last one is March 6th when we finish off the course. And so it's going to be a great time seeking some insight from the Lord on leadership from the examples that we have in the Bible.

One last thing to share and then we'll get into the word together. Today, Sosimo is heading out. He's heading to Costa Rica to serve there and he's committed to serve a year coming alongside a church that is being planted but also being sent out

with some other guys from the Bible College to establish a Bible College campus, a Murrieta, you know, Cavi Chapel Bible College campus there in Costa Rica. So keep him in prayer and be lifting him up. And then we look forward to a couple months down the road connecting with him. And we'll probably get a chance to share with you some updates and the things that God is doing in his life there in Costa Rica.

Well, like I said, there's a lot going on. There's even more that I couldn't share. So check out your bulletins, seek the Lord and what you can participate in. And let's look now at Revelation chapter 15. We're going to be studying the entire chapter. And if you could stand with me as we read our portion together, that would be awesome. I will read the odd numbered verses. And would you please read the even numbered verses along with Mario?

Revelation chapter 15, starting in verse 1, it says...

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have victory over the beast, over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God."

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 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 you before you. For your judgments have been manifested.

after these things i looked and behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened and out of the temple came seven angels having the seven plagues clothed in pure bright linen and having their chests girded with golden bands

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. 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. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we consider these things in chapter 15 this morning, God, I pray that you would be at work in our hearts. Lord, we do rejoice knowing that for those who have received you as Savior and Lord, these things are not for us. We will be in heaven with you during this time. But Lord, as we realize the things that will be taking place upon the earth, I pray, God, that you would use these things to minister to us

Lord, that we would have an urgency, a burden, and a passion for the world around us. Lord, for those who are lost and need to hear the message of hope and life that you offer.

And so, God, as we look at the preparation for these final judgments that will take place, Lord, that you would prepare our hearts to share with the people around us and, Lord, to minister, Lord, that they might have the opportunity to know you and experience everlasting life. And so, Lord, we look forward to spending time with you in your word. We ask, God, that you would pour out your spirit upon us to give us insight, understanding, and direction for our lives in

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. You can be seated.

So here we are in Revelation chapter 15 and today we're looking at this chapter which is really the preparation for the final judgments of the tribulation period. Now I'd like to take you back to the beginning for just a moment to get a reminder about where we're at in the context of this book and in the context of God's plan. Back in chapter 1 verse 19 of the book of Revelation,

Jesus gives to us an outline of the book. He divides it into three parts. First, by telling John to write down the things which he had seen. That's the past things that had already taken place. And we find that recorded in chapter 1, where John writes for us the vision of Jesus that he experienced on the island of Patmos.

And then Jesus tells John in chapter 1 verse 19, he tells him to write down the things which are, that is the present things, the things of the present that were the present time as John was writing them and are still the present time today. In fact, it continues on until the rapture of the church.

This is recorded for us in chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus writes seven letters to seven different churches. And in doing so, he addresses each of those individual churches, but also every church throughout history. And also, he addresses the whole issue of the church and the whole era of the church, or the church age.

which started at Pentecost and then continues on until the rapture of the church. We spent a lot of time. There's some great things that God spoke to us there in chapters 2 and 3.

Well, then the third section of the book of Revelation is the bulk of the book. It's chapters 4 through 22. And this is where Jesus told John to write down the things which will take place after these things. That is, after the church age is complete, there is some things that God wanted us to know would take place. There is future events that are recorded for us here in the book of Revelation.

chapter 1 verse 1 it tells us that Jesus is giving these things to John so that you and I would know the things which are going to take place and what are those things what are those future events that will happen well we've been looking at them throughout the book of Revelation it really begins with what we saw in chapter 4 of Revelation and that is the rapture of the church that

That is when Jesus comes back for his bride. He comes back for the church. He doesn't set foot on earth, but we meet him in the clouds. We are caught up to meet him in the air, Paul explains in 1 Thessalonians 4. And it tells us there that we will always be with the Lord from that point on. And so the rapture of the church is something that has not yet happened. It's yet future and we are greatly looking forward to it.

Well, the next thing we see in verses, sorry, chapters 6 through 19 is that after the church is out of this world, the church is out of the picture, and then the world is going to go through seven years of tribulation like it has never seen before.

All of the atrocities that we've experienced historically, all the things you can look back on, the Holocaust and things like that, all of the famines, all of the wars, all of the genocides, all of those types of things that we've seen throughout history do not even come close to comparing.

to this seven years of tribulation. It will be intense. It will be awful. It will be devastating. The death and the destruction will be like nothing the world has ever seen before. Well, that seven-year tribulation comes to an end with the return of Jesus Christ. And we'll get to that in chapter 19 of the book of Revelation.

Jesus comes back with his saints, with those who were caught up to be with him. He comes back, he ends the battle of Armageddon that is taking place, and then he establishes his kingdom here upon the earth for 1,000 years.

And during that thousand years, the earth is renewed, the earth is restored, there is righteousness around the world, and Satan is bound for that thousand year period. It's going to be glorious as he rules and reigns here on the earth for a thousand years. Well, at the end of the thousand years, Satan is released for a short time. And he leads one final rebellion against God. We'll see that in chapter 20.

He leads this rebellion against God, which of course will not succeed. He will fail. And that will bring about his final judgment. It's called the Great White Throne Judgment.

Also there in chapter 20 of Revelation. And there Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire. And it tells us in Revelation 20.15 that all who are not written in the book of life will also be cast into the lake of fire. It is the final judgment for those who reject God.

Well, then we finish up the book in chapters 21 and 22 with the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem that descends out of heaven, and then the rest of eternity that God has in store for those who have chosen to follow Him. Some great things. These are the things which must shortly take place.

They are going to happen. They will begin to happen suddenly without warning. The rapture could take place today or tomorrow or sometime in between or next week. We don't know. But suddenly, instantly, all of these things will begin to unfold very quickly.

Well, currently we're in chapter 15 of the book of Revelation. And here in chapter 15, we're still working our way through the tribulation period. We're still kind of in the beginning of these events which must shortly take place.

If you remember, the tribulation began with the opening of a scroll that had seven seals. We saw that scroll introduced in chapter 5 of Revelation. And then in chapter 6, Jesus begins to open the seals on that scroll. And as he opened each seal, there were corresponding events that would take place upon the earth. Judgments that would be brought forth and events that would take place in heaven.

Jesus opened the first seal and the Antichrist came forth to conquer the earth. He rises to power upon the earth. And then Jesus opened the second seal and there was a world war that was taking place, war that was going on worldwide. And then the third seal was opened and there was a worldwide famine, severe and intense famine that was unsurpassed throughout history.

And then we see the fourth seal is opened and death comes upon the earth. A quarter of the earth is killed or dies at that point. And then the fifth seal is opened and John sees the martyrs that are there in heaven under the throne being comforted by God.

And then the sixth seal is opened and there was some catastrophic events that took place. A great earthquake, the moon turning blood red, stars falling from the sky, all kinds of things that were happening as this seal is opened.

And then the seventh seal is opened. There was silence in heaven for about 30 minutes. And in the midst of this silence, seven angels come forth, each of them holding a trumpet. And as each one sounds his trumpet, there's judgments that are unleashed upon the earth. And we went through those seven trumpets. The first trumpet sounded and a third of the trees of the earth were burned.

And then the second trumpet sounded and a third of the sea was turned to blood. Then the third trumpet sounded and a third of the fresh water was made bitter and many died from drinking the water. Then the fourth trumpet sounded and a third of the stars were darkened. Then the fifth trumpet sounded and there was five months of torment for all of humanity by these demonic creatures that were unleashed.

And then the sixth trumpet sounded and there was four angels who were released and they lead an army which kills one third of mankind. And then the seventh trumpet sounds and the temple in heaven is opened and then seven more angels come forth having bowls of judgment that will be poured out upon the earth. And that brings us

to where we are here in chapter 15. That seven trumpet sounding is really what's taking place here in chapter 15. It's the preparation for these last seven angels to pour forth the judgments and the wrath of God upon the earth.

As we've been going through the book of Revelation, we've been following the sequence and the chronology of it. The seal is open, then the next seal is open, then the next seal is open, then the trumpets are sounding. We've been progressing along the timeline. But if you remember, back in chapter 10, it's like God hit the pause button. In chapters 10 through 14 are what we call parenthetical, where God has kind of paused the sequence of events. He's

to take a step back and explain to us some of what's going on behind the scenes and some other information so that we can better understand the events as they unfold. Here as we go into chapter 15...

We're hitting the play button, as it were. God is continuing now the sequence and we're getting back into the timeline. So we're continuing on the sequence of events of the tribulation period and the things that God has in store. Here in chapter 15, we see the preparation for the final judgments that will take place. And those judgments will actually go through in chapter 16, coming up in a couple of weeks.

And so here we are in chapter 15. We're studying through, we're resuming the sequence of events and we're looking at this preparation for the bowls of wrath that will be poured out upon the earth.

There's four things I'd like to point out to you this morning from chapter 15. Four things to take a look at and consider in preparation for the final judgments. And the first thing that we see here in verse 1 is the angels with the seven last plagues. The angels with the seven last plagues. Look at verse 1. It says, Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous.

seven angels having the seven last plagues for in them the wrath of God is complete. Here is, we're continuing on now the sequence of events and continuing on in the tribulation period. John sees seven angels come forth. He'll talk about that again at the end of this chapter where they come from. But he sees these angels come forth and he says it's a great and marvelous sign.

And he sees these seven angels and he takes note that each of them has a plague. They're the seven last plagues. And in these final seven plagues or judgments, he says the wrath of God is complete. Now that's pretty amazing because, well, as we've just gone through the seals as they were opened and the trumpets as they were sounded, we've seen a lot of judgment already.

I mean the things that have gone on are horrific and really beyond our ability to comprehend the extent of the devastation and the difficulty that will be taking place during this time. It's really beyond our ability to fully imagine and visualize because these things are so intense. And yet for all of the judgments that we've read through and studied thus far,

The wrath of God is not yet complete. These seven angels bring the completion of the wrath of God. And in the bowls that they pour out, the wrath of God will be brought to completion. Have you ever determined the judgment or the discipline for something?

But you cut it short and you didn't see it through all the way. You know how that is. Maybe you as a parent or maybe your parents did this to you, right? There was something that was done. There was judgment or discipline that was needed. And so the judgment is made. This is the penalty. This is the punishment. This is the discipline for this act or this activity that has been done.

But then as the punishment is going forward, you know, you're in timeout for 10 minutes, well, 7 minutes goes by and, ah, that's good enough, you know, okay, you can go early. Or you go partway through the judgment, partway through the discipline, and then you don't see it to completion.

I think a good example of this is our judicial system many times. You know, a lot of times the death penalty is really just a life imprisonment sentence, right? Because it's just, it's not, the judgment is pronounced, the verdict is made, the judgment is pronounced, death penalty, but the sentence is not often carried out. Well, God is not like that at all. He's nothing like us.

He has declared what is necessary as a result of sin. He has declared what is the punishment of rejecting God and disobeying Him. And He will bring that judgment and that penalty to completion. He doesn't over-promise and then under-deliver. He's going to bring it to completion. These things that we're studying and will continue to study in the coming chapters, these are things that will take place

You know, it's not the idea that God just lost his temper, right? And he just shouted out things that he never intended to do. Sometimes that happens. You know, your boss says, hey, if you do this, then this is what I'm going to do. But he's just upset. And so he doesn't actually intend to do those things. It's just a threat because he's really upset. And parents can do the same thing. But that's not how God is. He didn't lose his temper and just shout out and say, oh, I'm going to bring this judgment upon the earth.

He's calm, he's collected, he's cool, he's saying, look, this is what sin deserves. This is right, this is just, and we'll even see that in a couple of verses. We will worship God as a result of his justice in bringing forth these judgments. And so the wrath of God is going to be poured out unto completion, completely filled up, completely fulfilled. And the beautiful thing for you and I as believers...

is that this wrath of God, which is going to be brought to completion, has already been brought to completion for those who have received Jesus Christ. You see, this wrath of God is due for sin. It's the penalty of sin. Paul tells us that those who are walking in disobedience are storing up wrath for themselves. But for those who have turned to Jesus Christ,

For those who have received His offer of forgiveness and are walking with Him...

You need to understand that Jesus Christ has received that complete wrath upon Himself on our behalf. There upon the cross He received the full judgment, the final penalty for sin. There is no judgment left. There is no wrath left. The cup is completely empty for those who have turned to Jesus Christ.

And so this is not something that you and I need to fear as believers. The wrath of God is complete here in chapter 15 and 16. It's going to be poured out upon the earth. But for those who turn to Jesus right now, that wrath was poured out upon Jesus for your sake and for my sake, for your sin and for my sin. And so as we look at these things, we understand the world has to go through this because the world has rejected Jesus Christ.

But if you turn to Jesus, this penalty, this judgment has already been paid in full. Now these things that we're seeing here, these angels with the seven last plagues, again, this is part of the seventh trumpet and we'll see that as we get down to verse five. But John sees these angels come forth and they're bringing forth the wrath of God.

Well, the second thing we find is in verses 2 through 4. And here we see those who have victory over the beast. Look at verse 2. It says, And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God."

Here in verse 2 now, John sees a group of people. It's a multitude of people. And they're standing on a sea of glass that's mingled with fire. In Revelation chapter 4, there in verse 6, we have...

The sea of glass that John is referencing here, it says it's like crystal, but he points out that it's before the throne of God. And so this scene that John is seeing with this multitude is taking place before the throne of God. It's a scene that's taking place in heaven. And there in heaven, before the throne, on this sea that is like glass, are those who have the victory over the beast.

Those who have victory over the beast. This is pretty interesting. It's a group of people in heaven before the throne who have victory over the Antichrist. Now, how did they have victory? Well, keep in mind, they're in heaven. They are in heaven now because they were killed. And so, they have victory, but they were martyred. They were killed. Does that make sense to you? Can you understand that? Can you grasp that? Consider this.

How can death be described as victory? I think the simple answer, you've probably already gone there ahead of me, it's because they're in heaven. They have victory over the beast, not because they threw him out of power and took over his kingdom, not because they ganged up and beat him down. They didn't put him to death. In fact, he put them to death. But they have victory over the beast because they are in heaven.

And see, this points out something that is essential for us to continue to remind ourselves of, and that is the difference between eternal and temporary things. There's a great big difference between eternal and temporary things. Paul tells us that the things which we can see are temporary. The things which are visible, they will not last. But the things which are unseen, those are the things that are eternal.

And so consider that. As much as you can see, those things are temporary. And in life, we see someone who is killed. We see the end of their temporary. But what we don't see is what happens in eternity. And so what seems like a tragedy in this life and in the temporary realm can actually be called a victory in eternity.

And these people had a choice. He says they have victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark, and over the number of his name. They have victory not by fighting against him. They have victory by being put to death. Revelation chapter 13 verses 15 through 18 deal with the image of the beast and the mark of the beast and the number of his name. We looked at those things a few weeks ago.

There the false prophet sets up this image and gives life to the image. And it says that whoever does not worship the image of the beast was killed. This group of people, this multitude of people are those who were killed by the image of the beast. Because they would not, they refused to worship the beast. The false prophet also caused all of the world to receive a mark of

The mark was to swear allegiance to the beast, to the Antichrist. And this is a group that is there in heaven that refused to receive the mark. And they were put to death as a result. And so they had victory over the mark and over the number of the beast and over the image of the beast. Their victory is that they did not take it. They had a decision to make. And the decision that they had to make is the same decision that you and I have to make.

That is, are we going to live our lives based on what is eternal or will we live our lives based on what is temporary? Are we going to live our lives based upon this world and this life and what we can get out of it or are we going to live our lives in obedience to God and reap eternal rewards?

They had the choice a little bit clearer than we do. We get kind of muddied down with deception and compromise today. But their choice was either line up for the guillotine or line up to receive the mark of the beast. Pick a line. You have to pick a line. Which one will you choose? And they chose to suffer death, to refuse death.

to worship the beast. They chose well. They had victory. It cost them their life, but it granted to them eternity. If they had chosen to worship the beast, it would have been much easier for them for the moment, temporarily. It would have been easier because then they wouldn't have been put to death. Then they would have the mark and they could buy and they could sell. They wouldn't have to worry about starvation and those types of things. It would have been easier for them

But it would have cost them eternity. And the same is true today. We need to be careful where our focus is and what we're living our lives for. Because it's much easier to live for right now and to live for this body and this flesh and the desires and comforts and things of this life. It's very easy. It's much easier to live for those things. It's much harder to live according to the Word of God. The Bible tells us that

The just walk by faith and not by sight because the things that are seen are temporary. And so these people made a choice, a choice that you and I must make. They chose to live for eternity, to live for God. And it cost them their life, but it gave them, because they turned to Jesus, it gave them eternity with God. And so here they are standing victoriously on the sea of glass and they have harps on

And they're about to break out in song and begin to worship. Once again, we see heaven is full of worship. And so they're about to sing to God. And we see that in verses 3 and 4. It says, 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 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. Here it records for us this worship song that they sing. It describes it as the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

Now, there's a lot of discussion amongst scholars and commentators about what song of Moses is being referred to here. There's a song that's recorded for us in Exodus chapter 15, where Moses and Israel sing to the Lord because they had victory over Pharaoh's army. As God caused the waters to return and to wipe out the Egyptian army, they broke out in worship and song to the Lord. And that's in Exodus chapter 15.

There's another song of Moses that's recorded in Deuteronomy 31 and 32. And there, God gives Moses a song to teach the people. And the song is meant to remind the people later on of the covenant that they made with God. And you could relate to this because you know how it is. 20 years later, you can still remember the words to that silly song that you once sang. And

And in the same way, God was using Moses to teach the people of Israel this song so that many years later, as they were experiencing the consequences of disobedience to God, they would kind of be singing the lyrics and then it would suddenly hit them and they'd remember, oh,

Oh, that's what those words mean. That's what God was talking about. And they would remember the covenant that they had with God and have the opportunity to turn and get right with God. And so some suggest it's Exodus 15 that's being referred to. Others prefer Deuteronomy 31 and 32 as the song of Moses.

Personally, I have a little bit different perspective. I think what's being talked about here is that this group is made up primarily of Jewish people who have received Jesus as their Messiah because they sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Now, if you remember the context of where we're at, we're dealing with the second half of the tribulation period.

In the middle of the tribulation, there's the event called the abomination of desolation. And at that time, as the Antichrist goes into the temple and sets up an image of himself, he proclaims himself to be God and demands that all of the world worship him. At that time, the eyes of the Jewish people will be opened. Up until then, they receive the Antichrist as their Messiah. But when he does that,

They will be awakened. They'll realize that he's not the Messiah, but in fact, Jesus Christ is the Messiah. And so at that time, the Jewish people as a whole, as a group together, all of them will turn to Jesus Christ and it will cost them dearly.

Revelation chapter 12 records this for us. Again, when God was kind of explaining some of the background information, it helps us understand what's going on here in chapter 15. It tells us there that the dragon will make war with the children of Israel, with the Jewish people. It also tells us there that God will protect some of them in the wilderness.

And as the dragon realizes that he can't get to those that God is protecting in the wilderness, he goes and he makes war with the rest of the Jewish people and the rest of the children of God. And so here, I think what we're seeing here is a group that's primarily Jews who have turned to Jesus Christ and have suffered the consequences of death as a result. As the dragon, Satan has made war against them. They've been put to death and martyred.

And so here they're able to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb because they're children of Israel who have turned to Jesus. And as they worship the Lord, they worship Him in regard to four things specifically. They worship Him in regard to His works, His ways, His holiness, and then His judgments. They worship Him in regard to His works. They say, "'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty.'"

His works, what God does is great and marvelous. And you and I can look around at, let's say creation as one example, and marvel at His works.

You go to a beautiful spot, you watch some magnificent storm, you see, you know, a powerful wave, whatever the case may be, you know, you look at those images from the Hubble telescope and you see the great depths of space and the beauty that is there and it's very easy to say great and marvelous are His works. What's interesting is that these who are standing before the throne of God, they've come through the tribulation period

And so the creation that they see is probably quite a bit different than what we see because of all of the devastating judgments that are going on. And yet they will be able to stand before God and cry out and sing in worship, Great and marvelous are your works. Well, not only do they worship Him for His works, but also for His ways. They go on to say, Just and true are your ways, O King of the saints. How He does His works is

is also worthy of worship. His ways are just and true. I think this is something interesting for us to consider. Because you and I know what it's like to wonder, what in the world is God doing? Right? You ever wonder about the ways of God? We have the saying, the Lord works in mysterious ways, right? Why do we have that saying? Because we don't quite get it. Why does God do things that way? Why does God do things that way?

Why does he accomplish things in that manner? God tells us in Isaiah chapter 55, that as high as the heavens are above the earth, that's how high his ways are above our ways. And basically there's just no comparison, right? If we were to have everything go our way, we'd be much worse off. If we did things according to, you know, the way that we think is right, we'd be much worse off.

Well, things in life and eternity would be terrible. But God's ways are not like our ways. They're high above, infinitely higher, infinitely better than our ways. And as a result, most of the time, we do not understand His ways. And we do not understand why He does the things that He does and why He accomplishes things that way. But here's what's cool about this.

Because on this side of eternity, we wrestle and we say, Lord, why would you do that? Why would you let their life be cut short? Why would you allow that to happen? How come this is going on? How come that's not happening yet? We look around and we're troubled by, Lord, your ways don't make sense. It doesn't seem, how can I gain my life by losing it? Lord, it doesn't make sense. We're troubled by it. We're perplexed by it. But notice this. Here's this group in heaven.

They're on the other side of eternity and they are able to testify, "Lord, your ways are just and true." They're worshiping God because of His ways. Here on this side, we're confused about God. We're struggling with faith in God because of His ways. But on the other side of eternity, we worship God because His ways are just and true. We may not understand His ways now.

but we will. And that thing in your life, which is kind of like, you know, the thing that you look upon, which is, that's just the worst thing that ever happened to me. I don't know why God would ever allow that. That thing that God allowed, that thing that you look back on and say, man, that was terrible. That was tragic. That was awful. On the other side of eternity, you'll be able to look back and say, God, your ways are just and true.

God, you did what was right. Thank you for doing what was best for me. We will worship him because of his ways. Well, they also worship him for his holiness. It goes on to say there in verse 4, Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. Who will not fear God? Nobody. Everyone will fear God and glorify his name.

Because He is the only one who is holy. God is perfect. Completely and totally set apart and different than anything else. He's the only one who is holy. The only one who is pure. The only one whose ways are just and right. The only one whose works are great and marvelous. He's holy. And everyone will fear Him. If we refuse to do it in this life, we will fear Him in the next.

If we refuse to glorify His name now, Paul tells us in Philippians 2, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We will glorify His name. But when we do it, depends on our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we receive Him now and glorify His name now, then on the other side, we'll be worshiping, saying, God, you're holy, who's not going to fear you?

But if we reject Jesus now, then as we stand before God one day, we will kneel. We will confess that He is Lord. But it will be at the sentencing of our judgment for rejecting Him. And His judgments is the other aspect that they're worshiping Him for. The fourth thing there at the end of verse 4. He says, For all nations shall come and worship before you, for your judgments have been manifested. Even God's judgments...

are caused to worship Him. God brings judgment because He is holy, the thing we were just talking about, and all nations will come before Him and worship Him as a result of His judgments. Do you ever wonder about the judgments of God? Sometimes it's confusing, isn't it? Why do murderers get away with crimes? Why doesn't God bring judgment upon those who are hurting those kids? On the other side, it'll be clear.

And His judgments will be revealed. And again, we'll be able to say, Your ways, Lord, are just and true. In heaven, they're able to testify. His judgments have been revealed. The whole picture is seen. And the result is the worship of God. Lord, You revealed Your judgment. You brought it forth. It was right. It was true. And we worship You. And so this group...

Of those who were killed during the tribulation period, they worshiped God for His works, for His ways, for His holiness, and for His judgments.

Well, moving on now in verse 5 and 6, we see the third point this morning, and that was the temple in heaven was opened. Here in verse 5 and 6, we see the temple in heaven being opened. Verse 5, After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. Here we have the heavenly scene, and there in heaven, the temple of God is opened.

Now some are surprised that there's a temple of God in heaven. But if you are with us in the book of Hebrews, you're not surprised because in Hebrews chapter 8, we learn that the temple and the tabernacle that existed on earth was just a copy or God calls it a shadow of what actually existed in heaven.

There in Hebrews chapter 8, the author reminds us of the command that was given to Moses, where God said, see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. And if you've ever gone through the book of Exodus, you're very familiar with this pattern, because three times you read through this pattern. There's Moses is on the mountain, God is delivering him, all of the details and specifications of the tabernacle.

The length, the width of all of the cloths and materials that are involved. The size of all the boards and the specific type of material to use. The weight of all of the gold in each of the furnishings. And all of these details, it's a great bit of information.

that God gives to Moses and He records it all for us in the book of Exodus. But then Moses goes down the mountain and he's talking to the people of Israel and he tells them what God said about the tabernacle that they were to build. And you know what happens? Moses gives all of those same details and specifications about every cloth, about every board, about every weight. All the details are given again to the people of God. And then...

They get to work and they begin to build the tabernacle that God had instructed them to build. And as they build the tabernacle, once again, it records for us all of the details, all of the measurements, all of the weights, every type of wood, all of the details that were supposed to go into the tabernacle are recorded again for the third time for us as they build it.

Now, why this repetition? Well, because God said, make sure that you build this exactly the way that I've shown you. And the author of Hebrews explains, that is so important because it was a copy or as a shadow of what exists in heaven. It's a copy or a shadow of what is real in the presence of God. And so this temple,

The tabernacle, he says, of the testimony. Now the testimony is the Ten Commandments, which was located in the holiest of all there in the tabernacle. And so this holy place there in the temple of God in heaven is now opened up.

It's opened. It goes on to tell us in verse 6, "...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." And so as the temple of God is opened, then seven angels come forth. And as these seven angels come out, they have the seven last plagues, the seven last judgments that will be poured out upon the earth.

It's interesting to me that the temple of God was opened. And he specifically says that as well in chapter 11, which again is the understanding or where we get the understanding that these seven bowls of wrath that we'll talk about next week are actually part of the seventh trumpet.

Because there in chapter 11 of Revelation, we have recorded the seventh trumpet as it's sounding. And what happens in Revelation 11, 19, it says, And so this is that same event with a little bit more detail. The temple of God is opened.

And now seven angels come forth from the presence of God to bring forth the final judgments upon the earth. Each one brings a different judgment. They're incredibly intense and they bring about the end of the world as we know it. Because at the end of these things, Jesus comes back and establishes his kingdom upon the earth. Well, the fourth and final judgment

Part of chapter 15 is in verses 7 and 8. And here we find the golden bowls that are full of wrath. Verse 7 says, Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven bowls, seven golden bowls rather, full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. And so as these seven angels come forth out of the temple of God, then one of the four living creatures says,

Now the four living creatures are angelic beings. They were created by God. They're described in Revelation chapter 4. So if you weren't with us then, I encourage you to check it out and spend some time considering who these four living creatures are. But one of them comes and delivers to the angels...

Golden bowls full of the wrath of God. These bowls that he delivers to them are not maybe like a soup bowl like we would maybe consider or a cereal bowl, but they're

and shallow bowls. Perhaps you could relate it to the communion plate when we pass it around. It's kind of wide and it's not very deep but it's just wide and it's shallow. Those types of bowls were often used in the practices at the temple and things like that and so it was something that was easily relatable and they would understand what he was talking about. What's interesting about those shallow wide bowls is

is that they can be poured out very quickly. The contents are emptied instantly. And really that's what's taking place. As they're pouring out the wrath of God, it's instantly hitting upon the earth and making a big impact. And we'll get into that in chapter 16. Verse 8. 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.

And so here we're brought right to the edge, right to the cusp. We're right on the edge of the end. And these last seven judgments are going to take place. And as these angels come forth from the temple, the temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. Glory and wrath go hand in hand. We wouldn't normally think so.

We think of the glory of God and of course it's easy to think about the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God. And He's glorified in those things for sure. But the glory of God is also coupled with the wrath of God. It's part of His nature. He is just and holy. And so bringing judgment is consistent with who He is. And He is glorified in

As these judgments are brought forth. God is showing in these things that He reigns over all. That He is the true and living God who lives forever and ever. He's demonstrating that He is King of kings and Lord of lords, Creator of all things. That He alone is God. And so the temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God. The glory of God is being revealed as the wrath of God is being poured out upon the earth.

It's interesting to me because there's some parallels that we could consider. In Exodus chapter 40, when the tabernacle was finished, a similar event happened. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and so much so that the priest could not go in to serve in the tabernacle. And then, same thing in 2 Chronicles chapter 5, when Solomon finishes building the temple and dedicates it to the Lord, the glory of the Lord fills the temple.

so much so that the priests are not able to go inside and to serve inside the temple. And then here in Revelation chapter 15, the glory of the Lord fills the temple in heaven and no one is able to enter until this last set of seven angels finishes their task of bringing forth the wrath of God upon the earth. It's like the inauguration of the heavenly temple. It's getting ready. It's being put to use. Service will now commence.

Because the wrath of God will be complete. The final payments will be made. Judgment will be brought and paid in full. And so here we see the preparation for these final judgments. The angels who come forth with the seven last plagues. We saw those who have victory over the beast.

We saw those, we saw rather that the temple in heaven was opened and then the seven angels come forth and they're given these bowls that are full of the wrath of God. It's the preparation. Now it's just about to happen. We're right at the edge. It's about to happen. And we'll get into these bowls being poured out in chapter 16 in a couple of weeks. But as we consider this preparation for these final judgments, my prayer is that it would prepare our hearts.

As we've talked about throughout the book of Revelation, these judgments as they're going, they're very intense. They're hard for us to understand. But each of them is an opportunity for people to repent. Why doesn't God just end it all right now? Why go through all this preparation? Why not just end it there in chapter 15? Why go through that tribulation period? Because God is extending the time little by little, moment by moment,

Giving humanity, giving mankind an opportunity and a chance to turn and to get right with Him. Even until the very end. We've seen that so many times in 2 Peter 3. It tells us that He's waiting, He's delaying because He's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

And what that means for you and I as believers is that even today, the time that we have right now is time that is extended to us by the grace of God so that people might come to know Him. And as we look at these things in the preparation for these final judgments, my prayer for you and for me is that God would lay upon us an urgency, a burden, and a passion for the lost.

Because these things will take place. The wrath of God will be brought forth. And those who die rejecting Jesus Christ will experience eternal judgment. We need to get the message out. We need to care. We need to love people more than we love ourselves to go beyond what we're comfortable with and share the truth.

Not that we beat people up or, you know, condemn them, but that we bring forth the message of hope and life and love that's offered to us in Jesus Christ. So as we prepare these things, or as we see the preparation for these things, let it prepare your heart. Let it cause you to turn to God and say, Lord, prepare me that I would be ready to share, that I would be willing to reach out to people around me, that they would not have to experience these things alone.

but that they would get to experience eternity with you. And if you're listening to this or if you're here today and you're not prepared, you're not ready to stand before God, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. You can be sure of that. The best time to kneel, to turn to Jesus Christ and surrender to Him is right now. Because if you turn to Him now, He forgives you of your sin. He washes you completely clean.

He gives you new life in Him. He gives you the hope and the promise of eternity. If you kneel now, if you'll surrender to Him now, He gives you the promise and the hope of eternal life. But if you insist on rebelling, if you insist on doing your own way, you will kneel later, but it will be at the time of your final sentence. And all who are not written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire. It's time.

We don't have a moment to lose. It's not time to mess around, to goof off, and just to enjoy yourself. It's time to turn to God, to walk with Him and serve Him with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength. Let's pray. God, I do pray that You would prepare our hearts, Lord, for these things.

Lord, use these things to impact us that we might turn to you and walk with you. Lord, that we would follow after you and be obedient to you regardless of the cost. Lord, even if it costs us our life, because even in death we have victory in you. And so, Lord, we thank you for those promises. God, help us to walk by faith and not by sight.

And Lord, for any who do not know you, I pray, Lord, that you would reach their hearts, that you would speak to them. Lord, that you would remove the blinders, that you would break through the barriers. Lord, that they would see clearly their need for you and what you accomplished for them upon the cross. And Lord, may they have an opportunity to turn to you in your strength, by your power, through your Holy Spirit. So Lord, convict and draw us near to you, we pray. In Jesus' name.

Amen.