The Song Of Moses And The Lamb: The Seven Bowl Judgments (1)

Revelation 15:1-8                                                                                       Lesson  15

Key verse: 15:3                                                                                            Kevin E.  Jesmer 10-10-10

^“and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.”

In this passage we find seven angels with the seven last plagues. They came out of the Most Holy Place, the throne room of God in heaven. Their intent was to complete God’s wrath on unrepentant humanity. This will be the final outpouring of God’s righteous judgment on all those who have rejected his mercy and followed the broad way of the devil. Those who had been victorious over the beast and his image held harps given them by God. They praised God with the song of Moses and the Lamb. They praise God because all nations will come and worship the Lord God. They praised him for he alone is holy and worthy to be worshiped. Through our study of this passage, may we determine never to compromise our faith with the beast, but remain faithful to Jesus and be one of the multitude who sings the song of Moses and the Lamb. May we know what these songs are from personal experience. May we share in God’s vision that all nations may worship the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Part 1: The Seven Angels Holding The Seven Bowls (1, 5-8)

This passage begins with the introduction of seven angels holding the seven last plagues. Look at verse 1,“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.“  These seven last plagues were contained in seven bowls. (15:7) These seven bowls have been compared to the seven trumpets. (Rev 8:2) They were both dealing with the wrath of God. But the trumpets signaled the outpouring out of God’s wrath that brought only 1/3 destruction on the unrepentant populace. The land, the sea and the cities were only 1/3 destroyed. That means 2/3 were not. There was a chance for these people to repent and rebuild their lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. There would be a chance to start again, if only they would come to Jesus with humble and contrite hearts. Surprisingly most people did not see this as an opportunity provided them by God. Instead of repenting and coming to God for his forgiveness and make a new start, they became more bitter and continued in their rebellion against the Lamb of God.  But now, in this passage God’s wrath is not going to be 33% but 100%! It is going to be complete. There is no partial wrath of God this time. The time for repentance would be over.

This theme is found throughout the Bible. We see it in the time of Noah. When Noah built the ark, God brought all the animals and they entered the ark. Noah’s wife and his three sons their wives entered the ark also. The rains came and the waters rose. There was still time for someone else to be saved if they humbly came to Noah and pleaded to enter the ark. But they did not. They were all panicking and cursing God. Then one day something happened. The doors of the ark closed and shut Noah’s family in. (Gen 7:16) At that time, anyone who was in the ark was saved and those outside perished. Those who tried to save themselves might hold onto the rigging of the ship or sit on the roof of the ark. But eventually they would be tossed into the raging sea and perish. The point is that there is time when God’s wrath will be completed. There is a time when the door to paradise will be shut. For most of us it will when we close our eyes in death. Do not wait. It may be when Jesus comes again in glory. Let us come to Jesus today, while we can, while the way of faith and grace and God’s love is wide open for us to enter.

In verses 5-7, we can learn some spiritual things from these angels. Let’s read those verses together. “ ⁵After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. ⁶Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. ⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.”  First, we can see that these angels were in the presence of God. They came forth from the throne of God. They were dressed in clean, shining linen revealing the pure and holy purpose of their mission. They wore golden sashes around them, bringing to mind images of the priesthood. These angels were serving a holy purpose. What purpose were they serving? They were facilitating this upcoming complete destruction from God. Some may be shocked by that statement. Some are tempted to think “How could God allow this? God would never bring about this type of complete destruction. ” We tend to think only blessings come from God. But in the Book of Revelation we see that severe trials may be part of God’s divine purpose. We just need eyes to see what God is doing. In this passage, we see that these severe trials were a call to repentance.

Second, there was teamwork in heaven. Look at verse 7 again. “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.”  The seven creatures around the throne gave the bowls to the angels. God never gave them. The angels never picked them up themselves. So what are the living creatures and the angels doing? They are co-working together to serve God’s purpose. There is teamwork going on in heaven in order for God’s will to be accomplished. I thank God for co working in the work of God. In the recent Chicago Harvest Crusade there was co-working between over 200 churches. UBF co-worked. I thank God for our co-working with Triton in the Men’s and Women’s Biblical Purity Conferences. I also thank God for our co-working with DuPage UBF and DeKalb Christian Church with their Open Mic Night. The work of God can not go on without close co-working among sister churches, other area churches and between individuals. That’s an important message to God’s people living in an individualistic society.

Part ll: The Saints Around The Fiery Glassy Sea (2a)  

In John’s vision we see what is going on around the throne of God. Let’s read verses 2, “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God” This sea of glass is a vision of the throne of God. It is shown in several other areas of the Bible. Exodus 24:10 reads, “and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.” Ezekiel 1:22 reads, “Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome.” This “sea” in heaven was represented by a bronze sea that was present in the temple. It was made of bronze and was like a shallow pool where ceremonial cleansing took place. (Ex 30:17-21; 2 Kings 25:13; 1 Chronicles 18:8) But there was something different in this sea, in the vision of John. This sea was on fire and the saints of God were surrounding this sea.

In the Bible one of the purposes of the fire is to purify. Gold is purified by fire. It is made molten and the impurities float to the top and they are skimmed off and the remaining gold is made pure. These saints of God experienced much persecution and hardships before they could stand before the throne of God. It was like a purifying fire. Revelation 12:11 reads, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” These sincere believers held onto the grace of Jesus. They advertised their testimony about Jesus to a hostile world. They did not deny Jesus in the face of intense persecution. Revelation 13:10 reads, “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.” Some went into prison. Some were killed. When everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, was forced to receive a mark of the beast (Rev 13:16) they refused. They could not buy of sell. They could not buy food for their hungry kids. They couldn’t buy gas to get to work. They were singled out for persecution. They were patient and endured all of their sufferings with faith. They could do so because they trusted God’s sovereignty and remained faithful to Jesus Christ.

We may think, “How could God subject his holy people to such hardships?” Some people get bitter at God’s training and divine discipline on their lives. It is because they have a wrong perception of what is happening in their lives. They also don’t understand how God works. And so they suffer inwardly not knowing what is going on. But we can understand when we think of these hardships as God’s purifying and refining fire. God is refining you as pure gold. Malachi 3:2-4 reads, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, ⁴ and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.” Do you see God’s hand at work in your life? How do you respond to trials? Do you know that God is helping you to stand as one of his holy people in this world, starting in our schools and among our peers and co-workers?  Let’s accept all of our school struggles, financial struggles relational struggles and spiritual struggles, as God’s love for he is refining us as pure gold. May we all be one of the purified saints gathered around the throne of heaven!

Part ll: The Songs Of Moses And The Lamb (2b-4)

What were these purified and refined saints of God doing around this fiery sea of glass? Were they making Smores? Let’s read verse 2b-3a all together. “…They held harps given them by God ³and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:…” They were praising God with their musical talents and singing hymns and worship songs. They had their favorite ones, the Song of Moses and The Song of The Lamb. The song of Moses is revealed in Exodus 15:1-17. We are not going to read it now. The song of Moses was as song of deliverance. God had called his people out of slavery in Egypt. God raised up Moses as their deliverer. God sent the plagues and swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea after the Israelites crossed it. He gave his people victory over a world superpower. He then delivered them from their slave culture and mentality and raised them up to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation so that they could reveal the praises of Him who called them out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

We are not sure what the Song of the Lamb was. But it too must have been a deliverance song. Jesus came to this world as a humble servant. He loved sinners. He touched lepers and healed them. He drove evil spirits out of demon possessed people. He made the blind see and the lame walk. He strengthened bruised reeds and fanned into flames smoldering wicks. Not only that, he taught about the kingdom of God day after day. He raised disciples. He subjected himself to the way of the cross and suffered a most cruel death. He shed his blood for us so that we can be forgiven and delivered from the power of sin and death. He rose from the dead to give us a living hope in the kingdom of God. Now, anyone who repents of their sins and accepts God’s forgiveness based on Jesus shed blood is forgiven. Something supernatural happens in their hearts. They become children of God. They are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom and they are delivered from their bondage to sin. They have a new hope and a new life direction. They have strength to get up from their mats and leave their lives of sin and live for the glory of God. This is the deliverance that Jesus brings. There is a verse in one hymn, “Angels can not sing it, this song of joy and freedom. Mortals only know it, the ransomed and the free.” This is the theme and the contents of the song of the Lamb. We need to be able to sing the song of deliverance, even now. We need to know the deep grace of Jesus. How has Jesus delivered you in the past? How is he delivering and keeping you now? How will he deliver you in the future? How has he healed you and made you into a new creation? How has he set you free from the power of sin and death? I hope that all of you may be able to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb from your hearts, from personal experience.

The short ditty recorded in this passage gives us the essence the songs that were sung around the throne of God. Let’s read verses 3b and 4, “   “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.  ⁴Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” These believers did not doubt God’s love nor did they question his judgment. When they knew the grace of God, they could have eyes to see that God’s ways, all of them, are true and just. They accepted God sovereignty, that he is the King of kings. They also could see the ultimate goal of God’s deliverance and saving grace in their lives. It is to bring glory to Jesus and for all nations to come and worship the Lamb of God.  Sometimes our worship gets self centered. We think about God’s love to us and about how God wants to bless us. Yes God loves you. Yes he cares for you. But he has a higher goal than your own personal salvation. He wants to reveal his glory through your deliverance and through you he wants to help others to come to him and worship him. Let us pray that students at Triton, DuPage and NIU can come to Jesus and worship him as we share the gospel of God’s grace and deliverance to them.

Part lll: Standing In The Presence Of God

In this passage are further images of the temple. Look at verse 5, ^“After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.”  The tabernacle of the testimony is the Greek translation for the tent of meeting. The tabernacle was the tent that the Israelites worshipped in for about 450 years. It was portable and had walls made up of the skins of sea cows. In Samuel’s time (around 1100 B.C.) it was set up at Shiloh. It was were the priests made sacrifices and offered up prayers. It was where the ark of God was. Only the priests could enter into the inner sanctums of the tabernacle for this is where then Holy of holies dwelt. John’s vision was referring to this.

God’s purpose was set. Look at verse 8, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” God is glorious, all-powerful and almighty. No one could enter the temple until the complete plagues were poured out. In short, when God’s justice was satisfied then people could enter in God’s holy presence.
We learn something very important about God. God is holy. He is just. He loves us but he can not just let sin go unpunished. His righteousness and holiness demands that sin must be paid …paid for by the shedding of blood. That is what the whole sacrificial system, established in the Old Testament, was trying to tell us. We should pay the penalty for the crimes we have committed against God though the shedding of our blood. That is how serious sin is. We should be in Jesus’ place because of our sins. But Jesus shed his pure and holy blood on the cross for us. He bore in his body the punishment that was due us because of sins. Because Jesus blood was sinless, pure and holy, the shedding of his blood satisfies God justice and righteousness. He can now say, “I forgive you my child.” God can forgive the lowliest of sinners now and yet not compromise his holiness for the price has been paid. When Jesus died on the cross the curtain to the temple as torn in two from top to bottom .The way to the holy of holies was open wide. Now we can freely come before God. We can pray. We can ask questions and receive his counsel. We can just rest in his presence and his love. Those who have tasted God’s deliverance can stand before the throne of God and come to God just as they are. That is the basis of these saints standing around the fiery sea at the throne of God. That is our basis for coming to Jesus even today. Thank God for completely satisfying his justice through the blood Jesus and allowing us to enter into his presence. May your hearts be filled with a burning desire to stand before God’s holy presence both now and into eternity!

In today’s passage we learned from the angel’s how to serve God’s mission, with holy dedication and by co-working with others. We also discovered the purpose of many of our trials of life. They are there to refine our faith as pure gold. Most of all we learn the importance of knowing about God’s deliverance in our lives from personal experience. If you can not sing this song from personal experience, ask God to reveal it to you. It is imperative that you know the deep grace of God personally. And finally let our hearts be filled with a heavenly hope to be with the rest of God’s people, around his throne, praising him and worshipping him throughout eternity.

Part 1: The Seven Angels Holding The Seven Bowls (1, 5-8)

1 . What were the seven angels assigned to do? (1) Why were these plagues going to be “last’?

Compare with the seven trumpets? (8:7) Why did God hold back then and not now? (Gen

7:16)

2.   Read vs. 5-8.  What does it show that the seven angels with the seven plagues come out of the

temple? (6)  What does it signify that they wear golden sashes and are given the seven golden

bowls? (7)

Part ll: The Song Of The Lamb (2-4)

1. 3.       Describe the crystal sea. (2-4; Exod. 24:10; Ezek. 1:22) Where have we seen such imagery before? (Rev 4:6) Why was the sea burning? What did the victorious believers do? (2) How could they overcome the furious persecution of the beasts and his image? (12:11, 13:10)

1. 4.       What songs did they sing? What did the song of Moses celebrate? (4; Ex 15:1-21) Is this song the actual song of Moses? What could the song of the Lamb be? How is God delivering you now? What can we learn about God’s judgment from their singing? (3,4) What will be the results of God’s judgment? (4b)

1. 5.       What is the tabernacle of the tent of the Testimony? (5; Ex 40:34-35) Why must the seven plagues be poured out? (6-8) What does it mean for believers to be able to enter this heavenly temple? (8)