Nazarene Commentary 2000©

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
A VICTORIOUS SONGS AND THEN PLAGUES

[“Temple Worship”]
Key Word: Temple
Theme Verse: 2

THE SEVEN FINAL PLAGUES WHICH END GOD’S ANGER.

#366. Chapter fifteen begins with a breathtaking vision of the victorious Saints who endured faithfully that Great Oppression when the wild Sea Beast and the False Prophet, in total global control, force all people to either accept the engraved number or face execution and prison. We are now presented with the scene of these victorious conquerors standing on the gleaming floor of the Throne-room within the Celestial Temple. It must be a glorious sight with the floor shining like a sea of glass reflecting all the heavenly illumination from the Throne with its diamond, ruby and emerald hues.

#367. That the Saints are all in heaven before the Seven Plagues is shown it what follows.

Revelation 15:1 – 7 Angels with 7 Plagues

RV15:1 And I saw another sign in the Celestialum (great and wonderful):733 7 angels having the 7 last plagues734 because in these the anger of The God is finished.735 [Numbers 22:22]
733 Great and wonderful: The grandest description of a “sign” thus far.
734 The 7 last plagues: These will end the Apocalypse.
735 The anger of The God is finished: Compare Revelation 6:17; 14:9; 19:5. “The anger of God” only occurs once in the Bible at Numbers 22:22. It occurs five times in Revelation. [Revelation 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1] The anger of God existed for at least 1,500 years until Revelation promised an end to it here.

Revelation 15:2-4 – Saints Sing a Victory Hymn

RV15:2 And I saw a sea of glass mixed with fire736 and those coming out737 of their conquest of the wild Sea Beast,738 and the Image of the wild Sea Beast,739 and the number of its name.740 The victorious stood upon the sea of glass741 holding harps of The God.742
736 A sea of glass mixed with fire: This may be the floor of the Throne-room. The colors reflected would be jasper (diamond with its rainbow bursts), ruby, and emerald. (Revelation 4:6) Mix these and there is a scene of shimmering fire.
737 Those coming out: Compare Revelation 7:14.
738 The wild Sea Beast: Compare notes on Revelation chapters 13, 17. Is this the Eighth King who had the death stroke and yet revived, or ascended out of the Abyss?
739 The Image of the wild Sea Beast: These victorious ones would have to be those Saints contemporary with the Great Oppression and the Rapture to follow. They would be very similar, if not identical, with the Large Crowd of Revelation 7:9-17. Compare Revelation 13:5-7, 10, 15-18.
740 The number of its name: They have refused the engraving of 666 and thus “endured.” (Revelation 13:10, 11)
741 The victorious stood upon the sea of glass: Therefore, standing on the reflective floor of the Throne-room just as the Large Crowd stand before the Throne at Revelation 7.9. That the 144,000 and the Large Crowd are the same is shown by DNTT, Vol 2, pages 695-6: “… 12 x 12,000 = 144,000 who are sealed… Thus the number 144,000 does not denote a numerical limitation of those who are sealed; it is symbolizes the final perfection of the people of God. (cf. also Revelation 7:9). In this respect when John sees them, as opposed to hearing the number of the sealed, they are ‘a great multitude which no man can number, from all tribes, peoples and tongues’ (cf. Revelation 7:9 with Revelation 7:4).”
742 Holding harps of The God: Compare Revelation 14:3 as these are the 144,000. (Revelation 5:8)
RV15:3 And they are singing the song of Moses the slave of The God743 [Exodus 15:1] and the song of the Lamb,744 saying: “Great and wonderful are Your works,745[Psalm 86:9] YHWH, God Almighty.746 Righteous and true are Your ways,747 [Deuteronomy 32:4] the King throughout all periods of time.748 [Jeremiah 10:7, 10]
743 The song of Moses the slave of The God: Compare the song of Moses following the plagues on Egypt and the salvation through the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:1-21)
744 The song of the Lamb: Compare Revelation 5:8 with Revelation 7:10.
745 Great and wonderful are Your works: This is a quote from the LXX at Psalm 86:10; 92:5; 98:1.
746 YHWH, God Almighty: The source for this phrase at Psalm 86:10 does not use YHWH, but “God.” The Greek text has KYRIE HO THEOS. Some would want “Jehovah” here.
747 Righteous and true are Your ways: Or, just. From Psalm 145:17 where YHWH occurs. Compare Deuteronomy 32:5; Psalm 145:17.
748 The King throughout all periods of time: Compare Exodus 15:18.
RV15:4 Who will not fear You,749 [Jeremiah 10:7] YHWH,750 and not glorify Your Name, [Psalm 86:12] because You alone are loyal? Because all the [non-Jewish] nations will come751 [Psalm 86:9] and they will worship in Your sight because You have made Your righteous decrees manifest.” [Psalm 86:9]
749 Who will not fear You: This entire refrain is a multiple conflate of Jeremiah 10:7. YHWH occurs in the context of that passage suggesting this song is addressed to YHWH here.
750 YHWH: This may be a location where YHWH would appear, judging from the context of Jeremiah 10:7. The Greek lacks “the” before Lord (KYRIE). Note the use of the noma sagrada is in the mouths of celestial beings.
751 All the [non-Jewish] nations will come: This is from Psalm 86:9. Compare Psalm 2:1, 2, 5, 10-12. These “nations” are those of Revelation 20:3, 8; 21:24 (Lamsa); and, likely the same as Zechariah 14:3, 14, 16.

#368. This victorious group sings the song only they could learn through their personal experience in surviving the Great Oppression and thereafter raptured out of danger into the Presence of their Lord and King. This song is called “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb” and it calls for universal fear of God Almighty and asks who will refuse now fear His Name. Those of the nations on earth are invited to come and worship Him because His righteous judgments have been revealed to mankind. This call to fear God reminds us of the angelic announcement in the atmosphere at Revelation 14:4. What affect would all of this have on those surviving “nations”? What is about to happen to earth’s “nations”?

#369. The time is here for the preparation of the seven angels with their seven plagues. They come out of the Divine Sanctuary which now fills with smoke even as the ancient tabernacle did. For the following period, all are barred from the Divine Sanctuary. The glorified Church is already inside and any possibility for others to enter it are closed for the moment. What horrors do these seven plagues spell for mankind on earth now emptied of all “Christians”?

Revelation 15:5-8 – Angels Leave Temple with Plagues

RV15:5 And after these things I saw and the Divine Habitat752 of the Celestial Tent of the Witness753 [Acts 7:44] in the Celestialum was opened.
752 Divine Habitat: Or, temple, sanctuary, shrine. The NAOS of Revelation 7:15.
753 Tent of the Witness: Compare Revelation 7:15; 11:2, 19; 21:3. The phrase “tent of the witness” is from Acts 7:44. (Hebrews 8.5) This is the tabernacle of Moses as it is throughout the Apocalypse and not the temples of either Solomon or Herod. It is always “in heaven.”
RV15:6 And 7 angels754 having 7 plagues, [Leviticus 26:21] clothed in clean bright linen,755 and girded about their breasts with golden girdles, came out of the Divine Habitat.
754 Angels: In the Apocalypse angels come and go from the Temple or Divine Habitat, showing it is not the edifice of only the Saints. The Temple (NAOS) is in existence before the Saints ever reach there. Compare Revelation 11:2.
755 Clothed in clean bright linen: Compare Revelation 7:9, 14; 19:8, 14. See Revelation 1:13 regarding the “girdle.””
RV15:7 And one of the 4 Living Creatures756 gave to the 7 angels 7 golden bowls757 full of the anger of The God who is living throughout all future periods of time.
756 The 4 Living Creatures: The four ZOA of Revelation 4:6.
757 Golden bowls: Compare Revelation 5:8.
RV15:8 And The Divine Habitat filled with the smoke from the glory of The God758 [Isaiah 6:4] and from His power. No one was able to enter into the Divine Habitat759 [Exodus 40:34, 35] until the 7 plagues of the 7 angels are finished.760
758 The Divine Habitat filled with the smoke from the glory of The God: This is likely a conflate paraphrase from 1 Kings 8:10 and Isaiah 6:4. Compare also Exodus 40:34; Leviticus 16:2; 2 Chronicles 5:14.
759 No one was able to enter into the Divine Habitat: This was the case when the High Priest offered up incense in the tabernacle’s Most High. No other priest could be serving within the tabernacle. It is interesting that the NAOS is now closed until these plagues of divine anger are finished or fulfilled. The fact the Saints are seen in heaven before the Throne at Revelation 15:2 may prove the Saints are already within the Temple having “come out” of the Great Oppression (Revelation 7:14) and called out of Babylon before the plagues occur. (Revelation 18:4) These plagues come upon the Sea Beast and Babylon the Great. (Revelation 22:18)
760 Until the 7 plagues of the 7 angels are finished: Compare also Revelation 10:7.