Revelation Chapter 15

The Revelation of Yahshua Christ

Chapter 15

XV 1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wondrous, seven messengers having the seven last plagues, that in them the wrath of Yahweh is fulfilled. 2 And I saw like a glass sea mixed with fire, and those prevailing from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name standing upon the glass sea holding lyres from Yahweh. 

The glass sea mixed with fire represents the trials of this life, the “fire” which each of us must pass through. That this fire represents these earthly trials which we endure is evident at 1 Peter 1:3-10, which states (from the KJV): “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you [here it is evident that Peter is speaking only to the children of Israel, the subjects of all of these prophecies exclusively]: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” So we see that the trials of this world are indeed the fires which we must pass through. This is also evident in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 where we find: “11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of Yahweh, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Your works are great and wonderful, Prince Yahweh Almighty! Your ways are righteous and true, King of the Nations! 4 Who should not be afraid, Prince, and honor Your Name? Because You are the only Holy One, because all the nations shall come and they shall worship before You, because Your judgments have been made manifest!”

These people are not the one hundred and forty-four thousand of chapters 7 and 14. Neither are they the innumerable multitude of chapter 7. Rather, they are a new multitude – those Israelites from among the Nations who in these last days have prevailed over the beast by not worshipping the beast. All of the Nations which worship Yahweh are, in the Biblical context, all of those nations of people which are written in the book of life – since all others shall go into the Lake of Fire. The distinction must remain between the sheep nations and the goat nations of Matthew chapter 25. The sheep nations go onto eternal reward, and the goat nations go on to eternal punishment – the Lake of Fire, which in this case is different from the trials of fire. The Lake of Fire represents permanent destruction, since the beast, the false prophet, Hell and Death also face that same fate.

5 And after these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony opened in heaven, 6 and the seven messengers having the seven plagues came out from the temple, clothed in clean bright linen and girt about the chest with gold belts. 7 And one from among the four living creatures had given to the seven messengers seven gold bowls filled with the wrath of Yahweh who lives for the eternal ages. 8 And the temple filled with smoke from the effulgence of Yahweh and from His power, and no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven messengers are completed.

The tabernacle of testimony must be related to the “ark of His testament” mentioned at the end of Chapter 11. There it was remarked that the Word of God is the true ark of His testament, since it holds all of the promises made to Israel, and in that section of the Revelation we saw the opening of the Little Book – the Reformation and the deliverance of the Scripture into the hands of men, and the Two Witnesses, Israel and Judah, who fulfilled their testimony by fulfilling the prophecies concerning them: that they would indeed turn back to Yahweh and His Word through Christ. Their adoption of Christianity and their embrace of the Word of God in the Reformation was indeed the fulfillment of such prophecies. One example is found at Hosea 2:7, speaking of the deported Israelites: “And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband [Yahweh]; for then was it better with me than now.”

In Chapter 16, with the seven vials, we return to the last portions of the historical prophecies in the Revelation, which have already been accomplished, and which cover the last age leading up to the fall of Babylon.