Victory Over The Beast – Revelation 15

Revelation 15:1: “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.”

The Lord was gracious to John and to us to give us so many revelations of His kingdom. In Revelation 12:1, John wrote, “Now a great sign appeared in heaven...” In Revelation 12:3, he wrote, “And another sign appeared in heaven...” In Revelation 15:1, the seven last angels having the seven last plagues of God is another “great and marvelous” sign.

The word for sign in the original Greek text is σημεῖον. In the New Testament, a sign is an extraordinary phenomenon or portent that points beyond itself to a deeper spiritual reality or divine authority. In Modern Greek, the word transitions to σημείο which commonly translates to point, spot, or site. The “sign” notifies those who see it that something is about to happen.

In Joshua 6, when the Lord had seven priests blow seven trumpets for seven days as they marched around the city of Jericho, God was indicating to the people of Jericho that they needed to surrender to Him lest they perish. Rahab saw the sign, acted upon it, and was spared from destruction. She ended up in the genealogy of Jesus while the majority of her people perished on the seventh day when the seven priests blew their trumpets for the seventh time.

Jesus completes what Joshua began. Joshua’s commission was to remove idolators from the Promised Land and take possession of it. Joshua was unable to completely rid the land of idolators. Jesus, however, succeeds. He clears the entire planet of idolators when He returns.

In Revelation 10:7, the Lord says, “In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.”

In Revelation 21:9, “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to” John and told him, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

In Leviticus 26:14-17, the Lord said to Israel, “If you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.”

Then, in Leviticus 26:18, the Lord says, “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.” Then, He issues more plagues.

In Leviticus 26:21, the Lord says, “If you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.”

In Leviticus 26:23-24, the Lord says, “if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.”

In Leviticus 26:27-28, the Lord says, “‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury, and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.”

In the Book of Revelation, there are seven seal judgments, seven trumpet judgments and seven bowl judgments. The Lord releases a series of hardships to persuade people to repent, and then, lets up, and gives humanity time to respond. If people don’t respond, He releases another set of judgments. His goal is to save souls from the greatest disaster which is eternal hell.

Revelation 15:2: “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.”

How did these people gain the victory over the beast, his image, his mark and the number of his name? According to Revelation 12:11, people overcome Satan and his cohorts “by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

The sea of glass alludes to the water basin before the entrance of Solomon’s temple mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23. In Exodus 30:17-21, it was used for the purification of the priests. They washed in the water before entering the holy temple.

In the New Testament, the sea of glass symbolizes the baptismal water in which a person who believes in Jesus and professes Him is baptized. In John 3:4-6, Jesus spoke of the necessity to be born of water and the Spirit. Some denominations refer to the baptismal waters as the womb of the Church from which a new life in Christ springs forth. A person’s physical birth begins with the flow of embryonic water. A person’s spiritual rebirth happens as he or she professes faith in Christ and is baptized with water in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The fire in the sea symbolizes the baptism of fire by the Holy Spirit mentioned in Acts 1:8 and 2:4. They overcame evil spirits by the power of a greater Spirit. Thus, they play harps in worship unto the Lamb and unto God Almighty. In Exodus 15:20-21, after God gave Israel the victory over Pharaoh and his army, Miriam led Israel’s women to play timbrels, dance and sing praise to the Lord. The Spirit-filled life is characterized by lively and joyful worship unto the Lord.

The vision of the sea of glass confirms the importance of baptism. In Exodus 30:17-21, the Lord warned Aaron and his sons (the priests) to wash in the basin before entering the tabernacle lest they die. The goal of Christ is to make us priests and kings unto God so we should happily be baptized in water.

Revelation 15:3-4: “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.’”

In Revelation 14:14-16, “One like the Son of Man... thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.” This was the ingathering of the people of God. What do they do when they reach the shore of the crystal sea? They sing “the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.” They are not singing their own praises. No, they are giving all the glory to God.

Jesus Christ deemed those around the crystal sea to be good grapes. They feared the Lord. They believed that God’s ways were just and true. They did not take the mark of the beast. They glorified the Name of the Lord. People from every nation were with God worshiping Him. They leaned upon the Lord and He saved them.

“They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” Joyful songs of worship and thanksgiving unto God are the proper response to all of His goodness.

They sing, “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty.” In Psalm 111:2, the Psalmist wrote, “The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.”

In Deuteronomy 32:4, some of the words in the song of Moses about God are: “He is the Rock, His work is perfect. For all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice. Righteous and upright is He.”

They ask, “Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name?” In Jeremiah 10:7, the prophet wrote, “Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.”

The chief purpose of humankind is to glorify God. When we are healed by the Lord from our sin, we take pleasure in worshipping Him. Then, we want to do as Hebrews 13:15 says, “offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name.”

Revelation 15:5-6: “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 the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.”

The pure bright linen and gold chest sashes match the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:13. White and gold symbolize holiness and righteousness. The coming judgments are holy and just.

The “tabernacle of the testimony” refers to the portable sanctuary built by Moses under God’s direction, which housed the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments tablets.

In Exodus 40:24-34, the Septuagint (LXX) uses the same Greek terms as Revelation 15:5 for “tabernacle of the testimony” to describe the finished tabernacle being filled with God’s glory.

In Revelation 11:19, “the temple of God was also opened in heaven.” “The ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” The Ark of the Covenant was an item in the earthly temple.

In Hebrews 9:24, the Bible states, “Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” The earthly tabernacle was a temporary, physical teaching tool designed to illustrate God’s holiness. In Revelation 15:5, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven is open.

In Revelation 15:6, the temple of the tabernacle testimony is opened for seven angels to receive the seven golden bowls filled with seven plagues.

Revelation 15:7-8: “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.”

In Revelation 15:7, seven bowls full of the wrath of God are mentioned. These seven bowls of wrath are connected to the heavenly censers mentioned in Revelation 8:3-5.

In Revelation 8:3-5, an angel having a golden censer, stood at the golden altar, and was given much incense to “offer it with the prayers of all the saints.” The golden altar of incense was another piece of furniture in the earthly temple. The smoke of the incense is mixed with the prayers of the saints. The smoke and prayers ascend before God. An angel filled his censer with fire from the altar and threw it to the earth. The golden bowls of incense “which are the prayers of the saints” are also mentioned in Revelation 5:8.

In Revelation 15:7, one of the four living creatures gives to the seven angels the seven golden bowls of wrath. The four living creatures are very active in the end times judgments on earth.

In Revelation 4:6-8, the four living creatures are around God’s throne praising God continuously. In Revelation 5:6-14, they worship the Lamb, holding harps and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. In Revelation 6:1-8, each one in succession calls to John, saying, “Come and see” as seals 1-4 are opened. In Revelation 7:11, they worship God with a multitude of people that no one can number. In Revelation 14:3, they are near God’s throne during the song of the 144,000. In Revelation 19:4, they worship God after God avenges the blood of His servants shed by Babylon.

In Revelation 15:7, one of the four living creatures gives to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God. At that moment, the temple is filled with smoke from God’s glory and from His power. No one is able to enter the temple until the seven last plagues are completed.

In Psalm 18:6-19, David describes God’s response to his prayer as earth shaking. A devouring fire proceeds from God’s mouth. He thunders from heaven with hailstones and coals of fire. His arrows scatter the foe. He delivers David’s soul from hatred. He brings David to a broad place.

Knowing what we know from the Word of God, we need not wait until all these things come to pass to sing a new song to the Lord. If we have been continuously singing songs of lament, we can now switch to songs of victory. The Lord is surely going to bring to pass all that He promised. The crime syndicates of this world are coming to an end. The devil and his cohorts are condemned. Christ is coming! Our Lord Jesus Christ shall reign forever and ever. This life is comparable to a vapor that appears for a moment and is gone in the next, it will soon be over, and we will live forever and ever in paradise with God.