Deal With Dale

Chapter Sanctuary

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The Scroll of Revelation, 25 - The Final Judgments, Part 1

The judgment of the seven bowls.

The end has come and gone again in chapter 14. Any further talk of judgment must be a close-up, or review, of something already covered. That is where the bowls come in. Now, in the sixth seal and seventh trumpet days, in which the seven bowls are poured out, the intensity is raised even more. You will recall that the first four seals spoke of 25% and the first six trumpets spoke of 33%. But now, at the grand climax of it all, the figure is 100%.

The bowls are where the wrath of God finds its ultimate fulfillment. Reading through Revelation as though it were chronological would cause one to believe that the wrath falls at least three times, but in fact this is one event recorded in three places: 6:17, at the end of the 6th seal, "...the great day of His wrath has come."; 11:18, during the days of the 7th trumpet, "...Your wrath has come"; and now, 15:1, "...the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete."

Introduction to angels and saints (15:1-4). So, we are now talking of the period before the end of the seventh trumpet. Notice that believers who overcome are mentioned first. Such is the pattern in chapter 7:9-17. The overcomers of 15:2 are the same saints as those who "come out of great tribulation" in 7:14 during the sixth seal. They are identical also to the ones who "overcame him by the blood of the Lamb" mentioned just after the sounding of the seventh trumpet, 12:11. This is a continuing theme. Those who die in Jesus are welcomed home. There is a praise service when they arrive. But not all are yet present. In chapter 16, during the height of the bowl judgment, Jesus calls out to His own a warning, an encouragement to be faithful (16:15).

15:2, the sea of glass. Mention of this beautiful part of the Throne Room and the harps takes us all the way back to 4:6. A Heavenly scene precedes the revealing of the Scroll in chapters 4 and 5. There is "Heaven" also before the trumpet soundings of 8:1-6. More Heaven comes at the proclamation of the three angels, 14:1-5. And now still more at this pre-wrath scene. One more view is to come: chapter 19:1-9 shows what is happening in Heaven just before Jesus comes! It is so important that readers of this book keep their eyes fixed on these Heavenly portraits, so as to understand the Holiness and power of Almighty God and His justice in doing what He does.

15:2, antichrist. Notice the tie-in to chapter 13's discussion of the man of sin here at the end of verse 2. His person, his image, his mark, his number, are all defeated.

15:3-4, the song of Moses, the song of the Lamb. There are three songs of Moses recorded in Scripture. One is in Exodus 15:1-21, a song of deliverance from Egypt and victory. The introductory words call it "the song of Moses and the children of Israel". It is probably the one meant here because a portion of the two passages are the same: Revelation 15:4a and Exodus 15:14. Another song, and this one is specifically belonging to Moses, called a prayer of his, is what we know of as Psalm 90. This is a song of the eternity of God, and the frailty of man. In my opinion this would also be an appropriate message here. In both cases, the phrase "song of Moses" means "the song composed and/or sung by Moses." Deuteronomy 32 records a 3rd Mosaical song, a history lesson sung before entry into the Promised Land.

But what of the "song of the Lamb"? Except for the fact that all Scripture is God-breathed, and therefore "of the Lamb", I am not aware of a song sung particularly by Jesus, or composed by Him for the church to sing. In the book of Revelation, we have already seen in 5:8-10, the "new song" sung by the living creatures and elders to the Lamb who has taken the Book and redeemed us to God and made us kings and priests to reign with Him on earth. And more to the point, that same group of praisers being discussed here in 15 is singing a song to the Lamb because of His salvation. Is this the "song of the Lamb"? Or is there coming to His people a song created and sung specifically by Jesus? That God sings, is more than suggested in Isaiah 5:1-6, and Hebrews 2:12.

15:5-16:1, the directive given. The mood changes in Heaven. The praise meeting is suspended, and from the inner sanctuary of the Temple, meaning perhaps the very presence of God as He really is, come seven most final angels (15:6). In passing, note the golden "belt" or "sash". Jesus Himself wears this heavenly gold in 1:13, and, it would seem, in Daniel 15:6, speaking of "a certain man." The dress of Heaven seems to be both uniform and glorious.

There is tension in the air. An announcement is made that the Temple is to be off-limits until this business on Earth is settled (15:8). Smoke fills the Temple to emphasize the point. God's mercy has waited long enough, and must now become, as far as the damned are concerned, a thing of the past. It is a Day of Judgment. Of order. God's order shall now be brought to the planet. Forever we shall praise Him for His mercy, but the invitation to a grace-filled salvation is now closed.

15:5, The unusual joining of "temple", "tabernacle", and "testimony" needs to be considered. Where have we heard those three words before, and what do they mean now?

The Temple was always the place where the glory of God could be revealed. It was never meant to be a pattern for modern church buildings, either in name or structure. It is a model of the Spirit-filled church, the Body of Christ, and Christ Himself.

Yet even the word Temple does not say it all. The Jewish Temple had a very holy place, and twice in the Book of Revelation we are privileged to gaze inside, to ascertain what God might say to us from there. Did I say twice? See 11:19, at the very end of the Trumpet soundings, a verse sounding very much like the one before us talks of an open Temple, wherein is seen the "ark of the covenant." Presently (15:5) we see the "tabernacle of the Testimony." It seems to me these two phrases are one, and this event is one. Where the trumpets have left off the bowls will now begin. Chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15:1-4 are merely close-ups and asides. The train of thought now continues, and 15:5 is the signal.

Why "testimony."? This word is used in reference to Temple furnishings, but very rarely. Its first mention is Exodus 16:34. Most of the time after this it is used in connection with the ark. The ark of the testimony seems to be a synonym for the ark of the Covenant. In Exodus 25:16, coupled with 31:18, we see the ten commandments engraved on two tablets of stone being carefully placed in this wooden box. From that time on, this is the box of the Decalogue, the box of the Covenant, the "ark" of the "testimony". Here in Revelation it could be that the other name for a portable "house", tabernacle, is used for the box. Or, this is the "testimony" in the tent of worship.

Whichever understanding is meant, before God's final judgment we see Heaven's doors open, the Presence of God manifested, and the heart of God, His very Word, seen to be the driving force of all. Soon the Tabernacle of God, wherein is His Word, will be with man, forever (Revelation 21:5). This is a transition time, not only in the Book of Revelation, but concerning all history. God has loved this evil planet so much. When He made it, He knew He had made a good thing. Now He shall cleanse it of the evil, and begin the process of moving in. Hallelujah. A great day coming!

The seven bowls (16:2-21):

The first bowl (16:2). All who have received the antichrist "mark" receive also a mark from heaven: a foul loathsome sore. Or is this the outcome of the original "mark of the beast"? Does this morally poisonous identification with antichrist prove to be contaminating to the body also? Is the "chip" a technological carcinogen? The believers are of course exempt from this judgment, since they have not been appointed to wrath. And if we are on the right trail about the "sore" here, it is obvious why the believers do not manifest any health problems.

The second bowl (16:3). ALL sea creatures die! Whether this is a magnification of the second trumpet, a separate but similar judgment, or an altogether different phenomenon simply is not explained. All we know is we have jumped from 33% to 100% of sea creatures. All dead.

The third bowl (16:4). Rivers are fully contaminated. They become blood, in vengeance for the blood of holy men that has been shed. Now, I understand the significance of "water of life" in a spiritual sense. We taste of it regularly in the Lord. But I am equally convinced of the literalness of Revelation 22:1-2, connected with Old Testament prophecies such as Ezekiel's (47:1-12), that speak of a healing water that shall fill the earth, the new earth God creates out of the horror of the old. The usable water supply, not overly abundant in many areas of the world as I write this, will one day become virtually nil. This, the pride of the blue planet, will be a knock-out punch to civilization. And for a literal earth to continue on into the Millennium, literally healed waters must be available.

Praise break (16:5-7). It is always time to praise the Lord. Oh, men will be cursing God by now, blaming and hating the people of God who remain (yes, they will still be here!). But in Heaven all is still well, and proper. God is just in all He does. He owes nothing to anyone but judgment. Those who did not want His mercy will now receive that judgment. Yes, the world shed the blood of Your precious people. Let them drink blood. It is proper. It is good. The spirit of David in the Psalms has returned for this hour. God's enemies who continue to be God's enemies deserve what they shall receive. Let us not sympathize with their evil. Their hearts were corrupt, they wanted nothing of God in those hearts. God now acknowledges their desires.

Look for Bob Faulkner's creations on http://professorenglish.org There you will find a variety of Scripture studies, including a through-the-Bible course, in video, audio, and text. There are works about the Christ, the antichrist, the rapture, and more.

For those who love North Korea, I have created http://chosunhouse.com.

As for me, I'm a man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving in tentmaker style with my wife and my local church in Chicagoland.

Contact me at diakonos3@gmail.com.

About the Author

for not of this world..from those of this world...expect little if any sanctuary--except under the cover of...?

poetry category
a little more cover from stifling of this world killing encouragement
ah poetic license tis harder to kill
but rest unassured
they could hunt you down
like dogs
outside of the sanctuary
but within the play of thought
of a play of thought
one might smile a bit
frown a bit
at those of the world
still out there
something to think about
romans 13th chapter
;yahoo bot thought ?
the category it would choose..
i think was travel?
hmmm i dont get that one...
but that is yahoo bot thought for ya
maybe
doesnt really get poetry:)
shoot indelible ink
cant change it now
hows come
on my list of this question asked
it indicates
there is 1
to continue the above detail
before for some reason i got cut off..

little bit too ambiguous, but not enough to make it bad.