Revelation 15:1-3: Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. 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 the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
"Great and marvelous are Your works,Now the world's "harvest" is ended. For long ages God has shown mercy to earth's guilty inhabitants. But this longsuffering and patience are only a measure of the terrible extent of His wrath once it bursts forth unmingled with mercy. But not until the world finally turns its back on the grace of God can these plagues begin to fall.
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!"
So long have we been used to enjoying the mercy of God that we find it hard to imagine what will happen once that shelter is taken away. The final wrath will be as irresistible as the swirling waters of a giant dam pouring forth from broken walls that once held back the flood. As wars, riots, storms, earth-quakes and other disasters have occasionally disturbed the calm of our lives we have had a little taste of what is to come. But until now, mercy has always been mixed with wrath. When the seven last plagues come, they will be different, for there will be no mercy mixed with them.
John shows us that there will be one group of people who will not need to drink of the wrath of God in these plagues. They have followed the Lamb "wherever He goes," and like Christ have preferred to die rather than to join in rebellion against God. They stand on God's great parade-ground, the "sea of glass" before His throne (see also Revelation 4:6). They are a demonstration of His power to save. These are the 144,000 whom we met in chapter 14.
Some of them have once belonged to the great apostasy itself, for they have gained the victory over the "beast"; others have been gathered out from the great fallen churches, for they have gained the victory over the "image" to the beast (see chapter 13, 14, 15); all have gotten the victory over the "mark of the beast" because they were willing to lose friends, money, and business, even life itself, rather than to disobey the commandments of God. Still others have gained the victory over "the number of his name," the very hierarchy of the "beast." As the "everlasting gospel" is proclaimed to all the world in the last great crisis, men and women highly placed as bishops, cardinals, and nuns, will gladly yield themselves to Christ to follow Him all the way.
These 144,000 will have gone through the deepest experience of trial of any human beings on the earth with the exception of Christ Himself. Their joy of victory will be like that of Moses when God brought him and his people safely through the Red Sea (see Exodus 15:1-19). Because they have known the fellowship of Christ in His sufferings, they are privileged to sing the "song of the Lamb." Do not imagine that your personal suffering has no good purpose; believe that Christ is close to you and understands.
Revelation 15:4-8: 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.
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. 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.
As we write these lines, the time has not yet fully come when all the judgments of the Lord are made "manifest." There are still mysteries we cannot understand. But the one who has learned to trust in Him can know by faith that eventually "all nations shall come and worship" before the Lord. Even Satan will at last bow his knee before Christ, and acknowledge that God has been just in the great battle with evil.
Again John leads us into the heavenly sanctuary where Christ is our High Priest working day and night to give repentance to every sinner. Before it is possible for the seven last plagues to be poured out, He must cease His work as Saviour and High Priest. That is why John says, "No one was able to enter the temple, till the seven plagues . . . were completed." Christ is still a man, the God-man. So long as He bears the world's guilt in the sanctuary, full retribution cannot fall on a guilty world.
Just before Jesus leaves the sanctuary to make way for the pouring out of the plagues, He pauses to pronounce this decree: "He who is unjust let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still" (Revelation 22:11).
From that moment on, it is too late to seek forgiveness, too late to confess. Even those who gain the victory over the beast, his image, and his mark, must now live without a High Priest or Intercessor to plead for them. The reason is simple: The ministry of Christ as High Priest has at that time come to an end. Now He will lay aside His priestly garments and clothe Himself with the robes of the King of kings and Lord of lords. That is why it will then be too late for the confession and forgiveness of sin, too late for our robes to be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Now is the time for that blessed work!
"Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people upon earth. When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing. . . . Then the church which our Lord at His coming is to receive to Himself will be a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing."