Two Introductory Scenes. In this introductory chapter we see the following: 1. The glorified church in heaven 1-4. 2. The source of the seven bowls 5-8. 1. THE GLORIFIED CHURCH IN HEAVEN “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous; seven angels having seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete” [1]. This is the core of the third series, God shows us another sign, this great sign is the wonderful plans of God for man. He deals with us in every matter, uses gentleness and force; kindness and firmness, leniency and punishment. All that for the sake of the people’s good and salvation, if they turn to Him showing repentance. In any way, this sign, that shows God's wrath to its fullness, and reveals the bitterness the world is going to taste because of evil, he saw “in heaven,” i.e. it does not happen accidentally or without planning, but it comes from heaven. The Lord hastens to bring the believers through the Apostle's person, to see how the state of the Church is going to be in her triumph and glory, that she might not get confused when she sees the bitter punishments, so he says: “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. And 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” [2-4]. He moves them up to see themselves as conquerors over the devil, especially those who live at the time of persecution of the Antichrist. They will see themselves as conquerors of the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name. How are they going to be? 1. Standing on the sea of glass: as a sea of glass mixed with fire. We have seen before that the sea of glass which is before the throne indicates baptism. Without it no one can cross over to Him, who is seated on the throne, to be in His bosom. As the talk here is mainly directed to people who taste the bitterness, during the period of the Antichrist as God says: “For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be” (Mark 13:19). That is the reason why He showed the sea mixed with fire of temptations they go through. 2. Having harps of God: They are victorious have gone through all the days of 7 their expatriation. The time of escape, pain, and grief has gone, and now they are “standing,” visible in public, holding the harps of victory and joy. The harps are not theirs, but the “harps of God,” His reward to those who victor on His behalf. He makes from the soul and the body a harp, that praises Him with a divine tune, and a spiritual heavenly praise of His inspiration. It is worth noticing, that the victorious mentioned here are those who “have the victory over the beast,” by being the last group of militants on earth. This shows us clearly the eternal glory in its fullness and splendor, that the believers will not be awarded until they all finish their struggle. 3. “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” How wonderful this view is, which we had seen symbolically when Moses and the people crossed the Red sea, and emerged to the shore singing, ‘the song of Moses’ (Exod. 15), the song of salvation, and the symbolic song of victory. The Church sings this song whenever she praises God. It brings to her memory, how by baptism she crossed with the Lord, and buried Satan and his forces, and cast them into the sea saying: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” "The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him. My father's God, and I will exalt Him. Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces." The song of the Lamb is itself the song of Moses. The first one is the true one, the second is the shadow and symbol. It is the song of victory over the devil. The motives of praise are expressed in our singing: "O Lord, how great and wonderful are Your works!” What is the secret of His greatness? 1. Because He alone is holy, no holiness is away from Him. 2. For all the nations shall come, and worship before You. Here he uses the future tense, because it is worth that we sing this praise, and get used to it, here while we are on earth. Thus we shall see, that the wicked will not be able to escape from submitting to the divine justice, to give an answer for what they committed. We also see that, through God's punishments and severity - if we can say that - He brings souls over to Himself. 3. For His judgments are shown and proclaimed. All the time He reveals His thoughts and plans through His Holy Bible. Yet it is on the great day of the Lord, when we realize God's judgments in their depth, manifest and open. Then we wonder amazingly at all His deeds which He made for humanity. 2. THE SOURCE OF THE SEVEN BOWLS "After these things I looked" [5], now the scene is changed, and the Apostle displays a second revelation. "And behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened." It is the tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant, and the two plates of the 8 Law, were kept. The opening of this tabernacle in heaven means: 1. That the Ark of the Covenant which always symbolized the presence of God amidst His people, the two plates of the law that were the sign of His endless justice and mercy towards mankind, and the coming of the smites from there, reveals to us that although they are marked by harshness and cruelty, in its source they bear the mercy of God, His compassion and longings for the salvation of mankind. 2. In that tabernacle, the believers find their delight and happiness; and from there comes out punishments and smites. 3. These smites did not occur without warning. He had told us about them through His prophets. "And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and haring 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" [6-8]. This angelic view relates to the Person of the Lord Jesus, clothed in a robe, reaching to the feet and girded across the breast with a golden girdle (1:13), they too are clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their breasts ready for service. This shows that their work is a priestly one. Therefore, all they do, on behalf of God, is for education rather than revenge. 1. The seven angels went out ready for the task they are sent for. 2. One of the four Living Creatures gave them seven bowls. 3. However they do not pour the bowls before the issuing of the divine order. This is how God is always slow in His punishments, and the smites He allows. As for the bowls, St. Jerome says, that each has a narrow mouth, so that anger would not pour heavily from them, but comes out drop by drop. Yet the original Greek version shows it clearly, that they were flat and wide pots. And as for the temple which was filled with smoke of the glory of God and of His power, that no one was able to enter the temple, is nothing new. We saw that frequently in the Holy Bible and this is indicative of: 1. The greatness and glory of God. No creation can oppose His work. That is why at receiving the Law, when the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, the whole mountain was all in smoke like the smoke of a furnace (Ex. 19 : 18). 2. The smoke indicates that the creation is unable to comprehend the divine judgments. By that we see that these plagues are divine symbols, that we cannot discover until it happens, because God's intentions are above all human wisdom.
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