CHAPTER 15

THE WRATH OF GOD

1 "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God."

Now we have finally arrived at the point which begins to spell out GOD'S WRATH against wickedness. I remain amazed by those who embrace the idea that the Seals and Trumpets contain any portion of God's wrath. I don't wish to sound harsh but in light of the above verse, the concept is ludicrous, yet it seems to be held by practically the whole evangelical Church!

As previously explained, the idea apparently stems from a misinterpretation of Revelation 6:16&17 which speaks of men who were experiencing the awful conditions of that time. I suggested the inference in that passage was to Europeans who were crying out because of the horrifying consequences of WW1. It was ordinary men who said the "wrath of the Lamb" had come. It is important to note that neither God, nor an angel, or any heavenly representative, made that announcement.

But whatever they thought was the wrath of the Lamb, it was obviously not the same thing as the Wrath of God which quite clearly is not introduced until here in Revelation 15:1. The Seals and Trumpets were tribulation troubles; problems man would bring upon himself as the consequence of sin. But the seven last plagues represent Divine judgments of an entirely different magnitude --- - it is the WRATH OF GOD.

Even Christians have never been allowed the privilege of avoiding tribulation. Think of those who were martyred for the cause of Christ during the past 2,000 years. Nor will tribulation pass Christians by in the first 3 1/2 years of the final seven year countdown.

Once again my position is understood in the light of the Law of Double Reference. There will yet be a specific Tribulation as most prophets understand and talk about. There will be a LODR repetition of the Seals and Trumpets. But this time it will last 1260 days, (3 1/2 years), not 1260 years. Christians will still be here for that.

The only reason there is to be a rapture AT ALL is:

1. so that Christians living then may avoid the anti-Christ's time of total control (the last half of Daniel's 70th Week) and

2. not face God's Wrath. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thes. 5:9).

THE VICTORIOUS SAINTS

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, over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.

3 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!

4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations will come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested."

These glad-hearted saints are apparently those who will become saved during the GREAT TRIBULATION. Their triumph seems to be especially awesome, probably due to the great intensity under which they became believers. They will have refused the anti-Christ's special-rights system --- i.e., the "mark of the beast". During the anti-Christ's rule, God will miraculously preserve those who are willing to trust Him to the fullest. Thus, these beautiful words of praise here.

Notice what they sing: the "song of Moses" and the "song of The Lamb". What are these two songs? Moses was the deliverer of the people of God in his day, so his song must mean Song of Deliverance. The song of the Lamb obviously refers to Jesus, the Savior, which must mean, Song of Salvation. Both songs will be spectacular realities for these adulating Great-Tribulation saints. Even thinking about it now should cause any Christian to shout, "HALLELUJAH".

Another great promise here is that the Lord will ultimately rule the earth, for it says, "...all nations will come and worship before You...". Isn't that fantastic?

(With clear Biblical statements like this I cannot understand how anyone could say, as some do, there will be no millennium during which Christ literally and personally reigns as King.)

SEVEN ANGELS WITH SEVEN "BOWLS OF WRATH"

5 "And after these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

6 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 belts.

7 And 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.

8 And 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."

The seven angels are here given the Bowls which contain the WRATH OF GOD. The next chapter describes the actual sequential "dispensing" of these Bowls upon the ungodly, unrepentant world. It is not clear how long a period of time is involved during which the Bowls are emptied, but I believe it will occur rather quickly at the end of the anti-Christ reign. Here is my reason: Note that verse 8 says no one can enter the "temple" during the time these Bowls are being poured out. This means no one can be saved then. However, we know there will be multitudes who come to Christ during the Great Tribulation (the last half of the final seven years), so this places God's Wrath at a later time; namely, at the conclusion of Daniel's 70th Week, which is the end of this age. This will occur right after the last day of the final seven year countdown.

CONCLUSION

The thrust of this chapter should be a stimulus for Christians to become more fervent in our plea for sinners to repent. It's easy to just sit back and wait for the end to come. But we are not called to do that. Evangelizing requires willful and conscious effort. One must sometimes force his mouth open to say the words that lead people to salvation. The Bible says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God...". When we are with any unsaved person, our prayer, hope and attitude should always be to seek an opportunity to introduce them to Christ. The Holy Spirit will help, but you and I are expected to do our part. That's the way the Gospel works!