Revelation 15

let's turn now to the book of revelation chapter 15. in the latter part of the 14th chapter john saw in the visions the battle of armageddon preparation and as we get into the 16th chapter he'll be talking about this great battle of armageddon you've probably heard the phrase battle of armageddon and next sunday night as we get into the 16th chapter we'll be giving you a sort of full uh view of what the battle of armageddon is all about who the contestants in the battle will be and how the battle will turn out but chapter 15 is sort of a little interlude between uh the 14th chapter where he begins to talk about the battle of armageddon and the 16th chapter where he gets into the subject more fully the book of revelation is not written in a chronological order and thus it is sort of difficult for our western minds to follow many times the events of the book of revelation because when we read a book it usually is following a chronological order and that is not so in hebrew literature for instance in genesis chapter 1 you have god's account of creation the seven days of creation and in chapter 2 then it goes back and it fills you in on the creation of man and it gives you a broader perspective it it gives you more details and often the bible does that it lays out the full scene and then it'll come back and it'll fill in some of the more minute types of details the book of revelation does that also it sort of lays out the whole scene and then it comes back and sort of fills in some of the gaps probably the seven seals the seven trumpets and as we get in next week to the seven bowls of god's wrath they probably are running concurrently if you will con pair the seven trumpet judgments with the seven bowls of god's wrath you will see that there is a similar order as far as what will be affected when the first trumpet sounds it is similar to what will be affected when the first bowl of god's wrath is poured out and it follows uh together so uh they just sort of lay out the whole picture and then come back and fill in the blanks chapter 15 is just sort of a filling in of some of the blanks we have moved from the earthly scene we enter into the heavenly scene once again now it is not the church that we see in heaven but what we see in chapter 15 are those people who have been saved out of the great tribulation back in the opening of the fifth seal john saw these souls that were under the altar and they were crying to the lord how long o lord holy and true before you avenge our blood on our adversaries and they were given white robes and were told that they should wait for a short season until their full number was complete in chapter 7 their number has been completed and thus we see them now in the heavenly scene the elder asked john who are these where did they come from and john basically said i don't know you tell me and the elders said these are they that came out of the great tribulation who have washed their robes white in the blood of the lamb and they do stand in the holy temple and do worship the lord day and night continually so the number completed they enter into the heavenly scene now again in the heavenly scene we see again this multitude that have come up out of the great tribulation who have faced the wrath of the antichrist and many of them saved through martyrdom by their refusal to take the mark of the beast their refusal to worship his image they are put to death the bible says that in chapter 13 of revelation that they will cause all both small and great to take a mark in their right hand or in their forehead and all of your commerce will be done through the mark no one will be able to buy or sell except they have the mark and they have power it says to force this upon man to put to death those that refuse to take the mark and so when it speaks of how they have been delivered or how they have victory over the beast the victory is in the fact that they didn't submit to the mark they didn't submit to the worship of his image and thus were put to death because of their refusal but that's how they were delivered and that is where their victory was in their refusal to enter into that system and so uh we also in chapter 7 saw the 144 000 who were sealed of god they were jews 12 000 from each tribe and they were sealed in order that they might be protected from some of the judgments that are coming upon the earth they become god's witnesses to the jewish people during this period of time and we see them again in chapter 14 we saw them last week and here they are again in chapter 15. so as i say you're just getting further details of these groups that you've been introduced to earlier within the book so i saw another sign in heaven we're back in the heavenly scene we've been on the earth we've watched the judgments on the earth but now we are returning back to the heavenly scene and great in heaven great and marvelous seven angels having the seven last plagues for in them is filled up or the completion of god's wrath this will end the tribulation period at the end of the pouring out of these golden bowls that are filled with the wrath of god now chapter 17 and chapter 18 will again be going backwards and filling in the details of god's destruction of the religious false religious system called mystery babylon in chapter 18 god's destruction of the commercialism that grew out of babylon in the 18th chapter but chapter 16 carries you out to the end of god's wrath in the seven bowls that will be poured out upon the earth and so he saw another sign in heaven great and marvelous sign there were seven angels who had the seven last plagues and in them the completion of god's wrath that is to be poured out and i saw as it were a sea of glass back in chapter 4 when john was taken into the heavenly scene he saw the throne of god the cherubim about the throne of god the 24 lesser thrones upon which sat the 24 elders before the throne of god there was the sea of glass and proceeding from the throne of god the lightnings the thunders the voices awesome sight and so here we are again at the throne of god the sea of glass mingled here with fire and he saw those that had gotten the victory over the beast and as i said the victory isn't that the beast was defeated by them but their victory was that they were not defeated by the beast they did not give in to the commands and to the orders of the beast to worship him and to worship his image and to take his mark and so that was their victory their their victory was in their loving not their lives even unto death but dying rather than submitting to his orders to his kingdom and they got they had the victory over the beast over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name we got that back in chapter 13. the number of his name is the number of a man 666. they refuse to take the mark or the number of his name and they are standing on the sea of glass having the harps of god so they're standing before the throne of god that's where we find them back in chapter 7. they are in his temple and they do worship him day and night continually this great multitude which no man can number who came up out of the great tribulation and they are singing the song of moses the servant of god back in exodus chapter 15 you have the song of moses that spontaneous singing of praises unto god for delivering them from the egyptians they just watched the sea as it had drowned the egyptian army and they realized that they were now truly free from the bondage that they had experienced there in egypt and there is that rejoicing in song for god's power for god's deliverance for god's destruction upon their enemies and so they are singing the song of moses this no doubt is the 144 000 who are there in heaven as of the 14th chapter and as they are singing the song of moses actually in deuteronomy 32 again you will find the song that moses taught the children of israel and the children were to learn this song in exodus 32. it was one of those songs that was taught to the children from an early age in the song in deuteronomy 32 it is interesting because in the song there are warnings it's a song of victory again and deliverance but also it's a song of warnings should they turn their back on god uh the things that would transpire uh the judgments that would come and you know it's an interesting thing how that folk songs have a way of sort of sticking in your mind and years later you know you can still be singing uh that folk song that you learned as a child and and many times it's just a melody you know and and you're not really thinking about what you're singing you're not really thinking about the words um you know o lang syne or whatever i mean uh you know you just it's the it's the melody that who is old lang langstein or whoever you know i mean you really don't know but you're singing you know uh and uh so uh it's something that sort of sticks with you but the whole purpose of the song of moses that was taught to the children was that in the days to come when they forsook the lord and forsook the law and they would go into captivity they would gather together you know in the town hall to sing their traditional songs but as they would sing it there would be the conviction they would listen to the lyrics they realize wow we're in captivity yeah that's what the song says you know if we forsake the lord and all and it was to be one of those things that would in that time would would really grip their hearts and they'd realize wow we are experiencing god's judgment because we forsook the lord and so that was the purpose of moses teaching the song to the children of israel the song of moses but then there was also the song of the lamb now the song of the lamb we find in the fifth chapter of the book of revelation and it is sung there by the church and it is at the time when there is the scroll in the right hand of him who is sitting upon the throne and the angel proclaims with a strong voice who is worthy to take the scroll and to loose the seals it had seven seals who was worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals thereof the scroll is the title deed to the earth that was forfeited by adam over to satan and he has held it lo these six thousand years but now the time has come for the redemption who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals and john said i began to sob because no one was found worthy in heaven or earth or under the sea to take the scroll or look thereon one of the elders sidled up to him and said john don't we behold the lion of the tribe of judah has prevailed he's going to take the scroll and loose the seals and john said i turned and i saw him as a lamb that had been slaughtered the song of the lamb he came forth and he took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat upon the throne and when he did the 24 elders came with their little golden vials full of odors which are the prayers of the saints the incense they offered it before god and they began to sing the church worthy is the lamb to take the scroll and to loose the seals for he was slain and he has redeemed us by his blood out of every kindred tribe tongue and people and he has made us unto our god kings and priests and we will reign with him upon the earth that's the song of the lamb it's the song of rejoicing in that jesus paid the price to redeem the world from the power of darkness from satan and the purpose of redeeming the world was to obtain the bride his church and thus we sing and we rejoice that he loved us so much that he redeemed this world that he could take us out of it jesus said the kingdom of god is likened to a man going through a field and discovering a treasure and who for the joy immediately goes and sells everything he has so that he can buy the field that he might obtain the treasure now in parables the field is the earth the world jesus talked about the sower who went forth to sow the seed and it fell on the various types of soil and as he was explaining that parable he said now the field is the world so the question is who gave everything to purchase the world and of course the answer is jesus for what purpose that he might take the treasure what is the treasure fasten your seat belt it's you peter says that we're god's peculiar treasure and it is peculiar to me that god would treasure you even more peculiar that he would treasure me but oh how grateful i am that god sees me as his treasure paul when he was praying for the church of ephesus said that he prayed that god would give to them the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of god that they may know the hope of their calling and what is the riches of his inheritance in the saints not really the riches that you have as a child of god but the value that god puts upon you if you only knew the value that god puts upon you he so loved you that he sent his only begotten son to redeem the world that you might be his that he might take you out of the world his treasure and god treasures you you're a special treasure unto god and so the song of the lamb the song of redemption the song of deliverance from the powers of darkness through the redemption that we have in jesus christ and so john sees them there in heaven and they are singing the song of moses the sermon of god the song of the lamb saying great and marvelous are thy works lord god almighty how great and how marvelous is god's work of redemption that god would send his only begotten son great and marvelous the work of redemption redeeming man from sin great and marvelous is the work of god in judgment now these people have been on the earth during the great tribulation they have seen the judgment of god coming upon the earth they have seen the cataclysmic catastrophes of nature convulsions of nature and the destruction that is brought to the earth and they saying great and marvelous are thy works the works of god in judgment against a christ rejecting god rebelling earth and surely the earth is getting ripe for god's judgment it's all around us it's very obvious the world is ripening up for the judgment of god the cup is filling and will soon overflow and god will pour out his judgment upon the earth they will be there to see it and thus as they sing great and marvelous are thy works it is the work of god in judgment as well as the work of god in redemption and in deliverance but great and marvelous are his works in creation the marvels of creation it boggles the mind we cannot grasp it it's beyond us the vast universe in which we live apart in this little tiny corner of the milky way galaxy this little bit of dust that wrote tapes around or revolves around the rotates on its axis that is it revolves around the sun way down here in the corner of the milky way galaxy and when we peer out into space and we realize the vastness of space and we realize the size of many of the stars in our own galaxy great and marvelous are thy works it boggles our minds we cannot really comprehend it when we start talking in distances and light years it's just beyond our ability to to really grasp we can talk about it and and we can conceptualize to a point but not really grasp the vastness of eterna of of space the vastness of of the universe and yet the bible says that he stretched out the heavens like a curtain when i consider the heavens these the psalmist said the work of your fingers the moon the stars which you have ordained what is man that you are mindful of him great marvelous lord are your works you're mindful of of this little speck of dust on this little speck called earth way down here in the milky way galaxy and yet god thinks about you david said if i should number the thoughts concerning me they are more than the sands of the sea it's estimated that there's probably 10 to the 25th power grains of sand i don't know who figured that out but that's an awful lot of thoughts that god thinks concerning you great and marvelous are thy works lord god almighty the fact that god thinks of me astounds me but as we sing he knows my name he knows my every thought he sees my falling tear and he hears me when i call great and marvelous are thy works lord god almighty when you look at the life forms and you consider the designs the intricacies of the many different forms of life i find myself fascinated with life and the various life forms i think if i weren't a minister i'd like to be a biologist i'm so interested in the different life forms i watch these little white flies that are on my hibiscus right now and i don't love them i spray them i'd like to get rid of them but as i'm spraying them they start flying off and i thought i think you know what what are they thinking where are they going probably to my other hibiscus but uh you know you wonder just the world that they're in these little miniature white flies and and and their ability to fly and all it just it was amazing great and marvelous are thy works the works of god in creation and then because they have seen the hand of god in judgment they sing just and true are thy ways thou king of saints to me it is interesting that several times as we are coming through the new testament in the book of revelation here several times when we'll get it again next week but several times in the midst of the most awesome judgments there will be that declaration of the righteousness of god's judgments uh next week as we are in the 16th chapter and the uh bowl of god's judgment is poured out on the fresh water supplies of the earth so that the fresh water supplies will be turned to blood they'll they'll not you'll not be able to drink they'll have no fresh water to drink and the angel responds right on lord they shed the blood of your people now you've given them blood to drink boy that's a fit thing you know but all the way through when god's judgments are coming there is that acknowledgement that they are righteous judgments it's the right thing no one can really accuse god of not being fair you may imagine that god is not fair but that's because you don't know the whole story and when the whole story is known we will realize the absolute fairness and justice of god there are a lot of things that the bible doesn't tell us a lot of things we don't know and usually it is the things that we don't know that trouble us and confuse us but whenever you come up against something you don't know fall back on what you do know and i know that god is love i know that god is fair i know that god is righteous in his judgments now i'm not convinced that the justice system that we have on the world is fair i am prone to agree with that guy who cried there ain't no justice and and so many times when you see the the edicts of the court you wonder if the judge got his appointment from a grab bag or something now there are good judges and and it's not to paint you know the whole judicial system with a black brush there are excellent judges and i have friends who are outstanding judges whose real heart and and they really take their their job to heart and they're really concerned that justice is done but there are always those who are open to pressure and other things their own self-interest at times now that's not just so of the judicial system that's so of the ministry i mean goodness sakes no one's going to try and say that every minister is really serving god there are a lot of self-serving people in the ministry and and every field has those who sort of spoil the whole scene because of their corruption and that's tragic but god is fair god is just you can be sure of that so that person who has lived in the jungles of south america or of borneo new guinea the congo that person who has lived and died without ever hearing of jesus christ the son of god who died for their sins when god disposes of their case you can be sure that it will be absolutely fair god will be just in judgment true and righteous are his ways who shall not fear thee o lord and glorify thy name the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom the question who shall not fear thy name o lord and who shall not fear the oh lord and glorify thy name you know it to me is very sad and tragic that there are people who there is no fear of the lord in their hearts there are people who are openly opposed to god people who are openly opposed to the law of god to the ways of god presently in the california state legislature they are considering pro-homosexual bills that are absolutely contrary to god they're blasphemous to god and yet it looks like the majority of the senate has already passed some of these bills and they're now again in committee before they go to the next level and you think god is there no fear of the lord in their hearts how could they ever justify these kinds of legislation in their own minds in their own hearts how can they justify these things that are so totally anti-god anti-scripture and you think my i can't conceive a elected body of officials i can't conceive of people who would elect officials that would consider and promote such legislation as is being considered right now in sacramento surely we as christians need to pray but who shall not fear thee o lord and glorify thy name for you only are holy that's the whole issue the holiness of god is what man rebels against it goes against our nature man by nature is a sinner you're not a sinner because you sin you sin because you're a sinner there's a difference as they used to say stealing a horse doesn't make you a horse thief stealing a horse only proves that you are a horse thief no one steals horses except horse thieves and so the fact that you stole the horse only proves that you're a horse it didn't make you one it only proved you were one that's why you stole it sinning doesn't make you a sinner because you are a sinner we sin the bible says we were born in sin we were by nature paul said to the ephesians the children of wrath even as others by nature and thus the holiness of god goes against my nature and god is calling on me to deny myself to take up the cross to reckon my old nature dead crucified with christ that i might live unto god after the things of the spirit but that is contrary to the natural man and the natural desires and there are many who rebel against god because they don't want to surrender their evil nature they delight in the things that they are doing and because the lord condemns them they turn against god they crucified jesus why because he went against the grain they didn't like it they didn't like the things he was teaching they felt convicted in their hearts for what they were and what they were doing they didn't like that feeling people don't want to feel guilty they want to make laws that would allow them to live the kind of lives they want to live without feeling guilty and thus they rebel against god in their hearts and there is no fear of god before their eyes that is why we have the book of revelation telling us of the consequences of this kind of living the judgments of god that will be brought upon the earth as the result of man's rebellion against all that is righteous all that is holy and all that is pure who will not fear thee and glorify thy name for you only are holy and all nations shall come and worship you back in the 22nd psalm which is a psalm concerning jesus christ and it's actually a psalm that prophesies of his death upon the cross it's a psalm that talks about them uh partying his garments among them casting lots on his vesture and in this psalm verse 29 well beginning verse 27 all of the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the lord all of the families of the nations will worship before thee for the kingdom is the lord's and he is the governor among the nations this is when jesus returns and establishes god's kingdom upon the earth and they that are fat upon the earth shall eat and worship and they that go down to the dust that is those are loved ones who have already died they shall bow before him none can keep alive his own soul so the resurrection of the righteous to be with christ to worship him in the glorious kingdom age paul tells us in philippians chapter 2 that we ought to have the mind of christ not exalting ourselves not promoting ourselves you know as i was sharing with the college and career down at murrieta on friday night the scriptures seem to teach things that are sort of reversed the scripture teaches that the way up is down and the way down is up he that exalteth himself shall be abased he that humbleth himself shall be exalted so the way up is down and the way down is up and and you have many of those things he that will lose he who will seek to save his life will lose it he who will lose his life jesus said for my sake will find it so the way to find your life is to lose it the way to lose your life is to try to find it and and so you have these things that are sort of you know a reversal now let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus what was the mind who being in the form of god and thought it not something to be grasped to be equal with god and yet he humbled himself came in the likeness of man came in the form of a servant and was obedient unto death even the death of the cross the mind of christ humbling himself emptying himself but because of it wherefore god has also highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name that at the name of jesus every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that jesus christ is the lord to the glory of god the father so all of the kindreds all of the families will come all of the nations and they will worship before thee for your judgments are made manifest now after this the scene in heaven john said i looked and behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened there is a temple in heaven or a tabernacle the temple of the tabernacle when moses built the tabernacle god gave to him the specifications the measurements the whole thing told him exactly how to make it and having told him exactly how to make it then he told him now be careful to make it according to what i have said he was to make it exactly like god told him and then god gifted some skilled men gave them skills to make it just like god had ordered it to be and the reason for making it very carefully we are told in hebrews that it is a model of the heavenlies it's an earthly model of what heaven is like if you want to know what heaven is like then you can look at the tabernacle and it was a model of heaven and of course the heart of it the central feature is the mercy seat and the cherubim that are surrounding the mercy seat in the fourth chapter of the book of revelation we see the throne of god the mercy seat before the throne of god and the cherubim surrounding it and thus in the holy of holies there was the mercy seat and the cherubim uh there in the holy of holies surrounding the mercy seat now the angels the the the tabernacle is open in heaven of which the earthly tabernacle was a model and the seven angels come out of the temple the symbolism or the idea is that there will be no mercy at this point they come out of the temple to bring the judgments of god upon the earth and so these seven angels come out of the temple having the seven plagues they are clothed in pure and white linen uh this was the garment of that the priest wore it was a pure linen a white linen that they wore in their daily ministry and in the tabernacle in the temple here on the earth and they had on their breasts they were had these golden sashes around their chest and one of the four cherubim that are around the throne of god that we were introduced to back in chapter four one of these four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls now the word is bowls it's it's translated vials in kings james you think of a vial you think of a little dosage thing you know in a drug store or something but these are bowls uh there's there's uh they're full and in these seven bowls uh are the uh the plagues they're full of the wrath of god who lives forever and ever the eternal god and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god and from his power you remember when uh the temple that solomon had built was dedicated to the lord that the glory of the lord came down and filled the temple and there was smoke and the priests were not able to stand because of the presence the glory of god there in the temple here in heaven the temple filled with smoke from the glory of god and from his power and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled he had seven angels blowing seven trumpets we went through those judgments this is it this is the end this is the this is the culmination of the whole thing uh of the judgments and the wrath of god against the sinning earth so next week in chapter 16 we see the consequences that will take place upon the earth when these angels pour out these bowls of god's wrath upon the earth let's pray father we again are thankful that your word is so rich so full and that in your word you have given us lord a view into the future to see the things that are going to happen and lord we feel like those who were under the altar saying how long o lord holy and true until you bring your judgment upon this earth that has turned its back against you how long lord until your judgments come upon our nation which seems to be determined to rid itself of your influence and of your people lord we look at things that are going on and we ask you lord work your works father we pray that your holy spirit will cause us to be very diligent in spiritual things that you will work in our lives lord and you'll help us to be a salt in a world that is quickly rotting a light in a world that is filled with darkness in jesus name we pray amen so we stand the pastors are down here in the front again to pray for you who might have needs maybe god's been speaking to your heart maybe there are things in your life that have given sort of a beach head for satan and he has a strong hold upon you you'd like to be set free jesus is able to deliver you the song of the lamb is the song of deliverance the power of jesus to set one free and so we encourage you to come down the pastors are here to pray for your needs tonight feel free to come and they'll be glad to bear your burdens with you and to pray for you and thus fulfill the law of christ that tells us to love one another and to pray for one another may the lord be with you and bless you fellows don't forget to go in and sign up for murietta in the office we're gonna have a great weekend you'll be sorry if you missed it when we come home and tell you of all that god did and the glorious blessings and all you'll say oh i wish i was there may the lord just watch over and keep you in his love may you be filled with the spirit and may god help us to be a light in this dark world in which we live may god work through us in revealing himself to a world that so desperately needs to see the truth of god may you experience his love this week in a special way have thine own way lord have i no way thou art the potter i am the claim mold me and make me after thy will while i am waiting yielded and still have thine own way lord have i own way hold or my being absolute sway filled with thy spirit till all shall see christ only always living in me filled with thy spirit till all shall see christ only always living in me god bless you and now on behalf of the word for today the broadcast ministry of pastor chuck smith we thank you for joining us in today's broadcast for more pastor chuck's studies and biblical teaching resources visit our website at pastorchuck.org you can contact the word for today at the word for today p.o box 890820 temecula california 92589 or email us at infopastorchuck gmail.com we'll return with more of our verse by verse bible study in our next broadcast with pastor chuck

Channel: Chuck Smith TWFT

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Length: 51min 25sec (3085 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 20 2021