This second sign reveals seven angels bearing bowls or chalices representing God’s Wrath. These judgments are more intense and devastating than any that have come before. They proceed, not from Satan or the beast, but directly from the throne of The Almighty.
(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Chapter 15
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened,
6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests.
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 sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Rev 15:5
After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened:
When ancient Israel escaped Egypt, they traveled in the deserts and wild places of the Sinai Peninsula for forty years (c. 1280 BC)1. During that time, God promised to be with His people and guided them by fire and cloud. Moses built a Tabernacle where he would meet with God and where sacrifices were made for the people’s sins. In this “old covenant,” the Tabernacle and then the Temple would represent God’s Presence among His people as long as they remained faithful to Him2.
Moses had a chest built, an Ark, to contain physical reminders of God’s covenant with His people3, and had it placed in the Tabernacle:
Heb 9:4 …This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
The Tabernacle was eventually replaced by a Temple built by King Solomon (c. 970 BC)4. It stood until c. 587 BC when it was destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. King Cyrus of Persia allowed the temple to be rebuilt (Ezra 1:2) under the leadership of Zerubbabel (c. 516 BC).
From 20-19 BC, King Herod proposed renovating and expanding the temple. The main work was completed in one-and-a-half years, and the outer courtyard in eight years. Finishing touches continued until AD 635. This Temple was destroyed during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Earlier in the vision, John was shown the heavenly representation of the Temple:
Rev 11:19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
In Christ, God made a new covenant with His people, signifying hope, renewal, and everlasting love. God’s children no longer have to go to a temple or church to encounter God. He dwells in them in Spirit and in Truth. In this new covenant, faithful believers become the temple in which God dwells:
John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
1Cor 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
2Cor 6:16 …For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Eph 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Rev 15:6-7
Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues… Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever:
For a third time, but from a different perspective, John will see the fate of those who continue to defy God and reject His love, this time illustrated by seven bowls or vials of judgments poured out on a rebellious world.
Rev 14:10 …they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
Rev 16:6 …for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
Rev 16:19 …God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.
Matt 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
The message is clear. The inhabitants of Earth will either share in the cup of the New Covenant or the cup of destruction. The testimony of the martyrs for Christ will be poured out on the heads of the rebellious as a testimony against them.
Rev 15:8
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed:
In this declaration, John hears the echoes of Old Testament prophets:
Exod 40:35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
2 Chron 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2T he priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
Ezek 44:4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell face down.
As the seven bowls are poured out and the plagues are described in the next chapter, keep in mind the breaking of the seven seals in chapter 6, the blowing of the seven trumpets in chapters 8 and 9, and the concept of parallelism.
Footnotes
- Timeline of Ancient Israelite Religion: Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/timeline-of-ancient-israelite-religion-2000-539-bce, accessed June 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Exod 25:9, 26:1, 40:9, 40:21, and 40:34. ↩︎
- Exod 16:32-33, Exod 25:21, Exod 25:16, Exod 16:33, Num 17:8-10. ↩︎
- Timeline of Ancient Israelite Religion: Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/timeline-of-ancient-israelite-religion-2000-539-bce, accessed June 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Got Questions: What Was Herod’s Temple, https://www.gotquestions.org/Herod-third-temple.html, accessed June 10, 2024. ↩︎
*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
