Sunday School Notes: Revelation 15:6-8
… 6 and the seven angels having the seven plagues came out from the temple, wearing clean, shining linen, and golden belts wrapped around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the wrath of the 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 go into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels are completed.
Last time we discussed the song of Moses and the Lamb in 3-4. We then started into the last section of the chapter, but ran out of time at the end of verse 5. So this discussion picks up from where we left off. See the notes on 15:3-5 for context.
Next, John sees seven angels with seven plagues coming from the temple. These angels are wearing clean, or pure, shining linen, and golden belts around their chests. This description brings to mind Jesus’s attire in Revelation 1:13. Back then, we noted the similarity of these robes to priestly garments. Perhaps, however, the significance of the way the angels are dressed is in their association with the Lord. They are dressed like him because they are going about his work. It’s also interesting that the belts are around their chests, not their waists. This suggests some kind of shoulder belt, more suited to carrying a sword. In Revelation, and elsewhere in Scripture, the sword is symbolic of judgment. See the notes on 1:13 for more about this.
How do these angels “have” the seven plagues? They don’t have bowls yet, so in what sense do they have these plagues? If the angels are the instruments of the Lord’s judgment, then perhaps John is saying they have authority over the plagues, to unleash them on the earth at the direction of the Lord.
There are seven plagues, one for each angel. We know the number is symbolic of completion, or perfection. God’s judgment is never lacking. It is full and it is complete. We looked at Leviticus 26, where God promises blessings for Israel if they obey His Law, and curses if they disobey, with particular attention given to the sin of idolatry. What’s notable about this passage is the fact that God promises seven-fold punishment for their sin, and he makes that promise more than once (see verses 21. 24. and 28). So the idea of seven-fold punishment for sin is not new.
We first encountered the four living creatures in Revelation 4:8, where they surrounded the throne, and were described as having eyes “within and without.” The symbolism of the creatures represent all of creation, and they are around the throne because all of creation is in submission to God. Further, creation is all-seeing, not in a divine sense, but in that all of creation bears witness to the work of the Lord, and the justice of God in how He deals with sinful mankind.
These creatures participated in the administration of the seal judgments in chapter 6. Now we see them helping with the bowl judgments. This, to me, further forges a link between the seven-fold visions John has seen (scrolls, trumpets, bowls). They are not separate events, but are linked, perhaps three different perspectives on the same judgment.
The golden bowls are reminiscent of the golden bowls filled with incense that the 24 elders held back in 5:8. In that passage, the incense represented the prayers of the saints rising up to God. Perhaps even a specific prayer: the cry of the saints in 6:10, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Perhaps the angels’ bowls are golden because they carry the answer to the prayers of the saints: God’s wrath and judgment upon those who hate Him and His church.
Why bowls? We often see bowls in the Old Testament connected to temple worship (see, for example, Numbers 4:14; 7:13, 19, 25). There is a mention of golden bowls in 1 Chronicles 28:17 and 2 Chronicles 4:8, 22. But perhaps more pointedly relevant is Isaiah 51:17-23, where God’s people have drunk from the cup of God’s wrath, and that judgment will now be given to their tormentors (i.e., Babylon). The Lord says, “the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more.”
The temple is then filled with smoke, perhaps as in Exodus 40:34 ff., when the tabernacle was erected, a cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Even Moses couldn’t enter the tent because of the cloud. We also see angelic beings, a cloud, and the glory of God in Ezekiel 10:1-4, where God is pouring out judgment. There are, perhaps, a combination of symbols here, to do with the glory of God and judgment. God is about to unleash devastating judgment on the earth from His throne by means of these seven angels. And that judgment comes out of His glory. It is not separate from His holiness, His goodness, or any of the rest of His attributes. God is glorified not only in the salvation of His people, but in his just and perfect judgment of the lost.
The fact that no-one was able to enter the temple until the judgments were complete points to the fact that God’s judgment cannot be stopped. God has decreed to bring judgment, and that decree stands from eternity past. It will certainly come to pass. It’s interesting that John sees and relates this vision as something that happened, and yet we believe these judgments are on-going in our present time, and will ultimately culminate in the Lord’s return. To God, these are things He has done. To us, they are still happening. But we can rest assured that there will be an end to all things one day. And in the end, God will be vindicated, and His people will receive the fullness of their redemption bought by Jesus.
