Revelation 15:1-4
The End Times

In my last post, we examined a Revelation 14:14-20 to consider The Harvest of the Earth. In this post, we move on the Revelation 15:1-4 to explore The Song of Moshe and The Lamb.

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one — seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because, with them, God’s fury is finished. ² I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. ³ They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are the things you have done, Adonai, God of heaven’s armies! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! ⁴ Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name? Because you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.” ~ Revelation 15:1-4 (CJB)

The Wrath of God

The seven plagues are contained in seven bowls which we will encounter in Chapter 16.  These bowls are called the bowls of the Wrath of God: because with them, God’s fury is finished. It is His wrath at the wickedness of Bavel. God is a God of love and mercy, but those who spurn His mercy once too often will one day learn, to their regret, that the greater His mercy has been, the greater will be His wrath.

Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one. The word sign is not difficult to understand as it appears numerous times throughout the Brit Hadashah. It always announces a great truth that God wants the reader to pay attention to and is represented by a symbol or picture to illustrate that truth. Oliver Greene states:

In Revelation 12:1 Yochanan saw a great sign in heaven… a woman. In Revelation 12:3 he saw another sign… a red dragon. Now in Revelation 15:1 there is another sign… this one being “great and marvelous.” What makes this third sign so great and marvelous is that the “full wrath of God” is about to be poured out upon the persecutors of the woman (Israel).

Seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because, with them, God’s fury is finished. The word seven appears eight times in this chapter. Seven symbolizes completeness, or as in this instance, finality because this is the final judgment of God being poured out upon this earth.

Roy Hilton sheds further light on this subject: [1]

Preparation is being made to empty these seven vials of wrath upon the earth. Note that the word for “last” plagues is “eschatas.” The word “eschatology,” doctrine of last things, comes from this word. The wrath of God is finished, or filled up, in these seven last plagues. First were the seven seals—then came the seven trumpets—and now comes these seven vials of wrath. After these vials are poured out upon the earth, judgment is completed, and the kingdom of Christ is come.

I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. The sea of glass is mentioned for the second time in the book of Revelation. The first time it is spoken of is in Revelation 4:6 and it is unoccupied and represents that which is off limits. It also appears a third time, in Revelation 21:1, where it is no more. But in this text, it is not only mentioned; it is occupied. Yochanan describes a great host of martyrs, men, and women, who have given their lives for the cause of Yeshua during the reign of the Antichrist. Warren Wiersbe shares the following: [2]

John saw the believers from the Tribulation who had overcome “the beast” and his system. These are the people who “loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev. 12:11). Since they did not cooperate with the satanic system and receive the mark of “the beast,” they were unable to buy or sell (Rev. 13:17). They were totally dependent on the Lord for their daily bread. Some of them were put into prison, and some were slain (Rev. 13:10); but all of them practiced faith and patience.

Verse two closes with the phrase holding harps which God had given them. This seems to indicate they are prepared and eager to sing the song of Moshe… and the song of the Lamb. This is one of three groups in the Book of Revelation that is spoken of as having harps. Revelation 5:8 speaks of “the twenty-four elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one held a harp and gold bowls filled with pieces of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” And then in Revelation 14:1, the 144,000 are gathered on Mount Tzyion, and they all have harps.

They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are the things You have done, Adonai, God of Heaven’s Armies! Just and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Adonai, who will not fear and glorify Your name? Because You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous deeds have been revealed. Two different songs are described in this Scripture passage. When God delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, they sang a song of deliverance which is recorded in Exodus 15:1-21. In fact, it is such a part of the Jewish culture that they continue to sing this same song even today.

By the same token, we Believers sing many hymns that speak of God’s deliverance of His people of all ages. Perhaps, these two great songs of praise become one! These saints sing of God’s mighty works and His ways and continue to sing a verse about the work of Yeshua on the cross and how He provided the only way of salvation. They now realize that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is none other than the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. Tim LaHaye says: [3]

These tribulation saints sing “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (v. 3). This does not mean that they are Israelites; instead, it signifies that they are singing the song of victory over their enemy, which is the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-21. They couple this with the song of praise to the Lamb of God. In a day when men have been deceived about the true nature of Jesus Christ, it behooves us to remember that heaven is not one iota confused about His identity. Understood in the light of Exodus 15 and the song of Moses, this verse makes plain that the God Moses and the children of Israel addressed in the face of their great earthly victory was none other than Jesus Christ.

Please take note that every pronoun in the song refers to God. The people are not talking about their achievements or their good deeds, or things about them; they have focused altogether on the only one who deserves our praise, the God of this universe.

Special Comparative Note on Chapter 15:1-4 ^[4]

Historicist Approach:

Historicists again see this vision as the final destruction of the anti-Christian power ~ the papacy.

Preterist Approach:

Preterists again believe that these plagues occur at the end of the Jewish War in 70 CE.  They interpret the Song of Moshe as the one recorded in Deuteronomy 32, which is a song of destruction.

Futurist Approach:

Futurists view the sea of glass mixed with fire as the divine judgment proceeding from God’s holiness or referring to the fiery persecution which these people have suffered under the beast. Those defeating the beast are the Tribulation saints.

Idealist Approach:

Idealists see these plagues as occurring at the end of time OR the end of an un-Believers death. All nations will come and worship before You implies that in the end, the whole universe will acknowledge the righteousness of all God’s acts and verdicts [Amen!].

In my next post, we will explore a Revelation 15:5-8 to examine The Angels Having the Seven Last Plagues.

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[1] A Layman’s Commentary on Revelation by Don Jones.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Material in this post is taken from “Revelation: Four Views, Revised & Updated” by Steve Gregg. Notations in brackets, if any, are my comments.