From Interlude To Prelude

 

 

"Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. ³ And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! ⁴ "Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed."

^"5 After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, ⁶ and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. ⁷ Then 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 until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished." 

Revelation 15:1-8 

 

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! This is all so amazing. We ask you to p ray that God will continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in ministry in the face of adversity in the coming days!

   

I want to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you. We are so thankful your prayers and continue to pray for all of you. Prayer is such a powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God! May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory!  

 

I believe that the church has reached a time where we can no longer afford to merely stand back and  watch the world go by. The time has arrived when we have to take a firm stand against the current culture and be responsible for acting for God. Unless we become stewards of the truth which we have been given,  bringing more souls to Christ, there will be that many more destroyed in hell. It appears to me, that many of God’s people are either spiritually dead or in complete hiding. 

 

The Apostle Paul instructs us in Romans 12, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

 

Most people who claim to be born again, who claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ, seem to be living their lives as though He will never return. It is amazing. They are not only indifferent, they are biblically ignorant! Pulpits are by in large, have never been more silent when it comes to preaching on sin and eschatology, the study of the things of the to come. As those who teach the Bible, we are not to be those who shrink back from declaring the whole purpose of God, but faithfully proclaiming the truth.

 

However, seldom today will you hear sermons on sin, repentance, the wrath of God, on divine vengeance, much less on coming judgment. In a recent conversation with a local pastor, I was informed 

"We can't preach that, it's just too controversial!" I am appalled by the audacity of some "teachers of the Word," who are far more concerned about their favorite sports team or their next vacation, than they are about bringing the lost to Christ. Much less confronting their congregations about ungodly behavior.

Are we not reminded in James 3:1, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."

 

The stark reality that we will be held accountable for the souls of the flock, should cause those who are not preaching the whole counsel of God's Word blood to run cold! Because if we indeed fail to warn them about the consequences of sin and God’s divine wrath and tell the lost about the gospel which can save them, we will surely have a day of reckoning with the Lord Himself for how we have kept watch over the souls in our care.

 

Because we are charged with the responsibility of warning hell-bound sinners of the impending judgment of God. This is a very serious offense to God and the stakes are high. In fact, Ezekiel 33 says "When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life."

 

The responsibility of soul-watching is not a 15 minute psychological feel good message telling people how awesome they are, and how much God thinks of them, it is a responsibility to steer them toward Christ-likeness and greater sanctification in preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers were purchased at a very steep price, through Christ's own blood, I strongly urge those who have the responsibility of guarding the flock not to diminish it with cheap grace. I would expect such behavior from the unsaved, but not with the saved.

 

It's time for pastors to come face-to-face with the weight of the call to ministry.

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, we thank You for Your Word, this marvelous reminder of these wonderful truths.  Lord, we thank You that in spite of Your wrath, You are not willing that any should perish. For You have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. We know that everything is being set into place, the signs of the times are all around us. Lord, You know my heart is heavy, not only for the lost, who do not yet know You, but for those who claim Christ and continue to live as the world lives. For they will be the ones who will hear You say "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you."  It is my prayer Father, that You will convict the hearts who are deceiving Your people, leading them straight to hell. awaken the flock to hold their pastors accountable to teach all of Your truth, to please You, rather than seeking to amass crowds by pleasing men. I pray that You would call them to the humble realization of the weight of the task. And drive them to a dependency on You, which is necessary for fulfilling it.

In Christ's name we pray

Amen

 

Today's Message: From Interlude To Prelude 

 

It is my honor and great privilege to be able to share the truths in God's Word with all of you today. Open with me your Bibles to Revelation chapter fifteen. Revelation 15. As we return in our study of this wonderful book of Revelation, we embark on a riveting and terrifying new chapter. Chapter 15, besides being the shortest chapter in Revelation, is the preface to the final series of judgments which come on the earth during the Great Tribulation. 

 

Throughout our study, we have come face to face with the reality of the future of the world in which we live. We will be seeing the seven angels who are prepared to pour out God’s vengeance and anger onto an Earth that has turned its back on Him for far too long. The upcoming pouring out of the seven bowls of wrath are the worst of all. In fact, these judgments are the most intense and most devastating of any that have preceded them. Yet, God is so gracious to give us this warning of His coming wrath down to the very details.

 

It is occasionally misinterpreted that this chapter was written to defend God's position, His motives for His judgement. Let me say this, God does not need or owe anyone an explanation for what He’s going to do. He alone is God, and He will do as He pleases. His holiness demands that He judge, but it is His great love for humanity that demands He warn those who are in danger. That said, I believe this does give us a behind the scenes look and lets us feel why God is going to do all of this. If you are willing to accept His grace, then you can escape the Great Tribulation. Yet, when His love is refused, when His grace is rejected, His wrath is inevitable. Therefore, those who will feel the wrath of God, will feel it because they’ve chosen it.

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you these eight verses, to set the text in our minds. Listen for the voice of our Lord. Revelation 15:1-8 

"Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! "Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed."

"After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then 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. 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 until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished."

Before we begin, I want to make clear, the purpose of the Great Tribulation is judgment. It is not for the purifying of the church! I believe that Scripture clearly indicates that God is going to remove the church before these terrible and tragic events occur. 

As we begin we see the theme is introduced in verse 1, John sees another sign in heaven, which he describes as "great and marvelous." This sign is called "great" because of the awesome implication of these judgments in both extent and degree and marvelous because it is awe inspiring. This is a very direct introduction.

"Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished."

As we have noted before, the word another is the word "állos," meaning another of a same or similar type. Here, we see it is a different sign, but with the same purpose. By the way, this is the third sign that has been mentioned in the book of Revelation. You will remember, the first two were mentioned in chapter 12., which was a woman clothed with the sun and moon under her feet and the second was a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns. 

So this is the third sign that John sees which are the seven angels with the seven plagues. These are the seven bowl judgements. The word plague in the Greek word is "plēgas," which means a wound or a blow. It carries with it the idea of a death blow. Though these will come very quickly, God demonstrates His grace clear to the very end. Notice the phrase, "which are the last," this is important, because they are last in chronological sequence. They are the final climactic event of all of the rest.

Then, in verse 2 "And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God." 

Here comes the gold and the sapphire mixed with the fire, a symbol of judgment, stands for the perfect justice of God and His actions with men. What a stunning vision John sees. This is a reflection of God’s majesty and glory.  And standing on the sea of glass, are those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name. These are the people who had triumphed over the Antichrist. Theses are none other than the tribulation saints. They are there to watch as God inflicts the just vengeance on those who inflicted His beloved people. This is one of the reasons that the Lord is bringing His wrath. God is going to avenge His own. There is also another reason, His final reaction against sin. God is a holy God and one of the great purposes of the Tribulation will be to demonstrate this, as well as prove that Satan's lies throughout the ages were just that, lies!

Let's look at verses 3-4, "And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed."

This is an anthem of praise, a triumphant song of deliverance, praise that extols the character of God. God's character is the reason He has the reaction He does against sin. Notice there’s a second song added here in verses 3-4 and that’s the song of the Lamb. This victory is for those who were reaped from the Earth in Revelation 14. So not only is there the great anthem of praise that the Israelites sang immediately after God miraculously delivered them from Egypt, but now there is a new song that celebrates a new act of God, this speaks of His redemption and His deliverance. This is a reference to Psalm 86. This is an incredible song about the devastation of the ungodly and the triumph of the righteous, a victory song about God's faithfulness. The song closes with joyful anticipation of deliverance. I believe this is great encouragement for us as believers, when the storms of life encompass us we need to sing the songs of mercies in the past, looking beyond our suffering through the eyes of faith. 

In verse 5 "After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened." "After these things," marks a change in the vision John sees. After having looked through the transparent glass like platform beneath the throne of God and seeing the saints standing there, after hearing them sing the song of Moses and the new song of the Lamb, praising and extolling the character and purpose of God, we notice that something shifts.  

The temple here refers to the innermost sanctuary where God abides, this is the Holy of Holies. The tabernacle of testimony, is another name for the ark of the covenant. The ark of the covenant was the repository of God’s law, the tablets of stone on which He had written the law on Mount Sinai. By it's contents, the ark stands for God’s faithfulness.

This reminds us of chapter 11, "And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple." The word tabernacle just means a container, anything that contains something. The opening here symbolizes the parting of the veil, this time in reverse. Rather than access to God, through the finished work of Christ, here it symbolizes the outpouring of God’s perfect justice and wrath for rejecting Christ. It is opened for the unfaithful so that judgment of God can come out.

That brings us to verse 6, "And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes." These angels are  the executioners of God's plan. By being clothed in clean, bright linen we know they are holy and pure in their nature. By the way, this will be the same garment of the armies in heaven which return with Christ described in chapter 19. Notice, they are "girded around their chests with golden sashes." I believe this is to evidence their untarnished glory.

Then, in verse 7, the drama intensifies. "Then 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." These are cherubim. We saw that back in Revelation 4 and 5. You can go there to see their description when you have a chance. They are very unique, very high-ranking angels. Here, they are engaged in the role of distributing the bowls to the seven angels. Then, at the end of verse 7, "who lives forever and ever." The eternal living God, who will live forever and ever, will not have sin and sinners destroying His universe forever.

Peter tells us in II Peter 3, that God's desire being that no one should perish but that all should come to repentance. The world has had every opportunity to come to God through Christ, they have repeatedly rejected His mercy and His grace. Now, He will remove them from His presence, from the presence of His redeemed and from the environment of His holy new creation. The God who promises eternal joy and eternal peace is not going to allow sin to exist forever. These seven bowls of God's full wrath are about to be poured out upon the wicked of the earth.

The dramatic scene is verse is very intense and graphic. "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 until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished." Here we get a sense of the unapproachable fury of God, like a volcano erupting with unimaginable power.  For centuries God has withheld His judgment in grace.

In Closing..

I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Allow me to urge you to repent and cry out for His forgiveness before it is too late! His gracious offer for forgiveness will not stand forever. If you are being deceived by false religion, I want you to know, that Jesus Christ is your only hope of salvation. Acknowledge your guilt before a holy God. 

Not only is God's time of grace going to be over, but once God pours out His justice in divine wrath, it will have eternal ramifications. An eternity of torture and torment! Allow me to remind you, none of this occurs until the world has been warned and warned in every imaginable and conceivable way! His undiluted wrath will be the business of God in the final days..

Look at the world around you, people killing one another, sickness and disease is increasing, food is becoming more and more scarce.  There are wars and rumors of wars in nearly every headline. We are moving toward a cashless society. The Roman Catholic church is calling for us all to come together as brothers and sisters, our doctrines do not matter, setting the stage for a one world religion.

One day soon, God's mercy and grace will completely turn to anger, fury and wrath.

John 14:6 clearly tells us Jesus Himself said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

All of this is an ominous sign of impending doom for those who persist in their blasphemous disregard of the sovereignty of a holy God. Let those who have an ear hear!

May it be so..

 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

 

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