A Significant Event in Heaven | Daily Devotion
Read Revelation 15 NLT
The apostle John turns his eyes toward heaven, after witnessing the severe bloody battle on earth and says in heaven he saw another marvelous event of great significance.
This is an important moment in heaven holding great value, providing hope for the Christian today for what’s to come – victory in Christ. We know faith, hope, and love are eternal and the greatest of these is love and here we Christians witness faith, hope, and love in action in heaven in this significant event.
John sees seven angels holding the seven last plagues which would bring God’s wrath to completion.
Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets spoke of the coming Day of the Lord in warning to rebellious mankind – the time when God’s wrath is poured out on sinful mankind.
For instance, the prophet Zephaniah said in Zephaniah 1:2-18 NLT in speaking for the Lord, “I will sweep everything away from the face of the earth,’ says the LORD. I will sweep away people and animals alike. I will sweep away birds of the sky and the fish in the sea. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth,’ says the LORD. I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the LORD, but then they worship Molech, too. And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the LORD’s guidance or seek my blessings.’ Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD, for the awesome day of the LORD’s judgment is near. The LORD has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. ‘On that day of judgment,’ says the LORD, ‘I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those who follow pagan customs. Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their master’s houses with violence and deceit. ‘On that day,’ says the LORD, ‘a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city. And a great crash will sound from the hills. Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed. ‘I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the LORD will do nothing to them, either good or bad. So their property will be plundered, their homes will be ransacked. They will build new homes but never live in them. They will plant vineyards but never drink the wine from them. ‘That terrible day of the LORD is near. Swiftly it comes – a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. It will be a day when the LORD’s anger is poured out – a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements! ‘Because you have sinned against the LORD, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.’ Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of the LORD’s anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.”
And thus, we see in the seven bowl judgments the culmination of the Day of the Lord. The culmination of the wrath of God.
The calculated wrath of God consistently displays His love and justice in the increasing severity and intensity from the seal judgments opened in Revelation 6. Then the seventh seal judgment released the seven trumpet judgments—Revelation 8:1-9:21, and the seventh trumpet judgment released the seven bowl judgments—Revelation 11:15; 16:1-21
God remains the same, as we are told in Malachi 3:6, thus God corrects sin in the same way throughout time – His corrections begin verbally through His word, then through someone else speaking His word, then they increase circumstantially in severity to open one’s eyes to their defiance to God and His ways.
Therefore, when we sin, we will first experience a heart of conviction from the Holy Spirit, often through a verse in the Bible or in a message a pastor delivers or in a podcast from a Christian teacher. We can harden our heart to the voice of the Lord as He calls us to repent, or we can repent of sin and remain right with Jesus Christ. If we harden our heart to the voice of the Lord, God will convict again through His word or through someone else, maybe a pastor or a friend who is not necessarily pointing a finger at us in our sin, but simply sharing the word of God and God will speak through that word. God can also bring someone alongside us in our sin as Galatians 6:1-2 states.
Nevertheless, when people try and purpose these moments in correcting other believers – I personally call them sin sniffers – they show to be devoid of obedience to God, while having God type desire witnessed in a desire for power over this individual, while lacking boldness in confronting sin directly. Thus they tend to go behind the person’s back telling other people or they speak to a mass audience what should have been discussed with the person alone.
If they are filled with the Holy Spirit devoid of personal agenda they will speak exactly what God desires people to hear. It truly is God at work through His word that draws a heart to repentance, not a power play seeking to force people to do what they command. Prideful power plays never accomplish the will of God, and actually cause greater duress and defiance amongst the church.
When people continue to refuse to repent, God tends to use circumstances. Unfortunately, many know enough about God while not knowing God personally, shown in their lack of submission to God in how they mistreat others. This type of person seeks to purpose suffering and difficult circumstances in a God type powerplay with the intention of wanting the victim of their planned event to believe they are in sin, as situations are not overtly favorable. These actions stem from the sinful individual’s insecurity and desire to feel powerful like God, over people. If they feel powerful, they are misled by their own sin, as they actually do not hold power over this individual. Power over an individual controls the individual. Their actions will cause anger, however, God has already instructed us in His word "to not sin in our anger" - Ephesians 4:26. Thus, God's instructions hold power, and counter sinful behavior, displaying God's love in guiding us along a path avoiding Satan's traps.
God's commands always counter and overcome Satan's agenda.
God type desire over people is not the will of God and is devoid of God’s voice. This is a power play and will unfortunately increase during end times as people increase in idolatrous actions, desiring the power of God over people, while never holding God’s love for His people. Therefore, obedience to God is imperative.
There are people in positions of authority at the church or in ministries, who are physically in authority over people who are actually at their church or in their ministry. These individuals have the right to call out the sin they witness. God gives them that power in position and it’s to be stewarded according to the Lord’s ways, always with pure love.
Always seek God regarding your circumstances and listen for His voice in His word. Idolatrous people enacting a power play, are like the thief who goes over the fence to destroy the sheep, they are not the shepherd who walks through the door. Idolatrous people also lack consistency in their self serving methods, as they can only be in one place at one time and can only fixate on one person at one time.
We need to remember humans will never have the power of God, unless God distributes it. We will never be all knowing, all powerful and everywhere at once. We can only hear God and obey. People cannot live their own life while trying to dominate you at the same time. Thus, these people who are that idolatrous, that grossly fixated on others while holding God type desires will be the ones suffering God’s wrath during the Tribulation.
Thirst for idolatrous power over people will increase.
Moreover, we know the surmounting sins during the last seven bowl judgments will be idolatry, as the greatest command is to love God with your heart, soul and mind and the first two commands of the 10 commandments are to have no other god before God, and to not make for yourselves a carved image.
Christians will have been removed, and people will still turn against one another, but the overarching sin issue will be against God directly witnessed in idolatry. People refusing to fear the Lord.
The apostle John then said he saw before him what appeared to be a glass sea mixed with fire and on it stood all of the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name.
Here John is describing the throne room of God, as we are told in Revelation 4:6 NLT, “In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.”
Therefore, all who resisted the heavy spiritual persuasion and manipulation of the beast, and resisted the call to worship the statue of the beast – which is a carved image; all who resisted taking the mark of the beast, which then brought onto them severe physical and psychological suffering as they were unable to buy what they needed for their livelihood – all of these people, victorious over the beast by the strength of Jesus Christ stood before the throne. Those who practically lived out Romans 8:37 that says, “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
The love of Jesus Christ gave these Christians the strength to refuse and resist the spiritual persuasion of the beast. Living in the love of Jesus Christ brought them victory over the enemy. And thus they physically stood at the foot of the throne, fearlessly, knowing how gracious God is as they lived out on earth Hebrews 4:16 NLT, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find his grace to help us when we need it most.”
Christian! Have you ever heard God say to your heart, “I have allowed this so I will receive great glory at the expense of Satan”—Exodus 14:4? Only God can allow something so difficult, and it remain so holy. There is only One God. Every human walking this earth is to obey God, thus when we come across Christians facing hardship or non-believers facing hardship, we step in with the love of Jesus Christ as we are His hands and feet in the lives of others, and that act of love tells this person they are loved by God.
So, when God allows a hardship, so out of our control, we have to believe He will move in it according to His desires, as we obey Him. Life here on earth and life in heaven is all about God’s glory! It’s not about you—it’s not about me –it’s about God. So, the crazy trials he allows us to go through are for us to grow in our faith to completion and for Him to receive the glory, as the world watches Him miraculously deliver us. When we are weak, He is strong. Rest assured, His grace is sufficient for everyone—2 Corinthians 12:9.
So, here in Revelation 15, John opens our eyes to see into heaven, and we see God receiving glory as His people sing a song of deliverance, praising Him for His victory over the Antichrist. Though they suffered greatly at the hands of Antichrist, not one word of complaint comes from their mouth, or a word on how they sacrificed much for Christ. Their humble worship, the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, glorifies God, extolling His character, correlating the fear of Him to His holiness, and honoring His righteous works—Revelation 15:3-4.
John then shares that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open, and the seven angels holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple. Their white clothing signifies their purity and holiness, while their gold sashes across their chest exemplify esteemed service, they are set apart for this specific work. The four living beings handed each angel a bowl filled with the wrath of God. John continues telling us the Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power – from His majestic presence.
Throughout the book of Revelation we see God’s holiness displayed in His divine wrath. We know holiness demands the judgment of sin, while His holiness also displays His love for those who turn to Him. So, we see His wrath continuously poured out on sinful mankind, calling people to repentance, while lovingly and joyously welcoming into His presence the praise of believers who have suffered during this time of severe judgment.
Will you pray with me?
Abba, thank You for this insight into the future of all of the victorious Christians who remained faithful to You during the severest hours of the Tribulation. We lift up every Christian to You today, who is suffering, praying Lord for You to give them the strength that they need in their current situation, the wisdom that they need, and the desire to remain faithful to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
