Because of the events of the past few weeks, we have positive indication that the coming of Jesus is even at the door. Are you anxious about that? Or are you glad? A lot of people are anxious today. If your heart is not right with Jesus, you’re going to be anxious naturally. But if your heart is right with God, you’ve accepted Him, you’ve submitted to Him, there’s nothing to be anxious about. We see the signs fulfilling.

We understand that we are living during the time when the last few verses of Daniel 11 are in the process of being fulfilled, right now. We may not understand all the details. We may not even agree on what those details are. But I think we can agree, and we know enough to know that Michael is about to stand up and probation is going to close forever. And everyone’s eternal destiny is going to be fixed—sealed—for eternity. And when that happens the inhabitants of the earth know it not, we’re not going to know, when that time comes.

Those scriptures that speak of Jesus coming as a thief and, with the element of surprise, will have been fulfilled when probation closes, when the destiny of everyone is decided forever.

In Matthew 24 Jesus told many details about the events that would transpire just before He returns to this earth. And except for His admonition to watch and be ready, all those signs have pretty much been fulfilled.  Let’s look at chapter 24, let’s just look at a few verses there, just to refresh our memory. Of course, Matthew 24 is all about last day events. In verse 21 it says, “For then (that would be sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem that’s talked about in the previous verses) shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” When did that great tribulation take place, you students of history? 538 AD to 1798, the period of papal supremacy, better known as the Dark Ages.

Verse 22: “And except those days should be shortened, (Were they shortened? Just twenty or so years before 1798, as a result of the of the reformation that was going through, pretty much killed the power of the papacy before the pope was taken captive.) And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

Now go down to verse 27: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Look at verse 29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days (that is, those days that were shortened) shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Now those signs in the heavens have been fulfilled, they’ve all been fulfilled. “The powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” That is one part that is still yet future during the seventh plague right down there at the end.

But what is the next verse? We’re dealing with the close of probation here, we’re bringing us right on down to the time when the plagues are going to be poured out. Verse 30 says, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” I want you to notice that it doesn’t really say much in between those two verses. It brings us right on down to the fulfillment of those heavenly signs, talks a little bit about the thing that’s going to happen during the close of probation, and then Jesus comes. That’s the next event.

If you just kind of skim through that chapter, you know what it’s about. It talks about the parable of the fig tree. He talks about as it was in the days of Noah, and so forth. And then in verse 42: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

Now if you follow through chapter 25, because these chapters go together. We know that chapter 25, the first few verses, is dealing with the parable of the ten virgins. And the whole object of that parable is so Jesus could show us that we need to be watching, and that we need to be praying, because He’s coming as a thief. It’s not talking about His second coming in the clouds of heaven, but when He goes in to the marriage supper and the door is shut, as it says in verse 13—the close of probation.  That’s what it’s bringing us to, here. And so, what I want you to see is, and we’re going to see this in other places as we go through, that the Bible gives us details about things that have already passed. And then the next thing that happens is the close of probation and the second coming of Christ.

Go to Revelation 6:12. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake (is that past, present, or future? 1755, the Lisbon earthquake; that’s past. And then it goes through those same signs we read about in Matthew 24); and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” What next?

Verse 14: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”  And so, once again, it goes through those heavenly signs and brings us right down to the close of probation when the wrath of God is poured out.

And so, what is our concern? What should our concern be? Why does God give us a description of the seven last plagues? Is it going to do us any good to know what those plagues are all about and when they’re going to happen and all that? Isn’t probation already closed? Aren’t we already sealed? Why does God give this information? So that we’ll be ready, so that we’ll be warned what’s coming. And so, because of that, where should our focus be? Shouldn’t it be on developing the kind of character that God can take with Him back to heaven when He comes to get us? That’s really where our focus should be and helping others to do the same thing.

And of course, there is the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14. In verses 14-19 it talks about how Jesus is just about to thrust in His sickle for the harvest of the earth because it is ripe, it’s ready for the harvest. And verse 19 says: “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” Now we already know that the wrath and the seven last plagues are the same thing. And so here, once again, after the third angel’s message has done its work and has come to the end, the next thing here is the wrath of God being poured out.

Also, Revelation 11:15, this is concerning the seven trumpets, and the sixth trumpet is history. What happens when the seventh trumpet begins to sound? Verse 15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” When does that happen? When do the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ? Has it already happened?

Keep your finger there and go to Daniel 7:13, 14 which gives a little more detail of the same thing. “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” And so, the coming of Christ here described is not His second coming to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive dominion, and a glory, and a kingdom which will be given Him at the close of His work as mediator. And so, we’re talking again about the close of probation. When Jesus receives that kingdom His work in the Most Holy Place is finished, and then the plagues, the wrath of God, come.

Revelation 11:16: “And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, (what happens after the seven last plagues are poured out? The righteous go to heaven and we’re going to spend a thousand years going over the books, to judge those who are not there) and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”

As you read things like this, it becomes quite obvious that we are living right now during the time when it’s described in Revelation 7, first few verses. Maybe we ought to just turn there real quick since we’re right here in Revelation. It talks about those four angels holding the four winds. Revelation 7:1 says, “And after these things (that is, after those signs have been fulfilled that were described right up here in chapter 6) I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” I think this is both literal and symbolic, because those plagues are not only going to destroy nature, but it’s going to destroy the inhabitants of the earth, large bodies of people represented by the sea, and the tree—trees are people, you can read that several places in the Bible.  Psalm 1:1-3 is a good place.

And so, these angels are holding the four winds. Verse 2 says, “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: (who is this angel that has the seal? Isn’t it the third angel? That’s the sealing angel.) and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” I find a little comfort in that verse. Especially right now. God is not going to allow mass destruction in this world because those four winds are being held, right now, that the winds do not blow upon the people and upon the land. So, I get a little comfort out of that.

Anyway, we also know that this country is the last superpower because this country is the one who is going to enforce the image of the beast. That’s the last thing to happen before Jesus comes, before probation closes.

Is it going to be just one big decision, one big choice, that God brings us down to in the end, that is either going to seal us for eternity, or the other? No. It’s going to be little things, little choices, little decisions that we make all along the way that is going to prepare us for the big test when it comes. And because of the way we respond to the little things all along the way, we’re going to respond, hopefully, favorably to the big test when it comes. That’s how it works.

This morning I want to consider what’s in Revelation 15, because that is the chapter that gives an introduction into what the seven last plagues are. And then chapter 16 goes into more detail of those seven last plagues. Chapter 16 we will probably look at some other day. But before we go into Revelation 15, I would like to look at some texts all through the Bible that deal with the wrath of God so we can learn a little bit more about God’s wrath other than what’s there in Revelation 15.

The first text is Isaiah 13:9. Isaiah says, “Behold , the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” As you search the Old and the New Testament, the expression “the day of the LORD” always refers to the execution of God’s judgments. I always used to think “the day of the LORD” was when Jesus came in the clouds of heaven. I think most people probably think that, but that’s not so. It’s when His judgments are poured out.

And so, these references of “the day of the LORD,” and we’ll read a few more, refer to his wrath when it is poured out. And it culminates into the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Let’s look at just one example of that. Go to 1 Thessalonians 5:1. “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.” What was he talking about in chapter 4, just previous to this? He was talking about when Jesus comes back, how the dead are going to be raised, how our feet are going to leave the ground, we’re going to meet Him in the air, and so forth.

Verse 2: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” Is that the way Jesus is going to come, in the clouds? The Bible says that every eye is going to see Him. “As the lightening comes from the east and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”  And so, when Jesus appears, it’s not going to be as a thief, everybody’s going to know it. So, it has to be referring to something else.

“The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they (the children of darkness) shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day (the day of the Lord) should overtake you as a thief.” And so, it’s not going to overtake everyone as a thief. “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” The same admonition that Jesus gave in Matthew 24. “For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” And so, God has not appointed us who are children of the light to partake of the seven last plagues. Instead, we are to obtain salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s the context here.

Go to Zephaniah, that’s that little bitty book about the fourth book from the end of the Old Testament. Zephaniah 1. This is really some interesting verses, here, and it wouldn’t be hard to spend a whole lot of time, but we just want to zero in on God’s wrath. By the way, the expressions, “the day of the Lord,” “the seven last plagues,” “the wrath of God,” “the close of probation,” even “the battle of Armageddon,” all have to do, and all indicate the beginning of God’s judgments. All those phrases are almost synonymous.

Zephaniah 1:14: “The great day of the LORD is near, (the close of probation is near) it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.”

Who do you suppose these mighty men are? Mighty means powerful. As you think about men in this world today who have power, and might, and influence, and persuasion over the people, who would it be? It would be the religious leaders, wouldn’t it? It would be the shepherds, and in this case, it would be the false shepherds because they cry bitterly.

Verse 15 says, “That day (the day of the Lord) is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm.” Now what is a trumpet usually used for? It’s used for warning. It has something to do with battle, to prepare the troops, and so forth. And so, it is during the time of the seven last plagues that the battle of Armageddon is going to be fought. It’s right in that same context, here.

“A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.” Now, what would the fenced cities represent? What is a city? The church. Isaiah 1:21, speaking of the Jewish church, Isaiah says, “How is the faithful city become an harlot!” How has the professed church become the synagogue of Satan? That’s really the question that is being asked there. How did it happen? This church that was supposed to be fortified with the truth has instead fortified herself with lies. Those men on the high towers, they are to be watchmen, right?  Instead of warning the people of the approach of the enemy, they have instead, been asleep on duty. Instead of crying, what does it say in Isaiah 58:1? “Cry aloud, spare not.” Instead of crying aloud and sparing not, they have been crying, “peace and safety.” This is exactly what’s happening here.

Verse 17: “And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, (Isn’t that the case today? The religious leaders are walking like blind men. They don’t know their own condition and they don’t know the condition of their flock for the most part. I’m talking about Christianity as a whole) because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; (this is talking about the wrath of God being poured out, the seven last plagues) but the whole land (all the institutions, all the buildings, all the hospitals, all the publishing houses) shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” We don’t want to be in that land when the wrath of God is poured out, or else we will partake of those plagues along with the rest.

Go to Matthew 3:7, speaking of John the Baptist, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” He’s looking out at all these people, the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders, the spies, and he says, “who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” From the seven last plagues that are to come upon this world. The wrath of God.

How do we flee? What do we have to do to avoid the wrath of God? Verse 8 answers the question. “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” We need to confess and forsake our sins. We need to be partakers of the divine nature. We need to be born again. We need to be baptized with the Holy Ghost. We need to become new creatures in Christ. That’s the only way we’re going to avoid the wrath of God.

Verse 9: ” And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father:” If John the Baptist were alive today and he was in the water and all the religious leaders and the people were there, what would he say to them today? He wouldn’t say, Don’t think that just because you’re a descendant of Abraham you’ve got it made. What would he say to us today? Can you think of some things he would say to us? What we’re placing our confidence in, maybe, for salvation, other than Christ? So, don’t think to say in your heart that we have the pioneers of our faith, we’re following them, we want to be like them. That’s not enough. Is that going to give us any brownie points with God? No. Christ is where our focus needs to be.

“We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” In fact, it probably would have been easier to raise up people out of those stones, rather than change the stony hearts of those people. It would have been easier, and God was able to do it, too.

Verse 10: “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” And so, profession alone weighs nothing in the scale of heaven. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” It doesn’t say, By their works ye shall know them. By the fruit, by the fruit that your life is producing people will know whether you belong to Christ or whether you don’t. What are those fruits? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness faith, meekness. If we’re not producing the fruit of the Spirit, what are we doing? We’re producing the works of the flesh; that list that’s really longer than the fruit of the Spirit in that same chapter in Galatians 5.

Go to John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Where does that place the Muslims, and the Buddhists, and the Catholics, and the heathen, and all people who do not believe that through Christ only, and through His name eternal life can be secured. Where does that put them? Acts 4:12 said there’s no “other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” It’s not an option. Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, you can name whatever you want. Those names aren’t going to get you there. The Bible says that every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Even the ones who are lost are going to confess that in the end, but it’s not going to save them because the wrath of God, the probation is closed, and the plagues have already been poured out.

Go to Romans 5:8, 9 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Once again, the Bible makes it very clear that only through Christ will that destroying angel, as it were, pass over our house.

Ephesians 5:1-7 “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, (a man who indulges animal passions without restraint. And men, if it wasn’t for the grace of God, we would all be whoremongers. In fact, there are a lot of whoremongers today even within the marriage institution, they are unrestrained) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”

And so, we’re given details here about how to avoid the plagues of God. And really, that is the purpose of God all through the Bible, how people can avoid being partakers of My wrath in the last days. How can we avoid those plagues?

Go to Colossians 3:1: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection (or excessive unnatural lust again. And I am really surprised. As you read through these lists, almost every one of these things have something to do with unnatural sexual desire.), evil concupiscence (or a longing after that which is forbidden, no matter what it is), and covetousness, which is idolatry: for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”

In Revelation 15 it describes the preparation that heaven is making, or will make, just before the wrath of God is poured out upon the wicked inhabitants of this earth. As the chapter begins, John is taken off in vision to see the description that he describes there in chapters 15 and 16. But before we get to that point in Revelation 15, I think it’s important for us to understand that the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel are, by and large, symbolic. They are a word picture that God has given to try to teach us lessons, to try to teach us truth.

I want you to go back to Revelation 1:1, because God tells us right here in the beginning that this is so. In fact, what does Revelation mean? Have you ever looked up the word Revelation in the concordance? It comes from a word that means “take off the cover,” or “an unveiling.” In the very first verse it says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants (unless we are servants of God, we’re not going to understand what’s in this book, because He gave it) to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” This word “signified” means “to indicate or make known by a sign.” And a sign is a token, and a token is a symbol, and a symbol is something that represents something else. That’s what Revelation is. It’s a book of symbolic language.

As you think about some of the parables that Jesus told, what comes to my mind, what I’ve spent a lot of time studying, like the parable of the wheat and tares, and the parable of the ten virgins, and the parable where He told in John 15 about Himself representing the vine and we are the branches. And how the Holy Spirit flows through our little branch and we produce the fruit of the Spirit. When you put it in a word picture like that it’s much easier to understand what He’s saying, and to remember what He’s saying. So God is big on symbols because that is a powerful way that He can teach.

Let’s just think about some things in Revelation for a minute. Let’s think about the three angels’ messages, for instance. Are there three literal angels that are going to be flying in the midst of heaven to give the last message of mercy to this world? No. It is symbolic, not literal.

How about those four angels we read about in Revelation 7 that are holding the four winds. Are there four literal angels that are holding the four winds that the wind not blow upon the earth? It is symbolic.

What about the seven trumpets? Symbolic. Seven seals? Symbolic. What about the beasts that are mentioned in Daniel and Revelation? Literal beasts? Or symbolic? Symbolic.

What about the mark of the beast and the seal of God? Is it a literal mark that will be placed? No. Symbolic. All the way through, as you read and study Revelation, is symbolic language that God is trying to teach truth.

Now I don’t want any of you to think I’m trying to do away with the reality of these things. They are real. The plagues are real, but they are explained in symbols and in figures and in word pictures.

And it’s no different with the seven last plagues. Is going to commission seven angels with seven literal vials in their hands and tell them to go and literally dump those vials upon the earth? I’m not saying that the plagues are not literal. They are. And I’m not saying that literal angels are not involved in the execution of those plagues. It’s obvious to me as I read this that they are. Now, I’m not going to tell you that I understand it all. I’m not going to say, Well look to me, I’ve got the answers. No. But just because we don’t have all the answers and don’t understand all the symbols in Revelation, does that mean that we shouldn’t try to understand?

Go to Revelation 15. We’re going to just quickly go through these eight verses. Revelation 15:1-8: “And I saw another sign (that’s taken from the same word as the word signified in Rev. 1:1 that we already talked about. It’s talking about symbolic language here) And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” And so here we have the last plagues that will ever be poured upon this world. When it’s over, it’s over. When it’s finished or complete, and by the way, that’s what the number seven represents. God’s wrath is complete, it’s done, it’s over with. Justice has been served.

Verse 2: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire:” Now can you use your sanctified imagination? What does that mean? A sea of glass mingled with fire. Here we are, in heaven in vision, John’s in vision, and it says, “and them” The 144,000 are up there and they are on what looks like a sea of glass mingled with fire. Have you ever stood next to a lake where it’s perfectly calm? No wind, no disturbance, no throwing rocks and watching the ripples, nothing. It’s just like a mirror almost. See the reflection of the trees and everything in the water. You get a picture of it and you can’t even tell what’s water and what’s reflected in the sky? What does that represent to you, a sea of glass? Perfectly flat, perfectly calm. Doesn’t it kind of remind you of tranquility, peace, peaceful atmosphere? These are the attributes of God, peace and purity, mingled with fire. What would that be? His power? His glory? In other places in Revelation and in Daniel, and even in some of the other prophets, it describes God or Jesus as feet burning, and his countenance looks like . . . Could this be this sea of glass mingled with fire? Could it be the glory of God as it’s reflected?

Continuing on with verse 2: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them (144,000) that had gotten the victory over the beast (papacy), and over his image (apostate Protestantism), and over his mark (Sunday sacredness. By the way, how do we get victory over Sunday sacredness? By keeping the seventh day Sabbath holy.), and over the number of his name.” And so, these 144,000 understand that the number of the beast adds up to 666 as it is described in Revelation 13:18. They are standing “on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” I was looking in the concordance under “harps” and I found a scripture in Psalm 33:2 and it describes the harp as an instrument of praise. That’s what they’re doing there. They’re on the sea of glass and they’re praising God.

Verse 3: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, (What is the song of Moses? A song of victory, a song of deliverance after they had crossed through the Red Sea) and the song of the Lamb.” The song of Moses, the song of deliverance and the song of the Lamb. So we are giving praise to God and victory over death and the grave.

“The song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” It’s important that it doesn’t say King of sinners. If Jesus is our King, we can’t continue sinning. We have to be a saint. We have to stop.

Verse 4: “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” Or thy plagues have been made known, they’re coming out.

Verse 5: “And after that I looked, (the scene changes now) And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.” Before that it must have been closed. When Jesus was in the Most Holy Place as our great high priest. . . Think back to the day of atonement. When the high priest went into the Most Holy Place on the day of atonement was anyone else allowed to go in or even to look in there? No. But now the temple is open. That means that Jesus’ work as our Mediator is over. And then what does it say?

Verse 6: “And the seven angels came out of the temple.” We’re told that when Jesus’ work in the Most Holy Place is finished, He goes into the Holy Place, and He’s in there for just a little while, changes His garments, takes off His priestly garments and puts on His garments of vengeance, and then He exits. Could it be that during that time, maybe, when Jesus is in the Holy Place and has finished His work in the Most Holy, maybe that those angels go in there and get their instructions from Him? Because it says they “came out of the temple.” Evidently they follow Jesus out because His work was done.

“Clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.” To me, this represents the pure, righteous justice as God inflicts these seven last plagues upon the wicked. And it also represents that this is just, for those who have rejected His mercy.

Verse 7: “And one of the four beasts” And by the way, when we were studying in Revelation 5:8, 9 we found out that those four beasts and the twenty-four elders were evidently human beings that have been redeemed from this earth, because they were singing praise to God because He had redeemed them from the earth. It could be that group of people that went up after Jesus’ resurrection that He took back to heaven with Him. It could be Enoch, Elijah, some of these different men represented by these. And by the way, the beast here, if you look up that word, it’s not a really good translation there. Four beasts. You look up that word and it means “a living thing,” or a living being. It’s just simply saying there’s a living person up there. And what does He do?  “And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.” And so, it sounds to me like God is really mad. These vials are full. You can’t put any more wrath, or anger, in those vessels, they’re filled.

Verse 8: “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God,” What does that remind you of? Anything in the Old Testament? The Shekinah glory? The pillar of cloud by day? I was looking in the concordance and I found some scriptures that indicate the clouds and smoke are the same thing. When the earthly sanctuary system was built according to the pattern, God was pleased and He came down and the whole tabernacle was filled with a cloud, it says, or smoke. What would that represent? Back then it represented that God accepted what the people did, they followed His instructions perfectly, and He was happy with them. And so, here again, I think, the smoke that filled the temple in heaven, God is saying, I accept the sacrifice of My Son. He’s done everything right. I accept those that He died for, those who accepted Him.

“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple.” The same way in the earthly tabernacle. When God down in that cloud and filled that earthly sanctuary, not even Moses could go in there, because he wouldn’t be able to survive the glory of God. Same here. No man was able to enter the temple “till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”

If there was a corpse laying on the right here and you kicked that corpse as hard as you could, how would that corpse respond? You would get no response. And isn’t that the kind of response we need to give when temptations come to us? No response! Why? Because we’re dead. Self is dead. And unless self is dead, and stays dead, we are going to receive of those plagues. That’s how serious it is. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. For the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Sacrifice all to God. Lay all upon His altar—self, property, and all, a living sacrifice. It will take all to enter glory. Not just one little reserve over here? No. All. You must be partakers of Christ’s sufferings here if ye would be partakers with Him of His glory hereafter.

In Hebrews 2:18 it says there that Jesus suffered being tempted His whole life through. How did He suffer being tempted? How do you suffer, or do you suffer from being tempted? When temptations come to us, our fallen nature wants to give in to those temptations. But instead of giving in to those temptations, we must be like that corpse on the ground. Temptations come, no response. We are causing our sinful nature to suffer when we say No to sin. And that’s what Jesus did, all His life, every time. And we have to come to that place.

Sermon Notes in pdf  The Wrath of God