In this powerful episode of Hope for Today, we delve into Revelation 15, uncovering a scene in heaven that showcases a remarkable sign involving seven angels with seven plagues. This celestial vision marks the final outpouring of God’s wrath, revealing the completion of His divine justice. As we explore these profound scriptures, Bible teacher David Hawking provides insightful commentary, guiding listeners through this incredible chapter of Revelation. Prepare to be moved by the vivid imagery and spiritual significance of these final plagues.
00:00:00 Introduction to Martyrdom and the Universal Church
00:14:55 The Martyrs’ Victory and the Sea of Glass
00:23:20 Conclusion: The Coming Wrath and Future Broadcasts
SPEAKER 04 :
Jesus said, don’t fear those who can kill your body. Fear him who can cast both body and soul into hell. Tertullian said, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. In other words, you can’t wipe the church out by killing people. Why? Because according to Hebrews chapter 12, the only true universal church that has ever existed is being assembled in heaven.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Hope for Today. And on today’s program, as we open up Revelation chapter 15, this scene is unlike anything the earth has ever known. John sees a great sign in heaven. Seven angels, each holding a plague. Together, they carry the final outpouring of the wrath of God. The vision builds. The temple in heaven is filled with smoke from the glory and power of the Almighty. And no one, no one can enter until his judgments are complete. This is the point where God’s long-suffering impatience has run its course. And justice, justice can no longer wait. Stay tuned as Bible teacher David Hawking begins our study in Revelation 15, verses 1-8. It’s titled, The Great Sign in Heaven. First… Matt, today we have a listener letter all the way from Northern California. That’s kind of my old stomping grounds. Yeah, and this one comes from Trina. She had a real nice comment there.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, it says, I’m still so thankful… For all the years of teaching and words of revelation and times I heard you in person at the prophecy conferences in Shasta County, Redding, California, 2016, 2017, 2018. So happy to hear and see you plugging on. I love that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Matt, and it’s your dad’s heart and passion that the ministry of hope for today continue as long as the Lord provides. So every man, woman and child, right?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hear the word of God, the Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible. And we repeat that a lot, Matt, but it is so crucial in our day and age to repeat that focus because it is God’s word that has the answers. The living word by the living God. There you go. Folks, if you have a comment for us, a prayer request, please do get in touch with us. We love hearing from our listening family. And we’ll tell you just a bit later how to do that. And here’s David with day one of The Great Sign in Heaven.
SPEAKER 04 :
Revelation chapter 15, verses 1 to 8, or the entire chapter. And I saw another sign in heaven. great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 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. And after that I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts, or living creatures, gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials, or bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever.” 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 till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. Now we’re told that this is a sign, verse 1, in heaven. And it’s another sign. Actually, we’re still in the seventh trumpet message. And maybe we ought to just take a quick review to make sure you know where we are. We have had two signs already. Go back to chapter 12, verse 1. Chapter 12, verse 1. There appeared a great wonder or sign in heaven, and that was the woman clothed with the sun. Remember chapter 11, verse 15, the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. This scroll that’s being unraveled has seven seals in it. We’ve already broken the seventh seal. In the seventh seal, there are seven trumpet messages or judgments. The seventh trumpet blows at the middle of the tribulation and continues clear to the end. It is the longest part of the scroll. It is the longest message. And what it really contains is three great signs, which are discussed here. One is the sign of the woman. Two is the sign of the dragon, verse 3. There appeared another wonder or sign. And three is the sign of the seven last plagues. The seven last plagues called bowls or vials of wrath that are poured out on the earth is a part of the seventh trumpet message. So there are three signs. Sign of the woman, sign of the dragon, sign of the seven last plagues. And we also have in the seventh trumpet message several visions. Go back, please, to chapter 13, verse 1. Chapter 13, verse 1, we read, I stood, or literally he stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea. So I saw. The first vision of the seventh trumpet message is a beast with seven heads. The second vision is in verse 11, and I beheld or I saw another beast. So the beast with two horns is the second vision. Third is chapter 14, verse 1, and I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Zion with him 144,000. So the 144,000 is the third vision within the seventh trumpet message. Number four is in chapter 14, verse 6. I saw another angel having the everlasting gospel. So the gospel and judgments are in this fourth vision. In the fifth vision, it’s in verse 14 of chapter 14. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and was set on it like the Son of Man. And he puts in the sickle in the final harvest. So the final harvest is the fifth vision. vision of the seventh trumpet message and the sixth one is here in chapter 15 where he says i saw another sign and it’s a vision of the heavenly temple and the seven last plagues and that’s the sixth vision in the seventh trumpet message Now, if you like to outline, we’re just splitting the chapter very easily. Verse 1 and 2, we look at the sign in heaven. Verses 3 and 4, the song of Moses and the Lamb. And then in verses 5 to 8, the scene that is in heaven. When you look at the sign in heaven, there are two things I would point out to you. Number one, the importance of the sign has to be indicated by the opening words when it says, I saw another sign. The Greek word is another of the same kind. So it’s just as spectacular as the woman clothed with the sun and moon and the 12 stars, as just as spectacular as the great red dragon, who also was pictured with seven heads and ten horns. So it’s another sign like it. And this particular description is given here in verse 1, great and marvelous. There are two things here. One, the enormity of it, but also the blessing of it. I like that. Great and marvelous. There’s something really spectacular about this sign because the heavenly temple is open. You’re getting a glimpse of heaven. But there’s also something marvelous, something really a blessing for all of us here. Two things about this sign. One, the plagues, to me, reveal the importance of the sign. The plagues. People speak of the seven last plagues, and sometimes they don’t even know what they’re talking about. It’s certainly emphasizing the importance of this sign. As a matter of fact, it’s even stronger in Greek. Look at verse 1. It says, having the seven last plagues. But technically in Greek, it’s in what we call the emphatic position to emphasize it. It reads like this, seven plagues, the last ones. It’s like God saying, this is it. Everything that’s gone before was just a warm-up. This is it. Seven plagues, the last ones. And what it is announcing is the completion of the plan of God against an unbelieving world that’s been turning their back on him through all history. God is going to wrap it all up. It’s the same thing as chapter 10, verse 7, when it says, “…during the blowing of the seventh trumpet, the mystery of God will be finished.” It’s all going to be wrapped up with the seven last plagues. And they occur in rapid succession or perhaps even simultaneously at the end of the tribulation period. The seven plagues, the last ones. Not only do the plagues reveal the importance of the sign, but the plan of God behind those plagues reveals the importance of this sign. Look at the end of verse 1. For in them… the seven last plagues, is filled up the wrath of God. The word filled up is to finish, to complete. It’s God’s plan being filled, and a plan that deals with his wrath. There are different words for wrath in Greek. One that is commonly used in Revelation, orge, is dealing with a settled disposition, like a fixed plan. It’s God’s wrath being poured out under a fixed system of executing judgment. There’s another word called thumos, which is like when we get, we say, ticked off or we say we blow our stack, we lose control. If you’ve ever seen somebody just emotionally fall apart with anger, well, it’s kind of fascinating that that’s the word here. It’s a violent outburst of anger from God himself. And that kind of offends us a little bit because we want to know of his love and his grace and his mercy, and he certainly is that. But the subtle disposition of God that represents the plan by which he brings his wrath is here described as an emotional outburst of boiling of God Almighty. It’s like the completion of everything he has said. And when it comes, boy, is it going to come. That’s the point of it. And it will include Armageddon. The Bible calls it the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God. It is the day of vengeance of our God. And here God literally is exploding, as it were, his anger and wrath against the world who has decided they could run things without him, have spit upon him, have blasphemed him, have ignored him, and all the systems of the world that culminate in that final world empire that think now we finally got it. We don’t need God. We’re running it now. And all of a sudden we see an explosion of the anger of Almighty God as the seven last plagues. are poured out on the earth. It’s really rather dramatic, to say the least. Look at chapter 16, just for a moment, verse 17. When the seventh angel pours out the last plague, it’s interesting what it says. A great voice out of the temple of heaven, presumably God’s. From the throne, it says. God the Father says, it is done. It is finished. And notice what it says in chapter 15, verse 1 again. For in them, the seven last plagues is filled up. That’s the word to finish, to be done, the wrath of God. So what is done is the wrath of God. Because what’s following Armageddon is blessing, folks. God’s kingdom will be set up on earth. righteousness will be ruling and reigning. There will be peace forever. And the prince of peace will be ruling and reigning. From then on, it’s blessing. The wolf will lay down with the lamb. And a child will lead wild animals around. They’ll no longer be wild. God’s going to change all the animals. And it’s amazing what’s going to happen. Topographical changes will take place. There will be just a whole brand new world created by our Lord Jesus Christ. And that day is coming. But what’s going to be done, what’s going to be finished, is the wrath of Almighty God against this world system. Can you think of another moment in history when God cried out, it is finished? Amen. You all can think of it, can’t you? On the cross, when our Lord Jesus died, he cried out. Greek has it with a loud voice. He’s literally screaming it. It is done. It is finished. What was finished? The plan of God to save lost humanity. How interesting that a loud voice from the temple of God, presumably as we said, God the Father, will shout it out again. When the seventh plague, the final bowl of wrath is poured out. It’s done. It’s finished. It’s all over. Kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Well, in addition to the importance of the sign, look at the identity of those that are standing on the sea of glass. The Bible says that John saw two things here. Verse 2, I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire. And secondly, them that had gotten the victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. Well, is this interesting or what? This is great. A sea of glass mingled with fire. Turn back to chapter 4. Since this scene is in heaven, let’s take another look at it. from a picture of a sea of glass that was mentioned back in chapter 4, verse 6. Before the throne of God, God the Father, we’re told, there was a sea of glass like crystal. And in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were the four beasts full of eyes and so forth. So there’s a sea of glass. We argued then it was like a pavement, a marble pavement, where you couldn’t step on it or cross over unless you were given permission. It’s the part that you begin to approach the monarch to be acknowledged by his scepter that it’s okay to speak. And that sort of separated the king from his subjects. It’s usually marble or quartz or something like that. But here we’re told it’s a sea of glass. before the throne of God. And it separates the holiness of God from the creatures that he himself has redeemed. They have been given acceptance to the Father. The sea of glass mingled with fire means that those on it have come through a very difficult time. Yes, folks, there’s the dear folks who go through the tribulation who right now have never heard the gospel. And there is over one half of the world’s population that has yet to hear the gospel. Perhaps the preaching of the 144,000 as we’ve suggested. The everlasting gospel will go to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. Can’t even count there were so many people coming out of the tribulation who come to know the Lord. And they are killed for their faith. They will be standing on the sea of glass showing that God has already accepted them. They’re not standing outside of it waiting for him to… acknowledge, make an approach, they’re already up there. And it’s just like God saying, hey, all of you people, come on up here. I’d like to say, first of all, since it’s a number no man can count, this must be an awful big sea of glass because they’re all standing up. What is the throne of God in heaven going to be like? Can you imagine it? With millions of people standing on the very sea of glass that’s around the throne that separates the Father from all of his subjects who have been redeemed. It’s just a marvelous picture here. Mingled with fire, yes, they came through the fire. They suffered greatly. The Bible says they were beheaded for their testimony, the testimony of Jesus and their commitment to the word of God. They didn’t take the mark of the beast, so they were killed by the Antichrist. The false prophet saw to it. As many as had not received the mark were killed, the Bible teaches, But one day they’re going to stand on the sea of glass. It’s mingled with fire. They’ve been through the fire. The devil and all the demons of hell don’t have any ability to overcome and overpower the church. If they kill us all, it doesn’t do anything. It just causes more of us to be in the great assembly in the sky where the church is really being assembled, which is in heaven. And down here, we just have earthly churches with lots of folks. We hope they’re all knowing the Lord, but we’re not sure. But in heaven, we got a true group. They’re all born again. Can you imagine what the praise meetings are going to be like in heaven when everybody is really born again? For sure. Can you imagine? Just think of the singing possibilities when you no longer have the bad vocal cords you have now. Just think of what it’s going to be like to praise the Lord. It’s going to be a wonderful time. Well, back to Revelation. We got a little afloat, but not too much. Revelation chapter 15. What we’re seeing here are the martyrs of the tribulation period. Persecution is all the way through this, but they have overcome the beast. Don’t worry about the mark of the beast, the antichrist and the image and all that stuff. So they kill them all. God’s going to resurrect them. Isn’t it interesting that he uses the word in terms of bodily position that represents resurrection? Standing. If you’re Jewish, you know that. We shall stand up in that day. It’s all a picture of the resurrection of the believer. And here they’re pictured standing on the sea of glass, fully accepted by the Heavenly Father.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a bit to close out today’s lesson. Stay tuned for that. First, though, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you about this month’s special Bible study resource. And, Matt, what do we have?
SPEAKER 01 :
Each month, Jim, we hear from our listening family regarding the trials and tribulations they’re facing. These are difficult days indeed, Matt. So how do we keep our hearts focused and trusting in the Lord? How do we hang on to hope? Yeah, well, this month we’re featuring my dad’s book, Hope in Difficult Times. Hope in Difficult Times is 195 pages of encouragement, biblical direction for every discouragement of your life. And it’s just $20.
SPEAKER 02 :
Matt, Inside Your Dad takes readers through a biblical study of hope and its role in the life of believers. He shows us God’s merciful character for those times when the hopelessness we face comes from our own sin or cowardice. Well, Matt, how about the discouragement we endure when we’re targeted by gossip, rumors, and accusations?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, exactly. Well, there’s hope from God’s word from these seasons. And my dad lays it out inside this book, Hope for Difficult Times. Matt, how about those times when we fail and desperately need restoration? Yeah, you know, there is hope from God’s word. Amen. And you’ll discover and realize that when you read Hope for Difficult Times, it isn’t just about wishing upon a star hope. Hope is the confidence that God cares, loves, has a purpose, and will complete his work in and through our lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
And gives us the abundant blessing of eternity with him. Wow. Amen. Well, get your copy of Hope for Difficult Times today for $20 from Hope for Today. Read, enjoy, and then… Share with a friend who also needs hope. And don’t forget to always pray for hope for today. To get your copy of Hope in Difficult Times by David Hawking, give us a call at 875-BIBLE, that’s in the United States, or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online at davidhawking.org. And just before David returns, let me quickly remind you that you can also get our current Revelation radio series in an MP3 audio pack for just $30. You can also get the series on DVD so you can watch David preach. The DVD set of the complete Revelation series, $50. Call today or visit davidhawking.org to order. And friend, Hope for Today depends on the faithful financial gifts of listeners like you. So would you first of all pray for us? And as you pray, pray for God’s supply to meet the financial needs of Hope for Today. And if God moves your heart to help meet the financial need, call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, Bible by the numbers 24253, Or you can mail your gift to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. That’s in the U.S. Or in Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO 7 Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. And you can also give safely online at davidhawking.org. Now here’s David with his closing comments.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’ve been in Revelation chapter 15 on the great sign in heaven. John simply says in verse 1, I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous. And what he saw were seven angels with seven bowls of the wrath of God. These are the last plagues of the tribulation period. and I hope you have a Bible handy. If not, to listen carefully, we’re in Revelation 15, and we got started today, and I hope you can be with us. We’re going to need a couple more broadcasts, that’s for sure. Well, this great sign, according to the Bible, is filled with the wrath of God. Now the whole tribulation period, according to the book of Revelation, is the wrath of God. Three sets—seal, trumpets, and bowls of wrath. And that’s where we’re at right now, looking at the coming of the final, last plagues of the tribulation period. Folks, I’m excited about Revelation. I hope you are too. If you’d like to listen to a broadcast you might have missed, you can go to davidhocking.org and you can pick up the broadcast that you’ve missed and catch up. And I hope you’ll enjoy every one of these. This is, I think, four times for me teaching through the book of Revelation, and I see things every time. One day soon, God’s going to pour out His wrath on planet Earth. Plan to be with us for our next broadcast.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thank you, David. And like our teacher said, if you need to catch up on any of our recent broadcasts, you can do so by clicking on DavidHawking.org and go to the top of the page there and click on the radio tab. Oh, and by the way, please be sure to share that website with all your family and friends because we put so many resources on there to help build up the body of Christ and to reach the lost. Check out all the great Bible City resources we’ve got waiting for you. And again, that web address, DavidHawking.org. And on our next broadcast, day two of our study in Revelation 15, you know, John sees a great sign in heaven. Seven angels holding the final plagues, the full measure of God’s wrath. The sea of glass blazes with fire and the victors over the beast stand in triumph, lifting their voices to the Lord. It’s a scene of glory, justice, and the unmistakable warning that the end has truly come. Don’t miss day two of The Great Sign in Heaven right here on Hope for Today.
