Blessed Are Those: A Journey through Revelation – Part 17

The Final Scene of Heaven and Earth – Rev 15:1-16:21

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – May 4th, 2025

Intro:

• We are nearing the end of our journey through Revelation, with four installments to go, including today. If you want to know how it all goes down in the end, then you will want to tune in to these last four messages. This morning, we will cover two chapters of the book of Revelation, chapters 15–16, which are the final scenes of the current heaven and earth before the transition to a new heaven and earth.
• In chapter 13, we see the devil, his beasts, their plan, and their followers. In contrast, in chapter 14, we see the lamb, the throne, His plan, and His followers.
• Chapter 15 opens with a vision of heaven, which continues the focus on what God is going to do from the vantage point of heaven, followed by the realities on earth. In this final scene of the “old heaven,” we read about a sign, a song, and a sanctuary, each giving us insight into the plan and purposes of God.

The final scene of heaven

Revelation 15:1-8 NIV

I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

 “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

 5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

 A sign

• • The sign is the appearance of the seven angels with the seven last plagues, the third set of judgments (seals, trumpets, bowls), and with them, God’s wrath is complete. This world will come to an end before the new beginning, and God’s plan will prevail.
  • Now we see the sea of glass again, but this time, it is glowing with fire. There is a cleansing that comes through water, then there is a once-and-for-all cleansing that comes through fire, and all that can remain will last (see 1 Cor 3:10-15).

 Beside this sea are those who were victorious over the beast, image, and number of his name. They sing a song of truth, wisdom, and glory. How were they victorious? By valuing their faith over their lives. The irony is that the devil tries to win by killing us, and we win by being killed. God uses the devil’s schemes for His own purposes.

• A song
  • Notice that this song is of “God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb” (v. 3). This song is the final and second verse of the song that Moses sang at their deliverance through the Red Sea found in Exodus 15. Just as in Moses’s case, there is deliverance and destruction, there is redemption and wrath. This is the final verse of the greater deliverance from the power and penalty of sin.
  • The song praised the Lord God Almighty for His great and marvelous deeds. The song declares that His ways are “just and true” and that He is the real King of the nations. It proclaims that all nations will fear Him, worship Him, and bring glory to His name, for He alone is Holy, and His actions are righteous. May we see Him, worship Him, and reverence Him now, for this is who He is.
• A sanctuary
  • From the sanctuary that holds the covenant law of God, out steps the seven angels holding seven golden bowls. These golden bowls were first filled with the prayers of the suffering saints that were poured out as incense on the altar before God (Rev 5:8; 8:3-4). Now in response, they are refilled with the seven last plagues which will be poured out on the earth to complete God’s judgments.
  • Your prayers are not meaningless, and God is not powerless. He hears you and the world’s anguished prayers. He is storing them up and pouring them out for His righteous and final response to all the sorrow, suffering, and sin of the world. They are poured out so that sin will be no more, and He again will dwell with His people in paradise forever.
• The next chapter then details the results of these bowls of God’s final wrath being poured out on the earth. We will read this chapter as a whole and make three observations from it.

 The final scene of earth  

 Revelation 16:1-21

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”

 2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

 3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

 4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” 7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

 17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.

 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

 These are the things that await the enemies of God, those who align themselves with the beast and worship and follow him. This is the final wrath of God poured out on those who oppose Him and persecute His children. This is the final exodus for God’s people.

 God’s wrath is progressive

• • God’s wrath gets worse with each passing, from ¼ being affected by the seals, to 1/3 being affected by the trumpets, to the whole being affected by the bowls. They get worse within each series from 1-7 and then get worse with each new series. (See *Comparative Chart of the Seven Seals, Trumpets, and )
• God’s wrath is merciful
  • Through all God’s judgments, He always makes a way for repentance and mercy. We see this again in the final seven bowl judgments. The repeated refrain is, “They refused to repent and glorify Him” (vv. 9, 11, 21). God continues to offer mercy amid His wrath for all who will repent and turn from their wicked ways and seek Him.
• God’s wrath is finished
  • God’s wrath will come to an end, and it will be finished forevermore. What a great and glorious day that will be, and it will usher in a golden eternity.
  • The Father finishes His judgment by declaring “it is finished,” whereas the Son completed the way of mercy when He died on the cross, declaring “it is finished.”
  • In the end, there are only two groups: those who will finish in wrath by persisting in their sin, and those who finish in mercy by repenting and turning to the mercy and grace of God through Christ’s finished work for them.

 Conclusion

• The seven bowls show us the last dark thunderclouds rolling across the sky of the old creation. Yet above the storm, a louder, brighter reality rings out, the Song of Moses and of the Lamb. God will finish His judgment just as surely as Christ finished our salvation at the cross. The only safe ground, then, is at the feet of Jesus.
• Choose today to stand among the victorious beside the fiery sea, worshipping, trusting, and staying spiritually “clothed” (16:15). Until that final “It is done!” guard your heart from compromise, pray for those still far from repentance, and live with the urgency of people who know that a new heaven and a new earth are on the horizon.

 Our prayer team is available to pray with you after the service near the “Prayer” sign at the front of the sanctuary and also in the prayer room, next to the offices.

 Questions for Growth Groups

1. Read Revelation 15:2‑4 aloud. What strikes you about the saints’ song, and how can worship shape our perspective on God’s justice today?
2. Chapters 15–16 depict God’s wrath intensifying from partial to total. How does that progression reveal both God’s patience and His holiness?
3. The repeated refrain is that people “refused to repent and glorify Him” (16:9, 11, 21). Why do some hearts harden under judgment while others soften under grace?
4. The sixth bowl gathers the nations for battle (16:14‑16). Where do you see spiritual “Armageddon‑moments” in our world, and how should believers “stay awake and clothed” (16:15) in response?
5. Compare the Father’s declaration “It is done!” (16:17) with Jesus’s cry “It is finished!” (John 19:30). How do these two statements together complete the gospel story?
6. The bowls echo the Exodus plagues. How does viewing Revelation as a “greater Exodus” encourage Christians facing oppression or injustice today?
7. Which truth from this message—God’s progressive wrath, its merciful invitations, or its final completion—most challenges or comforts you right now? How will you act on it this week?

 *Comparative Chart of the Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls