“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 sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.”
– Revelation 15:7
We obviously don’t have time in just a couple of short minutes to talk through these angels, these golden bowls full of the wrath of God, the plagues that are mentioned here, all in terms of sevens, which is definitely biblical imagery for a perfection or complete number.
But the overall picture here is crystal clear, one, God in his holiness possesses wrath toward sin and toward sinners. This is very clear in Revelation 15:7. This is clear all over the book of Revelation. Oh, this is clear all over the Bible, that sinners who rebel against the holy God of the universe deserve eternal wrath from God and his holiness.
This Verse Leads Us to Hate Sin
In light of his holy hatred of sin that sinners deserve eternal wrath before him, that’s the sobering picture of Revelation 15:7. And we see this picture of the sanctuary filled with smoke from the glory of God, and no one able to enter it until God’s wrath is poured out. And in Revelation 15:7, we see in a fresh way our need for a savior to stand in our place, to endure the wrath, the just judgment our sins deserve.
To stand in our place as ones who are separated from the sanctuary of God, separated from finding rest in God, separated from finding mercy in God. We need a savior who will turn aside the judgment we deserve, take our sin and its payment upon himself so that we might be forgiven of all our sin, all our rebellion. That we might be delivered from the wrath, the judgment we deserve, and so that we might enter into the sanctuary of God.
Revelation 15:7 Glorifies the Lord for His Kindness
Jesus, we love you. We glorify you. We praise your name. Lord, we praise you for the cross. We praise you for taking our sin upon yourself, for enduring the judgment we deserve, I deserve. Every one of us who’s put our trust in you, we don’t deserve to be wherever we are right now. I certainly don’t deserve to be doing what I’m doing right now, I deserve to be in hell, and we all do.
Apart from your mercy, Lord Jesus, we would all experience the eternal wrath of God. Jesus, we praise you as the substitute for our sin on across. God, our Father, we praise you for ordaining the sacrifice of your son, for so loving the world. So loving a world full of sinners that you gave your one and only son. That whoever believes in him will not perish, will not experience your eternal wrath, but will have everlasting life.
Revelation 15:7 Praises God for the Gospel
We love John 3:16, it never gets old. We praise you for the gospel. Oh, we praise you for the rest and the sanctuary we find in you even right now, and that we will find in you in fullness forever and ever, and ever, all because of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. All glory be to your name.
Jesus, help us to faithfully proclaim this today to people around us who are right now still under your wrath. God help us to see with spiritual eyes today, to see people’s spiritual state apart from you and to speak the gospel that they might find rest from your wrath, that they might be welcomed into your sanctuary by the blood of Jesus.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for the People of Niger
God, we pray that for people around us, we pray for the Hausa people of Niger. So many of them have little to no knowledge of the gospel. God, we pray for the spread of this good news before your wrath comes in all of its fullness. And the lives of people who have rebelled against you. God, we pray that you’d help us to spread the good news of your salvation from judgment. The good news of John 3:16, help us to speak it boldly today and to the ends of the earth.
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. That whoever believes in him will never perish. We will not experience the wrath and judgment we deserve but will have everlasting life. We praise you Jesus, and we pray all these things in your name. In your name according to Revelation 15:7, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
