WAKE UP!

Revelation

Excerpt from--

Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith

Revelation Chapter 15

Preparing the Vials of Divine Wrath

This chapter introduces the seven last plagues, a manifestation of Heaven's unmingled wrath, in its full measure upon the last generation of the wicked. The work of mercy is then forever past.


Verse 1 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. 2 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, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3 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. 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. 5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.


A Preparatory Scene.--


Thus reads the fifteenth chapter. By it we are carried back to a new series of events. The whole chapter is but an introduction to the most terrible judgments of the Almighty ever to be visited upon this earth--the seven last plagues. What we behold here is a solemn preparation for the outpouring of these unmixed vials. Verse 5 shows that these plagues fall after the close of the ministration in the sanctuary, for the temple is opened before they are poured out. They are given to seven angels clothed in linen pure and white, a fit emblem of the purity of God's righteousness and justice in the infliction of these judgments. They receive these vials from one of the four beasts, or living creatures. These living beings were shown in comments on Revelation 4 to be a class of Christ's assistants in His sanctuary work. How appropriate then that they should be the ones to deliver to the ministers of vengeance the vials of the wrath to be poured upon those who have slighted Christ's mercy, abused His long-suffering, heaped contumely upon His name, and crucified Him afresh in the persecution of His followers! While the seven angels are performing their fearful mission, the temple is filled with the glory of God, and no man--{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, oudeis, "no one, no being" --can enter there. This shows that the work of mercy is closed, since there is no ministration in the sanctuary during the infliction of the plagues. Hence they are manifestations of the wrath of God without any mixture of mercy.


God's People Remembered.--


In this scene the people of God are not forgotten. The prophet is permitted to anticipate somewhat in verses 2-4, and behold them as victors upon the sea which had the appearance of glass mingled with fire. They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb as they stand upon that sparkling expanse of glory. The sea of glass upon which these victors stand, is the same as that brought to view in Revelation 4: 6, which was before the throne in heaven. As we have no evidence that it has yet changed location, and the saints are seen upon it, we have here indubitable proof in connection with Revelation 14: 1-5 that the saints are taken to heaven to receive a part of their reward. Thus, as if the bright sun should burst through the midnight cloud, some scene is presented or some promise given to the humble followers of the Lamb in every hour of temptation, to assure and reassure them of God's love and care for them, and of the certainty of their final reward. "Say ye to the righteous," wrote Isaiah of old, "that it shall be well with him;" but, "Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him." Isaiah 3: 10, 11.


The song the victors sing, the song of Moses and the Lamb, is given here in epitome: "Great and marvelous are They works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." It is a song of infinite grandeur. How comprehensive in its terms! How sublime in its theme! It appeals to the works of God which are a manifestation of His glory. With immortal vision the saints will be able to comprehend them as they cannot in the present state, even though astronomy reveals enough to fill all hearts with admiration. From our little world we pass out to our sun ninety-three million miles away; on to its nearest neighboring sun, twenty-five million million miles away; on to the great double polestar, from which it takes light four hundred years to reach our world; on past systems, groups, constellations, till we reach the great star Rigel, in Orion, shining with the power of fifteen thousand suns like ours! What then must be the grand center around which these myriads of shining orbs revolve! Well may the song be sung, "Great and marvelous are Thy works." But the song covers another field also, the field of God's providence and grace: "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." All the dealings of God with all His creatures in the eyes of the redeemed and the sight of all worlds will be forever vindicated. After all our blindness, all our perplexities, all our trials, we shall be able to exclaim at last in the exuberance of satisfied joy, "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints."

*******


Who entered the Sanctuary to plead for us?


Hebrews-

{9:23} [It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. {9:24} For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us


As with the earth Sanctuary service is was a type, an example of the heavenly. Daily sacrifices were made and then once a year the Sanctuary was cleansed.


We've gone over the prophecy that led us to the conclusion of this--


Daniel {8:14} And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.


2300 years and the dates lined up with history to bring it to 1844.


They believed Christ would come then, that the sanctuary was cleansed on that day rather than the beginning of the cleansing started.


Looking to the type the High Priest alone once a year entered the Most Holy Place and a day of cleansing would take place. The Sanctuary itself would be cleansed, the people would be cleansed, all the sin that accumulated there over the year would be cleansed. It was a solemn day, a day for afflicting the soul of making sure you were right with God.


As Jesus began the cleansing of the Sanctuary the time for the normal day to day sacrifices was over. 2300 years were up. So in 1844 Jesus began the cleansing of the Sanctuary and when it's finished He will no longer be in the Sanctuary. As it says above-


5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.


NO MAN was able to enter into the temple- till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.


Probation is over completely, the cleansing work moved from the Most Holy place to the Holy, to the outer court just as it was typified in the earthly Sanctuary work.


We are told this in Daniel as well--


{11:45} And he shall plant the tabernacles of
his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain;
yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
{12:1} And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and
there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time
thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book.


The beast that is being talked of throughtout chapter 11 will plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the gloious holy mountain-- yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him, and at THAT time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.


We have something to signal us. We have a prophecy unfulfilled to look towards. We have other as yet unfulfilled prophecies such as the situation of not being able to buy or sell save we make some sort of compromise with our faith that will allow us to do so. These things have to be paid attention to. Yes, just as it was in the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah this will ALL take place with the majority of people blissfully in the dark because they don't want to see, they don't want to believe, they aren't watching and praying, they aren't prepared with oil in their lamps awaiting the Bridegroom. Looking at the world today as we see more and more how the Papacy has regained so much power- power that was unthinkable for it to have even in the 1950's when there was a massive protest over sending an ambassador to the Vatican. Power that today people back then would cringe at. Today we have our president calling the Pope, His Holiness, and the world looks on and smiles, applauding the diplomacy. Less than a hundred years ago, just under sixty years ago and it was impossible for the Protestant churches to allow such a thing and now they have ALL joined hands with the Papacy. The power that has grown since the deadly wound was healed is tremendous. Under Pope John Paul the Second ties were formed that before were unthinkable. With Pope Benedict the Sixteenth, they are being tied tighter than ever and all over the world people are beginning to look to the Papacy as a bringer of PEACE, of UNITY, of LOVE, of GOD, of HOPE. Eyes are being drawn off Christ and placed upon a man, upon a system. And the world sleeps on content to be lulled, unalarmed, claiming no need for extra oil in their lamps, no need for upset, no need to stand watch they are content to believe there is another watching for them, another praying for them.


We can't be lulled, we can't let ourselves be lulled! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!


It's all unfolding as foretold and by the grace and mercy of God may we be with Him, protected in His amazing love, through HIS righteousness so that when the plagues of God's wrath are unleashed they will not touch us.


Amen!