Глава XV

Vision of Angels with the seven last plagues standing on a sea of ​​glass (1–2); song of Moses and the Lamb (3–4); the opening of the church of the tabernacle, filled with the smoke of the glory of God (5-8). Rev. 15:1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven Angels having the seven last plagues, with which the wrath of God ended. John begins his new vision and new order with a description of a great sign, which he also calls “wonderful.” He sees seven completely new Angels, the highest rank of which can be concluded from the fact that their appearance is called a great and wondrous sign. The highest rank of the seven Angels is indicated by the following epithet: they have the seven last plagues. The mission of Angels is important in the sense that they are the heralds and performers of the highest manifestation of Divine wrath, the servants of the righteous Judge and Rewarder. Rev.15:2. And I saw, as it were, a sea of ​​glass mixed with fire; and they that conquered the beast, and his image, and his mark, and the number of his name, stand on this sea of ​​glass, holding the harp of God, The vision of the sea before the heavenly throne was already described in Rev. 4:6; but before it was clear and calm, like crystal, now it shone with fire. This sea, as belonging to the Divine throne, can be understood as a special sphere, as its reflection like a rainbow (Rev. 4:3), as the rays of the Divine being, expressing the nature and properties of His activity. According to the image of Rev. 4:6, these rays were pure and calm (the sea was like crystal). Now the sea is mixed with fire; now God’s activity in relation to the world has changed, and the fire of God’s wrath has joined it. On this sea, that is, in the sphere, in the light and splendor of the majestic and formidable Divine being, stand those who defeated the beast. They are victorious in the sense that they did not allow themselves to be defeated by the beast, they did not submit to it; they overcame the desire of the beast to make them his worshipers and victoriously departed into eternity to the heavenly throne. Rev.15:3. and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! righteous and true are Your ways, King of saints! Rev.15:4. Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? for You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been revealed. They sing a song, the song of Moses and the Lamb. It is the song of Moses, because it contains the memory of those plagues that were sent to Egypt from the Lord through Moses. But it is also the song of the Lamb, for it also glorifies the work of human salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ. At the same time, this song (v. 4) is a glorification for the deeds of Divine omnipotence, which were revealed over the kingdom of the Antichrist and of which these conquerors of the beast are witnesses, as martyrs of the Antichristian time, who died during the persecution of the Antichrist. Rev.15:5. And after this I looked, and, behold, the church of the tabernacle of testimony was opened in heaven. In 5 tbsp. it speaks of the opening of the tabernacle of testimony, that is, the most important part of it, to which the meaning of testimony belonged - revelation. And if in the vision of the Apocalypse access to the Holy of Holies, to the Ark of Revelation, seems open to everyone, then this should obviously mean the last moments of Divine revelation, the last manifestations of the Divine judgment on the human race. From the Holy of Holies, that is, from the very throne of God, seven Angels came out as messengers (Rev. 15:1). They were given cups filled with the wrath of God. And since the wrath of God, with which the bowls were filled, in the Holy. Scripture is almost always depicted under the guise of fire (Ps 78:6; Jer 10:25), then we must assume that the bowls of the Angels were also filled with fire. As soon as the bowls were handed over, the entire church was filled with the smoke of the glory of God, so that access to it became impossible. This must be understood as an indication of the kindled wrath of God 74, of the upcoming terrible executions over the anti-Christian world. Rev.15:6. And seven angels came out of the church, having seven plagues, clothed in clean and light linen clothing and girded around their chests with golden belts. Rev.15:7. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever. Rev.15:8. And the church was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the church until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. Hengstenberg, Ebrard, Andrew of Caesarea You might be interested in: