This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

This is day five of our look together through Revelation chapter 15, we're going
to focus on verses five to eight today. And if you've had a little bit of a
sense this week that there's an anticipation that's growing as we walk through
this chapter, you have exactly the sense of this chapter. It is a worship
service in heaven that is anticipating something is going to happen on earth, a
judgment is going to happen on earth.

And no more clearly do you see that in how this chapter ends. In verses five to
eight, listen to what happens. After this, I looked and in heaven the temple,
that is the tabernacle of the testimony, was opened.

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. Then
one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls
filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.

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. Remember we talked about this at the beginning of the week that
two things happen in heaven before this last judgment.

First the redeemed sing and we looked at their song together yesterday. But now
the second thing happens, seven angels come from the temple and both of these
things anticipate what's about to happen on earth. These seven angels come from
the temple, the presence of God, and they are given seven bowls of wrath.

They are called here the seven plagues a couple of times going back to what we
talked about earlier this week, the connection between Exodus and the plagues
that happened there and here the plagues that are going to happen upon the earth
at the end of time. They come with these seven plagues, these seven bowls of
wrath that will begin and happen in chapter 16. And these angels that come, how
they are dressed is important.

They are dressed in clean shining linen, expressing God's holiness, the
character that we talked about yesterday. They are dressed with a gold sash,
that is a symbol of royalty. They are expressing the fact that God is king.

So the righteousness of God and the deity, the kingliness of God are both
expressed in how they are dressed. And as they come, the temple is filled with
smoke. This smoke that's in the temple, we're told what it's an expression of.

God doesn't want us to miss this. They were filled with smoke from, in verse 8,
the glory of God and from his power. So the smoke that fills the temple is an
expression of God's glory and God's power.

And then the Bible says the temple seems to be shut. No one could enter the
temple. What does this mean?

Does this mean that somehow people couldn't be saved or couldn't enjoy God's
presence? No, I think it's about what's going to happen on earth. There's a
difference of opinion in some about this because we're not told here, but I
think it's about what's going to occur on earth in just a moment.

I believe that it's because of the judgments that we're going to see proceed
from the presence of God in chapter 16. And so no one can enter because the
judgments are coming out of this temple. I believe it's because of the
pronouncement that we're going to hear from the presence of God, a very
important pronouncement, at the end of chapter 16 this next week.

And so no one enters this temple because the judgments are coming out of the
temple, the pronouncements coming out of the temple. Now as we look at these
pictures, right before the judgment of God comes upon this world, we're reminded
of three very important things. We're reminded that they proceed from God's
presence, they express God's character, and they are accomplished by God's
power.

These pictures remind us of that. God does not want us to miss this. So in the
Revelation, John has shown this and he tells us what he sees so that you and I
can understand that the judgment that occurs, first of all, these judgments
proceed from God's presence.

These seven angels, they come out of the temple. Now this temple is called here
the tabernacle of the testimony. What does that mean?

Well, this is a phrase that was used for the tabernacle of God, the temple of
God, from time to time in the Old Testament. It's the phrase that Stephen uses
in the book of Acts when he talks about the temple of God in the Old Testament.
It's the tabernacle of the testimony.

Now this doesn't mean the place where they went to give a testimony. This means
that the tabernacle itself was a testimony. It was a testimony to the people of
the presence of God amongst them.

And here these seven angels come out of this temple, this tabernacle of the
testimony of the presence of God. This is a reminder to us that before the
judgments occur, God wants us to understand, they proceed from God's presence.
It's not someone else judging the world, it's not Satan judging the world, it's
not accidentally happening at the end of time.

No, they proceed from God's presence. The second thing we're reminded of here is
that they express God's character. We've talked this week about these being the
bowls of wrath.

That's a character expression. The wrath of God comes out of who God is, his
character of love, and so his hate of sin and evil and all that it does to his
children. The Bible says here, "These seven bowls are filled with the wrath of
God who lives forever and ever.

" That's another expression of the character of God. He is an eternal God. He's
a holy God, an eternal God, and these judgments that we're going to see in
chapter 16, they express God's character.

This is not something that God does that's out of character for him. He just
gets angry one day and has a fit and decides, "I'm done with it," and the world
ends. No, he has planned this from the beginning of time.

This is going to happen as an expression of his character. He doesn't want us to
miss that. These judgments that are going to come, they are accomplished by
God's power.

This temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God, from the power of God.
If you've read the book of Isaiah, and remember that familiar picture in Isaiah
chapter 6 of Isaiah seeing the temple of God and how the smoke, the glory of God
filled the temple. The whole temple was filled with his glory.

You see the same kind of picture here. It's a reminder that the judgments of God
are accomplished by God's power. It is God who will do this.

God can do whatever he wants at any moment that he wants. He is sovereign. He is
all-powerful, and in this moment, his power is going to be revealed.

Why does he wait? I believe he waits for that one more person who's going to
come to him. Why doesn't God judge evil right now?

Because there's still more to come, to join us, or maybe one of those who needs
to come, to join with those who are going to be forever with him in heaven. And
he will wait patiently, enduring an evil world that hurts his heart much more,
much more deeply than it could ever hurt mine, because he's drawing people to
himself. In these verses, he wants us to understand that what's going to happen
in chapter 16, it's not some accident, it's not some fit of anger.

These judgments are going to proceed from God's presence. They will express
God's character, and they will be accomplished by God's power. And in all of
this, he's showing us, again, one great truth.

It is this truth that I need to hold on to today, even while I'm living in this
world, even before all this happens, and we get to go to be with him forever in
heaven, because he's got some stuff for us to do in this world. He's got a
message for us to share. But if I'm going to share that message, I've got to
continue to remember this four-word that's expressed again, again, and again in
the book of Revelation, and that God tells us it's true of my life today, even
though I may not see it as clearly as it's unfolding here in the book of
Revelation, it is just as true.

That four-word phrase, "God is in control. " In fact, you might say that with
me. Now, if you're listening and there's other people around you, it's okay, say
this in your mind with me, because it might be a little strange if you said it
out loud.

But if you're in your car, say it out loud. Just say, "God is in control. "
There's something about saying those words that reminds me of the reality that's
going to live for all eternity.

And even though I live in a world sometimes where it seems like he is not now,
that is the reality that we are looking forward to. And that reality spreads
clear to my life today. No matter what you're facing today, no matter what
circumstances, no matter what evil, no matter what temptation, no matter what
trial, no matter what you are facing today, God is in control.

Our Father, remind me of that. Remind us of that. It's so easy for me to think
that some circumstance is in control.

It's not. It's not. Maybe for a moment it might seem to be, but in the end you
are in control.

Or Lord, in my frustration, in my hurry, it's so easy for me to think sometimes
that I need to be in control. And so I take it into my own hands, even though I
know I shouldn't. I go in a direction that I know I should not, because I want
to get it done.

I want to do it myself. Lord, remind me today, you're in control. And help me to
live that truth.

Not to sit back and rest and just think you're going to do it all. No, you're in
control, but you're going to work through me. So God who is in control, show me
where you want me to be today.

Show me who you want me to talk to today. Remind me of how to treat people
today. Help me to remember how to handle temptation today.

Show me how to face that trial that's in my life today. Lord, you're in control.
And when life isn't fair, I can remind myself, I can remember God is in control.

I thank you. I thank you that I'm never living life alone. In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, join us next week. We're going to be looking at chapter 16 together, and
the beginning of the final judgment. God's final answer against the evil that's
in this world.