“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 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. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 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,” Revelation 15:1-4.
Chapter 15 of the Book of the Revelation was one of the chapters for reading on Saturday 13th June, as set down in M‘Cheyne’s Bible Reading Calendar.
I frequently mention my use of this wonderful aid to regular and methodical reading of God’s Word in order to commend it to the readers of ‘The Burning Bush’. I believe it to be without parallel!
My thoughts were transported to heaven as I read the chapter and particularly the verses which head this article. My washing machine was tumbling my weekly wash as I sat and read the verses and somewhat like my clothes in the machine, thoughts began to tumble about in my mind as I mused upon what is stated in the verses!
Contrast
What a contrast there is revealed here, between the events on this earth and that which is taking place in heaven! The earth is about to encounter the full and final manifestations of God’s wrath against man’s sin and rebellion. Seven angels are given “seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever,” verse 7. In those vials was “filled up the wrath of God,” verse 1.
The ‘vials’ were shallow saucer-like vessels and I am inclined to think of them being dipped in the ‘lake of fire’ (20:15) and their contents pour out upon the nations following Antichrist. The vials being shallow indicates that the fulness of God’s wrath is not being poured out but only a foretaste of that which is to come!
How little mankind today knows of what lies ‘just round the corner’ for this world, especially that area which comprises the territory of the AntiChrist who will be manifested in final days of this age, the lands of the old Roman Empire!
Christian, it is your privilege to KNOW and UNDERSTAND what lies ahead, for it is revealed to us in great detail in that wonderful BOOK, so sadly neglected by Christians, the BIBLE!
I. WHAT JOHN SAW AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO SHARE WITH US, WE SHOULD CONTEMPLATE AS EARTH’S TROUBLES INCREASE DAILY!
1. Like John, every true servant of God should relate what is revealed here to his flock! This blessed book begins with these words: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand,” 1:1-3.
This book is a REVELATION, a revealing, a manifestation of that which the Lord would have us know! The devil would have us believe that it is an ‘unknowable’ tangle of verses containing ‘uninterpretable’ scenes which has led to the confusion of Christians!
That is the devil’s lie, sadly peddled by very foolish believers and even more foolish, ministers of the Gospel!
How can it be thought for one moment that the Lord Jesus, Who while on earth was reported to be, even by His enemies, a most uniquely plain speaker, could send forth to His church that which was too complex to be understood!
Never man spake like this man,” John 7:46. These blinded rejectors of the Messiah had no difficulty understanding the Saviour.
Why??
Why then should God’s people entertain the notion that the last book of the Bible should indecipherable?
It is only an evidence of their folly in embracing the devil’s lie, sadly, impressed upon them by Gospel ministers unworthy of that title!
No, let us embrace that which is set before us here to the encouraging and comforting of our hearts and minds.
2. Heaven as we see it here, is a place of great joy. There is evidence here of the knowledge of the saints in heaven having a knowledge of what lies ahead for this earth.
I will come to that later.
But that which they know does not trouble them! We here on earth can only see increasing trouble and confusion ahead for mankind as we observe the unfolding of the utter folly of the so called ‘wise’ men leading this world’s affairs!
That is all we can see IF we look forward ONLY with the eyes of our own wisdom and understanding. BUT if we look to the future through the LENS of God’s Word, then we will share something of the understanding that the saints in glory enjoy to the full!
Fear
What we see with the eyes of our limited natural understanding makes us tremble and fear. What they see makes them sing with great joy! See them there, having the harps of God, “and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints,” verses 2-3.
The song of Moses was no doubt that song sung by Israel as they marched out of Egypt toward the ‘promised land’ and freedom.
How much better is it sung in heaven by those who have entered the TRUE PROMISED LAND!
3. Musing and contemplating what we read here will bring to our souls something of that victorious joy! God’s people, by neglecting the wonderful revelations of heaven and the circumstances of the saints there, rob themselves of the joy the Lord intends them to have. That is the underlying reason for this last book of the Bible!
“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed (Greek-‘happy, happier’) is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book,” Revelation 22:6-7.
Happier indeed are those who read this book and embrace what it states without heeding the nonsensical notions that arrogant man has wickedly placed upon God’s Word!
II. WE MAY LEARN HERE THAT THE CHILD OF GOD CAN ENJOY VICTORY OVER THE BEST EFFORTS OF THE DEVIL TO DEFEAT THEM!
“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,” verse 2.
1. The ‘beast’ spoken of here is the Antichrist. The Bible teaches us that there have been “many antichrists”, 1 John 2:18. But it also teaches us that there will be ‘a final Antichrist’, who will embody all the evils that marked those who were but foreshadowings of him! We are taught in Revelation chapter 13 of the nature of the final Antichrist. The whole chapter is given over to a description of his evil character and that of his companion, the false prophet.
It says that one arises from the ‘sea’, verse 1 and the other from the ‘earth’, verse 11.
The sea is the Mediterranean Sea, referred to many times in the Bible as ‘the great sea’, which was Israel’s western border (Numbers 34:6).
The earth, from which the ‘false prophet’ arises is the territory of which Israel is the centre. The word ‘earth’ is a translation of the Greek word ‘ghay’. It appears many times in the New Testament under different English words, for instance, ‘earth 188, land 42, ground 18, country 2, world 1’
The first time it appears is in Matthew 2:6. “And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” I have highlighted where it is translated ‘in the land’. It is referring to where Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Saviour, is located.
While I believe that the region from which the Antichrist shall emerge is one of the countries that touches upon the Mediterranean Sea, I am inclined to believe that the ‘earth’ or land from which the false prophet arises may well be the present land of Israel. As it is, we can be sure that these evil men shall come forth from that territory which very seldom is out of the news headlines, the ‘Middle East’, and which historically was called the ‘Roman Empire’!
These two wicked men will be empowered by the devil. “ . . . and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority, . . . And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast,” 13:2, 4.
And yet the saints of God, living in his territory and which he put to death, “had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name,” 15:2.
Martyrdom but adds a victor’s crown to the child of God who leaves this world by that exit!
2. In heaven these ‘victors’ stand upon ‘a sea of glass mingled with fire’. This “sea of glass” is found before the throne of God. “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal,” 4:6.
How often the saints of God have been hauled before the thrones of earthly kings, there to be condemned to death. Redemption through the precious blood of Christ will see us ultimately stand before God’s throne, there to sing and rejoice and “see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads,” 22:4.
Here in our passage, the sea of glass is “mingled with fire.” Perhaps there is here a reminder of that glorious event at the Red Sea, when Israel was delivered from the Egyptian thraldom ‘forever’!
Israel sang of that great deliverance as they started for the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’. Here in our passage they have reached that blessed place and are remembering that deliverance.
Please recall the setting for Israel’s song and some of its words, back some three and half thousand years ago.
“Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. . . . Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 14:30, 15:1-11.
I cannot but think that the singing back in the days of the Exodus was but a rehearsal for the singing spoken of here in Revelation 15. It is, after all, here called the “the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Wednesday, 16th June 2026.
To be continued.