Aug 11 – Rev 15 – “More than winners – Conquerors!” – Remember that what is being revealed to John are facets of the true nature of each of the players and events. Those facets all change simultaneously. Following the last chapter, we repeat a triumphant scene. Then it was the Lamb on Mount Zion (the hills Jerusalem was built on) – a place profoundly connected to the Lord in the Old Testament; for example Psalm 2:6; Psalm 132:14; Micah 4:7 and in particular Joel 2:32 – “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” The Lamb stands with the remnant of the Jews, who sing His praise. (John saw the same people earlier in 7:9-17 – the martyrs beneath God’s throne.) Now we see a different facet of the same situation. This time we are taken to the throne in the temple – the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem were (of course!) also profoundly connected to the Lord in the Old Testament. The throne has a sea of glass in front of it, as described in chapter 4. Instead of just the 144,000 Jewish Christians, we see all the Christians who have come through the tribulation; they also have harps and they also sing a song of praise, although this time we are told the words. It is the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb; Moses who led the Israelites to freedom across the Red Sea (also cf Exod 24:10), just as the Lamb has led His redeemed people across this glass sea to stand in front of the throne of God righteous and safe from His wrath. Another point of note – these are the ones who conquered the beast. In dying they didn’t lose – they WON, and more – they CONQUERED the beast. It is the ultimate battle that we can fight. And now from heaven’s tabernacle came seven angels to be given the seven bowls of wrath, which will be poured out and cannot be stopped. We will move to that tomorrow. But for now, the takeaway – and I think it is the most consistent takeaway going! This is the outcome of every single chapter of the Revelation, and it doesn’t matter what the content of that chapter is. If it’s all about the horrors on earth, take heart, for God wins. If it’s about holy events in heaven, take heart, for God has won! In the great battle to come, the way to lose to is to be cowed into not fighting. Death is loss only to the short-sighted. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says...” - S
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 22:33:36 +0000
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