Immediately after the winepress overflowing with blood, John’s vision moves toward the final wrath of God:
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished” (Rev 15:1).
I can see how John could say that seven plagues were great, but how could he call them amazing?
It is because of what follows the plagues immediately, perhaps a bit like when someone grabs the TV remote and changes the channel from a scary movie to a travelogue of the Great Barrier Reef with no warning:
“And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire – and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands” (Rev 15:2).
Now this is terrific!
Here is the true church of God, in perfect unity with him. These souls had conquered the beast, Satan, and had been given harps of God. Getting a harp from God would be great, but what was amazing? Can you imagine millions of souls, all playing music planted in their hearts in unison, in perfect unity with each other? What would that sound like? Something amazing?
- “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!
- ‘Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
- ‘Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?
- ‘For you alone are holy.
- ‘All nations will come and worship you,
- ‘for your righteous acts have been revealed’” (Rev 15:3-4).
But this was not all:
“After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary cane the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished” (Rev 15:5-8).
Choose whatever adjective you wish, but you cannot capture this scene and its sense of pregnant disaster for those who have and will reject Jesus between then and now. We end up feeling that “great and amazing” is not enough to fill out the picture John is describing.
But this we know: we do not want to be victims of any of the seven plagues. We want to be with John when the time to pour out the seven bowls of wrath comes!
Hurry back for Revelation Chapter 16.
Meanwhile cling to and pray for repentance of those whom the beast has defeated, and make sure they know there is still time to choose the good fork in the road to perfect unity with God and Jesus and all the angels of heaven!
Be amazing!