verses 1-8 These verses describe the third interlude of heaven’s preparation for the final assault upon the wicked. In this scene, John sees a vision of celestial glory. He sees those who have “gotten the victory over the beast” singing a song of praise to God. Paradoxically, many who gain victory over the beast were first slain by that beast (Revelation 13:7, 15); by standing firm in their testimonies, even unto death, they eventually emerge victorious. John also sees seven angels being prepared to pour out seven final judgments on the earth (Revelation 15:1, 7). We do not yet see what those judgments are (that is reserved for the next chapter), but they appear to be terrible: “In them is filled up the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:1).

1 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.

verse 1 “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous” Another sign gives us to understand that the scene in the vision has shifted. As with the other signs in John’s vision, what he sees as a sign symbolizes a great truth. In this case, the truth is that God will indeed exact judgment against the wicked, a judgment that will be complete and terrible. The phrase “great and marvellous” suggests a sign that is absolutely overwhelming.

“seven angels having the seven last plagues” These seven last plagues are the Lord’s final attempt to cause the hearts of the wicked to be softened and to turn to him. After these plagues, will come the actual fall of Babylon and the second coming of Christ. Because seven is a number signifying perfection, seven angels with seven plagues indicates perfect and complete judgment against the wicked of the earth. This prophecy is reminiscent of the curse the Lord gave against the wicked in Leviticus 26:21: “If ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.” These plagues will be poured out in Revelation 16.

“in them is filled up the wrath of God” The plagues bring a full measure of God’s wrath to the world but not the final consummation. That consummation comes in the chapters that follow. The term translated “filled up” (Greek tele) means to reach a consummation or perfection as well as to carry out, accomplish, perform, or fulfill. The Revelator’s use of the word suggests that in these judgments the wrath of God achieves its goal.

2 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 As already noted, John has a pattern of describing the peaceful condition of the faithful before presenting the horrors unleashed against the ungodly. His pattern continues here as he briefly mentions the blessed condition of the saints before the vials of wrath are poured out upon the earth.

“a sea of glass mingled with fire” The sea of glass indicates a celestial sphere (D&C 130:6-7), and the presence of fire indicates the presence of God, who dwells amid everlasting burnings (Isaiah 33:14-16). We have already learned that the sea of glass represents the celestialized earth.

“them that had gotten the victory over the beast . . . stand on the sea of glass” Those who have refused to bow to the beast, either physically or spiritually, inherit a celestial glory. These may be the same saints who were sealed in Revelation 7:1-8 and were named among the 144,000 in Revelation 14:1-5.

“harps of God” The harps symbolize an attitude of worship and giving glory to God (2 Samuel 6:5; Nehemiah 12:27; Psalm 92:1-3; Revelation 14:2).

3 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.

verse 3 “And they sing the song of Moses . . . and the song of the Lamb” The song of Moses was sung by that great prophet and his followers after they were delivered from the great “beast” called Egypt (Exodus 15:1-19). The lyrics to the song spoken of in this verse include the words, “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” These words are not found in the song of Moses in Exodus 15, but the common element is what is important: the Lord’s people were in bondage and trouble, and the Lord delivered them from their enemy.

This song is also the song of the Lamb, because he is the great Deliverer. The song of the Lamb will ultimately be sung by all true saints. On the day of resurrection, the scripture says, “The graves of the saints shall be opened; and they shall come forth and stand on the right hand of the Lamb, when he shall stand upon Mount Zion, and upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem; and they shall sing the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever” (D&C 133:56).

“King of saints” The phrase “King of the saints” as rendered in verse three of the KJV is highly questioned. The term saints is replaced by either ages (aionion) or nations(ethnon) in most ancient manuscripts. Because of a near parallel verse in Jeremiah 10:7, the favored translation is “King of nations.”

4 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.

verse 4 “Who shall not fear thee / all nations shall come and worship before thee” The saints cry out their praise and admiration to the Lord. Shouldn’t all nations fear and honor him? Yes, the time will come when “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess” that the Lord is God (Romans 14:11; Mosiah 27:31; D&C 88:104).

The saints in our day sing a similar song:

How wondrous and great

Thy works, God of praise!

How just, King of Saints,

And true are thy ways!

Oh, who shall not fear thee

And honor thy name?

Thou only art holy,

Thou only supreme

(Hymns, 267).

“thy judgments are made manifest” The nations will acknowledge the power and supremacy of God as they see them manifest through the judgments he brings on the wicked of the earth. Nothing can stop the will of God from being done. He executes it through the course of history – thus, constructing that history. In the end, justice will be done, and judgment will have its total sway.

5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

verse 5 “I looked” Again the vision shifts to a new scene.

“the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened” The ancient tabernacle in the days of Moses was called the “tabernacle of witness” (Numbers 17:7), or “tabernacle of testimony,” because it contained the two stone “tables of the testimony” on which God had written (Exodus 32:15; Deuteronomy 10:5). A clearer way of stating this is found in the New International Version: “I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of testimony, was opened.” The tabernacle of Moses served as a temple until Solomon’s day, when a more permanent structure was built (1 Kings 8:18-20). When John looked into the heavens again, he saw the temple in heaven open and seven angels came out.

6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

verse 6 “the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues” Apparently the seven angels received their charge in the temple and then emerged with the seven plagues. The number seven indicates that the judgments are perfect and complete. That the judgments come from the temple is a mark of their godly origin.

“clothed in pure and white linen / their breasts girded with golden girdles” The linen dress of the angels, pure and white, indicates that they hold a sacred and holy office (Ezekiel 9:2; Daniel 10:5). Linen also suggests the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7-8) and the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:14). The high rank of the angels is deduced from the golden girdles (or sashes) they wear, which are like that worn by Christ himself (Revelation 1:13).

7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials [bowls] full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

verse 7 The KJV “vials” may more appropriately be translated bowls. See, for example, RSV, GNB, NIV, and JB.

“one of the four beasts” In Revelation 4:6-9 John saw four beasts at the throne of God. In Revelation 5:8 the beasts worship the Lamb. In Revelation 6:1, 3, 5, and 7 the beasts invite John to see the events that occur when the seals on the book are opened. Now one of these same beasts, which are intelligent creatures, gives the angels the bowls that contain the judgments that are to be poured out on the earth.

“seven golden [bowls] full of the wrath of God” The seven bowls contain the judgments that represent God’s wrath (Romans 1:18; Hebrews 10:30-31). These judgments are poured out in the following chapter. Golden bowls, or vials, are mentioned in Revelation 5:8, symbolizing the prayers of the saints. Perhaps the saints’ pleading for justice and deliverance is answered in the judgments in the seven golden bowls here.

“who liveth for ever and ever” This interjection reaffirms the power and dominion of God (Revelation 4:9; 10:6). As one who lives forever, unlike the mortals on the earth, God has full power to accomplish all his will against the wicked of the world.

8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

verse 8 “the temple was filled with smoke” The source of the smoke is “the glory of God, and . . . his power.” Smoke or a cloud is a typical sign of the presence of God. When the Lord descended on Mount Sinai “in fire,” the mount “was altogether on a smoke, . . . and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly” (Exodus 19:18; see also Isaiah 6:4; Ezekiel 10:4).

“no man was able to enter into the temple” Because God is present in the heavenly temple, filling it with his glory, no one is able to go into it until the seven plagues are completed. This expression evidently indicates that God continues to actively exercise his power in judgment until the wicked are destroyed. No one can approach him, pleading mercy.

We read in the Old Testament of another circumstance in which God’s power prevented man from entering His temple: “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34-35; see also 1 Kings 8:10-11).

This chapter celebrates not the God of mercy but the God of justice. John shows that justice must have its day. “For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands” (Alma 42:24). They who “bring forth evil fruit . . . must be hewn down and cast into the fire” (Jacob 6:7). This “according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied” (verse 10) because “on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God” (Alma 12:32). John has aptly shown that the world has had its chance to repent but refused. As a result of its recalcitrance, the world forfeited mercy. Now according to the “goodness of God,” justice must be satisfied.

Chapter fifteen makes two points: first, that the plagues are inexorable once they commence; and second, that God executes them in justice and vengeance upon the world. Though punishment comes without mitigation, it is both just and righteous. In modern times the Lord has declared that the testimony of his witnesses “shall also go forth unto the condemnation of this generation if they harden their hearts against them; for a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the [wicked] inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming” (D&C 5:18- 19). Further, he has warned: “Lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it? The Lord’s scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come; for the indignation of the Lord is kindled against their abominations and all their wicked works” (D&C 97:22-24).

Once the plagues begin, there is no way to stop them. But what of the saints? The Lord has both warned and promised them: “Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her” (D&C 97:25). Here the Lord states his conditions: obedience will bring safety and security, disobedience will bring wrath. No unrighteousness is exempt even if found within the Church. The saints must never forget the Lord’s declaration:

Vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; first among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord (D&C 112:24-26).

Under the power of judgment, the mask of pretended righteousness will be ripped off and all hypocrisy fully revealed. The rebellious Latter-day Saint will not escape the justice of God.