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Judgment Without Mercy
– Revelation Fifteen
Revelation Fifteen provides a sad picture of God's judgment being poured out without mercy on the ungodly. Revelation Fourteen provided an overview of that judgment. Revelation Fifteen begins to provide the details of God's horrible judgment against the wicked. God's wrath will now be poured out undiluted by neither mercy nor grace.
These are "the seven last plagues." In Revelation Fourteen the righteous are pictured as being around the throne of God singing a "New Song." Here they stand on a sea of glass enjoying peace and victory. The "fire" purifies the righteous and burns the wicked as stubble. God's judgment will cause every knee to bow before Him. (Romans 14:10, Philippians 2:10)
God's presence is associated with "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven." This is where the high priest made intercession, and also where God communed with His people, and heard their prayers. Here God is pictured as avenging His Son whose offices and authority had been usurped. He defended His Son whose name had been dishonored. God brought vengeance on those that opposed the purpose of the Lord’s death.
The temple was opened so that John was permitted to look inside. He was allowed to look upon the very dwelling-place of God. The angels came from His presence to execute judgment on those that opposed Christianity. They were attired in a way that was fitting their rank and the somber work they had to do.
One of the four beasts that was introduced in the early part of Revelation gave the seven angels seven golden vials. These golden vials were full of the wrath of God. The temple was filled with smoke. This represented the Divine presence. No one would be allowed to intercede in order to divert God from the wrath He intended to pour out on the wicked. This chapter closes as we await the outpouring of that wrath.
The victory over the beast – Revelation 15:1-2: God's judgment was to be poured out on the wicked. It would be judgment without mercy. The judgment would be complete. When God's judgment had been seen earlier in the book of Revelation it was mixed with mercy. Often only one-third of the number was affected. Now His wrath is to be poured out "without mixture." "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." (Revelation 14:10)
John is given a brief glimpse of saints on life's other side. "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." (Revelation 15:2) In the early pictures given in the book of Revelation the sea pictured God as perfect and that man could not approach Him. Later the sea will be no more and then man is allowed intimate fellowship with the Almighty. God's people give Him praise as symbolized by the harps. The sea of glass mingled with fire pictured the judgment of God.
The song of Moses and the Lamb – Revelation 15:3-4: The
redeemed ones sing "the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of
the Lamb." The song of Moses was a song of deliverance for the people of
God. "Then sang Moses and the children of
This victory song included four areas of praise for God. First, God's works were praised, "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty." Second, God's ways are praised, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Third, God's name was praised. "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy." The only thing God magnifies above His name is His truth. "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." (Psalm 138:2) Fourth, God's judgments or His righteous acts were praised. "For all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest."
When righteousness is seen we can only think of God. "
The temple in heaven is opened – Revelation 15:5: John said, "And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened." (Revelation 15:5) We are now allowed to view the place from which the judgment comes. The judgment comes from the place where God dwells.
The expression "the tabernacle of the testimony" is
found only one time in the New Testament. It is a part of Stephen's sermon in
Acts 7. "Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the
wilderness, even as he appointed who spake unto Moses, that
he should make it according to the figure that he had seen." (Acts
The seven golden vials full of the wrath of God – Revelation 15:6-8:
The seven angels with the seven bowls pictured the complete destruction
awaiting the disobedient. The angels were dressed very much like the Old
Testament priests. God's wrath will last forever against the ungodly. No one
could enter the
Even if
The fact that the ungodly will be punished should motivate us to
obey God. Those who obey the gospel are cleansed by the precious blood of
Jesus. To obey the gospel one must hear the salvation message (Romans
- - - - Charles Box
News & Notes
1. Prayer
List: Stabler Hospital: Alton Till,
2. Placed Membership: Randy and Dawn Fullington wanted the church to know that they wanted the Walnut Street Church of Christ to be their church home. We have already grown to love the Fullington family. Please pray for Randy as he recuperates from surgery.
3. Sympathy Expressed: Our love and sympathy is expressed to: (a) Elease and all the family of Charles L. Brown. Brother Charlie Brown will surely be missed by the Walnut Street Church of Christ. He served as church treasure for several years and was very active in our Nursing Home work and Food Bank work. He was a great Bible student. (b) Davis Hester and his family in the death of his sister, Nell Steward.
4. Remember
To Pray: Eric Bagents needs our prayers as he
serves in
5. Birthdays: Celebrating birthdays this week are: January 17th Jessie Mae Powell and Vivian Taylor, January 18th Adrianna Bagents, and January 21st Helen Autrey and Kelli Smith.
6. Use Of All-Purpose Room: If you plan to use the all-purpose room, please post the date and time on the calendar which is on the bulletin board in the hall.
7. Kitchen Shower: We are in need of several items to make our new kitchen more functional. Everyone is invited to a “Kitchen Shower” on February 5th after the evening worship service. Please bring finger foods and an item from the list posted on the bulletin board. If you are unable to shop for an item from the list money will be appreciated; someone later will see that items are bought. Several families may want to go together to purchase some items. If anyone has any questions please contact Barbara Walker, Tiffany Till or Ann Cauthen.
8. Food & Supplies: The year 2005 was a tremendous year of service as the Walnut Street Church of Christ gave over 48,643 pounds of food and supplies to the needy. Food Room – Through our Food Room we helped 125 families with 7,268 pounds of food and supplies. Childhaven – We provided Child-haven with 12,296 pounds of food and supplies plus $461.92 worth of paper goods and cleaning supplies not included in the weighed amounts. Disaster Relief – 11,948 pounds of good and supplies were given to hurricane victims. Senior Supplement – Each month 37 households are assisted with food and supply boxes. These families were given 17,131 pounds of food and supplies. You had a part in giving more than 48,643 pounds of goods that coast $6,374.88. God bless you for your efforts!
9. Thank
You: Dear Walnut Street Youth Group, Thank you for the fruit and other
items given to me for Christmas. Also, the meal you provided for us was
delicious. You are great young people! I love you all. Marie Curlee
Restarting The Race
It was back in the old days…Dad, Mom, my brothers, sister, and me were all together in the Ford Aerostar van as we accompanied my father to an out-of-the-way place called Campwood, Texas. Dad is a preacher, and he was considering laboring with a congregation there. Back then, children didn’t have DVD players and video games to occupy hours in the car, so we had to improvise. We counted cows, played some made-up game with the slack in the seat belts, and on this particular trip, my brother, David, and I began pretending we were in a race with the other cars on the road. As the day wore on, and we grew tired of the journey, we would comment to one another, “what if we had to start at the beginning of “the race” again. For years after that day, we still occasionally jested about how bad it would be to have to go all the way back to the beginning of that little game, be that young again, and lose all the progress we’d made in our lives.
It’s funny how things change in your mind as time passes. In life, years come and go, troubles inevitably enter, and for most everyone the thought of being able to go back to childhood and avoid some mistakes and hardships is a welcome vision. But, of course, that is not possible.
But the wonderful thing is we can actually do
something even better than reentering our earlier days to fix mistakes. We were
all created by the most holy, powerful, and loving God. And though we all have
sins (Romans
Do you yearn to restart your race in order to undo some missteps of the past? Simply look to Jesus, and lay aside the sins that ensnare you (Hebrews 12:1-2). Obey the gospel and be saved today!
- - - - Darrell Powell
Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your door
continually.
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)