Heaven Sings, Judgment Falls | Revelation 15:1-8 | The Verdict Has Been Rendered

Watch This Sermon: “Heaven Sings, Judgment Falls”

What does it mean to stand before the holiness of God and live? Revelation 15 gives us a stunning glimpse of heaven’s courtroom, where justice, holiness, and mercy are revealed in full.

This sermon walks through the final preparations of God's judgment and the bold song of the redeemed who worship Him. The message reminds us that while the holiness of God demands justice, Christ’s blood shields His people from wrath, leading us to lives of worship and gratitude.

📢 Want to go deeper with this message? Explore this topic more with 5 Devotions on Living in Light of God’s Justice

📖 Click to Show the Transcript of this Sermon

Most of us haven't sat in a courtroom and been waiting for a final verdict. But I'm guessing nearly all of us have seen that scenario in movies and in television dramas. And you know what I'm talking about. The courtroom is quiet, and there is thick tension as we await the resolution of the plot. And the cameras will shift the scene for us while we see anxious faces of those awaiting the verdict. Lawyers will nervously glance at their watches. Family members look nervously at one another as time seems seems to stand still.

But then the door swings open, and the jury files in, and they find their seats, and the judge asks, have you reached the verdict? And in that moment, everything hangs in the balance. Will justice be served? And I think this resonates with us so well because deep down, we long to see justice done. When someone is wronged, we want it to be made right.

And today, as we return to the book of Revelation in chapter 15, we see a scene that is more dramatic and more profound than any show or movie that we've ever seen. It is in this chapter of Revelation that we see heaven itself prepare to deliver a final definitive verdict of divine justice on the world. And this isn't only justice to bring resolution to a fictional plot. It's justice that fulfills the righteousness of a holy God.

So as we come to chapter 15, we need to really quickly refresh our memories about the end of Revelation 14. There, the harvest of the earth took place. An angel swung his sickle, and they threw the harvest into the wine press of the wrath of God. And we are told that the blood flowed from that wine press as high as a horse's bridle for nearly two hundred miles. And the idea expressed there was the continual rising of the intensity of the judgment of God.

And the apostle John doesn't hit the brakes on that theme as we now come to chapter 15. We get this continuing idea of gravity that what is happening here is important. We encounter a scene here, and it's described as another sign in heaven. It's described as great and amazing with seven angels holding seven plagues.

Now remember, the number seven here isn't used randomly. The number seven is important. It signifies perfection. It signifies completion. We had seven trumpets earlier in Revelation, and now there are seven plagues. Number seven is used regularly here. But notice all of the emphasis here placed on the fact that these plagues are the last. The story is building. It's ramping up to a finale. The tension intensifies and naturally leaves us wondering, what is this unfolding conclusion of God's judgment going to entail? Especially, since it continues the wrath that we've already witnessed, all this blood flowing from the wine press of God's wrath.

And as we transition to the next verses, we're really presented with what I would say is a surprising shift. While verse one might naturally evoke images of fire and brimstone for us because of it speaking of God's wrath, what the apostle John actually sees next is strikingly beautiful, a sea of glass and a choir with harps. And so we find the sea of glass is mingled with fire, and so there's a sense here that there's purification going on. Purification with the sea and the fire, and and we discover that gathered around this sea are those who conquered the beast, its image, and the number, and they remain. They're standing as those who have overcome, and we see that they have a song to sing.

And this song tells us something vital about what we're learning about the whole story of redemption as we read the book of Revelation. Notice they are singing the song of Moses and the song of the lamb. We could say that it's an old song and a new song, but perhaps the best way we can describe it is that this is a complete song. The promise of the Old Testament has met its fulfillment in Jesus. What Moses pointed toward and longed for has reached culmination in the lamb, And the message to the original audience and to us is that God's work isn't two stories.

The song of Moses is alluding to Exodus 15, and the song praises God for the deliverance he gave to his people in the book of Exodus. But the purpose of this song is exactly the same. The people have been delivered through tribulation, and so they praise God just as the Israelites praise God when they came through the Exodus. And look at the profound words that we see in this song. The deeds of God are amazing. He is the almighty one. He is just. He is true. In other words, we're being told that God does what is right.

And we also see that he is praised as king of the nations. Now stop for a second and think with me about what a a startling declaration that is in its first century context. Remember, the Roman Empire was a collection of nations. All these conquered peoples were under the control of Rome. They had, for the most part, lost their autonomy as people, and they were required to say, Caesar is Lord. But here, the king of the nations is not Caesar. The king of the nations is the almighty.

And remember, it was statements like this that not Caesar is lord, but Jesus is lord. That's what was getting the people persecuted. That's why they were experiencing tribulation, but yet it's in their song. This bold declaration that god is the king of all the nations, it's woven into their song of praise.

And this idea keeps going with the question, who will not fear, oh lord, and glorify your name? The point of persecution is to get people to fear Caesar and the strength of the state to be under their foot. But scripture teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. His name is great. Caesar is just a man. He's an evil tyrant, but the lord, he is holy. And so the question being asked here is who are you gonna fear? An evil despot or the holy one? Will you bow before the one whose righteous acts have been revealed, who has saved his people, or you give in to the pressure of the state putting their foot on your throat. But who should we fear? We should fear the Lord. And it's all nations, not just Israel, not just one particular ethnic group. All nations will come and worship the one who is and who was and is to come.

This is an an overarching theme of the book of Revelation. All people groups coming to the foot of the throne of God. And this song of deck of deliverance has been declared, and it's a bold proclamation that the true king has come and that justice belongs to the holy one.

And we've heard the song, but I want us to be sure that this song is the music playing in the background as we move forward. We don't wanna forget this theme of this song, the overarching theme of redemption that the old and the new are together, that what Moses looked for has been fulfilled in Christ, and that all people groups now praise the almighty one. Keep that music playing. Let this song ring out as we continue.

As we move on, I want us to recall the courtroom scene I described. When you know the verdict is coming, you also know that that isn't the final moment. When the verdict is announced, the judge still has to bring down the gavel, and the sentence must be carried out. And that's where we're at right now in Revelation 15. The song has declared who reigns, and now the courtroom of heaven is about to move into action. The judgment is coming. The sentence is going to be carried out. The wrath of God will be finished.

And as we've been in Revelation, I pointed out several times how there's often a cinematic feel to the way that John describes what's happening in these visions. And here, it's as if the camera angle changes. John looks and the tent of witness in heaven is opened. The scene has been focused on the sea of glass and the song of the redeemed, but now it shifts back to the angels. And they come out of the sanctuary proceeding from the very presence of God.

And these messengers, they're on a mission to do God's will, to carry out the verdict. They're clothed in pure bright linen with golden sashes around their chest, and and we're meant to understand here that they are servants of a holy god. These angels are not acting on their own. They are carrying out the justice that flows directly from the throne.

And as we picture this scene in our minds, we might make it cinematic ourselves. Right? That's kinda how we imagine things because this is a very dramatic moment. If we were imagining this, we might hear this music coming to a bit of a crescendo, and then as the angels step out of the tent, they're walking in slow motion. Right? There's this gravity to what's happening. The judgment has been made, and now the sentence is gonna be carried out by these agents of the holy judge.

But it's not just their appearance or the solemn procession that signals to us that this is serious. Because in the next verses, Don describes how they are equipped and what they are given, it comes straight from the heart of heaven's judgment. And so we see that one of the living creatures gives the seven angels bowls full of wrath. Now let's keep this scene cinematic. These bowls are full. They are nearly ready to spill over. Imagine that in your mind. And as they are handed to the angels, imagine the camera zooming in as the wrath nearly spills out. That's how full these bowls of wrath are. That slow motion makes us wonder, will the wrath spill over? These bowls are full, but they aren't gonna spill over here. This wrath is not meant for heaven. They're going to be poured out, and justice will be done.

But we're not gonna see it poured out today. Instead, we get a reminder of the truth that this wrath will be poured out, and it is true and it's righteous. And we're reminded that this anger isn't from a capricious, shortsighted deity. We read that he is the god who lives forever and ever. He isn't angry in the moment. He sees all of history. He is the god who from the beginning has been playing the long game. He has been slow to anger, and he has shown steadfast love to his people. The bowls of wrath poured out in the following chapters, they're justified.

He is the eternal one, and we also are reminded of his absolute holiness by the vision here that calls back to the old testament temple rituals. So as these angels are handed the bowls that are full of this wrath of God, John paints a picture for us of the sanctuary being filled with smoke. This all comes from the presence of God, from his glory and his power. And if you know the Old Testament law, this image sounds familiar to you Because in the tabernacle and later in the temple, the smoke from the incense wasn't just about making things smell better. That's what we think of when we think of incense.

Its purpose here though and in the temple wasn't just to cover up the stench of death from the sacrifices in the old testament rituals That required burning of smoke or burning of incense created smoke, and that smoke had a deeper purpose. The idea of the smoke is that it veils the glory of God, his absolute holiness. The smoke from the incense and the smoke here is mercy. Because you could not be in the presence of a perfectly holy God and expect to walk away. In the presence of the absolute holiness of god, you would be rendered nothing but a pile of ash unless his glory is filtered and mediated to you.

And the smoke of that incense was then mercy. It protected those who went into the inner places of the temple so that they did not see the glory of God face to face and die. The smoke was required because sinful people can't stand exposed in the presence of God's full holiness and live. And this imagery here reminds us of God's holiness before we see his justice.

All of sinful humanity deserves the wrath of God. Every last one of us has fallen short of the glory of God. There is no closing argument that can be made in our case or for any of humanity that will stop judgment. In our sin, we are guilty. The verdict has been rendered. We have not loved the lord our god with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. The verdict is obvious and clear. Not one of us can go before a holy god in our own righteousness because we have none.

And so we sit here on the precipice of Revelation 16 and the description of the pouring out of these bowls of wrath. That's what's coming. But here as we are= are at the end of Revelation 15, it's a good reminder for us of what the lamb has done. As we have seen throughout Revelation, the lamb of God was slain for the people of God. It's because of his work on our behalf that we are not children of wrath. We are children of God.

And this great truth is why we gather today and every time we gather Because we come into his presence to worship him in gratitude, and we depart from here to live to his glory with reverent fear. Remember what I said earlier. There is one story. The holiness of God has not changed. The holy God who couldn't be approached in the temple is the same God described in Revelation and the same God we worship today. God's righteousness and his justice are unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

But for the people of God, the gavel does not drop in judgment against us. The righteous verdict that should fall on us has instead fallen on the lord Jesus Christ. When we are in Christ, we are shielded from the wrath of God not by smoke, but by his blood. And this is the good news of the gospel. And like those gathered around the sea of glass, we sing his praise because we do not tremble in fear of his wrath. We praise him for the mercy and grace that we have been shown. Our song is the song of the redeemed, the anthem of heaven, worthy is the lamb who was slain.

So how do we respond to this passage and the reminder of God's mercy that we see in it? Well, we live a life of worship. Every word of praise, every act of obedience, every work of service to God and neighbor is our worship in gratitude to the one who has saved us. We do not live to earn the favor of God. We live in the truth that we're we already have the favor of God in Christ.

There's a vital part of that. We gather each Lord's day, and we remind each other that the lamb who was slain is worthy, and then we depart into the world as those who belong to him to share the gospel and to love others as those who are grateful, faithful, and unafraid. The verdict has been rendered. In Christ, you are declared innocent.

So we sing. So we serve. Also, the glory of the lamb who was slain. Amen. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting god, we praise you for the gift of your word that in it we see the holiness of God, and we see that the lamb was slain so that we might be righteous before him. We have no righteousness of our own, and so we come to you grateful that we have been united to Christ, the righteous one, that he bore the verdict, the wrath of God in our behalf. May this good news cause us to depart from here today, to go out and love and serve our neighbor because we have first been served and loved by you. It is in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

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