When we concluded our study yesterday, the Tribulation saints were singing the praises of the Lord. Now John tells us what happens next.
"After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple---that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law---and it was opened." (Revelation 15:5) You will recall that we were told in Chapter 12 that the Lord prepared a place in the wilderness to protect the Jews who would flee Jerusalem when the Antichrist would desecrate the third temple. John was told that the Lord would protect these people for the final 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation. At this point in the end times, the Jewish people may be feeling despair. The temple has an idolatrous image standing in it. The holy city of Jerusalem has been taken over by those who hate everything to do with God. The entire world has gone mad. Natural disasters are occurring on a scale never seen before. Those who fled Jerusalem for their lives may wonder if and when and how the Lord is going to fulfill all the promises He's made to Israel. Right now, by man's standards, the fulfillment of these promises seems hopeless.
But God is a covenant-keeper, and that is why in our passage today we see the temple in heaven opened. The Lord has flung the doors open wide as a reminder that His covenant with Israel still stands. He is going to keep His word to her, and right now we're going to take some time to study a few of the awesome, unbreakable promises the Lord has made to Israel.
In Leviticus 26:42 He vowed: "I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land." The Lord promised not only to preserve Israel as a nation, but to preserve Israel in her own land. He's not going to set up the final, eternal nation of Israel anywhere but in the covenant land He promised to Abraham's descendants.
The Jewish people have been through dark days at various times throughout history, so the Lord made a promise they can hold onto---a promise that holds firm even when it seems like everything is falling apart. "For the Lord your God is a merciful God, He will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which He confirmed to them by oath." (Deuteronomy 4:31)
Even during times of exile, the Lord reminded His people Israel that His covenant with them would never be broken. "Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you." (Ezekiel 16:60)
God is not like man, who makes a promise and breaks it, or who makes a promise and forgets it. "He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob." (Psalm 105:5-6)
The Lord instructed His people Israel to remember His promises. He knew there would be days when they'd fall into despair unless they stood firm in their faith. "Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are My servant. I have made you, you are My servant, Israel; I will not forget you." (Isaiah 44:21)
As we study the words of Revelation, conditions on the earth are going to grow worse before they get better, but the descendants of Abraham will be able to endure it by holding fast to the Lord's unchanging word. He is the same God that He has always been. He hasn't become a covenant-breaker. He hasn't cast the nation of Israel aside. It's important that the descendants of Abraham take some time right now, at this point in Revelation, to remind themselves of all the awesome promises their God has made to them. They are going to see dreadful conditions on the earth. The very worst part of the Great Tribulation is about to occur. They have to be able to observe the events taking place in the world through eyes of faith. What is going to be an ending for the rebellious sinners of the world is not going to be an ending for any of the people who belong to the Lord. The end of sin is going to mean the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. He is going to give her rest on every side from all her enemies. He is going to plant her in her land forever. And He is going to place His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the throne of David.
But before these things happen, the wrath of God must be carried out on the ungodly and on everything and everyone that opposes Him and opposes those who've placed their trust in Him. "Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed." (Revelation 15:6-8) This same glory of God filled the Old Testament tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple that Solomon built. This glory reminded the people of God's powerful and protective presence with them. I think He fills the temple in heaven with His glory here at the end of Chapter 15 because when the bowls of wrath begin to be poured out, it's going to seem like the world is about to be destroyed. Those who've placed their trust in the Lord will have to keep in mind that His powerful and protective presence is with them. What looks like an ending is really only the beginning for those who belong to the Lord.
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