What John records in chapter 15 serves as a final segment of the interlude between the seven trumpets and the seven bowls of God’s wrath. He sees “another sign in heaven, great and amazing.” Seven angels are entrusted with the final “plagues” of God’s judgment in the world. The next chapter will bring to completion the series of three “sevens” depicting God’s judgment in the world. And just as the seven seals and the seven trumpets ended with a vision of the final judgment, so too, here in the seven bowls, John sees that “the wrath of God is finished.”
As in the vision of the trumpets, John sees here the seven angels who will pour out the plagues (15:1). Next he views the worship of the saints in glory (15:2-8) before God brings the final judgment upon the earth (16:1ff). The focus here is on the glory of God in the saints’ victory over Satan, in his acts and attributes which are sung by the saints, and in his final judgment over the wicked.
God has placed within each of us a great desire to exult in his glory. We are worshippers by design. Here, John sees the victorious saints joining with the great heavenly chorus who sing the song of Moses and the Lamb before the ineffable presence of the One enthroned before the sea of glass mingled with fire.
