Commentary - Revelation 15:2-4

Bird's-eye view

This short passage is a majestic interlude of worship, a calm before the final storm of the seven bowl judgments. John's vision shifts from the earth to the courts of heaven, where he sees the triumphant saints standing on a sea of glass mingled with fire. These are the martyrs, the overcomers, who have faced down the beast, first-century imperial Rome, and have won the ultimate victory through their faithful testimony, sealed in blood. Their victory song is not a dirge, but a thunderous anthem of praise that merges the old covenant with the new. They sing the song of Moses, the great hymn of deliverance from Egypt, and the song of the Lamb, the hymn of ultimate redemption. This is not two different songs, but one song with two movements, celebrating one continuous story of God's mighty acts of salvation and judgment. The song itself proclaims the greatness, justice, and truth of God's works, culminating in a prophetic declaration that all nations will ultimately come and worship Him. This scene serves as the theological foundation for the judgments that are about to be unleashed; God's wrath is not arbitrary but is the righteous answer to the prayers of the saints and the necessary precursor to the universal worship of His name.

In short, this is the heavenly reality behind the earthly turmoil. While the beast appears to be winning on earth, the view from heaven shows that the battle is already over. The martyrs are not victims; they are victors, standing secure and singing praise. Their song is the justification for the final outpouring of wrath on apostate Israel and her pagan Roman allies, and it is the confident expectation of the worldwide triumph of the gospel.

Outline

Context In Revelation

Chapter 15 serves as the preface to the seven bowl judgments, the third and final series of woes to be poured out upon the earth. Chapter 14 concluded with the vision of the two harvests: the grain harvest of the saints being gathered into the barn, and the grape harvest of the wicked being thrown into the winepress of God's wrath. This chapter opens in heaven and shows us the result of that first harvest. We see the saints who have been gathered, now standing in triumph. This scene is parallel to the vision of the 144,000 on Mount Zion in chapter 14 and the vision of the souls under the altar in chapter 6. It provides the heavenly perspective on the persecution happening on earth. Before the final judgments are poured out from the seven angels who come out of the temple (15:5-8), God wants John, and the churches, to see who the true victors are. The praise of the martyrs is what inaugurates this final phase of judgment upon the persecuting world of the first century, specifically the Roman Empire and the apostate Jewish leadership who had become the great Harlot riding the Beast.

Key Issues

The Victory Anthem

Every great victory is followed by a victory parade and a victory song. After Israel crossed the Red Sea and Pharaoh's armies were drowned, Moses and the people sang a great song of triumph to the Lord (Exodus 15). They had been delivered from the beast of their day, the Egyptian empire. Here in Revelation, we see the same pattern. The saints have passed through their own Red Sea, a sea of fiery persecution, and have been delivered from the new Egypt, which is the corrupt covenant community of Jerusalem, and the new Pharaoh, the Roman beast. And so they sing.

This is not a quiet, contemplative hymn. This is the song of a conquering army. They are holding "harps of God," which indicates this is divinely-inspired, divinely-empowered worship. This is the music of heaven, the soundtrack of redemption. And the central theme is that God's works and ways, which often seem mysterious and even unjust from an earthly perspective, are in fact perfectly "great," "marvelous," "righteous," and "true." The judgments that are about to fall are not a tragedy; they are the manifestation of God's perfect justice, the necessary answer to the blood of the martyrs, and the means by which He will bring all the nations to worship before Him.

Verse by Verse Commentary

2 Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who have overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.

John sees a vision, "something like" a sea of glass. This connects back to the sea of glass before God's throne in Revelation 4:6, which was like crystal. That sea represented the tranquility and awesome purity of God's heavenly court. But here, the sea is mixed with fire. This fire represents judgment and purification. These saints have come through the fire of the Neronian persecution. They have passed through their own Red Sea, a sea of martyrdom, and have come out on the other side. They are now standing on the sea, not in it or under it. This signifies their victory and their firm, secure position. They have overcome the beast, Nero Caesar and the Roman imperial cult, along with his image (the statues demanding worship) and the number of his name (the mark of economic and political allegiance to Rome). They refused to bow, they refused the mark, and for this they were killed. But in their dying, they conquered. Now they stand, vindicated and victorious, holding harps provided by God Himself, ready to lead the heavenly orchestra in praise.

3a And they sang the song of Moses, the slave of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

Their song is given a double title: the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. This is not two separate songs, but one unified anthem. The song of Moses (Exodus 15) was the celebration of God's victory over the old covenant enemy, Egypt. By singing this song, these new covenant martyrs are identifying the Roman beast and his ally, apostate Jerusalem, as the new Egypt, the new enemy of God's people, which is now facing a similar devastating judgment. But it is also the song of the Lamb. The victory Moses won was a type; the victory the Lamb won is the substance. Their deliverance is not ultimately from a political tyrant, but from sin and death itself, accomplished through the blood of the Lamb. The exodus from Egypt is now fulfilled and surpassed by the exodus from the kingdom of darkness. The old song is sung with a new meaning, celebrating a greater, final deliverance.

3b “GREAT AND MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS, O LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY; RIGHTEOUS AND TRUE ARE YOUR WAYS, KING OF THE NATIONS!

The song begins with an explosion of praise directed at God's works and His ways. His works, His acts in history, His creation, His judgments, His salvation, are great and marvelous. They defy human comprehension. His ways, His moral government of the universe, His decrees, His character, are righteous and true. There is no injustice in Him. This is a profound statement of faith from those who have suffered unjustly. From their new vantage point, they can see that even their own suffering and death were part of God's righteous and true plan. He is addressed by three magnificent titles: Lord God, the Almighty, and King of the Nations. He is the sovereign ruler, not just of Israel, but of all peoples. The Caesars of Rome may claim dominion, but He is the true King of the Nations (or in some manuscripts, "King of the Ages").

4 WHO WILL NOT FEAR, O LORD, AND GLORIFY YOUR NAME? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”

The song moves from declaration to a rhetorical question that expects a resounding "No one!" Who, in their right mind, could see God's glory and not fear Him? This is not a slavish dread, but a reverential awe that leads directly to glorifying His name. The song provides three reasons for this universal worship. First, "For You alone are holy." His moral perfection, His utter "otherness," is the foundation of all true worship. Second, "For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU." This is a confident, postmillennial prophecy. The martyrs are not singing about a future escape to heaven, but about a future conquest of the earth by the gospel. Their death is not a defeat for God's cause, but rather the seed of the church that will grow to fill the whole world. The kingdom of the beast will fall, and the kingdom of our God will triumph among all peoples. Third, this will happen "FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED." The "righteous acts" or "judgments" here refer specifically to the bowl judgments that are about to fall. God's wrath poured out on His enemies is a revelation of His character that will, paradoxically, lead to the conversion of the nations. Judgment and salvation are two sides of the same coin. God tears down the kingdoms of men so that the kingdom of His Son may be established in their place.

Application

We live in a world where the beast still rages. It may not be the Roman Empire, but the spirit of the beast is the same. It is the spirit of arrogant, secular man setting himself up against the throne of God, demanding absolute allegiance, and persecuting the saints. When we face opposition, when we are marginalized for our faith, when the culture seems to be collapsing into paganism, it is easy to lose heart. It is easy to think that our side is losing.

This passage yanks us up by the collar and forces us to look at the world from heaven's perspective. The real action is not in the senate chambers or on the cable news networks; it is before the throne of God. The true victors are not the powerful and the celebrated of this world, but the faithful saints who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Our suffering is not meaningless. Our faithful witness is not in vain. We are part of a cosmic battle that has already been won.

Therefore, we should learn to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb right now. We must learn to look at God's works in our own lives and in history and declare them to be "great and marvelous." We must look at His ways, even when they are painful, and confess that they are "righteous and true." And we must have a rugged, confident optimism about the future. The nations do not belong to the beast. They belong to the "King of the Nations." And the promise of this song is that they will one day acknowledge their true King. Our job is to be faithful overcomers, knowing that our small acts of obedience in the face of the beast are part of the grand strategy that will bring all the nations to worship before Him.