The Heavenly Armory Unsealed Text: Revelation 15:5-8
Introduction: Judgment from the Holy Place
We often think of God's sanctuary, His holy temple, as a place of refuge, mercy, and grace. And it is precisely that. It is the place where atonement is made, where the blood is sprinkled, and where mercy triumphs over judgment. But we must never forget that the throne of grace is also a throne of government. Mercy is not a dismissal of justice; it is the fulfillment of it in the Person of Christ. What happens, then, when a people who have been the beneficiaries of that mercy, who have lived in the shadow of that temple, trample the blood of the covenant underfoot and despise the Spirit of grace? What happens when the prayers for mercy are replaced with prayers for judgment from the martyrs under the altar?
The book of Revelation shows us exactly what happens. The scene we are about to examine is one of the most terrifying in all of Scripture. It is the unsealing of the heavenly armory. It is the moment when the very center of worship and mercy becomes the launching point for a final, decisive, and devastating judgment. This is not a distant, abstract event for us. This is a description of God's holy fury against covenant-breaking. And as John saw it, it was directed at the epicenter of the Old Covenant world, the apostate city of Jerusalem, which had rejected her Messiah and persecuted His saints. The judgments described here are not arbitrary; they are liturgical, they are covenantal, and they flow directly from the heart of God's house.
We are about to see the holy of holies opened, not for access, but for exodus. Seven angels, robed as priests, are dispatched with seven bowls of wrath. The temple is filled with the smoke of God's glory, so thick and so holy that no one can enter. This is not business as usual. This is the final answer to generations of rebellion. It is the ultimate demonstration that when mercy is spurned, the place of mercy itself becomes the source of a terrible and holy vengeance.
The Text
And after these things I looked, and the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who have the seven plagues came out of the sanctuary, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
(Revelation 15:5-8 LSB)
The Open Testimony (v. 5)
We begin with the source of the coming judgment.
"And after these things I looked, and the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened," (Revelation 15:5)
John's language here is dense with Old Testament significance. He doesn't just see the temple or the sanctuary opened. He sees the "sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony." This points us directly to the holy of holies, the inner sanctum where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. And what was the Ark called? It was the Ark of the Testimony (Ex. 25:22), because it contained the stone tablets of the law, God's testimony against the sin of the people. Capping that Ark was the mercy seat, where the blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement.
So, what does it mean when this specific place is thrown open? It means that the testimony, the covenant law, is now the basis for the action. And the action is coming from the place of mercy. When merciless judgment comes forth from the mercy seat, it signifies that the day of grace for that particular covenant administration is over. The blood of bulls and goats, and more importantly, the final blood of Christ, has been utterly rejected by the leadership of Old Covenant Israel. The testimony against them is now unsealed, and the verdict is about to be executed.
This is a heavenly scene, but its target is earthly. This is the divine reality behind the historical events of A.D. 70. The veil of the temple in Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom at the crucifixion, signifying that the way into the holiest was now open through Christ. But here, forty years later, the heavenly sanctuary is opened, not for men to enter, but for judgment to come out. The old system had become a Christ-rejecting idol, and God was opening His own house to issue the demolition orders.
The Priestly Executioners (v. 6)
Out of this opened sanctuary come the agents of God's wrath.
"and the seven angels who have the seven plagues came out of the sanctuary, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes." (Revelation 15:6 LSB)
These are not demonic figures. They are holy angels, and they emerge from the very presence of God. Their clothing is crucial. They are dressed like priests. The "linen, clean and bright" and the "golden sashes" are the garments of the high priest (cf. Lev. 16:4; Dan. 10:5). This is a liturgical act. The judgment about to be poured out is not a random outburst of anger; it is a holy, priestly service. It is a cleansing of the land from the defilement of apostasy and the murder of God's prophets and His Son.
They are executing a divine sentence that is perfectly just. Their white linen signifies the pure and righteous nature of this judgment. There is no stain, no malice, no unrighteousness in what they are about to do. They are ministering at the altar of divine justice, and the sacrifice is the corrupt city that had called for the blood of Jesus to be upon themselves and their children.
The Bowls of Wrath (v. 7)
The instruments of this judgment are then delivered to the angels.
"Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever." (Revelation 15:7 LSB)
The four living creatures, who represent all of redeemed creation, are involved in this act. This shows the rightness of the judgment in the eyes of all heaven. But what about these bowls? The word for bowl here is the same word used earlier in Revelation for the golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8). The connection is unmistakable and potent.
The prayers of the persecuted church, the cries of the martyrs under the altar asking "How long, O Lord?" (Rev. 6:10), have been gathered in these bowls. Now, those same bowls are filled to the brim with the wrath of God. God's judgment is His direct answer to the prayers of His people. He is vindicating His saints. The wrath is not an impersonal force; it is the holy indignation of the God "who lives forever and ever" against those who have shed the blood of His servants. This is covenantal justice. The imprecatory psalms are being answered on a grand, historical scale.
The Unapproachable Glory (v. 8)
The final verse of this scene seals the terrifying finality of what is about to happen.
"And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished." (Revelation 15:8 LSB)
This image of the temple filling with smoke is a sign of a powerful theophany, a manifestation of God's glorious presence. We see it at the dedication of the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-35) and Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:10-11), and in Isaiah's vision (Is. 6:4). In those instances, the smoke was a sign of God's glorious indwelling, so potent that the priests could not enter to minister.
But here, the context is judgment. The glory of God and His power fill the sanctuary, and the result is that access is barred. "No one was able to enter." This means that during this period of intense, concentrated judgment, there is no more opportunity for intercession. The time for appeals is over. The sentence has been passed, the executioners dispatched, and the courtroom doors are sealed. The judgment will run its full course without interruption or mitigation. God's glory is revealed in His power to save, but it is also revealed in His power to judge. This smoke is the visible manifestation of His unapproachable holiness as He carries out His strange work of wrath against the covenant-breakers.
Conclusion: The Fear of the Lord
What are we to do with such a passage? First, we must see the utter seriousness of covenant fidelity. God does not take lightly the rejection of His Son. The judgments that fell upon first-century Jerusalem are a pattern for how God deals with any nation or institution that has been given the light of the gospel and then turns its back on it. Judgment begins at the house of God.
Second, we must be comforted. The prayers of God's people are not forgotten. They are gathered in golden bowls before His throne. He hears the cries of those who suffer for His name, and in His perfect time, He answers. His wrath is not a chaotic rage, but a measured, righteous, and just response to the wickedness of men and the prayers of His saints. He will vindicate His people.
Finally, this passage must drive us to worship. The smoke that fills the temple comes from "the glory of God and from His power." We serve a God of infinite glory and absolute power. He is a consuming fire. This is not a God to be trifled with, not a God to be domesticated, not a God to be remade in our own comfortable image. He is the God who lives forever and ever, whose judgments are true and righteous. Therefore, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is indeed a consuming fire.