Teachinghearts	The Last Exodus (Revelation 15) "Explore the Word. Change the World"	Lesson 20: Time: 30 minutes Print: 6 pages

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Revelation 15

Symbols
Revelation 15 introduces Jesus as the judge who rescues His people. Here we see the profile of those who are controlled by God. It is a legal case that documents their right to exist in heaven. The symbols used involve the people in the Holy nation.

• The Exodus. The Passover death of Christ is our exodus from Egypt, the land of sin.
• Sinai (Law Given). The giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the method through which God will write the law in our hearts.
• Wilderness. Until we reach the Promised Land we must wander in the wilderness.
• The Wilderness of Babylon. We were judged in the wilderness because of rebellion. Babylon represents that state of rebellion, not Egypt. Egypt was a welcoming place that rescued Israel until it enslaved them. At the crucifixion, we have already been rescued from Egypt or slavery to sin. So the final prophecies cannot use the symbol of Egypt as a place from which we are called out.
  But Babylon represents a place where we were exiled for rebellion, just as they were exiled in the wilderness for forty years for rebellion.
  
  Before we cross over several tasks are done for the final generation.
  • Census. They had a census to distribute their inheritance. Our census is 144,000.
  • Law Repeated. The message of the three angels calls us back to the covenant.
  • Punish Enemies. God punished the nations that caused Israel to sin. This is the seven last plagues.
• Jordan River. They crossed over water to reach Israel. We cross over the Sea of Glass.
• Promised Land. Heaven is the land we will reach.

Background
In the study of Revelation Chapter 14, we saw the warning given to the church to get out of Babylon and avoid its corruption. This is because God intends to execute the plan that will punish them. Now we see the picture of the church, the symbolic 144,000 who were victorious. They obeyed the warning and have left Babylon. They began the exodus and are now standing on the Sea of Glass.
Before the seven last plagues we see their status in heaven. They are victorious. They are pictured as standing on the Sea of Glass ready to cross over. They may not have escaped martyrdom, but they have escaped corruption. They are victorious.
Several prophecies and examples teach that God considers His people to be under the protection of His tabernacle at some point before the Second Coming and their arrival in the Promised Land.

• The First Exodus . While they were being escorted by God, Israel walked into the sea to flee the pursuing army of Pharaoh.
• Sea of Glass. The victorious people wait at the crossing while the seven last plagues are sent.
• Feast of Tabernacles. After the day of atonement, the people live in temporary shelters with God before they reach the Promised Land.

The New Exodus
The Angels with the Plagues.
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. (Revelation 15: 1)

The Sea of Glass

The vision begins with the angels preparing for the plagues because this is the next phase in the judgment. The judgment has been completed. Those who listened to the warnings have been sealed. They are on their way to Mount Zion to meet God. In His sanctuary they will hide while the plagues pass over them.

The Sea of Glass.
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. (Revelation 15: 2)

Baptism - The First Death. Those that had received victory over the beast were "standing on the sea" they were not walking through the sea as those in the first exodus.
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (1 Corinthians 10: 2)

Passing through the waters for the first time is symbolic of our death to sin. We come out of the waters victorious because Christ conquered sin and this first death.
The Sea of Glass becomes a hiding place at the Sanctuary where they wait in the cleft of the Rock until God's anger passes.

The Sea of Glass - Victory over the Second Death. The sea is a symbol of people. A turbulent sea represents the wicked, so a calm, clear and peaceful sea must represent the righteous. Pharaoh was drowned in a turbulent sea. The righteous were baptized in that sea and they experienced the first death. But this final group have a different experience. Those who are victorious over the beast are seen standing on the water, not passing through the water. Therefore they are victorious through Christ over the second death. They have victory over the sea. They will not experience the second death.

Mingled with Fire. This could have two possible meanings.

1. Persecution. As they are on the Sea of Glass they are experiencing the fires of persecution. Remember the cry of the people during the feast of booths, "Lord save us!".
2. Presence of God. It also means that they are able to stand in the fiery presence of God. The wicked will ultimately be consumed by it and suffer the second death, but the righteous live in His presence.

The First Exodus

Notice the Parallels The Exodus story gives us an example. Revelation gives us a picture of the End Time Spiritual fulfillment of this example. Sabbath Rest Denied. The seven last plagues are God's response to the Beast power refusing to allow God's end time people to keep His Sabbaths". It leads up to the new Exodus, the final exodus of God's people, to the God of the Sabbath and to God's "Shabath" (God's Rest). Come Out. God calls His people to "Come out of her", just like the Children of Israel were to come out of Egypt. "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you do receive her plagues." (Revelation 18: 4) Plagues. God sends plagues.

Let us look at the Old Testament story of the Exodus to find some additional insight. This time Israel was passed through the waters under the protection of God.

Let My People Go. And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, This said the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.
Challenges God. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
Worship or Plagues. And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us: let us go, we pray you, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice to the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
No Sabbath Rest. And the king of Egypt said to them, Therefore do you, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you to your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Look, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens. (Exodus 5: 1 -5)

Pharaoh Prevented A Sabbath Rest. The context here is that Moses and Aaron are asking Pharaoh to allow the people to hold a feast, a "chagag" or "chag". This literally means "a sacred Sabbath festival feast".

Verse 5, "rest" is "shabath" or "Sabbath rest". So, the people of Israel wanted to hold a Sabbath to God, to keep the Sabbath, and Pharaoh refused to allow them to go. He went so far as to say "Who is this God, I do not know Him". In Verse 3, Moses said that the people needed to honor the Lord's Sabbath or they would suffer the "plagues" and the sword.
These are the same issues as the end time. The beast refuses to let the people worship on the Sabbath. God sends the plagues and then He comes with a sword.

God Sent Ten Plagues. God's response to Pharaoh was to send the ten Plagues.

• The First Three Plagues. The first three affected everyone, even the Children of Israel. But the magicians could not copy the third plague and they told Pharaoh that this plague must be from God. (Exodus 8: 18-19). So he had strong evidence that he was fighting against God.
• The Seven Last Plagues. But the final seven (the seven last plagues) fell only upon the Egyptians, not upon the Children of Israel.
  But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there ... (Exodus 8: 22).

The Feast of Tabernacles
While the events on the first exodus show us the activities of the enemies of God, the feast of tabernacles are primarily concerned with the activities of the people of God during the same period.
So we should look at the imagery of the Feast of Tabernacles and compare them to this point in time.

• Fruit Harvest. This feast marks the beginning of the fruit harvest. All of heaven has been waiting for the fruit of the Spirit to be fully developed in the children of God.
• Build a Booth. They build a temporary shelter outdoors according to certain specifications. It has three sides and a loose roof, just like the tabernacle. The beast has also built a new tabernacle based on apostasy. But the righteous build a temporary structure with the approval of God. This structure lets in the rain and allows them to see the stars.
  • The Rain. The Holy Spirit comes in the latter rain and the church becomes the model church of unity described in John 17.
  • The Stars. They look for the coming of God during this time, asking Him to save them.
• Persecution. During this happy feast where they are supposed to be living with God we find a peculiar ritual. Every day they would march around the altar crying, "Please save us!" On the seventh day they did this seven times. What are they being saved from? Now that we see the sequence of events in this chapter, we know that when heaven finally welcomes them, they are still under the power of the beast because they have not been physically removed from the earth. In fact, they are under the protection of God before the plagues begin. This beast does not acknowledge God and goes after His people.
• The March of the Great Hosannah. On the seventh and last day they march around the throne seven times, pleading with God. "Please save us!" Just as the walls of Jericho fall in a similar march, Babylon falls as God comes to rescue them. Their experience echoes the plight of the Hebrews at the Red sea. Pharaoh was in hot pursuit behind them and the sea blocked their escape. They walked into the sea and God opens a path through the sea.

The Song of Moses
God is Righteous and Great.
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of saints. Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? for you only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before you; for your judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15: 3-4)
This song is the response of the righteous to the decisions of the judgment on the great day of atonement. He has chosen them as His people and He has rejected the wicked and will punish them with the plagues. These people have a faith built upon both the Old and New Testaments. They sing the song of Moses. The song of the victory over those that would keep them from the worship of the True God and the keeping of His Shabath. They sing the song of the Lamb. The song of the victory that Christ gives over death, the grave and over sin.

Those Who Love God.
Only those with the mark of the beast will not fear or love God. To fear God means to love and obey Him.
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good? (Deuteronomy 10: 12,13)

• For you only are holy. They recognize that God alone is holy and their righteousness and their victory comes from God.
• All nations shall come and worship before you. Isaiah says that the Sabbath will be kept in heaven.
  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, said the Lord. (Isaiah 66: 23)

The Last Exodus: The Song of Moses at the Crossing into Canaan (Promised Land).
Just before Israel crossed the Jordan into Canaan, Moses read the law to them and He created a new song. The message of the three angels is patterned after this song. The message of the seven thunders is this final song when God pours out the four cups of the Passover before the last exodus. Revelation 15 chronicles the journey of those who obeyed the messages of the three angels. These stories cover the following themes in their structure.

• God. Acknowledge God as the creator who is to be worshipped. He is full of justice and wisdom.
• The Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God which is based on righteousness will survive forever. All other kingdoms will fall.
• Warning and Punishments. A warning to the people to choose the kingdom of God or they will be punished.

Event		Sea of Glass	Three Angels Message	Song of Moses	Song of The Lamb	Seven Thunders
		Revelation 15	Revelation 14	Deuteronomy 32	Revelation 5	Revelation 10
		Victory of the Saints	Warning the Last Generation	Warning the First Generation	Victory of the Lamb	The Mystery Ends
Worship God		The victorious ones worship God (Verse 3-5)	First Angel	Remember the greatness of God (Verse 1-4)	Glorify the Lamb	Glory to God I Am the LORD your God
	Fear God	Will fear and glorify and worship God (Verse 3-4)	Fear and glorify God (Verse 7)	Give greatness to God (Verse 3)	Worthy (Verse 9, 12)	God gives light
	Judgments	Judgments are revealed. Temple opened (Verse 4-5)	The hour of judgment has come (Verse 7)	Righteous, faithful, no injustice (Verse 4, 41-43)	Seven spirits sent to the earth (Verse 6)	God calls all nations for judgment
	Creator	Great and marvellous works (Verse 3-4)	Worship creator (Verse 7)	God created us (Verse 6)	Purchased the nations (Verse 9)
The Kingdoms		The kingdom of God is established (Verse 3-4)	Second Angel Kingdom fell	God chose Israel (Verse 5-14)	Kingdom of priests (Verse 9-10)	Babylon falls
	Foundations	God is the king who lives forever (Verse 7)	Babylon has fallen (Verse 8)	Jacob was found in the wilderness of Babylon (Verse 9-10)	He purchased people from every nation with His blood. They are a kingdom of priests	Called out of the wilderness
	The nations	All the nations worship God (Verse 4)	Corrupted nations (Verse 8)	Gave nations an inheritance (Verse 8)		Nations leave Babylon. Freedom
	Laws	The righteous acts of God are revealed (Verse 4)	Wine of immorality (Verse 8)	Rebellion (Verse 15)
Warning		Victory	Third Angel	The fruits of apostasy (Verse 15-43)	Lamb is Worthy	Fruit of the Spirit. Delivered
	Idolatry warning	Victory of the beast and his image (Verse 2)	Worship beast and image (Verse 9)	Made God jealous with strange gods, sacrificed to demons (Verse 16)	Lamb is to be worshipped (Verse 12-13)	Born in the image of God
	Identification	Victory over the number of his name (Verse 2)	Mark of the beast (Verse 9)	The numbering of the people (Verse 8)	Broke the seal	New names Sealing ends Redeem
	Plagues	Seven angels with the vials of the wrath of God, the seven last plagues (Verse 6-7)	Drinks wine of the wrath (Verse 10)	Punished with plagues (Verse 23-27)	He was killed and suffered the wrath of God for us (Verse 9)	Seven last plagues Wrath
	Smoke	Smoke from the glory of God filled the temple (Verse 8)	Smoke of torment (Verse 11)	Fire consumes the earth (Verse 22)	Incense, prayers (Verse 8)	Persecution rages
	The saints	Victorious saints on the sea of glass sing the song of Moses (Verse 2)	Saints keep commandments (Verse 12)	God vindicates His people (Verse 36-40)	Purchased with His blood (Verse 9)	Heaven Release

The Wrath of God
The Open Temple
And after that I looked, and, saw, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: (Revelation 15: 5)
After the judgment of 1844 the temple was opened. This was the Most Holy Place section of the temple which was opened once per year on Yom Kippur (the day of atonement). On the great day of atonement in 1844, Christ kept this place opened after the judgment was complete because He is going to allow those whom He has chosen to enter. He earned this right at His death when the veil between the two rooms was torn.

The Inauguration of the Leper Priest
As the new kingdom of priests are ordained after Yom Kippur, they must wait seven days in the temple as required for their inauguration. (Exodus 29: 26, 35, 37 and Leviticus 8: 33).
You shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days. (Leviticus 8: 33).
Their inauguration is during the seven days of the feast of booths (Nisan 15-21) or immediately after the day of Atonement (Nisan 11-17). These temporary booths represent the temple. They flee from the wrath of the beast and wait in the temple. After this they can serve as priests. Although the inauguration service is for the High Priest, a change has been made which allows an ordinary priest to go into the Most Holy Place for the first time. So the service itself is probably to consecrate anyone who will be allowed to approach the throne of God in the Most Holy Place.
In Leviticus 14, the same seven day waiting period is required for someone who had been cleansed of leprosy and is still waiting outside the camp, separated from the people.
So, the symbolism is not just that we are priests, we are a nation of leper priests.

Day 10						Day 11-14	Day 15-22
1844	Yom Kippur	Temple Remains Opened				Plagues	Feast of Tabernacles
	Dead Judged	Judgment Ends	Priests Named	Former Rain	Latter Rain		Day 1 to 6	Day 7 (Great Hosannah)	Day 8 (Read the Torah)
	Judgment (Sealing)						Ordination (Inauguration)		Second Coming

After the end of this Yom Kippur, the temple never closes again. This is a repetition of another prophecy about this time period. The temple remains opened after the judgment and we can see the ark of the covenant because it is the Most Holy Place that is opened.
"And the nations were angry, and your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." (Revelation 11: 18-19)

The Seven Last Plagues.
And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave to the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. (Revelation 15: 6-7)
The angels come out of the temple with the plagues. As we will see in our next lesson, all of these plagues are sent from each piece of furniture in the sanctuary. The plagues fall during the time between the end of judgment and the coming of God. During this 3½ to 4 day period the righteous prepare to live with God. They wait and watch for His coming.
In addition to the plagues, the wrath of God is added. This wrath destroys the false sanctuary and the disobedient people.

Intercession Ends (Probation Closes).
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. (Revelation 15: 8)
At the end of the judgment, when the priests are chosen, then the declaration of Revelation 21: 11 becomes true. Why? Because there is no more intercession in the temple. During the seven last plagues there is no one to speak up for the lost.
Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy. (Revelation 22: 11)
In the Exodus story Pharaoh and the Egyptians refused to listen to God. They hardened their hearts and rejected God. In the same way many people in the end times will harden their hearts to God, and will not turn to Him before it is too late. This verse suggests that once God's judgment period begin to fall, that man's probation will be over. During this period of the seven last plagues judgment, men will be unable to enter God's sanctuary through prayer.
How will the righteous remain faithful? This is when the power of the Latter Rain falls. The Holy Spirit is poured out in full on the fruit harvest. The rain comes into the booths. God keeps them righteous by writing His law in their hearts.

The Last Year on Planet Earth
The timeline of the last exodus appears to follow the pattern of the first two great exodus journeys. From the moment when mercy ends (or "probation closes") it took one year to reach the promised land. While the wrath against the wicked was raging outside the ark, the people of God were safe on the inside. However, it was still an horrendous journey.

Savior	Final Call	Travail	Mercy Ends	Wait		One Year of Wrath		Mountain
Noah	Preached (120 years)	Ridicule	Door Closes	7 Days		Ark	Flood	Ararat
Moses	Let My people go	Slavery	Mark on Door	1 Night		Ark, Booths	Egypt to Kadesh	Sinai
Jesus	Gospel (2000 years)	Persecution	Temple closes	?		Booths	Seven Last Plagues	Zion

The Church in the Womb. Before she travailed she brought forth. Before her pain came she gave birth to a boy. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?", says the Lord. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?", says your God. (Isaiah 66: 7-9)

• Noah. The journey on the rough seas was their test of faith. It took 370 days. For the first seven days they had to wait in the Ark while nothing happened.
• Moses. The journey through the wilderness was their test of faith. The exodus to Mount Sinai took about fifty days. However, it took one year to reach Kadesh on the border of the Promised Land. It was the apostasy at Kadesh that caused God to abandon them and sentence them to a total of forty years in the wilderness.
• Jesus. The seven last plagues will last exactly one year. While the vials of wrath are poured out, no one could enter the temple. There was no more mercy.

Repetition and Enlargement

Event	Judgment ends	Sealed	Harvest	Holy Spirit		Persecuted		Rescued
End Time	Come out of Babylon	Name of God	Israel	Latter Rain		Sea of Glass	Seven Last Plagues	Second Coming
Exodus	Let My people go	Mark of God	Israel	Baptism		Red Sea	Army destroyed	Sinai
Feasts	Yom Kippur	In the Book	Fruit	Rain		Live in Booths	Great Hosannah	Read the Torah

There is a sequence of events that are common in each story.

• Judgment. After the judgment ends Pharaoh is told to "Let My people go". While the nation of Israel is told to prepare to leave Egypt. The global Israel is told to come out of Babylon. This occurs because the great feast of Yom Kippur which started in 1844 is about to end. Then God liberates His people from the accusations of Satan.
• Sealed. At the end of the judgment the people of God are identified so that they can escape the wrath of God and be eligible to go to the Promised Land. The end time people receive the name of God when they are sealed. At the exodus, each house of Israel receives a mark so that death would pass over them. During Yom Kippur, people wait to see if their names are kept in the Book of life. They greet each other with these words, "May you be sealed and may your name be written in the book".
• Harvest Ready. Israel, the kingdom of priests, the fruit harvest is ready. There is a period of waiting during their inauguration in which they build booths with certain characteristics in the roof.
  • Stars. They can see the stars. In this period they are anxiously searching the skies for the Second Coming.
  • Rain. It can come through. In the latter rain, the full power of the Holy Spirit comes on them to perfect them.
  • Loose. The roof is not tied down. No obstruction can hold them back in the rapture.
• Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit finishes His work. Israel is "baptized in the sea" in the exodus. The church receives the latter rain before the Second Coming. The roof allows the rain to come inside the booth.
• Persecuted. While they are waiting, they are persecuted by the beast. At this point the ceremonies of the feast of Tabernacles vividly describes their dilemma. Every day they march around the altar saying "God save us!"
• Enemy Destroyed. On the final day pharaoh and his army is drowned in the sea. The seven last plagues are sent, the beast and his kingdom fall and they turn against each other. This mutiny is a reflection of them being drowned in the sea of the wicked. Israel urgently says the Great Hosannah. On this day they march around the altar seven times.
• God Comes. Israel goes to Sinai to meet God and receive the Ten Commandments. Tabernacles ends with the reading of the Torah. God rewards those who keep the commandments of God.

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Study to show yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.   2 Timothy 2: 15 Copyright   Updated : August 2006 Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (January 2008) Credits: See the credits for our supporting contributors for the "Sea of Glass" and "The First Exodus". Judaism 101. URL: www.jewfaq.org. (Yom Kippur and Feast of Tabernacles)