CHAPTER 15

15:18. PREPARATION FOR THE LAST SEVEN PLAGUES .

1. .] looks back to 12:1,
12:3. This view of the appearances as signs belongs exclusively to the second half of
the Apocalypse, and serves to connect the present vision with the series which began
with the Sign of the Sun-clad Woman. The Seven Bowls are usually classed with the
Seven Seals (c. 6.) and the Seven Trumpets (cc. 811.), and with the latter especially
they have an obvious affinity; but their relation to the great section of the book which
begins at 12:1 is even closer; they belong to the drama of the long conflict between the
Church and the World. : cf. v. 3 ,
; the phrase occurs in the later Greek writers, e.g. Dionysius of Halicarnassus and
Diodorus Siculus (Wetstein ad l.).
(cf. 8:2) , . Three are named
in 9:18, and in 11:6 the Witnesses are empowered to strike the earth ; but
the plagues now about to begin are distinguished from all that came before them as the
last (cf. 21:9), the final cycle of such visitations: the last, because, as the Seer hastens to
explain, they complete the physical manifestations of the Divine Wrath. .
explains and justifies the emphatic . But the explanation is not altogether
easy to understand; the aor. can cause no difficulty in view of 10:7
(where see note), but is it possible to conceive of the wrath of God
as burning itself out in any manifestations such as these? Must it not endure as long as
evil endures? , then, can only be taken in a limited sense, as meaning that
there will be no more similar displays of Gods righteous displeasure against human sin;
there may be reserves of wrath, but its cosmic effects will cease. With the
commentators compare Lev. 26:21, 26:24 ...
...
. In the case of the Last Plagues the septenary number is
peculiarly appropriate; cf. Victorinus: septem plagis, id est, perfecte; Primasius:
angelorum numero vel plagarum universitatem consummationis arbitror praesignari.
It denotes at once the finality and the completeness of the visitation.
2. ] A parenthesis follows (vv. 2
4), in which the Seer, after briefly introducing the Seven Angels, catches a view of the
Martyrs in their bliss on which his eye rests for a moment before he proceeds with the
terrors of the Last Plagues. In the Vision of Heaven, the distance between the spectator
and the Throne is filled by a Sea of Glass (4:6 ;
see note ad l.), and this image is now recalled, though the writer, after his manner
(13:11, 14:1, notes) does not use the article to emphasize the identity of the Sea in this
place with the Sea in c. 4. As he now sees it, the crystal light of the Sea of Glass is
reddened as by fire; with , cf. Ex. 9:24 ((

(
)
, and c. 8:7 . The red glow on the Sea
spoke of the fire through which the Martyrs passed, and yet more of the wrath about to
fall on the world which had condemned them; cf. Mt. 3:12
, and the agraphon ; and see Heb. 12:29

 . The and the Elders who are mentioned in c.

4., and again in 14:3, do not appear here, for the attention of the hearer or reader is
concentrated upon another group with widely different associations.
not . (cf. 12:11), or even . , though their struggle is at an end;
for it is the abiding character of conqueror on which emphasis is laid, and not the fact
of conquest; cf. in 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21, 21:7. The words that
follow define the field on which the victory was won and the character formed; the
conquerors are martyrs who have suffered in the conflict with the promoters of the
Caesar-cult (cf. c. 13., notes), and have eome victorious from the Beast (R.V., cf.
Benson: came conquering forth from the Wildbeast); the construction is a pregnant
one, by virtue of their victory they escaped out of the hand of the enemy. Blasss
suggestion = is frigid, and the Latin phrase victoriam ferre ex
aliquo usually quoted from Livy 8:8 does not altogether meet the case. The all
powerful Beast has been compelled after all to let them slip from his grasp; they, and
not he, gained the day. The genuine Acts of the Martyrs shew them in the light of
conquerors up to the moment of death, e.g. Ep. Smyrn. 19
[ ]
; Eus. H.E. 5:1 ,
(cf. 4 Macc. 16:14)
...
. Passio S. Perpetuae 18 inluxit dies victoriae illorum, et processerunt de
carcere in amphitheatrum quasi in caelum, hilares et vultu decori. But the Apocalyptist
follows the victors into the life beyond, and sees them celebrating their victory in the
Presence of God. It is a strangely different view of their condition from that presented
by c. 6:9 ff., but the announcement of 14:6 has partly prepared the reader for it; the
present vision anticipates the final joy in which their rest will issue.
For , , see 13:1, 13:14, 13:17, 14:9, 14:11, 19:20,
20:4, and notes there.
] Not on the shore of the Sea, like Israel in
Ex. 14:30, but on the Sea itself which forms the solid pavement (cf. Mt. 14:25 ff.) of the
final approach to the Throne (4:6). Their exodus from the spiritual Egypt (11:8) has led
them through the Red Sea of Martyrdom, which is now exchanged for the Crystal Sea
of Heaven. Like the Elders in 5:8, and the 144,000 in 14:2, they carry zitherns
, not merely of unusual sweetness and power (cf. Ps. 79. (80.) 11
), but dedicated to the service of God (cf. 1 Chron. 16:42

, , 1 Th. 4:16 ). The symbolism is well

explained by the ancient commentators, e.g. Primasius: laudibus corda dicata;
Andreas: ,
.
3. ] The allusion to the
Exodus, hitherto latent, now becomes evident; cf. Ex. 15:1
. There is indeed another in Deut.
32. which was used as a Sabbath hymn in the Jewish liturgy (Wolff, curae, 5. p. 563);

and the two songs are placed together among the of the Church in the liturgical
Psalter of cod. A ( . , . . ), and both find a
place among the Canticles both of Eastern and Western Christendom (Intr. to the O.T. in
Greek, p. 253 f.); but it is surely the song of victory which is in view here rather than the
swan-like song ascribed to the dying Lawgiver. Moses is , an O.T.
title=



, where
is variously rendered in the LXX by (Ex.
14:31, Num. 12:7), (3 Regn, 8:53, 8:56, Ps. 104. (105.) 26), or (Isa. 42:1).
The contrast drawn in Heb. 3:5 between Moses the Servant and Christ the Son (
... ... ) is latent here also, for is
followed immediately by , the exalted Person who throughout the Book is
associated with God.
. The song of the martyrs is not only the song of Moses,
triumphant over Pharaoh and Egypt; it is also the song of the Glorified Christ, the
conqueror of the world (Jo. 16:33) and of Death (c. 1:18). The martyrs have not only
overcome Domitian and the power of Rome; they share the victory of Christ (c. 3:21).
St John does not write , for the notes are distinct
though they form a harmony. As throughout the Book, the Apocalyptist places together,
without confounding, the experiences of the two dispensations, bringing out of his
treasure things new and old. Primasins is right, if his words are taken in a wider sense
than he probably intended: in Moysis antem vetus, in Agni vero cantico novum
significatum est testamentum.
34. , .] The words of the Martyrs Song
are almost wholly from the O.T., as the following brief catena will shew: Ps. 110. (111.)
2 , Ps. 138. (139.) 14 , Amos 4:13
, Deut. 32:4 , ,
, Jer. 10:7, 10:10 (Qmg) , ...
... ... , Tob. 13:10 , Mal.
1:11 , Deut. 32:4 ()

, Ps. 144. (145.) 17 ... (

) , 1 Regn.
12:7 (, ) . The
thought as well as the phraseology of the Song is strangely Hebraic, and at first sight
does not appear to be specially appropriate to the occasion; there is no reference to the
martyrs own conflicts, and none to the victory of the Lamb; it is rather a hymn of praise
than a paean, nor does it obviously answer to its description either as the
or as the . There is perhaps a reason for this. In the Presence of God the
martyrs forget themselves; their thoughts are absorbed by the new wonders that
surround them; the glory of God, and the mighty scheme of things in which their own
sufferings and victory form an infinitesimal part are opening before them; they begin to
see the great issue of the world-drama, and we hear the doxology with which they greet
their first unclouded vision of God and His works. Their song, though it has little to do
with martyrdom or victory, at any rate suits the context, preparing the reader for the
judgements which are about to follow; leading him to view them, as they are viewed by
the victors, sub specie aeternitatis.

For see v. 1, note; for , 1:8, note. , cf.

3:7, 3:14, notes; the combination (or . . .) occurs again in
16:7, 19:2. With cf. Rom. 16:27 , 1 Tim. 6:16
, and the clause in the (O.T. in Greek3, 3. p. 833),
. , pius, is used of God in the N.T. only here and in 16:5 (in Heb. 7:26
it refers to the Incarnate Son); it represents God as fulfilling His relation to His
creatures, even as He requires them to fulfil theirs towards Himself. ,
Thy righteous acts; a is a concrete expression of righteousness, whether in
the form of a just decree (e.g. Deut. 4:1 (


) , Lc. 1:6
), or a just
act, as here and in 19:8 : cf. Sanday and Headlam on Rom.
1:17, 5:18, and Westcott on Heb. 9:1.
It is not easy to choose between the readings and . For the
latter, besides the references given above, see 1 Tim. 1:17 ,
Enoch 9:4 ...
, .
On the other hand is suggested by the passage in Jeremiah to which the next
words refer, and on the whole agrees best with the drift of the canticle. The true
Sovereign of the nations is not the Augustus, but their Creator, the Living God, and He
will in the end receive their homage (v. 4; cf. 21:24 f.).
The Martyrs Song falls readily into parallelisms after the manner of O.T. poetrya
circumstance which, taken with the general tone and the wording, suggests a Jewish
source.
5. ] A formula which usually introduces a new and important
vision; cf. 4:1, note. The Seven plague-laden Angels form the most striking group since
the Seven Angels of the Temple (8:1).
] See 11:19
, and cf. 3:12, 7:15, 14:15, 14:17, 16:1, 16:17. In these references to the
, the writer, as it now appears, alludes not to Solomons Temple or its successors,
but to the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Tent of Witness (Num. 9:15, 17:7 (22) f.,
18:2, (


) , or Tent of Meeting (Ex. 27:21 et passim,
) , both


of which designations the LXX usually renders by , and the Vg.,
following the LXX, by tabernaculum testimonii; . . . is suggested, as
Westcott points out (Hebrews, p. 234), by the phrase

( Ex. 40:2,

40:6, 40:29) which the LXX does not distinguish from the shorter form. That the writers
of Hebrews and the Apocalypse have chosen the Tabernacle rather than the Temple as
the counterpart of the heavenly Presence-Chamber is due to the feeling that the
Tabernacle was the archetype of the later Temple, and was itself constructed on a
Divinely imparted plan: cf. Ex. 25:40
, quoted in Heb. 8:5 with the comment that the priests under the Law
consequently .
Vg. The Latin Vulgate.

6. ... .] The Sanctuary is not opened here as in 11. l.c.

for the purpose of revealing the Ark of the Covenant, but to allow the Seven Angels to
issue in procession from the Presence-Chamber. The angels of 14:15, 14:17 f., also
came forth from the Sanctuary, but singly and with less solemnity; the curtain was not
drawn back to let them pass.
. All the Seven are clad alike in the pure
bright raiment of celestial beings. Unfortunately the reading is far from certain. WH.
accept , urging that the bold image expressed by this well-attested reading is
justified by Ez. 28:13 , where is a various
reading in a few cursives, and that on the other hand as distinguished from
never denotes a fabric or garment made of flax except according to Etym.
Magn., and possibly in Aesch. Suppl. 121. Others have seen in a reference to the
High Priests breastplate, and some support for such a phrase as may
be found in the imagery of cc. 4:3, 17:4, 21:11, 21:18 ff., 21:21. But when all has been
said, the metaphor is intolerable even in the Apocalypse, and we turn to look again at
the evidence for . The argument which WH. adduce that the Apocalypse
elsewhere uses for a garment of linen (18:12, 18:16, 19:8 bis, 14), cuts both
ways, for the fact would tempt a corrector to change , and if he remembered Ez.
l.c., what more obvious remedy than to write for ? Nor is the extreme rarity of
= conclusive, for our writer is apt to use rare forms and even forms for
which no other authority can be claimed. Of , however, in this sense there are
traces in Homer (Il. 9:661, Od. 13:73, 13:118; cf. Eustathius: ...
) as well as in Aeschylus (Suppl. 120, 132), and the revival of the old poetic use in
a book such as the Apocalypse need cause no surprise. On the whole therefore it has
seemed best to place in the text provisionally, until further light comes.
The Seven Angels, then, are clad in clear glistening white (cf. 19:8,
, ib. 14
), a garb characteristic of celestial beings (Mt. 28:3, Mc. 16:5, Lc. 9:2). Their
snow-white linen tunics are girded high = 1:13) with
golden belts, the symbols of royalty or of priestly functions (l.c., note); they are
(Heb. 1:14), and they are vested for their liturgy.
7. .] The Seven are now entrusted with
power to execute their ministry. This is done by a symbolical traditio instrumentorum,
which is fitly committed to one of the four representatives of Nature (see 4:6 ff., 5:14,
6:1 f., notes). Control is thus given to them over the forces of Nature, so far as may be
necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the Divine purpose; cf. 14:18
, and Ps. 77. (78.) 49 ...
. The instruments given to the Angels of the Last Plagues are
, cf. 5:8, note, and for compare 4 Regn. 25:15, 1 Chr. 28:17, 2 Chr. 4:8, 1
Esdr. 2:13. But whereas the bowls carried by the Elders in c. 5. were full of the incense
of the Saints prayers, these are full of the wrath of God. Cf. Primasius: eaedem quippe
phialae et suavitates supplicationum et iram suppliciorum continere dicuntur, cum a
WH. Westcott and Hort, N.T. in Greek (Cambridge, 1891).

sanctis pro regni Dei adventu funduntur; headds a reference to 2 Cor. 2:15 f.
,
, . In 14:8, 14:10 the Wrath of God is
a deadly wine which is given men to drink, a cup () which sinners must drain;
here the metaphor is changed, the cup becomes an open incense bowl, pouring out its
burning contents upon the earth; cf. 8:5, where a similar metaphor is used. Schttgen
notes that the Targum on Isa. 51:17, 51:22, for (
substitutes ( or (

. . adds to the terror of the thought; cf. Heb. 10:31

; the gods of heathendom are dead or never were
alive, and their wrath has no terrors for Christians; the Living God is to be feared
indeed. For as a title of the Eternal Father see 4:9,
note, 10, 10:6.
8. .] The terrors of the imminent
judgement are still further emphasized by the smoke which is seen to fill the Sanctuary;
cf. Andreas:
. Smoke is an O.T. symbol of the Divine Presence when the
aweful majesty of God is to be insisted upon; cf. Exod. 19:18
,
; Ps. 17. (18.) 9 ; Isa. 6:5
, 65:5 . On this occasion the smoke
proceeds from () the Divine glory and power, i.e. from the personal character and
attributes of God and His boundless resources, two grounds of undying fear to His
enemies.
.] Both the Tabernacle and the Temple
supply an illustration here; for the first see Ex. 40:29 (35)
, ,
, and for the second 3 Regn. 8:11
, .
The Divine judgements are impenetrable until they are past; when the last plague has
fulfilled its course, the smoke will vanish, and the Vision of God be seen. Bede: si
fumum abdita iudiciorum Dei interpretaris arcana, mortalibus haec impenetrabilia
manent et clausa donec, finitis praesentis sueculi plagis, advenit Dominus.
1

1The Apocalypse of St. John ( ed. Henry Barclay Swete;, 2d. ed.; New York:
The Macmillan company, 1907), 190.