The Revelation 15:

Reading #447  The Two covenants

After having seen the preparation necessary for the remnant of the people of God to stand in righteousness in the last days, John’s attention was then taken back to the “angels” which bear the seven vials holding the contents of the seven last plagues. (They are called “basins” in the NKJV.) 

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Revelation 15:

1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 

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These plagues, which are described individually in the next chapter, are the end result of the actions of the people of the world.  They are called “the last” because as the earth “waxes old like a garment” due to human mismanagement, there will be more and more manifestations of its breakdown, but these disasters are the very last before the advent.  Psalm 102:25-26.  Those plagues which fall before this will still have God’s mercy and protection surrounding them (as much as He can, of course), but the last seven are without any mercy at all, being “poured out without mixture”, as it will also be at the end of the 1,000 years.  Revelation 14:10. 

It is said of them that they “fill up the wrath of God” because they are caused by His power when that is no longer under His control.  One of the side-effects of rejection is that as His protection is progressively removed so the holding-togetherness of the planet fails.  First to fall apart will be the forces surrounding the natural world, and its surface will begin to break up even more than it does now.  

John noted that the angels held basins like those that were used in the sanctuary service to carry the animals’ blood (as in the text below), and that this represented the wonderful works of the Saviour, who is the Son of God to those who accept Him.  In this case they were being used to show the end of those who reject His offer. 

How can anyone in his or her right senses reject such an offer? 

Let’s look into history to see one way.

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Exodus 24:

3  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the LORD has said will we do”. 

4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill [not in a high place], and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel [they were normally built as a sign of an agreement, e.g. Genesis 28:18.  See also Note 1.].  5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.  [This was before the family of Aaron had been separated as the priests of the sanctuary.  The men were probably the firstborn of the leading family in each tribe.]

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar [made of earth, or rough stones.  Exodus 20:24-25].  7 And he took the book of the covenant [his writings], and read in the audience of the people: and they said [again], “All that the LORD has said will we do, and be obedient”. 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood [evidence] of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words”.

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Thus a SECOND or “OLD” covenant was made. 

The FIRST covenant is an agreement to do what God has asked and supplied the power for:  the SECOND is an agreement to do what God has asked, believing we can do it by ourselves (sometimes with a LITTLE help from God).  As we have already seen, Satan loves to have his people appear religious without actually being so.  To fool them he tells them that religion requires great effort on their part, and that when they fail they should try harder and harder to overcome, for this appeals to natural human vanity.  Thus the great difference between the true and the false is that the believer in one relishes the truth while in the other they love deception (not accepting that it is a lie, of course). 

It is written of the first, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then are you My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’.” John 8:31-32.  In another place, when speaking of the Son of God the Spirit mentions, “Even Him, whose coming is AFTER the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them [a] strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness”. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.

Here’s a clear explanation of the difference between the two covenants,

From my library (with the scriptures modernised and emphasis supplied:

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As the Bible presents two laws, one changeless and eternal, the other provisional and temporary, so there are two covenants.  The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when, after the fall, there was given a divine promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head.  [Genesis 3:15.] To all men this covenant offered pardon, and the assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ [it was the invitation to be saved].  It also promised them [if they accepted it] eternal life on condition of fidelity [obedience] to God's law.  Thus the patriarchs received the hope of salvation. 

This same covenant was renewed to Abraham in the promise, “In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”.  Genesis 22:18. 

This promise pointed to Christ.  So Abraham understood it (see Galatians 3:8, 16), and he trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. It was this faith that was accounted to him for righteousness. 

The covenant with Abraham also maintained the authority of God's law. 

The LORD appeared to Abraham, and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be you perfect”.  Genesis 17:1.  The testimony of God concerning His faithful servant was, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws”.  Genesis 26:5.  And the LORD declared to him, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you”.  Genesis 17:7. 

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It is written in explanation; “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He says not, ‘And to seeds’, as of many; but as of one, ‘And to your Seed’, which is Christ.  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the [ceremonial] law, which was four hundred and thirty years after [that occasion], cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.  For if the inheritance be of the [works of the] law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.  Wherefore then serves the law [what’s the purpose of the ceremonies?]?  It was [they were] added because of transgressions [as illustrations of how to deal with them], till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator”.   Galatians 3:16-19.

Continuing in my library:

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Though this covenant was made with Adam and renewed to Abraham, it could not be ratified [clearly seen] until the death of Christ [for no man had seen the death of the Son of God, except by faith and experience].  It had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had been given; it had been accepted by faith; yet when ratified by Christ [as the Son of man], it is called a new covenant.  The law of God was the basis of this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they COULD obey God's law. 

Another compact – called in Scripture the “old” covenant [Hebrews 8:13] – was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a[n animal] sacrifice. [This was NOT of God’s choosing, but He used it to get what He wanted.]

The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the “second,” or “new” covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed [or seen to be shed] after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham, is evident from the fact that it was THEN confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God, – the “two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie”.  Hebrews 6:18.

But if the Abrahamic covenant contained the promise of redemption, why was another covenant formed at Sinai?

In their [Egyptian] bondage the people had to a great extent lost the knowledge of God and of the principles of the Abrahamic covenant. In delivering them from Egypt, God sought to reveal to them His power and His mercy, that they might be led to love and trust Him.  He brought them down to the Red Sea – where, pursued by the Egyptians, escape seemed impossible – that they might realize their utter helplessness, their need of divine aid; and THEN He wrought deliverance for them.  Thus they were filled with love and gratitude to God, and with confidence in His power to help them.  He had bound them to Himself as their deliverer from temporal bondage. 

But there was a still greater truth to be impressed upon their minds. 

Living in the midst of idolatry and corruption, they had no true conception of the holiness of God, of the exceeding sinfulness of their own hearts, their utter inability, in themselves, to render obedience to God's law, and their need of a Saviour.  All this they must be taught. 

God brought them to Sinai; He manifested His glory; He gave them His law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: “If you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then .  .  .  you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”.  Exodus 19:5, 6.  The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God's law; and they readily entered into covenant with God.  Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, “All that the LORD has said will we do, and be obedient”.  Exodus 24:7. [Many professed Christians have made the same promise.]

They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image [the golden “calf” of force in religion].  They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant, and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. 

Now by faith AND love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of sin.  Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant.

The terms of the “old covenant” were, “Obey and live”: “If a man do, he shall even live in them” (Ezekiel 20:11; Leviticus 18:5); but “cursed be he that confirms not ALL the words of this law to do them”.  Deuteronomy 27:26. 

The “new covenant” was established upon “better promises,” – the promise of forgiveness of sins, and of the grace of God to renew the heart, and bring it into harmony with the principles of God's law.  “This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.  .  .  .  I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more”.  Jeremiah 31:33-34.  The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone, is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. [e.g. 2 Corinthians 3:3.]  Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness, we accept the righteousness of Christ.  His blood [death] atones for our sins.  His obedience [life] is accepted for us.  THEN the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth “the fruits of the Spirit”.

Through the grace of Christ we shall live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts.  Having the Spirit of Christ, we shall walk even as He walked.  Through the prophet He declared of Himself, “I delight to do Your will, O My God: yea, Your law is within My heart”.  Psalm 40:8.  And when among men He said, “The Father has not left Me alone [to struggle by Myself]; for I do always those things that please Him”.  John 8:29. 

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It was the overcomers of the second covenant that John saw on the sea of glass and fire singing the songs of their experiences. 

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Revelation 15:

2 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.  3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God [which is the Sabbath “rest”], and the song of the Lamb [which is “the marriage partnership”], saying,

“Great and marvellous are Your works, LORD God Almighty; just and true are Your ways, You King of saints.  4 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”.

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The “sea”, which is the immediate area around the throne of God, shimmers and glistens with His energy.  John saw the 144,000 standing on it, those who had just gotten the victory over the mark of the image of the beast and received the seal of God.  They, of course, want to praise Him for what He has done for them, and they will take their musical instruments and sing a dual ballad recounting their experiences with the works and faith of the Son of God.  That’s how they were in their hearts during the final days of the controversy, although their heads and their senses would have been trying to convince them otherwise.

The two symbols of marriage and the Sabbath have come down to us from before Adam’s leap into sin, and will remain with us till the end, for they represent the dual experience all the saints of God have had.  The 144,000 have just had the completeness of them both at this point.

First comes the “marriage”, then the “rest”:

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Romans 7:

4 Wherefore, my brothers [and sisters], you also are become “dead” to the law [of sin and death] by the body of Christ [i.e. widowed]; that you should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit [good works] to God.  

2 Corinthians 11:

2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one Husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.  

Leviticus 23:

3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation [a religious holy day]; you shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.  

Hebrews 4:

1 Let us [New Testament hearers] therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For to us was the gospel preached, as well as to them [Old Testament people]: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest [from our own works], as He said . . .  although the works [of the Sabbath] were finished from the foundation of the world.

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The literal “song of Moses” can be found in Deuteronomy 32:1-44.  There God first laments for the failure of His representative people to fulfil His desire, but then rejoices in the fact that the last generation will produce those amazing “sons of God”.  

Thus it is written:

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Romans 8:

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature [all creation] waits for the manifestation of the [special] sons of God.

20 For the creature [creation, the solar system] was made subject to vanity [restrictive laws], not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope, 21 because the creature [creation] itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption [the effects of sinful human behaviour] into the glorious liberty of the children of God. [In the new world, physical matter will be free of the present restrictions imposed by sin.] 

22 For we know that the whole creation [our world] groans and travails in pain together until now.

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In John’s vision he then saw the end result of the “wages” of sin.

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Revelation 15:

5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened [this was the second apartment which contained the box with the Ten Commandments in it, Hebrews 9:3-4]: 6 and the seven angels [representing the 144,000] came out of the temple [from the presence of God], having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles [dressed as priests, Exodus 28:40].

7 And one of the four “beasts” [one of the groups of the redeemed] gave to the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever [this action showed their agreement with God’s decision].

8 And the temple was filled with smoke [impenetrable darkness] 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.

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This “smoke” “darkness” is a picture of the inner mystery of God.  “He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies”.  He did the same with His presence at Calvary.  “Now from the sixth hour [midday] there was darkness over all the land to the ninth hour [3pm]”. Psalm 18:11; Matthew 27:45.

The seven angels of God [the 144,000] are not destroyers any more than He is – they are only showing the RESULT of sin.  They come from the second apartment, God’s throne room [where the earthly group have been living by faith], to execute the decision which has just been reached there.  The Son of God, who has been shown standing before His Father pleading for His people since 1844, has reluctantly agreed that all those on earth have made up their minds irrevocably.  Human probation, granted to Adam and Eve and their descendants, has now finished and pure judgment must begin.  

Bye for now,

RonP

Some of the comments in these readings are adapted from books in my library.  No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own.  Some of these readings are available at

                   http://www.oocities.org/weprotest.geo/BibleReadings/books_index.html

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Note 1.

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Genesis 31:

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