The imagery is appropriate as millennia before the Israelites stood by the Red Sea as God gave them deliverance. Now the saints of all time are gathered by that Heavenly sea, redeemed from sin and free from (not the scourge of Egypt) Satan and evil. They appropriately sing the song of Moses.“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”” (Revelation 15:3–4, NIV).
This references Israel as they crossed the Sea in victory; and “Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”” (Exodus 15:21, NIV). But there is another scene that John sees: “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.” (Revelation 15:7, NIV)
"Just as “seven angels who stand before God” had received seven judgment trumpets (8:2), so now there are seven angels with the seven plagues. These avenging angels are shortly to receive their assignments." [1] When these angels of God's wrath received their marching orders something interesting occurred in the Sanctuary. “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” (Revelation 15:8, NIV). "God’s holy glory is so intense that no one could enter the sanctuary. In this case, they couldn’t enter until the seven plagues … were finished (cf. “finished,” Rev. 15:1)." [2]
It is not a pleasant thing to talk about, but Christians must be aware of the reality that God is glorified in His redemption and salvation of His people; but God is also glorified in His wrath. Philip Gons [3] writes:
God is to be praised and adored for the greatness of the display of His
wrath on those who oppose Him and defame Him of the glory that He deserves from
every creature. God upholds the great value of His glory by this
manifestation of the fierceness of His fury on those who fail to ascribe to Him
the glory and praise that belong to Him. As hard as it may be to
contemplate now, the glorified redeemed will eternally worship and praise God
both because they have been the undeserved recipients of His abundant grace and
because the wicked have been the recipients of His severe wrath.
God is glorified in His wrath because God is glorified any time He acts like God. Punishing His enemies displays the truth that God is jealous for His Name and is bent on glorifying Himself. His wrath is a display of His holiness. Romans 9:22–23 (NIV) affirms:
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—
Father, your anger and hatred of sin is not something we like to think of. Father you are greatly glorified when you save sinners like me. You are also glorified when You meet unrepentant sinners with justice. Because we know of Your terror we make it our ambition to preach the Gospel whenever we can and appeal to men and women to be reconciled to You.
____________________________________1. Easley, K. H. (1998). Vol. 12: Revelation. Holman New Testament Commentary (273). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.2. Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2485). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.3. http://philgons.com/resources/bible/articles/worshiping-god-for-his-wrath/
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