On January 17th, 1994, at 4.13 a.m., a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley, which is a very densely populated area, 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles. My wife and I lived in that area, just a little north from that, in Santa Clarita, for about five years. And we left two years before this happened. So I used to drive going to school and used to drive over a major bridge on I-5 and Highway 14 where they intersected that just collapsed during this earthquake. But this earthquake was called the Northridge earthquake because the epicenter was near the city of Northridge. It resulted in 57 deaths, over 9,000 people injured, and damages were estimated at more than $20 billion, which was the most in U.S. history. The $3 billion a year pornographic movie industry that was in the San Fernando Valley produces more than 80% of the nation's pornographic videos. The cities of Northridge, Jatworth, and Canoga Park are home to about 70 production, duplication, and distribution companies, and most of them were within five miles of the epicenter of the earthquake. All of them suffer damage. But the hardest hit was the headquarters of the largest company, VCA Pictures, where the roof collapsed, destroying equipment and all, most of the copies of several of their films. An executive at World Modeling, the San Fernando Valley agency that supplies actors to the porn industry, said clients are backing away from X-rated acting as a result of this cataclysm. One agent of porn actors said, and I quote, our clients have a definite lack of motivation. They put the fear of God in them. I'm telling you, it's enough to give you an attack of religion, end quote. And a porn film director who works for many Northridge studios commented, and I quote, can you imagine how the fundamentalists are going to leap on this when the smoke clears? They'll say it's God's retribution, end quote. You know, although none in the porn industry were reported to have died in the earthquake, And since most of them love their sin, the earthquake was used only to slow down their production. It only slowed the porn capital for a short time until they were able to clean up the mess and rebuild. But for some of them, It instilled the fear of God and caused them to examine their lives. You know, there's coming a time when the full force of the final wrath of God will be poured out on all unrepentant sinners who have rejected Jesus Christ, who have rejected the moral absolutes of his word. And that time is ready to begin in the passage that we're going to be looking at this morning. Again, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Revelation chapter 15. In this passage, verses 1 through 8, we're looking at four introductory elements. of God's seven last plagues that I believe should, if we really understand what this is saying and be gripped by the reality of it, should transform our lives to be more like Christ. Now thus far, we've seen the first three. First, we looked at the seven angels with the seven last plagues, then God's vengeance through the seven last plagues and the rejoicing over the seven last plagues. Again, we saw that in verses one through four last time. This morning, I want us to look at the fourth introductory element, which is this. I call it the preparation for the seven last plagues. It's like we're right on the threshold of the door, ready to step into chapter 16, where the seven last plagues, the seven bowls of wrath, God's bold judgments are going to be poured out. John says in verse 5, look what he says, and after these things I looked. And the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened. In the book of Revelation, the phrase, after these things I looked, is used for John to transition sequentially to either a new vision or a new subject. And God's judgment of the seven last plagues is the outpouring of seven bowl judgments that we will begin next time in chapter 16. And that is about to begin. It is about to commence. But right before this occurs, John sees in verse 5, the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened. What's he talking about? Well, the word sanctuary refers to the heavenly holy of holies, the inner sanctuary where God's presence dwells, emphasizing that God himself is the source of these seven plagues. They are coming from Him. The heavenly tabernacle is what the earthly tabernacle was patterned after. The earthly tabernacle was sometimes called the tabernacle of testimony, as we see here. Because the most important item in the tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant, also called at times the Ark of Testimony. And that is because the Ark of the Covenant contained the testimony or the two stone tablets on which God's Ten Commandments were written to testify of God's law against sin. Since God's holy law has been so blatantly violated by the unprecedented evil of unbelievers During this great tribulation time, as we've seen, as we've gone through the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments, and now we're on the doorstep of these seven bowl judgments, the world is living in unprecedented sin. So John is preparing his readers for God's coming judgment against sin in chapter 16 by highlighting here in this chapter the infinite holiness of God and why it is He is bringing His judgment. We already saw after the sixth trumpet judgment in chapter 9, verses 20 and 21, It says, and the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, the plagues of the Six-Trumpet Judgment, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood. which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. So all of the plagues, all of the judgments that were coming upon them did nothing to change their hardened heart. And even while being judged for their sins of idolatry, murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, stealing, they still refuse to repent and to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Even though, as we've seen, the gospel during this time is going out to the whole world through all kinds of various means. Therefore, the perfectly holy and just God is now ready to execute His most severe judgment ever on these lawbreakers. As John watched, he saw in verse 6, and the seven angels who have the seven plagues came out of the sanctuary. Let's stop there. Here we see the sanctuary in heaven was open to allow these seven angels who have the seven plagues, whom we saw first, last time in verse 1. This allows them, as the sanctuary in heaven is open, it allows them to exit from the presence of God, because the presence of God was in the sanctuary. That's where he dwelt. As agents of God, these seven angels have been instructed. They've been commissioned by God to execute His final climactic judgment of the seven plagues. And so John describes what these angels are wearing again in verse 6. They are clothed in linen, bright and clean, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Now the phrase, linen clean and bright, speaks of their shining, dazzling holiness and purity that these seven angels have. In other words, they're not defiled by sin. and that they were girded around their chest or from the shoulder to the waist with golden sashes symbolizes their honored commission by God with his authority to carry out that mission. The angel's garments are reminiscent of the high priest's clothing that you see in Exodus and Leviticus. In his book, The Apocalypse, J.A. Sice said, and I quote, they appear to be priests because they come for the sacrificing of a great sacrifice to the offended holiness and justice of God, end quote. And see, that's what they're doing. They're coming. God is sending them. to bring the judgment that He has in these seven bowls upon people who have offended God's holiness and justice. Now the angels are ready and prepared for the task of judgment that God is giving them. And now they receive the means in order to carry that out in verse 7. Look what John says. 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. The seven angels are given their instruments of execution from one of the four living creatures. Again, these four living creatures we have seen numerous times. around the throne in chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, 7, and chapter 14. Robert Mount accurately states, and I quote, these guardians of the throne appear throughout Revelation and are appropriate intermediaries between God and the avenging angels, end quote. The instruments of execution given to the angels in verse 7. Look again what it says, seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God. That's their instrument. That's their weapon. The word bowls here refers to a wide, shallow bowl or saucer. Golden bowls were part of the Old Testament temple furnishings. They were also associated with the various sacrifices, as we see in Exodus 27 and 38. Now, the shallowness of these wide bowls shows that the contents of the bowls is meant to be hurled down emptied instantly upon the unbelievers, those who have rejected Christ, a sinful, rebellious world, rather than poured out like a pitcher slowly. So as we will see when we get to chapter 16, each one of the angels will take their bowl and toss it down to the earth. And the content of these seven golden bowls is that it is full of the wrath of God, full to the brim of God's wrath. We've already saw last time that God's wrath is the passionate anger of a perfectly holy and just God against unrepentant sinners. Those who have refused, rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the seven last plagues consist of the seven golden bowls of the wrath of God, or the seven bowl judgments. They're all the same. John then says about God at the end of verse seven, who lives forever and ever," which refers to the attribute of God's eternality. God lives forever and ever. God is eternal. It's interesting that this attribute is mentioned here, right after, right after the seven golden bowls of the wrath of God. Because not only is the eternal God powerful enough to put an end to sin forever, but also His eternal holiness and justice demands the eternal punishment of the wicked. For He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, as we're told in Exodus 34, verse 7. And we already saw that those who reject Christ, they reject Christ, but they worship the Antichrist. We've already seen where they will suffer eternal torment in a literal lake of fire in chapter 14, verses 10 and 11. That passage It says, and he also will drink, talking about the unbeliever, will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his rage. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast or the Antichrist in his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." I'm very aware that no one likes thinking about or talking about eternal hell in the lake of fire. This is not a subject we, hey, let's talk about this. I'm aware of some churches, they don't want to talk about sin, let alone hell. But we must understand what God says in his word about this eternal destiny for unbelievers. You see, originally, hell was created for Satan and his demons. But those who have rejected Jesus Christ, the only remedy for sin, they also will go there. Matthew 25, verse 41 says, then he will also say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. Eternal hell in the lake of fire was created for Satan and his demons. This place is described in Revelation chapter 20 verses 14 and 15 where it says, then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone's name that was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. So death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire. Hades is the place where an unbeliever, when they die, they go to Hades, the place of the dead. But it's a place of torment as well. That's why I like to call Hades temporary hell. because temporary hell is going to be thrown into eternal hell in the lake of fire here in Revelation 2014. The Antichrist, false prophets, Satan and his demons will eventually be thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation chapter 19, 20 says, and the beast was seized. Again, the beast here is the Antichrist. And with him the false prophet, who did the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, those who worshipped his image. These, too, were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone." In Revelation 20, verse 10. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also. And they will be tormented." Here it is, day and night, forever and ever. Why? Because the eternal God lives forever and ever. All of those who reject Christ will also be cast into. The Lake of Fire, Matthew chapter 13, verses 41 and 42, the Son of Man will send forth His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And then later in verses 49 and 50, so it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." I read these because it is important for us to understand the eternal destiny that someone who rejects Christ will experience. This reminds us of the warning that we saw last time in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 31 that says, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But you know, praise God, Jesus came to save us from sin, from Satan, from death, and from hell. He is the only way to escape from the wrath of God. And that's because God loves us so much He sent His Son. Now John not only saw the seven angels come out of the heavenly sanctuary, but he also saw something else in verse 8. 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. In the Old Testament, smoke is often a visual manifestation of the glorious presence of God on earth called the Shekinah glory. We see this in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai, the tabernacle, and the temple. Exodus chapter 19, verse 18 says, now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it in fire, and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. Exodus chapter 40 verses 34 and 35 states, then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had dwelt on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. In Solomon's temple, we see in 1 Kings 8, verses 10 and 11, now it happened that when the priest came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh. The prophet Isaiah saw a similar thing. In Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 through 4, in the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings, with two He covered His face, with two He covered His feet, and with two He flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory, and the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him who called out. while the house of God was filling with smoke. Therefore, the smoke that filled the sanctuary here in Revelation 15 verse 8 was from the glory of God and from His power. The glory of God is the totality of all of His attributes, His infinite attributes. That's the glory of God in this context. Primarily, we're looking at the attributes of His holiness, His justice, and His wrath that is being poured out on those who have violated His holiness and justice. Therefore, God in His holy justice and wrath is smoking hot with angry indignation and righteous fury. over the sin of the unbelieving world. He is ready to put on display His almighty power in pouring out these bold judgments. The smoke of God's glory and power is so intense. that at the end of verse 8, look what it says, no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. We saw in the Old Testament, Moses couldn't enter, the priest couldn't enter. Here, no creature can enter that speaks of God being unapproachable to every creature when He is immediately present and He is bringing judgment. John MacArthur says, and I quote, the glory cloud will remain in the heavenly temple until the earth is completely purged, cleansed, and prepared for the King and His kingdom, end quote. And Robert Mounts. Summarize this chapter well when he states, I quote, until the seven plagues are finished, no one is able to enter the temple. Once the time of final judgment has come, none can stay the hand of God. The time for intercession is past. God in his unapproachable majesty and power has declared that the end has come. No longer does he stand knocking. He enters to act in sovereign judgment." And that's what we're going to see next time as we move into chapter 16 and these seven plagues or these seven bold judgments of wrath are going to be poured out. You know, what a terrifying picture of the almighty sovereign God who is now ready at the end of chapter 15 to have His angels pour out the seven plagues and these seven bold judgments in chapter 16. Knowing that an infinitely Holy and just God will judge unrepentant sinners. Those who have rejected Christ should grip all of our hearts because we all have loved ones and friends that we know that have not put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And God has made it very clear in His Word, the eternal destiny that awaits them. Therefore, this should in itself transform our lives to be more like Christ in that it should motivate us. It should motivate us to faithfully pray for unbelievers. that should motivate us to humbly and yet boldly look for opportunities to share the gospel, regardless of whether they think we're religious fanatics or not. To do it in love, not to make ourselves jerks in front of them, but to lovingly Share the gospel because we don't want them to end up facing the wrath of God. And it should motivate us to demonstrate in our lives, our personal life, the reality and the power and the holy love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. People need to see Jesus in our lives, not just hear the gospel from our lips. They need both. It's our life that gives credibility to our message. Let me ask you this morning, have you repented of your sins and believed in Jesus alone to be saved and rescued from the wrath to come? Does the fruit of obedience in your life evidence that you have genuine saving faith? Or do you merely profess to be a Christian, but don't obey what He says in His Word? Jesus said in John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, perish in an eternal hell, shall not perish, but have eternal life. He goes on to say in verse 36, he who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Notice, Notice how belief in Jesus and obedience to him are connected. To say we believe in Jesus and we don't obey, there is a major problem, that we need to question whether we truly have placed our faith in him. True salvation changes us, not overnight, but it does a work in our heart. It's internal. It changes us. internally that then is lived out in a life of obedience. As our substitute on the cross, Jesus willingly took upon himself, he took upon himself the holy wrath of God the Father against sin. And He paid in full the penalty for sin that we deserved. He was then buried and three days later rose from the dead to prove that He is not only God, but also the Father had completely accepted His atoning sacrifice for us once for all. Therefore, to reject, to reject Jesus, who took God's wrath for us, is to one day take God's wrath ourselves. You see, Jesus is the only way he took God's wrath so that we would not have to experience that. And it's therefore to reject him is to take the wrath ourself. But 1 Thessalonians 5, 9 and 10 says, for God has not appointed us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. So that whether we are awake or asleep, alive or already dead, we will live together with him. You know, what a promise, what a promise for every believer. although God is merciful and patient right now. In delaying His judgment, because He is not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance, there is coming a day. There is coming a day. And we've seen all through our study of the tribulation when God has begun to pour out in the sealed judgments and in the trepidant judgments. But now as we come to the bold judgments, we are coming to that day when those who have rejected His only way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, they will face the most extreme and severe judgment. Hebrews 9.27 says, and inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment. Hebrews 9.27 is very clear. Inasmuch as it's appointed for men to die once, after this comes judgment. The moment we die, if we're a Christian, praise the Lord, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We are with Him in heaven that moment. For an unbeliever, when they die, they go to Hades, temporary hell, the place of the dead, until one day God will resurrect them and they will stand before Him. given account, and then be cast into the lake of fire. We all will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, who will either be our savior and giver of eternal life, or he will be our judge and executioner of eternal death. depending on whether we accepted or rejected Him. And it is in this life only that preparations are made for eternity. For after death, it's too late. There is no second chance. But we're promised in John 1, verse 12, But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. To receive Jesus is to believe in Jesus alone as the one and only Savior of the world. Again, I ask, have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Have you received him as your personal Lord and Savior? If not, please don't wait. Please don't wait, for no one is guaranteed tomorrow. I can't tell you how many times through the years, people that I've known, I've saw them on this day, and I was either doing their funeral or going to their funeral in the next week. No one is guaranteed tomorrow, no matter how old we are. Therefore, the Bible declares, behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.