One of the four living creatures, of whom we read in Revelation 4, handed seven golden bowls to the seven angels. As in verse 6, the gold is meant to symbolize purity and the glory of God. The judgments that will fall shortly are executed by God who is holy and glorious in all His deeds.

The seven bowls are full of God's wrath. He is said in this verse to live forever. He will live far beyond the brief reign of the beast, and the fallen world, and sin. Just as God expressed to Moses through the burning bush, He simply "is" and always will be (Exodus 3:14).

There are two sides to God's relationship with human beings. The first side is His love. In love He gave His Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sin (John 3:16). The other side is His wrath that He pours out on those who reject His offer of love in Christ (John 3:36). Although many people discard the belief that God and wrath are compatible, Scripture clearly supports the belief. This is just one such passage. Others include 2 Chronicles 28:11, Ezra 10:14, Psalm 110:5, John 3:36, Romans 1:18, Ephesians 5:6, and Colossians 3:6.

Revelation 15:5–8 describes the seven angels emerging from the sanctuary in heaven in possession of seven plagues. They receive seven bowls full of the wrath of God. No one is able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues end. Chapter 16 of Revelation tells what happens when the seven angels pour out the bowls of wrath onto the earth. The great day of God's wrath is described in Revelation 19:11–15 and prophesied in Isaiah 13:6. Matthew 13:40–42 reports Jesus' prediction that rebels will be taken away from the earth.

This chapter reports that the apostle John saw an amazing sight in heaven. First, he saw seven angels having seven plagues, which he said are the last plagues to occur to finish God's wrath. Next, he saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire. Those who had conquered the beast, its image, and its ''666'' number were standing in front of the sea of glass, and they were holding harps. They sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. They addressed God as the Lord God Almighty and the King of the nations. Finally, John saw the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven open. The seven angels with the seven plagues emerged from the sanctuary. They were clothed in pure bright linen with golden sashes around their chests. He saw one of the four living creatures give each of the seven angels a bowl full of the eternal wrath of God. Then smoke from God's glory and power filled the sanctuary. No one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues were finished.

Revelation 15 falls between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments. Like the events described in chapter 14, the events given in chapter 15 do not occur in chronological order. Like the opened seals and the trumpets, the judgments introduced in this chapter number seven. They are said to be the final judgments. They involve terminal judgments on the empire of the beast from the sea and the beast from the land (Revelation 13).

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

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