Greetings, Fellow Eschatologists! Our last time together, we just finished with Revelation chapter 14 where we went over the topics of the Lamb and the 144,000, the proclamations of three angels, and reaping the grapes of God’s wrath. In this three-part series, we’re going to go over Revelation chapters 15 and 16. In this first post of chapter 15, we’re going to study the “Song of Moses.” Keep reading.

First in a Three-Part Series
by Karen Thompson

REVELATION 15, 16
THE SONG OF MOSES

Rev. 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. 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, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

The scenario changes and the Apostle John said he 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” (v. 1). John saw seven angels, and they have the last seven plagues which contain the wrath of God. The earth is about to experience the cup of the wine of God’s wrath.

In verse two, John described seeing a group of people: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: 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” (v. 2). Standing on the sea of glass are all the people who had gotten victory over the beast. They are the people who refused to worship the beast and his image and refused to take his mark or the number of his name. They are the people who listened to the first angel dispatched to earth with the message, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” These are the people who took heed to the third angel’s warning: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God…” (Rev. 14:9–10).

These are the believers that were reaped when the Son of man reaped the earth with His sickle. They are the rest of the harvest that followed the first fruits, the 144,000, when they were “caught up” to God in the first rapture. There is no mention of their number. In other places in Revelation, when John describes a group of people in heaven, he usually describes how many there are. Here he makes no mention of their number, not even a hint. I think the fact that John doesn’t mention their size in number indicates it will not be a large group of people. Nonetheless, because they listened to the angels’ messages of warning, they will not be on earth when the residents are forced to drink from the cup of the wine of God’s wrath. They will not experience the seven bowl judgments. They are the redeemed of the Lord.

Let’s go back to the first portion of verse two when John said he saw a sea of glass: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire.” This is the same “sea of glass” John saw when he was in the throne room of God: “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal…” (Rev. 2:6). From this, we know the sea of glass mingled with fire is in front of the throne of God. These people are standing before God. It says the sea of glass was mingled with fire. The fire symbolizes that they have gone through the trial of fire and have come out pure. The Bible uses this symbolism several times. For instance, Isaiah 48:10 says, “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Daniel 12 also refers to being purified by going through the fire: “Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be tried, smelted, and refined” (Dan. 12:10 Amp.). (See also Zechariah 13:9.)

The verse of scripture that exemplifies the process of the refiner’s fire is 1^st Peter 1:6–9: “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” These people standing on the sea of glass that is mingled with fire have gone through the fire of affliction and have been made pure. And they received the end of the faith which is the salvation of their souls!

The Song of Moses

Then in verse three, we see the believers that were victorious over the beast sing a special song: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

The fact that these believers are singing the song of Moses tells me that they are descendants of the children of Israel, because the song of Moses is about them. Only descendants of the children of Israel can sing this song. This makes sense. If the 144,000 are all descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel and they are the first fruits, then the rest of the harvest would also include descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel.

So what exactly is the song of Moses? Right before Moses died, the Lord assigned Moses a final task. At that point in time, the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land. Before they entered into the new land, the Lord revealed to Moses the destiny and future of the Israelites. It was not good news, and it had to have been devastating for Moses to hear.

The Lord told Moses that after he was gone, the people would break their covenant with Him and abandon Him. The short version of what the Lord said is that they would begin worshiping the foreign gods of the land where they were going. When this happened, the Lord said His anger would blaze forth against them. The result would be that He would abandon them and hide His face from them and they would be destroyed. Only a remnant would be spared.

The future apostasy of the children of Israel was turned into a song. Moses was to teach it to the Israelites so that “it may serve as a witness against them.” In Deuteronomy chapter 31, the Lord went on to say further: “When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.” (Deut. 31:20–21 NKJV).

The Lord told Moses to summon all the leaders and officials of the tribes “so that I can speak to them and call heaven and earth to witness against them” (v. 28). Then Moses recited the song to the entire assembly of Israel. The entire song is recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 32. It’s quite lengthy but it recites in detail God’s relationship with the chosen people from their very beginning when they were a young nation. Then it speaks prophetically of their future betrayal and sin against God, the anguish He feels toward His people, and His wrath as well.

It talks about how God decided to provoke His covenant people into jealously by blessing the Gentile nations. It speaks of how He heaped disasters and all manner of tragedies on them to cause them to come back to Him. Ultimately, He scattered them among the nations. He asks them, “Where are your gods now? Let them help you out of your tragedies. Let them provide shelter for you.” God declares to them, “There is no other god except Me. I am the one who gives life.” The song ends on a joyous note. The Lord’s judgment and anger is past. His enemies are dealt with. Righteousness in the people has been restored and the land is cleansed.

Moses taught the Israelites the song and commanded them to pass it down to their children. And to this day, they have been obedient to recite the song of Moses. Now here they are in heaven singing the song of Moses. It is a witness. The fact that these lost children of Israel are in heaven is a testament to God’s faithfulness, to His greatness, and to His mercy and compassion. He is a covenant-keeping God. Indeed, there is no God like Him.

Not only will they sing the song of Moses but they will also sing the song of the Lamb: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb….” This, again, indicates they will have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They sing, “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” They sing “all nations shall come and worship before thee.” This has been prophesied by the prophets, that the nations will turn to God and worship Him alone.

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