Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #11 of Revelation, chapter 15, and I am going to read Revelation 15:5-8:

And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke 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.

I will stop reading there.  Before we continue discussing these verses in Revelation, chapter 15, I would like to mention something about our last study when I went to some later verses in the Book of Revelation, where there were references to one of the “seven angels.”  In two places, the Apostle John fell down and worshipped this one who was said to be one of the “seven angels,” but it was said to him, “See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God.”  I just wanted to say that I went to those verses for additional evidence that the “seven angels” were the true believers, but there are some things that still need to be worked out concerning exactly who this one is that was showing John these things later in the Book of Revelation, so I would like to hold off getting into that discussion until we reach that point in the study of the Book of Revelation. 

Lord willing, that will come eventually and it will give some more time to look into this, but in saying this, it actually changes nothing concerning the teaching of Revelation 15 and the identify of the “seven angels.”  They represent the body of believers; they represent God’s elect.  This is why they were brought up in verse 1 and then, quickly, in verse 2, they are standing on a sea of glass and it was said that they had gotten the victory over the beast, over his mark and over the number of his name.  And that is because they came out of Great Tribulation and they were of that great multitude that God saved. 

But now we are finding that the temple is in view and the seven messengers come out of the temple.  Who normally goes in and out of temples?  It is priests that go in and out of temples.  We saw that the “sea of glass” related to the molten sea that was placed in the temple and the priests were to wash in it before going about their priestly duties, and this pointed to a ceremonial cleansing.  In other words, God is teaching that in order to be a spiritual priest (one of His elect) you must first be washed of your sins. 

So we have all these elements that tie together.  We have the sea of glass which ties in to the molten sea.  There is the temple itself, which relates to the priests doing service in the temple.  Then, in verse 6, the “seven messengers” come out of the temple having the seven last plagues and they are clothed in pure, white linen; we found that priests were clothed in linen and it relates to all those God has saved because Revelation 19:8 said that the “fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

Then it goes on to say in Revelation 15:6:

… and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

When we look up that word “girdles,” we are going to find that it also relates to the priesthood.  Let us go to Exodus 28:2-4:

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Aaron was the high priest of Israel and these garments were made for him; his sons also did ministry in the priesthood and they, likewise, were to have these garments.  We can see that Aaron represents Christ and his sons represent the body of believers.

It goes on to say in Exodus 28:6-8:

And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

We have the elements that are mentioned in our verse in Revelation 15:6:

And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

This was also the case with Aaron and his sons, which picture the elect of God.  Those God has saved are in view when we are looking at these garments.  I am also going to read a few verses dealing with priests and the priesthood, in Exodus 39:27-29:

And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons, And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen, And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as JEHOVAH commanded Moses.

They wore “fine twined linen.”  Why?  We are told in Ezekiel 44 that the priests were to wear fine linen so they would not sweat because there was not to be the slightest hint of work being done by these priests.  The work had been finished by the Lord Jesus Christ and God is very jealous of that fact, so He did not want there to be the slightest indicator of man doing any work, so even their garments were selected by God to fulfill that purpose.

It says in Leviticus 8:13:

And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as JEHOVAH commanded Moses.

Moses put coats on them and “girded them with girdles.”  Then it says in Leviticus 16:4:

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

This refers to the high priest, especially on the Day of Atonement.  He would put on these holy garments when he went about to offer up the sacrifice. 

By the way, I was reviewing a study that Mr. Camping did in the Book of Revelation.  He did a study back in the 1980s or sometime around that time.  Someone sent me a summary of the chapter studies and there were short, quick summary statements concerning each verse, which were done by Mr. Camping.  I would like to read some of what Mr. Camping said regarding Revelation 15, verse 6:

“These seven angels represent the believers.  They are coming out of the temple in heaven to bring judgment upon the unsaved.  They have the seven plagues with them and the number seven, in both cases, underscores the perfection of every aspect of God’s salvation plan.  These believers are clothed in pure and white linen, signifying that they are righteous before God; this is more clearly evident in Revelation 19:8, where it describes the bride of Christ.  That verse says, “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”  Believers stand perfectly righteous before God.  Of course, that is only because they have been thoroughly washed with the blood of Christ.  Why are they girded with golden girdles?  Remember, when we studied Revelation 1:13, we saw that Christ was also girded with a golden girdle.  We learned from Isaiah 11:5 and Exodus 28:8 that it was a picture of Christ being the Eternal High Priest.”  

Under the heading of priestly duties, Mr. Camping went on to say:

“By the same token, this verse is saying that these believers are coming to carry out a priestly office, as a royal priesthood.  We know that our duty on earth is to intercede on behalf of the unsaved.  But what is the priestly office we will carry out in heaven on Judgment Day?  Well, let us consider what the priest in the Old Testament did.  He made intercession for the Israelites, but how did he do that?  He offered sacrifice; he killed the lamb; he killed the oxen; he burnt the burnt offerings.  Symbolically, the animals that were killed and burned pointed to Christ who, in turn, represented the sinners for whom the priest interceded.  When the Lord Jesus Christ came as the High Priest, He came to make intercession for us, did He not?  But He also came to offer Himself as the sacrifice.  He sacrificed Himself for our sins.  He went through hell fire on our behalf.  We can see, therefore, that the office of the priest is to execute judgment on sinners to satisfy God’s demand that the wages of sin is death.  Only priests appointed by God have authority to do that.  This is the reason why when Saul had offered sacrifices without authorization in 1Samuel, chapter 13, he was severely punished.  Here the believers that have the seven last plagues are coming as priests to bring judgment on the unsaved and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ they will be active in the judging process.”

Of course, this study was done before the end of the church age, as far as I know, and there are a couple of things (like hell fire, and so forth) that Mr. Camping was later corrected on, but it is still amazing how accurate his statements were regarding what God would do with His people in the Day of Judgment, as He is using His people to judge the world with Him.  In so doing, we are carrying out a priestly function, as Mr. Camping noted that the priest was instrumental in the slaying of the sacrifice and that pointed to the wrath and judgment of God.  Every time an animal sacrifice was made, it was an illustration of God’s wrath and, yet, these earthly priests were the ones performing the task and they point to the “spiritual priests.”  Remember what we read in Revelation 1:6:

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Also, it says in Revelation 20:6:

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

All those that God saved have experienced the “first resurrection,” the resurrection of the soul and “they shall be priests of God and of Christ.”

We read this recently, but let us read it again, in 1Peter 2:5:

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Of course, during the normal course of things during the church age, for example, the spiritual holy priesthood of believers would offer up themselves (and we are still required to do that), as we take up our cross and follow Him.  Just as the Lord Jesus sacrificed Himself, we are to sacrifice our lives on the altar of service to God.  But, in addition, during the Day of Judgment, we also have the priestly task of sharing the Word of God with anyone that will listen, as we share the truth that the world is under the judgment of God.  In so doing, we are acting out the role of a royal priesthood.

It also says in 1Peter 2:9:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Notice how God associates the priesthood with holiness.  We also saw that in the Scripture we looked at in the Book of Exodus about the holy priestly garments and everything that was involved with the priests was “holy” as they went about their priestly tasks; they had to wash themselves as they needed to be “clean and pure.”  This is the same language we find in our verse when it says they were clothed in pure and white linen, with golden girdles; the gold represents that which has been purified.  We can see that God is relating His people and the holiness that accompanies them (as a result of their salvation) to the priestly task they will be assigned in the Day of Judgment.

Let us just look at one more verse regarding this, in Psalm 132:16:

I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

Again, this goes back to the holy garments and this is really the essence of what is in view with the “seven messengers” having these holy garments.