Revelation 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

or the Apocalypse of John in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. The book is traditionally attributed to

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebede ...

, but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate. This chapter includes the hymn of Moses and the Lamb and introduces the seven angels who appear with seven plagues.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 8 verses; it is the shortest chapter in the book.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are among others: *

Papyrus 115 Papyrus 115 (''P. Oxy.'' 4499), designated by (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts) is a fragmented manuscript of the New Testament written in Greek on papyrus. It consists of 26 fragments of a codex containing parts of t ...

(c. AD 275; extant verses 1, 4–7) * Papyrus 47 (3rd century; complete) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330-360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) * Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (c. 450; complete) * Papyrus 43 (6th/7th century; extant verse 8)

Old Testament reference

* Revelation 15:4:

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

The Song of the Conquerors (15:1–4)

Those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark, and over the number of his name, sing the song of Moses (as in the

Song of the Sea The Song of the Sea ( he, שירת הים, ''Shirat HaYam'', also known as ''Az Yashir Moshe'' and Song of Moses, or ''Mi Chamocha'') is a poem that appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a ...

from ) and the song of the Lamb, because "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb" ().

Verse 1

:''Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.''

Verse 2

:''And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.'' For "mingled with fire", the New International Version suggests "glowing with fire". A sea of glass, like crystal, has previously appeared in chapter 4, although German theologian Johannes Ebrard suggests they are different seas of glass.

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the ''New Testament'' and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, ...

notes that the " harps of God" are "such as serve only for the praise of God".Meyer, H. i
Meyer's NT Commentary
on Revelation 15, accessed 16 November 2018

Verses 3–4

: ''They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:'' ::''"Great and marvelous are Your works,'' ::''Lord God Almighty!'' ::''Just and true are Your ways,'' ::''O King of the saints!'' :: ''Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?'' ::''For You alone are holy.'' ::''For all nations shall come and worship before You,'' ::''For Your judgments have been manifested."'' The wording ''O King of the saints!'' ( grc-x-biblical, ο βασιλευς των αγιων, o basileus ton hagion) appears in the

Textus Receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant deno ...

, but Meyer argues that this reading is "almost without any testimony" in the early manuscripts. Alternative readings are: *''O King of the nations!'' *''O King of the ages!'' *''O King of the heavens!'' Verse 4 contains a citation from Psalm 86.

Introduction to the Seven Bowls (15:5–16:1)

It is a continuation of 'the anticipatory vision' of Revelation 15:1, which states that these seven plagues are the last ones.

Verse 5

:''The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.'' grc-x-biblical, ο ναος της σκηνης του μαρτυριου εν τω ουρανω, may also be translated as "the temple of the tabernacle of witness in the heaven".

Acts 7 Acts 7 is the seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the address of Stephen before the Sanhedrin and his execution outside Jerusalem, and introduces Saul (who later became Paul the Apos ...

records St Stephen's contrast between the tabernacle or tent of witness ( grc-x-biblical, η σκηνη του μαρτυριου) in the wilderness and the real home of the Most High: :''Heaven is My throne,'' :''And earth is My footstool.'' This verse echoes , showing the relationship with the seventh trumpet, just as the seven trumpets are related to the seventh seal.

Verse 6

:''And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.''''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - Revelation 15:6
/ref>

Verses 7-8

: ''Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the anger of God, who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and power of God, and no one could go into the temple until the seven plagues brought by the seven angels had come to an end.''

GNT GNT may refer to: * GNT, a Brazilian television channel * '' George Negus Tonight'', an Australian television program * Geschwindigkeitsüberwachung Neigetechnik, a German train safety system * Good News Translation, a Bible translation * Grand Na ...

Notes

References

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Book of Revelation 15