Revelation 15:7
Ver. 7. And one of the four beasts,.... Or living creatures: now we hear of them, as of the four and twenty elders, under the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Re 11:16 with which this vision is contemporary; these living creatures are the ministers of the Gospel; See Gill on "Re 4:6" and this was one, or the first of them, who was like a lion, for fortitude and courage, and whose voice was as the noise of thunder, Re 4:7 and so fitly represents those ministers who shall give out the vials of God's wrath: not any particular person is designed, who shall be at this time; and much less Luke the evangelist, as Lord Napier thinks; nor Peter, who prophesied of the last time, 2Pe 3:10 as Grotius; but a set of Gospel ministers, comparable to one of the living creatures John had before seen; of whom it is said, that they
gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever: these seven vials are for the seven last plagues to be put into, and out of which they are to be taken, or poured, and inflicted; see Re 21:9 hence it appears, that the seven plagues, and the wrath of God, are the same thing, and both design God's judgments upon antichrist; and these being expressed by "vials", which are measures, and large ones, show the large abundance and plenteous effusion of God's wrath, and the secret, sudden, and irresistible power of it; and yet that it will be poured out in measure, according to righteous judgment, and therefore it is put into vials; and these golden ones, expressive of the purity, holiness, and justice of the divine proceedings: and it will be very terrible; it will be, not the wrath of men, but of God, and a cup of the fierceness of his wrath; it will be the wrath of the living God, of him that lives for ever, and as he is, such will his wrath be; it will continue for ever, for this wrath will issue in the everlasting destruction of antichrist: so the wrath of God is signified by a wine cup of fury, Jer 25:15 and that destruction, and those plagues which God designed to bring upon Pharaoh, are by Jonathan ben Uzziel, in his Targum on Ge 40:12 called azgwrdalyyp, "a vial of wrath", which he should drink of: and in the pouring out of there seven vials, there is in some of them a manifest allusion to the plagues of Egypt. So the cup of trembling, in Isa 51:17 is by the Targumists called ylyp, "a vial", and also "the cup of fury", Isa 51:22 and that these vials were not small narrow mouthed vessels, but large broad mouthed ones, and more properly basins or bowls, is manifest from the use of the word with Jewish writers. The dishes on which the loaves of the shewbread were set, each of which loaves was ten hands breadth long, and five broad {q}, are by the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Ex 25:29 called tlyyp, "vials"; and so the chargers offered at the dedication of the tabernacle, Nu 7:13 are, by the same, rendered vials, which weighed 130 shekels; and so the silver bowl they offered, is, by Josephus {r}, called a vial: the bowls in Am 6:6 are, by the Targum there, said to be "silver vials". The lordly dish brought by Jael to Sisera, Jud 5:25 the Targum calls the vial of the mighty ones; and the earthen vessels used at the trial of the suspected wife, and at the cleansing of the leper, are both by Jewish writers said to be "vials" {s}. Now these vials were given to the seven angels by one of the living creatures, the ministers of the word; from whence it seems that these angels design members of churches, as distinct from ministers; and may intend civil magistrates, and very principal ones, as kings of the earth, who, in this state of things, and times, will belong to the churches, and will be the instruments of destroying antichrist: and these vials may be said to be given to them by the ministers, since they will execute this vengeance in consequence of their prayers, and the churches', called vials full of odours, Re 5:8 and because these great men will be stirred up by the ministers of the Gospel, and by their ministrations, to do this work; see Re 18:4.{q} Misn. Menachot, c. 11. sect. 4, 5. {r} Antiqu. l. 3. c. 8. sect. 10. {s} Misn. Sota, c. 2. sect. 2. Joseph Antiqu. l. 3. c. 11. sect. 6. Misn. Negaim, c. 10. sect. 1. Revelation 15:8Ver. 8. And the temple was filled with smoke,.... Not with the smoke of false doctrine and superstition; that comes out of the bottomless pit, this from God, Re 9:2 and besides, Gospel churches will grow purer and purer, while the seven angels are pouring out the vials: but rather this may be understood of judicial blindness and hardness of heart, upon the antichristian party, which will come upon them from God in righteous judgment; so that they will not be reformed by the plagues, and vials of wrath, nor repent of their sins; but blaspheme God, who has power over the plagues, and so shall not be able to enter into the temple: or else this may design God's powerful and gracious presence in his church, in allusion to the cloud which filled the tabernacle, so that Moses could not enter; and which filled the temple, so that the priests could not minister, Ex 40:34 since this is said to befrom the glory of God, and from his power; whose presence is the glory in the midst of his church, and a covert, a protection and defence, to the saints, so that none can come into the temple to hurt them: see Isa 4:5 or rather this intends "the smoke of the anger of God", as the Ethiopic version renders it, and which is intolerable; and it may have respect not only to the wrath of God, which is insupportable, but to that great affliction which will befall the saints in those times, through the last struggle of the beast; called the earthquake, and the hour of temptation, and a time of trouble, as never the like was, and which will be shortened for the elect's sake:and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. None of the anti-Christian party will attempt to enter in, because of their blindness and obduracy; nor can they get in to do any mischief, because the glorious and powerful presence of God is a defence against them: and this may also have some respect to the darkness of God's judgments, which will not be clearly manifest until these seven plagues are accomplished; till that time God's judgments on antichrist will remain a great deep, and be unsearchable; there will be no entering into the temple, so as fully to understand them, which is meant by going into the sanctuary of God, Ps 73:17 and this makes the interpretation of the pouring out of these vials, in the next chapter, very difficult.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.