Revelation Chapter 15

VERSE 2 and 3 continued “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. 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!”

“Can there be any doubt whatsoever that both of these verses refer to the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt?

Is not the setting of the scene a wondrous reminder of what transpired after the Israelite’s’ victorious passage through the Red Sea in Moses’ day—its climax?

Sea of Glass Mingled with Fire

 The proper perspective of the vision in Verses 2 and 3 can be obtained by noting some salient points of the historical event recorded in Exodus 14:26 through 15:19.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea [this, it is believed, was executed from a point of elevation on the far side of the Red Sea where both Moses and many of the multitude accompanying him, having crossed that body of water, could witness Jehovah’s mighty judgment upon the pursuing enemy],…and the sea returned to his strength [that is, it was restored to its normal height but with an ensuing awesome and eerie calm that could be likened to a sea of glass without a ripple—Matt. 8:26] …and [the standing host of] Israel [looking down] saw [in a hushed and prolonged silence] the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore…Then sang Moses [a type of Christ, the Lamb] and the children of Israel [a picture of the 144,000 faithful] this song… I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously…And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sent forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble [the literal waters that enveloped the pursuing enemy, covering the turmoil beneath with a water mantle and mask of tranquility, are likened to a fierce consumption by fire of dry stubble!].”

Does not this account explain, in large part, the “sea of glass mingled with fire”?

It is significant that the Exodus body of water was, and is, called the Red Sea.

Standing on yonder side of the *sea, the Israelite’s were eyewitnesses of God’s judgment on Pharaoh and all his host (Psa. 136:15).

In antitype the saints will be found elevated, on the other side beyond the veil of human experience, when the Time of Trouble, symbolized by fire, falls upon Christendom (spiritual Egypt). And like faithful Abraham, they will view the destruction of spiritual Sodom and Gomorrah from afar. But before this event, the saints living at the end of the age must be faithful unto death; they must be victors in the final test when confronted by the beast, his image, his mark, his name, and the number of his name.

Therefore, when Verses 1 to 3 of the present chapter are compared with the Exodus account, does it not suggest that the last members of the Little Flock will be translated to the spirit realm AFTER the pouring of the plagues but BEFORE the destruction of mystical Babylon (Rev. 18:21)?

 There are two pictures in connection with the Red Sea crossing.

(1) When the eating of the lamb on the original night of the Passover service is considered in addition to the later passage of the Israelite’s through the sea, the crossing represents the saved class of mankind, those who will ultimately benefit from the ransom sacrifice of Christ by making good and gaining the victory; at the conclusion of the Millennial Age, they, like the nation of Israel, will look back and see the destruction of the incorrigible: Satan and his host.

(2) But when the Passover night observance is excluded, as in Verses 2 and 3, then the symbolism is restricted to the Gospel Age, particularly its termination, when the saints in glory will all sing, joyously accompanying the antitypical Moses.

---

*Sea The Authorized King James Version presents the victors as standing on the sea of glass, whereas the Revised Standard, New English, Jerusalem, Today’s English, and New International versions translate the Greek preposition epi to mean by or beside the sea.

From a grammatical standpoint, in in overwhelming instances when the Greek preposition is used in conjunction with the accusative case, it is translated as resting on or upon something, and this usage seemingly justified the translators of the Authorized Version in so rendering the Greek word. However, because on in Verse 2 causes a disparity both from a philological viewpoint and when a direct comparison is made with the Moses/Exodus account, translators of many of the modern versions substituted the term by or beside.

Although this change certainly is preferable to the rendition in the Common Version, there is a still better application or route to follow: Liddell & Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (eighth edition, page 526) translates the preposition (under the classifications “C. WITH ACC. I.5” and “G. WITH THE ACC. In Composition 3”) as signifying “of extension over a space” or “place.” Even in the KJV the same Greek word, used the same way, is translated as over 27 times (1 Pet. 3:12; Rev. 6:8; 16:9; 18:20) and also above (2 Thess. 2:4); such instances do not restrict its usage solely to indicate resting directly upon.

Therefore, contextual evidence indicates a modifying factor and favors the thought of the saints standing over and above the sea, of their being adjacent to the sea but at a higher elevation.

 Continued with next post.