15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. ³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!^[a]
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵ After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent^[b] of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶ and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. ⁷ And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, ⁸ and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

— Revelation 15:1-8, English Standard Version

And here’s your weekly dose of Scripturally correct sermons to get your Sunday off to the right start:

The Book of Revelation is one of the hardest to understand in all of the Bible. There are endless debates about what it means and whether the events described already happened, or will happen.

I personally don’t have much of an opinion on the subject. The grandiose imagery and concepts in it are genuinely challenging to grapple with. But, keep in mind the ultimate point of the book – it serves as the final word on God’s true purpose and intention.

You must always remember that God has a plan for Creation. He intends to reunite the faithful among humanity with Himself, to rule over Creation as part of His holy family.

Now, consider this:

God had every possible opportunity to prevent sin from entering Creation. He assuredly knew what would happen if Eve ate the apple. Yet He refused to intervene – because He intended for us to be free from the beginning.

What if all of this – the pain and misery and horror of existence itself – is a purifying test for humanity? More than that, what if all of this is a test that God set Himself?

Thinking that way puts a lot of things into a radically new perspective. But that is precisely what the Bible states quite openly. Few will be saved. Most will reject God of their own free will. But those who do accept God, will rejoin His sacred family, and will sit in judgement over the angels at the end of all things – and at the renewal of Creation.