How does Revelation 15:5 connect with Old Testament tabernacle imagery? Setting the Scene: Revelation 15:5 “After this I looked, and the temple — the tabernacle of the Testimony — was opened in heaven.” (Revelation 15:5) The Phrase “Tabernacle of the Testimony” in the Old Testament - Exodus 38:21 first uses the title “tabernacle of the testimony,” linking the tent to the stone tablets inside the ark (Exodus 25:16; Deuteronomy 31:26). - Numbers 1:50; 9:15–16; 17:7–8 repeatedly connect the tabernacle with God’s visible glory (cloud by day, fire by night) and with His covenant witness. - “Testimony” points to God’s law, which both reveals His character and judges human sin. Key Parallels Between Exodus and Revelation 1. Location of God’s glory - Exodus 40:34–35: “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” - Revelation 15:5: John sees the true, heavenly dwelling of that same glory opened. 2. The ark and God’s standards - Exodus 25:21–22: God meets Moses above the mercy seat. - Revelation 11:19 (earlier in the vision cycle): “The temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple.” The scene of 15:5 resumes that focus on the ark’s testimony just before the bowl judgments. 3. Judgment flowing from holiness - Leviticus 16: the high priest emerges from the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement after applying blood for sin. - Revelation 15:6–8: seven angels emerge from the heavenly sanctuary with bowls of wrath, signifying that judgment proceeds from the same place where atonement was once offered. Structural Echoes in Revelation 15 - Song of Moses and the Lamb (15:3–4) recalls Exodus 15, linking God’s past deliverance with His future, final victory. - Seven last plagues (15:1) mirror the ten plagues of Egypt, underscoring a greater, climactic Exodus. - The sea of glass mixed with fire (15:2) echoes the Red Sea, now seen from the other side of ultimate deliverance. Why the Heavenly Tabernacle Is “Opened” - In Exodus the veil barred entry except for the high priest once a year (Hebrews 9:7). - At Christ’s death the earthly veil was torn (Matthew 27:51), granting access to God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19–20). - Revelation 15 shows that heaven’s sanctuary is not only accessible but actively involved in closing history: the same holiness that saves also judges. Takeaways for Today - God’s earthly tabernacle was always a replica of a greater, heavenly reality (Exodus 25:40; Hebrews 8:5). - The unchanging standard of His law (“testimony”) guarantees both mercy through the blood of the Lamb and righteous judgment on unrepentant evil. - Revelation 15:5 assures believers that every promise pictured in the wilderness tabernacle will reach its literal, visible fulfillment when the heavenly temple opens and God’s glory is fully revealed. |
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