Consecrating the House

When the seven bowl angels appear, the heavenly temple is filled with the smoke of God’s glory (Revelation 15:5-8). This links with the consecration of the tabernacle in Exodus 40 and of the temple in 1 Kings 8. In both cases, the glory of the lord fills the house so that no one can enter. 

In Revelation, it is the heavenly temple. That temple has been the sanctuary for the angels, the beasts, and the twenty-four Ancient Ones. But that sanctuary has not been a place of worship and rule for human beings. The story of Revelation is about the elevation of the saints through suffering, following the path of the cross to glory, following Jesus.

The saints have been elevated gradually throughout the book. They have ascended above the firmament, but they are not yet on thrones, as they will be. Before they can enter into the heavenly sanctuary fully, that sanctuary needs to be consecrated. The bowls are the last stage of that ritual of consecration of the heavenly temple.

The bowls are the last stage of angelic ministry in Revelation. This is the “last” and “finished” judgment of the old, angelic covenant, the covenant mediated through angels (Galatians 3:15). Angels are sent out of the sanctuary, and we never again see angels in the sanctuary or carrying out God’s orders. After this final act, the angelic covenant ends and the human covenant begins.

In Exodus 40, the glory of Yahweh fills the tabernacle after the construction and furnishing of the tabernacle. Moses sets up the court and anoints the tabernacle and its furnishing; he fills the hand of the priests; he sets up the inner sanctuary, the Holy Place and Most Holy Place. When all this setup is done, the glory of Yahweh fills the tent of meeting. There is a similar ritual in 1 Kings 8: After the temple is built, Israel gathers and the priest bring the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, and all the tabernacle utensils into the house (1 Kings 8:1-11). When the ark went into the house, the glory of the Lord filled the house and consecrated it. In Exodus, it is the entire construction of the tabernacle that leads to the cloud’s arrival; in 1 Kings, the Lord descends in a cloud when the ark arrives.

The cloud filling the house, then, is the Lord’s response to the preparation of the house, the consecration of new priests, the setting up of fresh furnishings and utensils of the sanctuary. In Revelation, the heavenly temple is filled with a cloud of glory-smoke at the climax of a historical sequence that centers on the gathering and self-sacrifice of the martyrs. They are priests consecrated by receiving the seal of the Lord’s name and by their sacrifice in union with the Lamb; they are the temple furnishings; they are the new ministers of the heavenly sanctuary.