Для SDK версий 15 и ниже все SDK Firebase и Play Services должны быть одной и той же версии.Итак:
dependencies {
implementation fileTree(include: '*.jar', dir: 'libs')
// SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES START
implementation(project(path: ":CordovaLib"))
compile "com.android.support:support-v4:24.1.1+"
compile "com.soundcloud.android:android-crop:1.0.0@aar"
compile "com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:15.0.1"
compile "com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:15.0.1"
compile "com.android.support:support-core-utils:27.+"
compile "com.android.support:support-annotations:27.+"
compile "com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23+"
compile "com.google.firebase:firebase-core:15.0.1"
compile "com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:15.0.1"
// SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES END
}