We're in Revelation chapter 7, gang. Good to see you out at church tonight, and we are making progress through the book of Revelation. We're making our way through Revelation on Wednesday nights, going verse by verse. And so we are in chapter 7. We finished chapter 6 last week, and so we're heading into chapter 7, Lord willing, into chapter 7 and 8 tonight. So let me give us, as I try to do here on Wednesday nights, a little bit of a running start so we can gather our wits about ourselves as we make our way into chapter 7. Let me go back to the board here and focus on the timeline, which you don't really have to concern yourself with everything on the timeline except for where we are right now in our study through Revelation, which puts us right here between chapters 6 and 18 that deal with the tribulation period.
So that's what we started discussing last Wednesday night when we went into chapter 6. And just so that we understand, you know, what do we mean by tribulation and why would God inflict the world with tribulation. So when we speak of tribulation, we're talking about the wrath of God that is coming upon the earth. But there's a reason, and the three reasons why God will bring tribulation upon the earth are these.
Number one, to wake up unbelievers. We've talked about this, that sometimes God has to get our attention in drastic ways. That's what the tribulation is.
There will be drastic times, things that are coming upon the earth to wake up unbelievers to the truth of who Jesus is. Secondly, it'll also be to shake up the nation of Israel. God is not finished with the Jewish people.
He is not done with Israel. The church has not replaced. Israel, that's called replacement theology, that is heresy.
God still has a plan for Israel and the Jewish people, and he's still working in amazing, wonderful ways in the hearts of Jewish people today, many of whom are coming to faith in Jesus as the Messiah, but part of the tribulation is gonna be to wake up the nation of Israel. And then thirdly, to make up the kingdom of God, because what will constitute the family of God or the kingdom of God, the people of God, will be finalized at the end of the tribulation period. Because once the tribulation period is over and Jesus returns and establishes his kingdom on earth for a thousand years, that's going to be the end of the makeup of the kingdom of God because then eternity will be launched and there will be no more opportunities for people to become part of the family, become part of the kingdom of God.
And so part of the tribulation is to help make up the kingdom heading into the millennial period and then for all eternity It's going to be done. There's not going to be this endless opportunity to come to faith in jesus That's why it's important You know if you're here or if you're watching online and you don't have a personal relationship with jesus, you know our our plea with you is really consider coming to faith in him because There will come a point where there is no more opportunity, and we don't want you to miss it. So there are different reasons why God will afflict the world with such calamity, and His wrath will be revealed through a series of three events. First, seven seals that are broken, and that is most of chapter six.
We're going to talk about the seventh seal tonight as well. So a series of seals. So a scroll is rolled out. And then it is sealed with seven seals, like wax seals, and the Bible tells us that only Jesus is worthy to break the seals.
And so he breaks seal number one, opens it up, and pronounces judgment and wrath coming upon the earth. And then he comes to seal number two, breaks it, opens it, pronounces more judgment. And so that was last week's study. We'll summarize it real quickly in a moment.
But then that'll be followed by seven trumpets that are blown. We'll get into a little bit of that this evening, Lord willing. and then followed by a series of seven bowls that are poured out. And so these are the pronouncements of various judgments. by way of seals that are broken and red, trumpets that are blown and announced, and then bowls that are poured out with additional judgments that are coming upon the earth.
And each series becomes increasingly more intense. And so that's why the latter part of the tribulation, which runs for seven years, is often referred to as the Great Tribulation, because at the three and a half year mark, it really intensifies. And so these are the reasons and this is how God's wrath will be revealed. And so last week, just a quick summary, we looked at six of the seven seals that are broken and the judgments read by Jesus. And the first four seals were accompanied by the four horses of the apocalypse.
The first horse was a white horse and it indicated to us that the rider was the Antichrist who will rise to prominence. Followed by a red horse that is an indication of war will escalate during the tribulation period. This is all stuff that will happen during the tribulation.
The Antichrist rises to prominence, war will escalate. Number three was followed by a black horse that indicated famine and economic collapse. Number four, followed by a pale horse.
The Greek was chloros, we get our English word chlorophyll, so it was really a pale green horse. that indicates the death of many unbelievers, and then the fifth seal was opened, and it indicated the death of some believers, and then the sixth seal was open and indicated universal natural catastrophes that are going to come upon the earth, and there will be more catastrophes to come as we read through the series of the trumpets and the bowls. But this is where we left off last Wednesday night.
Now, those are six out of the seven seals. If you jump real quickly, I know I told you to go to chapter 7, but if you jump real quickly to chapter 8, you will notice with me that in chapter 8, verse 1, it says, When he, that is Jesus, opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
And so for you note-takers, the seventh seal... found here in chapter 8 verses 1 and 2 is really an introduction to the seven trumpets of judgment. That's the next series. We had six, seven seals. Now we're going to talk about seven trumpets, and then we're going to talk about seven bowls.
Well, the last of the seals was broken, and it's not a judgment in and of itself. It is announcing a series of more judgments in the form of trumpets. And you'll see that the seventh trumpet announces seven.
the seven bowls. And so that's how this whole series of judgments is revealed. But I wanted to just jump to chapter eight so that you could see with me that the seventh seal is broken and announces a series of trumpets that will be sounded. Now, what we have then between obviously the end of chapter six and chapter eight is somewhat of a parenthetical chapter.
Chapter seven is believed by Bible scholars to be parenthetical. In other words, it's somewhat out of chronological order. It is giving us information of what is happening behind the scenes, and it is letting us understand some things to give us a little bit of some hope in the midst of all of this wrath. Because I want you to notice with me at the end of chapter 6, there's an ominous...
ending to chapter 6. We read it last week, but let me just read it again. Verse 17 says, for the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand? And so when you see God's wrath beginning to be unleashed upon the earth, this is what the Bible says will happen in the future to a degree never experienced before on the planet.
This ominous question is asked at the end of chapter 6. The great David's wrath has come and who is able to stand and it is important to note that in the midst of his wrath we see mercy in chapter 7 and it really speaks to what Habakkuk the prophet said in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 2. Habakkuk said in his prayer to God he said God in your wrath remember mercy and we're going to see that God remembers his mercy. In spite of the fact that this is some very horrific stuff that happens here, his wrath is being unleashed again to wake up unbelievers, to shake up the nation of Israel, to make up the kingdom of God. But in all of that, he's going to also show us some of his mercy.
And so with all that said here, let's take a look at chapter 7. But first, Let's pray, and then we'll dive in here to chapter 7 and chapter 8 this evening. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this time and your word now as we open up our Bibles here, and as we look into these things that you've given us concerning the future, concerning the end times.
And we pray that we would not just absorb information. Lord, it's not that we need more knowledge, it's that we need application. So we pray that as we read these things, that it would motivate us to holy living and that it would also ignite a fire in our hearts for those who don't know you so that we can be more faithful as witnesses to people to help them understand your redemptive plan for mankind how you loved us so much you sent your son jesus to die on a cross it is your will you tell us lord in your word you want none to perish but all to come to repentance that's your heart lord and we pray that we would be used by you to help influence people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that you love us and you died for us and you have a plan for us. So thank you for showing us these things in advance so that we can live holy lives and be ready for your return and to be used by you as instruments in the lives of other people. So we pray that you'll help us as we absorb all these verses tonight and that we would grow in our relationship with you.
We pray in Jesus'name and everybody said, Amen. All right, chapter 7, verse 1, John writing here, he says, After these things I saw, circle in your Bibles, I saw. There are going to be two visions that John has in chapter 7. The first one we're going to read about here in the opening verses, and then again down in verse 9, he says, After these things I looked.
Same Greek words that are used, I saw, I looked. So these are the two visions. And here's the first vision in verse 1. After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. And then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth.
harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed. All right, let's pause there and just dig out these verses together. This is the first of two visions that John has here as he writes in chapter 7. The first vision he has is of four angels. and they are positioned in the four corners of the earth.
Now, it isn't a denial that the earth is round. This is just an idiom. This is an expression, like we would say the four points of a compass.
And these angels are standing in positions of judgment to be used by God as instruments of his judgment. And then John sees a fifth angel that appears in verse 2. Then I saw another Angel now some Bible commentaries say that this might be Jesus But but others would disagree and I would disagree This is not Jesus because in the Greek in verse 2 then I saw another angel It is a los a galos meaning another angel of the same kind a los meaning of the same kind So he sees four angels positioned at the if you will four corners of the earth He sees a fifth angel who comes And the four angels are told to withhold the wind. Now, in biblical typology, wind is often an indication of judgment. So this is probably not literal, although it could be. It could be that part of God's wrath that comes upon the earth is to withhold any wind whatsoever, so that the conditions become very arid and very uncomfortable.
But more than likely, this is a reference to the withholding of judgment. So each of these angels positioned in a strategic place on the globe, and they are being told by this fifth angel that John sees here. And he sees this fifth angel, by the way, coming, verse 2, ascending from the east.
Literally in the language it means from the rising of the sun. So he comes from that direction, and it appears that this fifth angel has authority greater than the other four, which is not unusual. In the Bible, in Ephesians chapter 6, when Paul was talking about principalities and powers of evil in the heavenly realms, he was talking about angels that had fallen.
He talked about angels that had fallen. demons and and the kind of spiritual warfare that we have to be aware of in Ephesians chapter 6 he talked about rankings in terms of powers and principalities and authorities those are terms of rankings and we know in the Bible that there was for example Gabriel was a messenger angel Michael is the only angel in the Bible known as an archangel probably Satan Lucifer before he fell what was considered an archangel or maybe even greater than that. So there are rankings among angels and it appears in the language here that this fifth angel who comes along has higher rank than the other four. And this fifth angel is, has, it says in verse two, the seal of the living God.
Now we don't know what this is, but this is some kind of a marking on this angel indicating that he belongs to God. And it says that he cries out with a loud voice to the other four angels, this is the rest of verse 2, to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea. So these other four angels had the ability to bring devastation upon the earth, but the fifth angel says, no you won't, not now. You are not to damage and bring any harm to the earth, to any of its vegetation, to the seas or anything, until, he says in verse 3, until...
the servants of our God until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. Now, the servants are numbered here in verse 4 as 144,000. And apparently they receive some kind of a marking or a seal on their foreheads.
The Bible doesn't describe what it looks like, but it will be an indication they have been sealed. by the Lord. Now, we'll talk about what that seal means for them, but first I want to identify who these 144,000 are, because they are going to be used by the Lord in a very remarkable way in the earth.
Now, as I mentioned at the top of the study, chapter 7 is likely out of chronological order. It's kind of a parenthetical chapter. And you'll note with me that when we get to chapter 14 of the book of Revelation, we read more about the 144,000.
And so the 144,000 are going to end up being used by the Lord as like little evangelists throughout the planet to help bring people during the tribulation period to the understanding, the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But the question is, who are these 144,000? Now, if really kind people wearing white shirts and black trousers knock on your door and identify themselves...
As Jehovah's Witnesses, okay, they're going to tell you that they are the 144,000. Alright? Now, here can be a very gentle answer to refuse their kindness, okay?
How many Jehovah's Witnesses are there in the world today? Their numbers? 8.4 million.
Well, if there are 8.4 million of you, then 8.3 million thereabouts won't make it if there's only going to be 144,000 of you who end up getting to heaven. That's what they're saying. The're saying that they are the 144,000 and that they are the exclusive 144,000. There's about eight and a half million Jehovah's Witnesses on the planet.
The numbers don't work. There's no room for me. Thank you very much.
Okay, that's what you do. And then you pray for them. The are, the 144,000 here are not Jehovah's Witnesses. Okay, read your Bibles. It's as if God, you know, I grew up in the day when Mr. Rogers, Rogers was still on TV.
Okay. And, you know, Tom Hanks brought him back. I didn't see the movie, so I don't know if it was a good portrayal of him or not.
But for those of you who are too young to remember who Mr. Rogers was, maybe you saw the movie a few years ago by Tom Hanks. Be that as it may, Mr. Rogers had this uncanny way of just explaining things in pure and simple language so little kids could understand. So sometimes when I read this passage here, I feel like Mr. Rogers because he's like, all right, boys and girls, let's see if we can understand who exactly the 144,000 were.
In case there's any confusion right here, look at what Jesus does for us. Verse 5, of the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed. The tribe of Reuben, do I need to read the voice that way to hold it?
Of the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Gad, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Asher, 12,000 were sealed.
Of the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 were sealed.
Of the tribe of Levi, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 were sealed. Of the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 were sealed.
Of the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000 were sealed. What's 12 times 12,000, boys and girls? 144,000. Now, what we have here... It's John spells it out for us in verse four.
These are 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. And just to make sure we know boys and girls who they are, he spells it out for us. 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. These are Jews. These are not Jehovah's Witnesses.
There should be no discrepancy here. Now, just to summarize then for you note-takers, who exactly are the 144,000? Well, it tells us in verse 3 that they are sealed on their foreheads.
It tells us also in verse 3 that they are servants of God. And it tells us in verse 4 that they are from all the tribes of Israel. And then there's a list for us. So, specifically, here's who they are. The are Jewish believers who have been redeemed from the earth.
That's a phrase we find in chapter 14 verse 3. In other words, they've been saved during the tribulation and protected from it. That's what the seal will protect them. The seal is a marking from God that gives them some kind of supernatural protection so that they're not harmed during the tribulation period. And then they are sent as witnesses to unbelievers on the earth.
And so God uses them as evangelists to help bring the good news of the gospel to people who are on the earth. So among Jews who are living during that tribulation period, God will providentially select 144,000, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, mark them with a seal. The become believers in Jesus, in Yeshua as Messiah, and then God uses them for his purposes as evangelists in the earth. You know, it's a remarkable thing. There are, in my various trips to Israel, you know, I've met a lot of wonderful Jewish people, and also met a lot of wonderful Jewish people here in the States, but specifically I'm thinking of some individuals in Israel who, they have the knowledge, but they have not made the leap of faith, which is what, you know, it takes faith to accept and believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross for your sins and that he is Messiah.
And I... There's a place where I always take our groups, if you've been with me, to a little shop in old Jerusalem, Shoreshim. And it's run by two Jewish Orthodox guys who are twin brothers, Moshe and Dov. And they have wonderful conversations with the groups I always bring into their shop. And they're very respectable. And I always tell our groups, you know, respect them as well.
we go in, we just have a wonderful dialogue. The don't believe that Jesus is Messiah, but they talk about Jesus. The understand.
The've read their New Testaments. In fact, Moshe one time said to me when I asked him privately, like, you know, what is your feeling about Jesus? Like, what do you think about Jesus?
He says, Jesus, I don't have a problem with, even though he doesn't believe he's Messiah. He says, it's Paul I don't like. He said, Paul was a traitor in your New Testaments. Paul, I have a problem with. Jesus, I don't have a problem with.
He just doesn't believe that he's Messiah. But I think of guys like Moshe and Dov. And if they're still around during the time when the church has already been raptured and then the tribulation comes, those are going to be two guys who will become believers in Jesus like this.
Because they already have all of the dots, they just haven't connected them. And I don't say that disparagingly. I respect them.
The're very intelligent men. The know Scripture. But...
You know, we can have a lot of head knowledge, and somebody once said, but the greatest distance is the 18 inches between our head and our heart. And sometimes connecting the head with the heart is a hard thing for people. And that applies to any of us. And so there will be Jews living during that time, and many of them will come to faith in Jesus. And among those who come to faith in Jesus, the Lord will select and mark 144,000.
Now, it's interesting, again, this is a little bit out of chronology. When we get to Revelation chapter 11, there is the revelation of two witnesses. And I'll talk about who I think those two witnesses are, but those also are Jews. And it's interesting, there could be a sequence of events whereby in chapter 11 of Revelation, these two witnesses appear, and part of their purpose is evangelism.
And it's likely that from those two witnesses... The 144,000 Jews come to faith in Jesus, in Yeshua as Mashiach, as Messiah, and then out of those 144,000, what we're going to read here in a minute, is a great multitude of people who come to faith. So again, this is God's mercy in the midst of his wrath, because here in chapter 7, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but the second vision that John has is of a great multitude of believers around the throne. who are there because they were martyred during the tribulation period.
So there will be thousands and thousands of people who will get saved during the tribulation. It will be God's mercy in the midst of His wrath, and the 144,000 have a role in that. And so He lists these. Now, for those of you... who really love to dig out nuances of scripture.
You'll notice in the list of the 12 tribes of Israel, I'll just draw your attention in verse 7 to the tribe of Levi. Now, it's unusual for Levi to be listed. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar, the 12 tribes of Israel came from the 12 sons of Jacob. You have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, okay? Abraham's grandson was Jacob.
Jacob had 12 sons, and those sons end up making up the nation of Israel in its infancy. And so those 12 sons and their descendants became known as 12 tribes. Now, one of the sons was Levi, but typically Levi was left off of the list because Levi became, his descendants became the priests. And the priests had their own inheritance by God, and they were typically not listed, but Levi is listed here. Now, Levi is listed, but I'll tell you who's not, in case you didn't already figure it out.
Dan is missing here. Dan is missing from this list. Now, why is Dan missing?
Again, this is great debate. I'm going to give you my two cents for what it's worth. Some believe, and this is my personal belief, but again, you can differ with this.
Some believe that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan. And the reference point for that is when Jacob, in his old age, was blessing each of his 12 sons before he died, He prophesied over each of them. And the list of the prophecy of Jacob towards his sons is listed in Genesis chapter 49. Now, one of the beautiful prophecies was when he got to his son Judah.
Because over Judah in Genesis 49 verse 10, Jacob says, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the people. Now remember, who was the descendant of the tribe of Judah? Jesus, right?
So this prophecy that Jacob gave to Judah about the scepter never departing from his line was a messianic prophecy that eventually coming from the tribe of Judah will be Messiah and Jesus is the descendant of the tribe of Judah. But sad. So that's the one, you know, if you're Judah, you'd be like, wow, that's pretty, that's pretty awesome.
Thanks dad. Yo, you know, but if you're Dan, you're not as happy because when Jacob comes to Dan in Genesis 49 verse 17, he says, Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels so that it's rider shall fall backward. Can you imagine Dan like that?
wow, dad, you know, thanks a lot, cheered up my day. But it's likely that that is a prophecy related to the fact that Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan. I do personally believe the Antichrist will be Jewish.
There's a lot of debate about that. Some people think he's going to be Catholic, that he's going to be the Pope, you know, there's a lot of speculation. Maybe he'll be Muslim, but I think when you look at Scripture, I will make an argument that he is Jewish and that he likely comes from the tribe of Dan.
So some believe that the reason why Dan is missing here from chapter 7 is because the Antichrist comes from the tribe of Dan. The good news is, though, that when you get to Ezekiel chapter 48, which is a messi, a prophetic chapter about the messianic kingdom, about the thousand-year millennial reign, Dan is reinserted back into the list. And so it's not like God has discarded Dan or the tribe of Dan. It's an unknown reason why he's missing from here, but that's probably the best guess is that maybe Antichrist comes from Dan and so he's missing off the list. I want to also point out in the tribal list here that Joseph is mentioned in verse 8, and that's unusual too because Joseph got a double blessing.
Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And usually in the list of the 12 tribes of Israel, you have Levi removed because his inheritance, the priestly inheritance is from the Lord. And you have Joseph removed because Joseph gets a double portion of blessing. And Joseph's two sons are inserted, Manasseh and Ephraim, in the place of Dan and Joseph. And so what you find is Manasseh is mentioned in verse six, but Ephraim is not mentioned.
Joseph is mentioned here. And again, we don't know the reason why that is. Some believe there's another reason why Dan and Ephraim might be missing from the list. When you look at Israel in its worst days of idolatry, you have Dan, the tribe of Dan to the north were engaged in idols, and they even had a false temple up there. And then you had down close to Jerusalem in the northern kingdom, you had...
another shrine in Bethel which was in the territory of Ephraim and so some say those two idolatrous tribes are not represented here but they come back in Ezekiel chapter 48 in regards to the Millennial Kingdom so God is not done with them another question I often get about this list is when people read this is how does there aren't today delineations among the Jewish people as to which tribe they belong to Unless you are today Jewish and your last name is either Levi or Levi, that's probably an indication you're of the tribe of Levi. Or if your last name is Cohen. Cohen means priest in Hebrew, and so you're probably of the tribe of Levi also.
Other than that, Jews today don't really know their tribal inheritance. And so the answer to that simply is, but God hasn't forgotten. I mean, God knows everything, and so God is able to pull together 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The record-keeping with the dispersion among the Jews because of the Babylonian invasion, the Assyrians before that, and of course the Holocaust under Nazi Germany, the kind of record-keeping and what tribal delineation is basically unknown by Jews today, but not unknown to God.
And he will assemble the 144,000 out of the 12 tribes of Israel. All right, let's move on to verse 9. He says, and after these things, here's the second vision, I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number. That's how numerous it is. Of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.
Okay, now notice this. You have Jewish believers in the first part of chapter 7, and now you're basically going to have Gentile believers. And the rest of chapter 7 here involves mostly Gentiles who come to faith in Jesus because they are representative of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. Standing before the throne and before the Lamb, notice they're clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands.
Remember the last time you read in your New Testaments about people with palm branches in their hands? It was on Palm Sunday, right? It's John chapter 12, verse 13. It's the only other reference in all of the New Testament about people with palm branches in their hands. John 12, 13. When people were hailing Jesus as Messiah, when he was coming in on Palm Sunday to Jerusalem, they were waving palm branches. It's a sign of victory.
It's a sign of redemption. It's a sign of worship. The're worshiping their king. And so now you have it here among this great multitude of people, palm branches in their hands, they're wearing white robes.
And verse 10, and they're crying out with a loud voice saying, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb. And verse 11 says, and all the angels, and we don't know how many that is in heaven, but all of them stood around the throne, multiple tens of thousands, no doubt. And the elders, the 24 elders, mentioned earlier in Revelation, representing the church, and the four living creatures, those are these angelic beings around the throne, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.
So I want you to see this heavenly scene. You know, this is one of the beauties about the Bible because it's pulling back the curtain of heaven. It's giving us a glimpse into heaven. John, is seeing this incredible scene of all the angels and those who are dressed in white with their palm branches and also the elders representing the church and the four living creatures and they're all, they fell on their faces before the throne and they worship God.
You know, we kind of say in jest, I don't think it's that funny, but when people go around saying, you know, when I get up to heaven, I'm going to ask the big guy this question and that question and this other question. You know what? You're not going to ask the big guy any questions because you're going to be flat on your face if you end up getting there.
You know, when people talk like that, I sometimes wonder, like, do you even know Jesus? But anyway, we're not going to be going with our list of questions, folks. We're going to be flat on our face, feeling undone in the presence of the Lord, and we're going to be worshiping Him. And this is what they said. The start with, Amen.
blessing and glory and wisdom thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and ever and you can say that last one amen and amen and so there's going to be this wonderful scene of just worship before the lord and verse 13 then one of the elders answered saying to me now this is funny i think because john didn't have a question here but this this one unnamed elder okay, knows, John, you're freaking out here right now, and you have no idea who all these people dressed in white with palm branches are. And so one of the elders answered saying to me, who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from? And I said to him, sir, you know.
Isn't that funny? Listen, read your Bibles with a little sense of humor. Have you ever been in one of those situations where you did not know the answer to the question you were being asked?
And you just kind of go, you know, you know, you know, you know, right? You know. You know, you know the thing, right?
You know, you know that, right? We're all created and unalienable. You know the thing, you know. And so that's how it works. That's how that works, right?
And so joy. and John is just like, you know, sir, you know the answer to this question. And so he's going to answer it for him. And so he said to me, well, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Isn't that interesting?
You would think that if your robes are washed in the blood of the lamb, they would be red, but no, this is, and this is an image here in a picture. of the righteousness, you see, that is appropriated unto us because of what the Lamb Jesus has done for us by dying on a cross. And so this elder is saying to John, here's who these people are. These are the ones who were killed.
The were martyred during the tribulation period. I'll put the phraseology up there for you. These are tribulation saints. The were saved during the tribulation period and martyred. for their faith.
The're also mentioned back in chapter 6, verses 9 through 11. I want to point out to you that in verse 14, where it talks about they washed their robes, the word robes in the Greek is stolas. We get our English word stole. A stole is a long garment.
And they were made white in the blood of the Lamb. The word white in the Greek is lukeno from the Greek root word lukos, meaning light. So this is not just the color of white garments, they actually glow as like illuminating light. This is like, this is just an amazing thing to think that the white robes is not just a description of the color of fabric.
This is actually lukainos, they are illuminating, they are glowing. This is just the glory of the Lord spilling over onto the very garments that they've been given. as an expression of the righteousness that has been appropriated to them because of what Jesus the Lamb has done. And so verse 15, therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple.
So the saints who are martyred during the tribulation, this is their description. The will serve the Lord. Those of us who precede them, who get raptured, the Bible says we return with the Lord and we rule and reign with him.
But these particular saints are commissioned to serve the Lord day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. Verse 16, and they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any heat for the lamb who was in, just speaks of comfort there, doesn't it?
For the lamb who was in. the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Amen and amen to that. Well, I had hoped to make some progress into chapter 8, but we'll have to leave it there for now since our time has escaped us.
But what a beautiful way that chapter 7 ends to remind us again in the midst of wrath is God's mercy. that in the midst of all this calamity coming upon the earth, God is at work raising up 144,000 believers who will share the gospel with others such that an innumerable amount of people from every language, nation, tribe, culture, they have the opportunity to get saved. The're seen here in heaven around the throne worshiping God with the other angels and the comfort of the Lord to just minister them and love them and wipe away every tear from their eyes.
You know, Paul said, I consider my present sufferings not worth comparing to the glory that awaits me in Christ Jesus. There will be times of tears in this lifetime. There will be times of suffering and heartache. But remember that heaven awaits us. And in heaven there is no more crying, there is no more pain.
The old order of things has been replaced by a whole new order. And so we will have tribulation in this lifetime. We will have suffering on this planet.
But this is in heaven. And so we have to hold on to the hope of heaven and the promise of scripture and words like I just quoted from the Apostle Paul to remind us that our present sufferings are not worth comparing. One day when we're in his presence and he wipes away every tear and he comforts every broken heart, we'll stand there amazed, grateful, and realize that was hard what I had to go through, but this far outweighs all of that. Amen. Father, we thank you for your word and for the promise and the hope of heaven.
I pray, Lord, for those who have heard this Bible study and maybe they don't make a personal profession of faith in Jesus. I pray, Lord, that they would open their hearts to trust you. We thank you, Lord, that you died on a cross, shed your blood to purchase us from sin and death so that we might be able to go to heaven when we die, to be with you forever and ever. I'm going to pause in my prayer with your head still bowed and eyes closed, and if you don't know Jesus as your Savior, I just encourage you tonight to pray and invite Him in to your heart and to your life, to be your Lord and Savior. Maybe you're watching online, and tonight could be a decision for you as well.
All you need to do is start the journey by admission of your own sin, and by admission that you need Jesus as your Savior. And you can pray a simple prayer like this. I'll lead you in this prayer. And if this is your desire, you can just whisper this prayer with me right where you are. You can just say, Lord Jesus, thank you that you died on a cross for me.
I confess that I'm a sinner like everyone else. And I need a savior. I believe that you are that savior, Lord. That you so loved me. like you loved the whole world, that you gave your life for me.
So right now, I put my trust in you, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying for me. I accept you by faith as my Lord and Savior.
In Jesus'name, I pray. Amen. We'll have a couple of pastors down front here. If you prayed that prayer just a minute ago, come down and get a Bible.
If you prayed that prayer online, you can text the church at 703-844-9969. We'll mail you a Bible. God bless you all. Have a great night. We'll pick it up there next week, chapter 8.