Are You Trusting His Seal? (Revelation 7)

 

VIDEO

Are You Trusting His Seal? (Revelation 7)

GIST: Salvation is Jesus’ active work rescuing His masses and bringing worship & life out of death & despair.

Today, we’re coming to Revelation chapter 7. This week, especially the past few days, my heart has very much been in another place. I’ve kept the newsfeed pulled up on my computer watching the developments as a part of the world I once called home is at war and families are being torn apart—a place my parents have called home for the past 22 years is now a battlefield. You guys have seen the news reports. You’ve heard the stories of people waking up to the sounds of bombs, and young families being separated as all men between the ages of 18 and 60 are being told to stay and fight while the women and children spend hours in the cold trying to get across neighboring borders. It’s heartbreaking. It should bring us to our knees in prayer. And it’s precisely the context chapter 7 of Revelation speaks into.

We could break down so many different things here, but I really want to focus on the driving message. Chapter 6 told us there would be devastation. Then, chapter 7 functions as an interlude of sorts reminding us why we shouldn’t lose hope in the midst of that. Here’s our gist for today: Salvation is Jesus’ active work rescuing His masses and bringing worship & life out of death & despair. Let’s break that down!

I. Salvation Is His Active Work

“1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 

This image begins with places of power and splendor. After these pictures of complete destruction, we see these angels holding the four corners of the earth, the whole earth, being told by an angel who is coming from the rising sun— which has to be a picture of Jesus, the light of the world because there is no physical sun in Heaven— to hold on a second so the servants of God can be sealed. What’s that about? Ultimately, →  

It’s A Reminder We Are His. Of course, there has been a lot of speculation about the sealing imagery in Revelation, and we’ll address this again when we get to the “mark of the beast” passage. However, I think it fits best with Scripture not to see this seal as a forehead tattoo. Instead, it’s a sign of being completely God’s—following Him, belonging to Him, being marked by thoughts, desires, and actions which are of Him. 

Remember what Jesus called the greatest commandment? Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” That’s a picture of loving God with everything you do (strength), feel (heart), and think (mind) forever (soul)! It’s the same picture we get in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. “4“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” 

These seals are a reminder that we belong wholeheartedly to Him. We’ve been claimed, sent, and protected. However, let us not forget the beautiful truth: Jesus does the sealing. We like control. I like control. We like to think we can rescue ourselves and stand strong enough. Reality is better. Not only do we need a savior, but that savior chooses to pursue us with His love. Salvation is His work and our gift! And it is Him→ 

II. Rescuing His Masses

I previewed part of this last week, so I will try not to sound too redundant. However, I know I need to hear this every day, so I have a feeling you won’t mind the reminder. Look first at 4-8→ 

“4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed." 

This 144,000 has probably been interpreted at least 144,000 ways ☺️. However, what is never denied by faithful readers is that this is a group of people rescued by Jesus. These are His people. I would argue, this is actually a beautiful picture of all His people. We have this stylized recording of the tribes of Israel that reads like an Old Testament military roll call. 12, like 7, is a symbolic number. It, too, marks completion, especially when it comes to the people of God. You have 12 historic tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of Jesus. Here, you have 12 x 12… x 1,000! And 1,000 was a way of expressing… a lot. It’s kind of like how we use the word “a million” today (i.e. “there were a million people at Wal-mart before the snowstorm…etc.). 

Therefore, this seems to be a symbolic representation of the complete Israel. Now, it’s interesting to note that two of the typical names are missing from the 12 tribes. Levi isn’t usually included because they were the priestly tribe, so their inheritance was spiritual rather than physical, so to replace their spot, Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were typically included instead of just Joseph. (By the way, this isn’t something I would have noticed without it being pointed out to me, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t…but feel smarter than me if you did…which I’m sure you probably are!) This list has Joseph and Levi and Manasseh, but Dan and Ephraim are left out because these tribes had become seats of paganism. So, it seems the full picture is that complete and true Israel is everyone who is really part of the people of God. 

This is even more clear when we look at the verses we read last week. He hears the symbolic number, 144,000, but turns and sees the innumerable masses rescued from all over the world. Check out 9-10 again. “9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 

I know we covered this last week, but let me just summarize those points in lightning speed because this is so wonderful! There will be a multicultural multitude standing before the throne of God, purified by Jesus, declaring Him king, and worshiping Him as savior! 

So, salvation is His work rescuing His people→ 

III. And Bringing Worship & Life Out of Death & Despair

The entire chapter then ends in praise→  

“11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” All of creation praises God for His incredible attributes. 

“13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Oh, I love this passage! I had originally planned on spending an entire Sunday just with these verses, but I didn’t want to leave this out of this beautiful message about His salvation. Here’s why we can see brokenness and face it with hope. Jesus is our salvation. He is working to rescue the lost from the sin-filled land. 

I love how the angel asks John if he knows who these people are ☺️. His response is so great too, “Sir, you know.”. I might be off here, but I imagine there’s a hopeful “don’t you?” implied in that statement ☺️. Thankfully, the angel does. He tells John these are those who have come→

Out Of Great Tribulation. I know there is a lot of discussion in Christian circles about when Jesus will return for His church. A common viewpoint is that Jesus will take His church back into Heaven before He returns and before a time known as the great tribulation. This would, of course, be awesome. However, throughout Scripture, God hasn’t taken His people away from times of trials, but rather worked through them and strengthened them in the midst of them. Tribulation will continue and will grow until Jesus returns. Therefore, it seems more consistent that this picture is showing us the redeemed who have been rescued from this fallen world. If you’re His, that’s a picture of you!

They have been restored. They are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb— Jesus’ sacrifice leads to your righteousness. They are also guided by the Shepherd Lamb! Here, again, we are reminded that this is all because of Jesus' love. We have this great statement: the Lamb is the Shepherd. The one who is in control, died in our place, as our sacrificial Lamb. Now, He leads us by springs of living waters. This probably reminds you of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters...." Or possibly, the story of the woman at the well, when Jesus says, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4). This water, this salvation, will never run dry.

They are also comforted.   Oh, what comfort this is. There won’t be hunger, or thirst, or physical pain… or tears. There's nothing I can do to make this more clear. This world is hard. It is full of heartbreak and disappointments. We lose those we love. We experience ridicule. We are hurt by and hurt those around us. There are many causes for tears. Yet, this is not forever! Like Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, this light, momentary affliction is preparing us for something eternally better. There will be no more need for tears. AND, if that wasn't encouraging enough, look at the verse again. He doesn't just say, “you won't cry anymore”. He says, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”. The hands that formed the universe will reach down to wipe away your tears. 

And this is why we, and the countless fleeing for their lives all across Ukraine at this very moment, can have hope. Let me just recap our gists as our→ 

TAKEAWAY

Salvation is Jesus’ active work rescuing His masses and bringing worship & life out of death & despair.

PONDERING... Are You Standing? (Revelation 7)

Are You Standing?

GIST: Judgment is coming. Only those in Christ will be able to stand. But, oh, what standing this will be! Come to Jesus. (So…maybe that GIST statement became a little less condensed this week…)
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 7

This is a pretty packed passage, so I won’t linger. Today we’re going to look at the when, who, what, and why it matters. (Note, this is probably a lot of words to digest in one setting :P. In “real life”, we took this in two parts.)

When is this happening?

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

When looking at Revelation, everyone wants to think in terms of chronology. We know this is about the end times, so we want to know specifics. However, as we’ve addressed before, this is not a chronological book. We’re seeing what’s going to happen big picture from several perspectives. This passage is no different. While there are definitely differing views of timeline here, I think it is most important to see this passage as an answer to two questions posed in chapter 6.

Question 1- 10b“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

• Answer: Not until all who will be saved are.

Question 2- 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

• Answer: Those

Who are these people?
I guess I kind of already gave this answer away, but let’s look at it anyway.

4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

So the short answer here is that both groups represent those who have will be/have been saved. There are different views on this, of course, but I think this really fits with the context and the Scripture. Let’s break it down a bit more.

• Complete and True Israel
• So the first number we have is this 144,000. 12, much like 7, is a number of completion. So this listing is not meant to be an actual number of people, but rather symbolically representing the complete Israel. The tribes are listed here, but not all of them. Specifically, Dan and Ephraim are left out because these tribes had become seats of paganism, and replaced by Joseph and Levi (Levi was not usually included because their inheritance was Spiritual instead of physical). So, it seems the full picture is that of complete and true Israel—everyone who is really part of the people of God (i.e. those who are saved). 
• Those sealed
• There is a lot of question about the sealing, and we’ll address this again when we get to the mark of the beast passage. However, this being sealed on the forehead is not a physical marking, but a sign of being completely God’s—following Him, belonging to Him, being marked by thoughts, desires, and actions which are of Him (Matthew 22:37 “37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”… See also: Deuteronomy 6:4-9. I really think the same idea is being communicated here.)
• Innumerable and Multicultural
• John heard the sealing then saw this multitude. They were symbolically complete and true Israel, but when he saw them, their number exceeded 144,000—and they were from everywhere! Oh, the beauty and expanse of God’s salvation.
• Purified and Worshiping
• About what were these people doing? They were purified (clothed in white) and praising (waving palm branches) the purifier!

What is this great tribulation?

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

I will be brief here, though this is undoubtedly one of the more debated topics. Jesus told us there would be tribulation (John 16:33). From the Fall until His return this is true. Therefore, in a very real sense, the great tribulation is now. That fits with the interpretation of who these people are, as well. Those singing the song we’re about to digest a bit are not just from one isolated point in history. They are the redeemed. If you are saved, you’re in this number.

Nonetheless, because I know someone (if there are indeed people reading these posts) who will ask if the great tribulation (given the definitive article and such) is actually referring to a specific time when persecution will get worse. I don’t pretend to know all these answers, but I do wholeheartedly believe it will be getting worse (see our little chat on progressive parallelism from last week); it’s building.

What does (could) this mean for you?Several months back, I preached on this passage in celebration of our homecoming. So, if this seems really familiar…it is. Nonetheless, the picture here is still absolutely beautiful!

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,

It's too easy to miss out on the significance and honor of this first description. In Heaven, we will be in the direct presence of God. ... This should kill us. All throughout Scripture we are told our sinful, human forms cannot see God in all of His glory (fully revealed) and live. Think about Isaiah, who was only given a glimpse of Him and fell to the ground saying, 'Woe is me! I am undone!' (Isaiah 6). Yet, here we are told we will be in His full presence. How? Because Jesus came fully revealing God to the world, and endured Hell to make this impossibility our reality. Hold that, we will be coming back to this!

and serve him day and night in his temple;

Two quick points to clarify this image a bit. One, there is no night and day in Heaven. We're told that in Revelation 22:5. God is the only light in Heaven, and He doesn't ever "go down". So this just means our service will never end. Two, there's not a physical temple in Heaven either. Revelation 21:22 tells us Jesus is the temple. So our continuous service is to Him.


Now, here's a point where I think people really start to miss out on how incredible Heaven will be. Even Christians, because we carry with us the baggage of a sin nature, recoil at being told we'll be serving God in Heaven. I think that's because we have a misconception of what service is. We think of it as some sort of demeaning task. However, that comes from our arrogance. Service is meant to be an act of love. At least, that's what Jesus did when He came "not to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). Now, I cannot say we definitely won't be washing dishes in Heaven, but I know in Jesus' parable of the talents when He greets the faithful servants, He says, "‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’" (Matthew 25:14-30). So whatever we do, and we could spend another whole sermon talking about all these possibilities, we can know for sure it will be done with joy--out of a pure love for Him. It's going to be amazing. I can promise you that. But better yet, He did.

and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

We can definitely see how these next few lines feed into each other. We will be standing before the throne of God, because of Jesus' love, the love of God. We will be enjoying life as it was meant to be; our lives, untainted by sin, being service to God, because of that same love. Now we see we are sheltered by His presence. We're taken care of...because of His love. We could camp out here all day, but let's just look at how the passage itself illustrates it-->

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

This is an awesome picture. First, I do think there is a spiritual aspect to this promise. For many of you, this will remind you of Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."(Matthew 5:6). This blessing happens on earth, but here we see our longing for God fully satisfied.


Nonetheless, there is a physical aspect to this promise, as well. Hunger and thirst are realities of our human weakness. Some reading this post have felt the impact of really needing food. Many around the world die from this every day. From what I've seen online, approximately 21,000. That's astronomical. And that, in part, is what is being promised here. All the physical pains in this fallen world will cease. No one will go hungry. No one will feel the pain of arthritis, or asthma, or diabetes, or cancer. Life will be as God intended in the garden of Eden...only better! The next point continues this thought-->

the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

We already mentioned there won't be a physical sun, per se, in Heaven. However, I think this promise alludes to something else about Heaven's environment. Not only will our bodies be freed from physical maladies, but the environment itself will be perfect. This truth really struck me last year when I was reading a tiny book by C.S. Lewis called "The Great Divorce", which actually has nothing to with divorce, but is an allegory about Heaven and Hell (I highly recommend it!). Because of how most modern images and films depict Heaven--vague, bright whiteness or...clouds--I think we tend to have a very sterile picture of Heaven in our minds (which could feed the disinterest some feel). I won't dwell on this for long, but thinking of it really blows my mind. Take a few seconds to think of all the things you love about Earth: maybe a sunset, trees in the fall, a beach, a clear night sky... (you fill in the blank). This world is truly beautiful... AND, this is the tainted version! Why should we expect Heaven to be less stunning? It will be even better...and without the bad points. The sun won't burn, mosquitoes won't bite, poison ivy won't...poison.

17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

Here, again, we are reminded that this is all because of Jesus' love. We have this great statement: the Lamb is the Shepherd. The one who is in control, died in our place, as our sacrificial Lamb. Now, He leads us by springs of living waters. This probably reminds you of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters...." Or possibly, the story of the woman at the well, when Jesus tells her, "...If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water... whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:10,14). This water, this salvation, will never run dry.

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Oh, what comfort this is. There's nothing I can do to make this more clear. This world is hard. It is full of heart break and disappointments. We lose those we love. We experience ridicule. We cause pain to those around us. There are many reasons for tears. Yet, this is not forever! Like Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, "17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

There will be no more need for tears. AND, if that wasn't encouraging enough, look at the verse again. He doesn't just say, "you won't cry anymore". He says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes". The hands that formed the universe will reach down to wipe away your tears.


Breath-taking. This image...is absolutely wonderful.

However, as I mentioned when I preached on this in September, there is a great number from every tribe, people, and language...but it's not everyone.

This is for those who have 'washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb'. Now, this is actually a really paradoxical statement. However, to those of us who have grown up in the church, it seems common place. However, typically, blood doesn't make things white...or clean. But Jesus, who is completely pure, shed His blood in our place. This picture isn't about people who will be worthy. It's about Hell-deserving people who have accepted Christ's forgiveness, who have given Him their lives and been saved by His grace. It's all about Him.

But there's another group. Those who aren't cleaned...by choice. Revelation 9:20-21 tells us, "20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts." We then see in Revelation 20:12-15, "12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done... 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
I do not need to go into the same detail here about Hell as I did about Heaven. They are opposites. One is eternal life. One is eternal torment. And the people who enjoy Heaven are not somehow better than those who suffer Hell. The difference is Jesus Christ. Has the Lamb become your Shepherd, or not? " 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved... 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9-10,13).

And, again, I think that is the main point in this passage. Remember those two questions from Revelation 6?

Revelation 6:10b“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

• Not until all who will be saved are.

Revelation 6:17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

• Those. Are you among them? Are you calling people to be?

Judgment is coming. Only those in Christ will be able to stand. But, oh, what standing this will be! Come to Jesus.