Revelation Week 3

Guys Small Groups March 15, 2023

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1. INTRO GAME:

Horror in 60 seconds.

Take one of the 6 judgments from Revelation 6 and create a story.

You and a partner are going to get together and act out a horror story for us in

60 seconds.

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2. Questions?

What is the scroll? - God’s purpose for the rest of history.

What are the seals? - judgements of God

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3. Read Revelation 6 & 7

Before we dig into this too much tonight let me ask:

What is the focus of Revelation so far?

What was the focus of Chapter 1?

The is about things that will happen in the future.

What is the focus of Chapter 2-3?

This is written to the churches

Chapters 4 & 5?

The Throne! and the one who is on the Throne, Jesus!

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4. In groups I’d like you to look up a few things:

What is Eschatology?

What is Pre-tribulation?

What is mid-tribulation?

What is Post-Tribulation?

What is the Rapture? (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

When will the rapture occur?

What is the Tribulation? - period of 7 years that God judges the earth that will occur before, during, or after Jesus removes the church from the earth.

Will the Church be present during the time of the tribulation?

A Helpful website to help you address these questions is GotQuestions.org.

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Revelation 6 is the opening of 6 of the seven seals.

There seems to clearly be judgment on the earth after each of the seals are opened.

Read Revelation 6:9-11 “9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”

Who is represented here in the 6th seal?

These are believers who who killed for God’s Word and for the witness they had borne.

When will the rapture occur?

1. pre-tribulational - the rapture occurs before the tribulation

2. mid-tribulational - the rapture occurs at or near the mid-point of the tribulation

3.Post-tribulational- the rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation

When the rapture will specifically occur?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 “13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

I don’t know.

This gets into the theories in Revelation.

It’s a great question we should wrestle through and consider.

HOWEVER,

Again, focusing on the answer to that question misses 2 important things.

Nobody knows when Jesus will return.

Matthew 24:35-37 “35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

The focus in Revelation is on the future hope and victory we have IN JESUS not on WHEN those events happen, but that they indeed WILL happen.

The point is that it will happen, not when it will happen.

REVELATION 7.

7:1-8 is it talking about the church or Israel?

It’s tough to say.

vs. 3, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Then it talks about Israel.

However, these 12 tribes mentioned are not all the original 12 sons of Jacob that represented the 12 tribes.

Dan, one of the tribes is omitted, and Manasseh is there in his place.

Levi, the tribe of the priests, is included though they had no inheritance, but were to serve as priests of God with God as their inheritance.

Eternal focus, no earthly focus.

Joseph is also include even though the tribe was that of Ephraim his son.

Gad, Asher, and Naphtali were also sons of Jacob’s concubines and not sons of Leach and Rachel.

What in the world does all this mean.

The tribes listed in Chapter 7 seem to be messy and not the original tribe of Israel.

It includes names of people who were originally not part of the promise of God that was given through Abraham.

Meaning, this likely is talking about the future church (those under the cross and the new covenant) and not those under the old covenant (Abraham’s family).

Abraham’s family would qualify for being sealed then, not on their genealogy, but on their faith in Christ.

TO SAY THIS SIMPLY:

I think Revelation 7 is talking about everyone who is part of the church, those who have responded to the gospel, that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again and have placed their faith in that.

They are included.

And the end of Rev. 7 would seem to prove that.

Read Rev. 7:9 “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,”

Revelation 7:11 “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,”

Revelation 7:15 “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.”