Revelation 7, "Salvation Belongs to Our God"
The Kingdom of God: Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Roman Empire - any empire - is built on conquest and control. You conquer new lands and nations and then you spend the rest of your time keeping them under your control. Nowhere was this more evident than in the cities of what is now Turkey, but in the first century was called Asia Minor.
Some of those cities were big and important enough that Caesar focused special attention on them. If he could keep them under his control, he could maintain his empire. By the reign of Emperor Domitian, he demanded oaths of allegiance that went so far as to become a form of worship. Declarations such as, “We have no king but Caesar,” “Caesar is Lord”, and “Caesar is king of kings and lord of lords,” were common. But it went further.
Ephesus, the second largest city in the empire and the western entrance to Asia and Pergamum and Smyrna, strategic economic markets. In all three, temples were built to the glory of the Emperor.
In Ephesus, the temple to Domitian in Ephesus was build on top of pillars representing the 24 recognized gods of the Roman Empire. Domitian sits enthroned above the gods, or the gods uphold his reign, something like that. The point is, idolatry was unavoidable in Ephesus. The entry to Domitian Square was decorated with a carving of Nike, the goddess of victory, holding out a wreath to the one who conquers.
To do business in the markets of Ephesus and Smyrna, it was required to go first to the temple of the emperor, make your vow of worship and allegiance. Then you would be given a stamp, a mark, that allowed you to trade in the market in the name of Caesar.
The messaging of all of this is clear. Caesar is god. You belong to Caesar. If you want to succeed, to have victory, even to conquer, you will do it in the name of Caesar. Take his mark, his name upon you, and your victory will be built upon his victory, blessed by the gods. Salvation belongs to Caesar.
In these cities, there were some Christians, known as the Nicolaitans, who had made the choice to go along to get along. They would go to church on Sunday and then partake in all the ways of the Roman culture around them. We really aren’t sure if they were named after the god Nike or after the founder of their movement, who could have been named Nicolaus. But this group had begun to teach their followers that it was okay to worship the idols and even in the temples to Caesar with your body, your money, your words, as long as your heart was devoted to Jesus. You would remain pure.
Jesus knew the pressures these Christians were under. In His letter to the church in Pergamum, which had a huge temple to Zeus, and was the center of the Emperor cult, He wrote,
“ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Antipas was an early martyr who had refused to compromise with the emperor worship and all the immorality that went with the idolatry of those days. But there were others who had stumbled in their faith.
Revelation 2:14–16 (ESV)
But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam,
who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
The gospel, the good news, is that eternal life in the kingdom of God is in Jesus Christ. God’s kingdom is not built on conquest and control. It is built on justice and righteousness and established through faithfulness and steadfast love. You can receive the fullness of God in your life right now if you will repent of your sin, your idolatry, your self-focused desire to conquer and control, and be united to Christ by faith. He will save you from a wasted life and eternal brokenness.
To give in to the ways of the world ruled by empire, living by conquest and control, you will miss out on the fullness of life in Christ. In fact, worse than that, God is sending judgment on those who would do those things. To make the point, the revelation John sees shows the catastrophe coming for those who trust in Caesar, empire, the ways of the world.
In chapter six, Jesus begins to open the seven seals on the scroll containing the plan of God to overcome evil and establish His kingdom on earth forever.
First four seals, the four horsemen (Zech 6), represent the lust for power and conquest, which turns to war, which results in famine, and ends in disease and death (Jer 15:2; Ezek 5:12). “This is the natural progression of man’s inhumanity to man. In other words, God simply allows human sin to come full circle, turn in upon itself, and self-destruct.” (Grant Osborne, p. 272)
John’s readers would have seen the association with the Roman Empire, which had been built by conquest and war and gave a false sense of peace to its citizens. But it would collapse from its corruption.
But in the meantime, that empire would war against God and the Lamb. The height of this total depravity is the killing of the holy people of God. This had just begun under the Emperor Domitian. The forces of evil on earth will wage war against the faithful witnesses of Jesus.
The next unopened seal is a vision of the martyrs in heaven crying out for justice from God’s altar.
Revelation 6:9–11 (ESV)
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.
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?”
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.
You can clearly see the way John is addressing the challenge for the first century Christian. “Don’t settle for the approval of your culture and its gods and emperors. They are all temporary and fleeting. Your reward is eternal life in Jesus, the One True King, if you remain a faithful witness to Him. The purity of your faith will be rewarded with an eternal rest.
The sixth seal is the rolling back of the heavens and the wrath of God and of the Lamb for the evil in our world is revealed to everyone on earth. The whole universe shakes and there is nowhere to hide from God.
So, this is the revelation of a cosmic conflict. Those who will be faithful witnesses to Jesus and refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, of empire, of conquer and control, idolatry and immorality, they will be persecuted by the world, by empire, by the forces of evil. But in the end, Jesus will bring justice for the evil and reward for the faithful.
In the meantime, chapter 7 backs up a little into the unseen. The vision shows us God restraining the final conflict while those whom He will save are sealed.
Revelation 7:1–3 (ESV)
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.
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, saying,
“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
We are told these are 144,00 people from every tribe of Israel.
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Whether these are literal descendants of the tribes of Israel or the spiritual Israel the apostle Paul talks about that includes the church I don’t think matters a lot in this context. There are arguments for both. The main point seems to be the sealing of this group.
We are told a couple of key details. They receive the mark on their foreheads (verse 3), and in chapter 14, we are told the mark is the name of Jesus and God the Father. For John’s readers, they would be reminded of Exodus 28, in which Moses prepared a special hat for the priests of Israel, and on the forehead would be written, “Holy to the LORD”. Or Deuteronomy 6:8, the faithful were to bind the commandments of God on their forehead and on their hands. But most likely, since this is apocalyptic literature, they would think of another apocalyptic book, Ezekiel. In chapter 9, an angel is sent out to put a mark on the forehead of the faithful remnant among Israel to protect them from the coming destruction because of the sin and idolatry of their nation.
If we put those images from the Hebrew Bible together, John’s readers would hear him saying, for this time of spiritual conflict and tribulation, God will seal those faithful to Jesus with a mark of divine purpose, authority, identity, purity, and protection. They are marked for salvation. They will not escape the tribulation, but God has marked them as His own and they will not be lost.
Jesus is encouraging His faithful followers, carry on in your witness to the world, despite the trouble it may bring you. God has sealed you with His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit marks you as God’s own. He gives you purpose for your life. He empowers you to serve God.
This 144,000 show up again in chapter 14, in which they are singing a loud, beautiful song only they can learn. For those who know what it is like to walk with Jesus through the trouble of this world, bearing witness to His redeeming love, you will have a song to sing. Other people might not understand it, but it is pure and joy-filled and powerful.
But here in chapter 7, we see that that song is not exclusive to only 144,000 people. In verse 9, there is
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,
and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:11–12 (ESV)
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, saying,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Who are these people clothed in white robes? The blood of the Lamb has washed their clothes white. Their sins have been cleansed. They have been made pure.
Revelation 7:14 (ESV)
“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.”
They came out of the tribulation, but have remained faithful to Jesus. Their reward is eternal communion with God.
Revelation 7:17 (ESV)
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.”
He will care for them, protect them, and Jesus Himself will guide them to springs of living water. No tears, all joy. No shame, all love.
John’s message in these chapters is for people living in the real struggle to live by the values of empire, conquer and control, and compromise to idolatry. To put your faith in Caesar. Salvation belongs to Caesar. Caesar is Lord. You belong to Caesar. This is the way to survive and get ahead. But you will lose yourself in that.
If you desire eternal life, stay faithful to Jesus. His blood will cleanse you of your sins. He will seal you with the mark of His name and the name of His Father. And He will lead you through tribulation to streams of living water.
For us, right now, we have the same temptations the Christians in the first century had. We could look for salvation for our nation in the next political leader. We could settle for the ways of empire, conquer and control. We could compromise to idolatry to comfort, convenience, wealth, or popularity. Either is a beast that will consume your soul.
In the end, the fullness of joy and streams of living water to satisfy your soul can only be found by those who have received the unconditional love of God in Christ and learned to sing the song of the Lamb, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”
Prayer of confession
Communion
Doxology
Questions for Discussion
What is a song you sing in times of trouble to help your soul? What song(s) do you sing for joy?
What are the ways our world is tempting us to use the ways of empire, conquer and control, or to compromise with idolatry?
What do we learn about God in Revelation 7? About Jesus?
What do we learn about ourselves in Revelation 7?
There is a lot going on in Revelation 6 and 7. How would you describe the relationship between God, God’s people, and the world in chapters 6 and 7? How does that form our expectations about living as Christians in this world?
Read John 16:33. How do Jesus’ words on the way to the cross help us in troubled times?
How will you respond to this passage this week?
Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?
