The Throne Room and the 7 Seals

Bottom line

God’s direction is more straightforward than you think.

Opening Line

How many people remember I Spy books?

Introduction

pull up picture on screen or refer to copies on the tables

To help you remember, I printed off a page for everyone’s enjoyment. I’m going to put it on the screen, so everyone online can play along. If you need to pause the service while you look at the page, go for it, just make sure you come back for the rest of the message.

What is the basic mechanic of an I Spy book? It is to distract you with one thing while you look for another, right? If you are supposed to find 5 race cars, 3 of them are big and obvious, but the other two are tiny or half hidden behind another object. When you start the book, you see what is right in front of you and obvious, but by the end, you miss the obvious because you are trying to outsmart the book by finding the things that are difficult to find. Then, if it was a good I Spy book, you got to the end and it had a question like, “Did you find all the elephants? There were 10 on every page.” WHAT?! Then you have to go back and find all the elephants!

Main Point

I believe we treat Revelation the same way. I believe we go into it looking for secret knowledge, all the while missing what is right in front of us the whole time.

Why it matters

Remember, Revelation was not written to a bunch of Bible scholars who needed an eschatological exercise to grow in knowledge. Eschatology is the study of end times. This letter was written to a church that was experience what is called the second wave persecution. Domitian is emperor and is making life extremely difficult for the early church. This letter was written to give them hope in hard times, not bog them down with confusion and misunderstanding.

I think this distinction is important for us as followers of Jesus because you can be distracted by the mysterious and vivid pictures that John paints, and miss what Jesus is actually trying to say to the church. As we dive into this next section, especially about the 7 seals, I want you to keep an open mind as I present a different angle that I want you to consider.

Scripture

So with that, let’s dive in. We are in Revelation 4. We are going to be looking at key parts of chapter 4-7 this morning, so strap in, as we have a lot of ground to cover.

We pick it up, John is having a vision of the throne room of heaven.

Revelation 4:3–8 NLT

The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

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A Look at the Numbers

What is the distracting part of this passage? The creatures! What is going on with these creatures? But this morning, I want to draw you attention to the numbers of this passage. I’m a math guy, I like numbers, and I find this really interesting.

The 24 elders is a representation of the entire church. In the Old Testament there were 12 tribes of Israel, and in the New Testament there were 12 apostles. Since the beginning and all throughout church history, one of the greatest struggles for believers is to lay down your authority, your position, and your kingdom in honor of the one who sits on the throne of heaven.

The seven torches represents the sevenfold Spirit of God. Isa 11:2

Isaiah 11:2 NLT

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

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Along with that, seven is the number of perfection. The reminder that the Holy Spirit is perfect, and He is the perfect gift and guide for the believer.

Now for the creatures. To stick with the numbers, 4 is the biblical number of creation and completion. In the four chapters of we are going to look at, there are four creatures, four corners of the earth, four winds, and four angels. It is meant to draw our attention to all of creation, and the reminder that it is not just humanity that needs to be saved from sin, but all of creation groans under sin’s persecution and weight. Even the faces of the creatures are to remind of us all of creation, the lion, the ox, the human and the eagle.

But for those looking for a little extra, the four faces are a representation of the four gospels. Matthew presents Jesus as King, typified by a lion. Mark presents Jesus as a Servant, the ox. Luke highlights Jesus’ humanity, as seen through the face of man. John presents Jesus as the Son of God, pictured through the eagle that soars higher then anything else, and the only creature that can look directly at the sun, the way the Son is the only one who can look at the Father.

Which brings us to chapter 5.

Revelation 5:1–8 NLT

Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it. Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

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What is the scroll? One commentator pointed out that it is the deed of earth. When Adam and Eve, who were entrusted with the care and dominion of the earth, sinned, they handed authority of the earth to the devil. The deed was sealed, and the question is who can take it back? Who claim the authority and power over the earth once again?

The only one who is worthy is the Lion of Judah, the lamb of God. The seven horns represent the perfect power of the Lamb, and the seven eyes represents the perfect insight of Jesus. Because of His death and resurrection, Jesus alone paid the price for the deed, and He is worthy of the praise of the whole church and all creation.

Which brings us to the part most people are eager to hear, the seven seals of the scrolls.

Revelation 6:1–14 NLT

As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory. When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere. When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.” When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals. When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them. I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.

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Now I’m going to suggest that there are two ways to read these scrolls, and I think both are perfectly acceptable. So I’m going to give you the reader’s digest version of both, and may the Spirit of God impress on you as He needs.

The first is that these are representations of things to come. The white rider is the Antichrist, the one spoken of in Daniel who will bring peace to Israel and all the world. The red rider is a great war, where the Antichrist will firmly establish his control over the world. The black rider is the representation of the financially tough times that will follow, especially those who do not take the mark of the beast and worship the Antichrist. The green rider is death and the grave, a virus or something will hit the world, killings millions and only further establishing the Antichrist. All the while, followers of Jesus will be martyred for their faith, with the culmination of everything being this cataclysmic event that rocks the world, reminding everyone who is truly God. This is traditional understanding, and it could be. The seals are often understood as the beginning of the Great Tribulation which we believe we will miss. We believe that the Rapture will happen, and the church will be taken up and miss the tribulation.

However, I have a second thought for you. A few months back, we read from Matthew 24, where Jesus tells the disciples that there will be wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famine and disease, but these are the end, simply the labor pains before the end. If you take that passage, and align it with not Revelation 6, but just what has taken place over the course of history since Jesus first came, you realize that all these things are already happening. Have we seen people who rise up as conquerors in the name of peace? Have we seen wars? Have we seen famines and recessions? Have we seen death on a massive global scale? Since Jesus ascended, we have seen a focused effort to eradicate the church. How many cataclysmic events have you experienced in your lifetime? These first six seals are a commentary of everything that has happened in the world since Jesus took back the scroll.

Which brings us to chapter 7. Chapter 7 starts with the four angels, instructed to not harm the world until the seal of God is placed on the heads of His servants. Then we read this:

Revelation 7:4 NLT

And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

Revelation 7:9 NLT

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7:13–14 NLT

Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

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So this chapter invites the same interpretations as chapter 6. The 144,000 are of those who are saved during the time of coming tribulation, the Great Tribulation that Scripture talks about. These 144,000 are sealed for the purpose of witnessing and enduring the hardships that are yet to come. The great multitude are the ones who have died on account of their faith, now in the presence of God Almighty, worshiping His greatness.

But entertain with me the second interpretation. What if the great tribulation is the tribulation the church has faced since its inception? What if the 144,000 is a representation of those who come to faith from Israel, and the great multitude are the faithful from the nations? What if this great cloud of witnesses are before the thorn of God right now? These are just the labor pains, and the end is yet to come?

The scene ends with Rev 8:1

Revelation 8:1 NLT

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.

So some really wise commentators have pointed out that this moment is when the men enter heaven, and there is silence, and then the women come.

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The seventh seal could be anything. It could be John silenced by what he sees. If this was a drama, this is where the stage would go black, and when the lights come back, the seven angels with seven trumpets have entered. I would say it is the calm before the storm of what comes next.

Transition to Application

This morning, my goal was to point out the more obvious things that are happening in the text, so you don’t miss it for the mysterious. When it comes to the horsemen, I would say that the church should be mindful of the colors. I want to say more but I have been advised to keep that to myself. Don’t miss the significance of the numbers because of the description of the creatures. Don’t miss what is happening here and now, because you expect something else to come.

Main To Do

This is really good advise when it comes to seeking God’s direction and provision in life. It is easy to ask for wisdom, expecting something mystical when the best option is right in front of you. It is easy to expect to hear the audible voice of God, when He has sent your spouse to speak life and truth into your life. Don’t miss the obvious in favor of the mysterious.

Why it matters

So what is something you need God’s direction for? Where are you need in wisdom? Take time this week to seek God’s plan, weighing the options, especially the ones you don’t want to hear. God may be leading in really clear ways, you just need to be open to them.

Closing Line

Above all, remember that no matter what you are going through, God is in control, He alone is worthy of your worship, and you have been sealed to succeed and overcome. Trust the Lord’s sovereignty.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

In what ways have you experienced distractions in your spiritual life that caused you to overlook God's clear guidance?

What are some practical steps you can take to ensure you are recognizing God's direction in your daily life?

As you reflect on the message, what areas of your life do you feel God may be asking you to prioritize and not miss?

How can acknowledging the purpose of Revelation as a source of hope change your perspective on the challenges you face?

Have you ever found yourself missing an important opportunity because you were distracted by something less important?