The Seals

Text: Revelation 6:1-7:16

Thesis: God will save His people through the chaos.

Application: Know that God is in control and that Jesus’ Church will be saved.

Reading of the Word

Revelation 6:1-7:16

The Six Seals

The Living Creatures’ Announcements - Seals #1-#4

Seal #1 - Conqueror

Seal #2 - War

Seal #3 - Economic Oppression

Seal #4 - Death and Hell

Side note about death and hell

Multiple Greek words which refer to death/afterlife. We need to be careful to explain what we are talking about when we have one word which can refer to multiple things.

Hades (used here) is the greek equivalent of Sheol (used in the OT)

Hades and Sheol specifically refer to the realm of the dead - everyone who dies, regardless of who they are, go to Sheol/Hades until the resurrection.

Other words/phrases (Gehenna, Lake of Fire, Paradise, Abraham’s Bosom, etc.) are used to refer to specific judgments in the afterlife. So when we use the word Hell, we need to clarify:

Are we talking about the general place of the dead which all go to? (Hades)

Are we talking about judgment against the enemies of God? (Gehenna)

Are we talking about the final judgment seen in Revelation? (Lake of Fire)

These are all different words in the Bible, but we use the word hell to refer to each of these three different things.

This is why we say that Jesus descended into Hell (Apostle’s Creed). Jesus died, and like all who died, went to Sheol/Hades.

1 Peter 3:19 gives a brief glimpse of this when it says that Jesus proclaimed the good news to the dead.

Hades is not permanent - Death and Hades will be killed. Jesus will destroy death and Hades when they are thrown into the Lake of Fire - Rev. 20:14

Connections to Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Exodus

The Martyrs - Seal #5

Connect to Psalm 13 - “How long, O Lord?”

Creation Unraveling - Seal #6

The powerful cry out for the mountains to kill them so that they may not face the One on the throne.

Those opposed to the God and the Lamb want to hide themselves from God (like Adam and Eve) instead of running to the Lamb for the mercy.

Their hardness of hearts would prefer to die than ask for mercy. When they see the Lamb, they only see justice for their sin.

We either choose sin which decreates, or we choose the Lamb which recreates.

But the Lamb loves mercy, and we see this evidenced in Revelation 7.

A Pit Stop Before Venturing Into Rev. 7

What’s the point?

The Lamb is in control over the chaos of the world.

God is not distant.

God is at work through the chaos.

God uses chaos and human evil to do good (Romans 8:28)

For those who belong to the Lamb, chaos is not the end of the story.

God’s Salvation of His People

Revelation 7:1-16

God’s Patience

God is patient to complete His plan until all His purposes are accomplished

Chiefly, that we are saved.

2 Peter 3:3-9

The 144,000 - 12,000 * 12

God will not prematurely bring an end to the old.

He is patiently at work in the midst of the chaos that all of His people will be saved.

A Picture of the New

In response to the chaos, we are given a glimpse of the resurrection and the new creation.

Revelation 21:1-5

Outro

As You Endure Chaos, Remember that God is in Control

As You Endure Chaos, Remember what Lies on the Other Side