Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

I was sitting on the couch in the ‘Man Cave’ at the men’s retreat last weekend watching NC play Oregon in the final four.

It was down to the last minute or so and it was a close game.

The man sitting on the other end of the couch commented that they will turn this final minute or so into 30 minutes with all the time outs and fouls that happen.

The coach calls a time out when he has something real important to say to the players on the court at crucial times during the game.

Sometimes the coach will call a time out when the team is getting beat up real bad in order to calm them down or give them a pep talk or to give them some strategy to help them get back in the game.

I think this chapter is kinda like that.

The fourth, fifth and sixth seal has been rough on the world.

There has been wars, famine, storms, earthquakes.

I mean there is death all around.

The world is getting beat up and believers are right in the midst of it.

John pointed out some of them in chapter 6:9 who had been slain in the midst of this storm.

God is calling a time out not because believers are losing or that He is losing.

But rather that he might take care of necessary business.

You see in the 6:17 the unbelievers are terrified of God.

There will be no atheists then.

They conclude ‘who can stand in that great day of the wrath of God and the lamb?”

The answer for them of course is ‘No one!’

However, this chapter answers that question a little differently.

Certainly, one who rejects the Lord, who refuses to repent of their sin will not stand in this judgment.

In fact, we see just that in

Rev. 9:20, 21

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts

Revelation 16:9-11

And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

But those who are believers, who put their faith and trust in the Lamb/the Lord Jesus Christ have nothing to fear.

They will be able to stand in the judgment.

In fact, I think they will be spared God’s wrath.

Don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean believers will not die.

That’s clear from those who are mentioned here who are martyred.

These seals are describing the tribulation time.

There will be believers during this time and many of them will be killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.

But we will see that God puts his seal of ownership on 144,000 who will be protected from His wrath and will be preaching during this time and leading others to faith in Christ.

This interlude/time out answers the question of Who can Stand?

Therefore it is a chapter of hope and calm in the midst of chaos.

This is like the ‘eye of the storm’ in a hurricane.

There is utter destruction as the winds and rain beat down everything in its path.

But then all gets calm, even sunny.

People think the storm is passed not realizing they are just in the midst of the storm, the worst part is yet to come.

This is like that.

there is a peace, a calm but then comes the seventh seal and the seven trumpets where there will be calm, then unbelievable destruction.

The seventh seal is opened in 8:1 where the seven trumpets begin.

And even then the seventh seal is 1/2 hour of silence in Heaven.

This chapter is in two sections: The sealing of the 144,000 (1- 8) and the Blessedness of the multitude of believers before the throne (9-17)

A. Calm, vss.

1-3

Revelation 7:1-3

after this - is directing us to a chronological marker.

In other words after all this about the general panic of the world of unbelievers and their desire to hide from God's wrath.

John sees what he describes here as four angels at the four corners of the earth.

Of course there are not four corners.Some might want to use this to show that the Bible is off when it comes to science.

Thinking that for some reason this teaches that the writers of the bible thought the earth was flat.

However, we still use this metaphorical even now in discussions of north south east and west.

This phrase most likely refers to the points of the compass.

Now the purpose of the Angel is to restrain the winds from blowing on the earth and doing damage.

we also see in v.2 that the purpose of the four angels , with their winds, was to injure the earth and sea.

Angels are powerful creatures who can hold back the winds.

Think about the power involved in this.

The earth is always windy.

Winds bring the rains inland to water the land.

If there is no wind at all it is too still.

The earth has been undergoing a severe amount of wind with the calamities of chapter 6.

So it would be a complete surprise and at first a pleasure that the wind is stopped.But this is only for a time.

B. Seal of God, vs.2, 3

Another (one of the same kind) angel is seen who coming from the east (rising of the sun) who has the seal of the living God.

John is on the Isle of Patmos and the east would be toward Jerusalem.

Hope and help comes from God.

This is the promise of blessing to those believers living in tribulation.

This seal as we shall see indicates power and authority as well as possession/ownership.

With that seal he has the authority to command the four angels to hold off on their purpose of harming the earth.

This is so that time is given to seal all those who are the servants of God.

These are already servants.

they aren't sealed and then made servants.

They are already serving the Lord and are sealed.

this sealing is not the same as the Holy Spirit who seals all believers either.

The sealing of them is so that they are marked out as belonging to God and thus the angels will know to treat them differently than those who are not sealed.

there is a calm while the believers are sealed.

The word seal is a signet ring like what would be used by a king to give validity to documents.

Seals have been used by kings before even Israel.

There are cyndrical seals that would be rolled across soft clay and then harden.

These seals tell stories, mark identity or ownership.

They were used to identify slaves, military members, those destined to execution.

These are in the same way branding or tattoos are used today.

They were to mark authenticity.

They were normally visible and physical, but sometimes spiritual, as in the sealing of the Holy Spirit of a believer, Eph.

4:30.

We don't know what the seal used here was, but there are some who think it was the Hebrew letter tau.

See the discussion in R. L. Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1992), 470.

He correctly notes, “Ezek.

9:4–6 where ‘the mark’ was the Hebrew letter ת (t) which in its old form was shaped like a cross.

(Swete; Beckwith; Beasley-Murray; Mounce).

Patterson, P. (2012).

Revelation.

(E.

R. Clendenen, Ed.) (Vol.

39).

Nashville, TN: B&H.

In Ezekiel’s vision he sees men who are to go into Jerusalem and slaughter those who are the enemies of God.

But to protect those who mourn over the sinful things done in Jerusalem (indicating they were believers) he sends a man to go throughout Jerusalem and mark them.

That way when the slayers come upon them they will know who not to touch.

What is interesting is that if this mark is the Hebrew tau then the mark that is being referred to is the mark of the cross.

The idea of marking up a body is not foreign or unusual in those times.