REV 7 // WHEN GOD CALLS TIMEOUT
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LAST WEEK
LAST WEEK
We began to look at the first 6 Seals that were on the Scroll that the Lamb was able to open.
We saw that each seal symbolized a segment of the tribulation period.
We also were left hanging a little bit.
We didn’t find out what happened with the 7th seal.
THIS WEEK
THIS WEEK
We are going to look at this little interlude between the 6th and 7th Seal.
During this period we are introduced to a couple of groups of people.
People who God loves
People He created for His Glory
People that He wants to save.
11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
AS A CHURCH, I WANT US TO LOOK AT THIS BOOK THROUGH THAT LENS.
I WANT US TO LOOK AT THE EVIL OF THE WORLD, THROUGH THAT LENS.
I WANT US TO SEE GOD AS A SAVIOR OF BOTH THE SAVED AND THE UNSAVED
THAT GOD’S NATURE IS TO SAVE MEN AND WOMEN.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS WEEKS TEXT
Have you ever wondered what happens if you do not get raptured?
What happens to the Jews during the Tribulation period?
TURN TO
TURN TO
1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 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 dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
PRAY
1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
Rev 7:
AFTER DESCRIBING THE FIRST 6 SEALS
JOHN SAW FOUR ANGELS STANDING AT THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH:
What does this verse tell you?
This verse proves the Earth is Flat.
I had to.
Nonetheless, He sees four angels standing at the four corners
Holding the 4 winds of the earth
That no wind would blow on the earth
THEN JOHN SAW ANOTHER ANGEL DESCENDING FROM THE EAST
This Angel had the seal of the living God
This Angel cried out to the four angels
Which were given the power to distribute God’s wrath on the earth and the sea
Are these the 4 Horsemen?
Interestingly enough, in the horsemen are called winds.
Remember
This whole scene is answering the question:
“Who can stand”
This Angel cried out and said:
“Do not harm the earth, the see, or the trees”
“Until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads”
WHAT IS GOD DOING?
He is waiting for his Perfect Timing
Because He does not delight in the death of the wicked
Because He desires all men to be saved
When the 4 Winds are about to distribute God’s Wrath
God Calls a Timeout
WHY?
Because God is a just God
God knows the heart of men.
For God to do this, is something that is very common in Jewish Literature
In the Book of Enoch
We read that God restrained the waters until Noah had built the ark
In the Book of Joshua
God stopped the sun from moving until the battle was won.
Here in this text we see God placing a Gracious Hold on the wrath that is to come
Graciously waiting for all who would come to faith, to come to faith.
So Kind of God to do thus and so
So Gracious of God
So Merciful of God
QUESTION: WHERE IS THE CHURCH AT THIS POINT?
IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE
Then the Church is no longer present
That means that these people, whom God is being merciful towards
Are those who may have heard the Gospel, but who never did anything with it.
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE.
WHICH ACCORDING TO MY LATEST POLL, MIGHT BE SOME OF YOU.
This could be us
We could be the people that is mentioned in the following verses
Whom God shows mercy and grace towards.
Who were these people?
Who was and is God waiting on to be saved during this period?
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
JOHN HEARS THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO WERE SEALED
144,000 OF ALL THE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
12,000 FROM
JUDAH
REUBEN
GAD
ASHER
NAPHTALI
MANASSEH
SIMEON
LEVI
ISSACHAR
ZEBULUN
JOSEPH
BENJAMIN
But there is a problem
By the time that John wrote this, the 12 tribes no longer existed.
However, most believers could trace their lineage back to one of these tribes
Now, if you are a student of the scripture you will notice something:
So who are these people
It is very clear that these are jewish people
12,000 representing each of the tribes
Now, if you are a student of the scripture you will notice something:
Dan and Ephraim have been omitted
The question is why?
What do we know about Dan & Ephraim?
Dan was the first one to fall into Idolatry. .
Ephraim also fell into Idolatry
Interesting thought:
Though they are not sealed, Isaiah speaks to the gathering of the 12 tribes of Israel
In this list, Dan is the first to be mentioned.
Who was added?:
Levi would almost never be numbered among the 12 tribes
But they were numbered amongst the tribulation converts
Manasseh was one of the 2 tribes of Joseph who settled for the West side of the Jordan. But whom belonged to the Lord
This numbering seems to be before the wrath of God is distributed
It is a sealing or preparation of those who will endure the tribulation period.
What do we know about Dan & Ephraim?
Dan was the first one to fall into Idolatry. .
So where is the Church?
QUESTION: WHERE IS THE CHURCH AT THIS POINT?
IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE
Then the Church is no longer present
That means that these people, whom God is being merciful towards
Are those who may have heard the Gospel, but who never did anything with it.
Ephraim also fell into Idolatry
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE.
WHICH ACCORDING TO MY LATEST POLL, MIGHT BE SOME OF YOU.
This could be us
We could be the people that is mentioned in the following verses
Whom God shows mercy and grace towards.
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
We see that in both and
Interesting thought:
Rev 7:9-
Though they are not sealed
THEN JOHN LOOKS AND BEHOLD
However we do see
A GREAT MULTITUDE, INNUMERABLE
OF ALL NATIONS, PEOPLES, TONGUES, STANDING BEFORE THE THRONE AND BEFORE THE LAMB WHO STOOD AS SLAIN.
THESE PEOPLE WERE CLOTHED IN WHITE ROBES AND HAD PALM BRANCHES IN THEIR HANDS
What does this speak to?
White Robes often speak to Victory and Overcoming
Palm Branches often speak to Victory or Success
THESE PEOPLE WERE CRYING OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE SAYING:
“SALVATION BELONGS TO OUR GOD WHO SITS ON THE THRONE, AND TO THE LAMB”
These are specific people
People who have declared who God is
People who confirm where their Salvation has come from.
However, what they are wearing and what they are doing speak to deeper identity.
But hold that thought.
WHAT HAPPENED AS THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE DECLARED WHO GOD WAS?
11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
REV 7:11-
EVERYONE IN HEAVEN FELL ON THEIR FACES
EVERYONE WORSHIPPED GOD
PROCLAIMING:
AMEN!
BLESSINGS AND GLORY AND WISDOM
THANKSGIVING AND HONOR AND POWER AND MIGHT,
BE TO OUR GOD FOREVER AND EVER.
AMEN!
CHURCH:
The time of worship that we set aside for each service is important
It is set for us to respond to the Lord
To worship God for who He is
For all of the blessings that He gave
For all the Glory that He deserves
For all the wisdom that He has
For everything that we are thankful for
For all the Honor that He deserves
For all the power hat He distributed to us
For the might that He gave us when we were weak
For all these reasons we should worship Him forever.
Notice how there are 7 characteristics for which to worship God?
NOW, WHO WERE THE PEOPLE WITH THE WHITE ROBES AND THE PALM BRANCHES?
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 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 dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
REV 7:13-
GOOD QUESTION:
JW’s:
Herbert Armstrong, who led the Jehova’s Witnesses, have claimed to be the 144,000
They claimed to be the inheritors of Heaven
ONE OF THE ELDERS ACTUALLY ASKED JOHN THE SAME THING:
They claimed to be Israel
Apparently,
“WHO ARE THESE ARRAYED IN WHITE ROBES, AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?”
JOHN SAID: “SIR YOU KNOW”
IT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION
THE ELDER KNEW:
These are the ones who have come out of the tribulation
Whose robes have been washed by the Blood of the Lamb
These are designated to stand before the throne of God
Serving Him day and Night in His Temple
Surrounded by the One who sits on the Throne
They shall never hunger nor thirst anymore
The sun shall not strike them
Nor any heat
For the Lamb who is in the midst of them
Shall Shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water
God himself, will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
This group of people are like sojourners during the Tribulation
They know who God is
God is among them
Their sins have been washed by the Blood of Jesus
They usher God into every situation
Though the world around them is collapsing
They stand for truth
They continue to worship
They remain focused on the main thing.
Jesus continues to be their Shepherd
He leads them to life-giving water
The Father wipes away the tears
To us this group of people is unumerable
However, God knows who they are
He knows them by name