God Seals His Servants

Introduction

It’s often been said, and rightly so I believe, that when God puts his seal upon someone to do something for him, they’re going to accomplish whatever he’s given them to do. After all, God is sovereign. Think about some of the giants of the Christian faith in the last two hundred years or so, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Lottie Moon, Adoniram Judson, Billy Graham, and the many, many more that I haven’t mentioned. Doubtless, many of those people I just listed off faced down opposition on more than one occasion, and certainly I don’t think any of us would say that they were able to do it in and of themselves. No, they were capable because they were impowered by the creator of all things, God. They were sealed to do his work. Did you know that if you’re a believer you’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit to do the work of the kingdom here on earth until Jesus returns? (Pause) The chapter we’re going to look at, Revelation 7, is one of the most debated passages in the entire Bible, but while good and godly interpreters of Scripture might disagree over questions that arise from this passage, I believe all can agree that the overall thrust of what John is saying in these verses is that God is able to seal his servants, seeing them through to the end. Let’s read this text, pray over it, and then take a look at it.

Revelation 7:1–17 NASB95

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out 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 or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed. 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 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, 12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and 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, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 16 “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Prayer

The Sealing of God’s Servants

Revelation 7:1–8 NASB95

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out 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 or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

Notice, if you will, that v.1 begins with the phrase, “After this I saw…” Some translations render the first few words of chapter six as, “After these things I saw …”, but the Greek here literally reads Μετὰ τοῦτο⸃ εἶδον which translated means “After this [thing] I saw”. Now, most people will understand the difference between the words “this” and “these”. The word “this” is used to refer to one thing, whereas the word “these” would be used to refer to more than one thing. The fact that John, in the Greek, uses the word “this” means that he’s referring to the last thing he saw, which was the opening of the sixth seal. In you English Bible that’s in Revelation 6:12-17, which I believe is a brief description of the events surrounding the return of Christ. That means that in these first eight verses of chapter seven, John is giving us the answer to the question that he left us with at the end of chapter six, “Who is able to stand?” The answer would be the 144,000; they are the ones who are able to stand and survive the return of Christ. They do battle with the forces of evil, and they come out on the other side as victors, That’s one of the reasons the numbering of the 144,000 is so similar to a military list. What are we able to say about these 144,000 based on Revelation 7:1-3? First, John lets us know that they’re sealed prior to the winds of judgement being set in motion. We know that from v.1 and the four angels who are standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds. There’s also probably a connection with Revelation 8:1 where there’s silence in heaven. No wind would equal silence. John says that the four angels aren’t allowed to harm the earth, sea, or any tree. There’s a direct connection here with these four angels and Revelation 9:14 because there we’re told that they’re finally released at that point to wreak havoc on the earth. What’s really interesting is that if you’ve got a good reference Bible and you trace the links in the text, you ‘ll figure out that there’s a connection between Revelation 7:1; 9:13-20; 16:12-16; 19:17-21; and possibly a thematic connection to Rev. 20:7-10. Here’s what that means, it means that it’s highly likely that each one of these passages is giving a description of the same end time battle of Armageddon, not separate battles. The only reference in that list that might be a reference to a different event is the reference to Rev. 20:7-10 because it comes “after” the thousand years, but we’ll talk about that when we get there. Another thing we can say concerning the “sealing” of the 144,000 is that John is taking his que from Ezekiel 9 where an angel with a writing kit is summoned to place a mark on certain individuals in Jerusalem who are faithful to God, thus preserving a remnant and leaving the unfaithful subject to slaughter. There’s no indication in Revelation that this sealing or mark placed on the 144,000 is a literal mark you can see with your physical eyes, contrary to what some people teach. The reason I say this is because when you survey Scripture, what indicates that a person is faithful to God is the fact that they’ve been indwelt or “sealed” by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed (same word as in Rev.7) in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” That said, I will tell you that the sealing that’s mentioned in Revelation 7 may well be an extra measure of the Holy Spirit. In other words, what’s given to the 144,000 is something extra special. Now, for the BIG question, who are the 144,000? Let me first say that I don’t think these will be the only people who make it to heaven. (Pause) There are several interpretations of who these 144,000 might be, and since I don’t have time to detail all of them for you, I’m going to give you the two most common interpretations you’ll come across in commentaries. 1) The first interpretation says that the 144,000 are a literal number of future Jewish evangelists who will be sealed by God to spread the gospel message during a future seven-year tribulation. This interpretation has become very popular in the last hundred years and is almost exclusively held by Dispensational interpreters of Scripture. 2) The second interpretation is that the number 144,000 is a symbolic number and it’s representative of all of God’s people, both Jew and Gentile. 12 tribes in the OT, and 12 Apostles in the NT times 1000 (a number typically used to signify fullness), out all of that together and you’ve got the number 144,000. This interpretation is usually held by interpreters who lean more toward Covenant Theology. Now, let me tell you that good and godly interpreters of Scripture hold both of these interpretations and it’s not a matter of salvation as to what one thinks about who these 144,000 are. That said, I lean slightly toward the view that the number 144,000 is a symbolic number that’s representative of all of God’s people, both Jew and Gentile who will be sealed to survive all of the end time events which are to come at some point in the future. Let me give you a few quick reasons as to why I lean toward this interpretation. 1) First, when I read the NT it’s difficult for me see the stark separation between Israel and the Church that some interpreters find, although I do hold to a future for ethnic Jews. However, let me be crystal clear and say that that future does NOT exist outside of their acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In my mind, I cannot reconcile passages like Eph. 2:1-11 and Galatians 3, as well as the entire book of Hebrews, and many OT passages that point to Christ with a Dispensational interpretation of Scripture. Concerning briefly a few of those OT passages, as early as Gen.48 when Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph is told Ephraim will become a multitude, or better a fulness of nations. Compare this with what Paul says in Romans 11. Or, consider Is. 14:1-2 which speaks of stangers/foreigners who will join with Israel, and also Is. 54:2 where Israel is told to expand its tent. That’s not a reference to a future millennium because prior to saying it Isaiah sets the context with the comment that “the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous that the sons of the married woman.” The barren woman here refers to Sarah who could not at first have children, and from the perspective of the NT it becomes clear that Israel inherits the nations because they eventually become part of the people of God through faith in Christ. (Gentry & Wellum, 497). In the OT there is passage after passage just these I’ve mentioned that point to this. When you arrive at Paul’s letter in the NT you cannot mistake the fact that he is crystal clear in places like 2 Cor. 1:20 when he says that “no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” I think the following comment from a Southern Baptist Theologian is worth noting, “Both covenant theology and dispensationalism, however, often discuss Israel and the church without taking into account the Christocentric nature of biblical eschatology. The future restoration of Israel has never been promised to the unfaithful, unregenerate members of the nation (Jn. 3:3-18; Rom. Rom. 2:25-29) – only to the faithful remnant. The church is not Israel, at least not in a direct, unmediated sense. The remnant of Israel - a biological descendent of Abraham, a circumcised firstborn son who is approved by God for his obedience to the covenant – receives all of the promises due to him. Israel is Jesus of Nazareth.” (See especially Isaiah 49:3, 5).[1] 2) Another thing I would point out is that the listing of the tribes given in Revelation 7 is unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else in Scripture. Christopher R. Smith offers compelling evidence that the ordering of the tribes in Rev. 7, when compared with Gen. 35:23-26 points to Gentile inclusion in the listing. Smith points out that the elevation of Gad, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh to positions 3-6 near the top of the list seems to demand Gentile inclusion because these are the sons of Leah and Rachel’s slaves who were concubines, and these sons are elevated above the sons of Leah and Rachel themselves. Note well that these concubines were outsiders to the covenant family of OT Israel.[2] 3) Lastly, in Rev. 7:4 we’re told that John “hears” the number who were sealed, then in Rev. 7:9 John sees a great multitude in heaven taken from all people. From chapter five on we’ve consistently seen that when John “sees” and then “hears” something, or vice versa, and this seems to indicate that he’s getting a picture of the same reality from a different perspective. If you’re going to be consistent in your interpretation of Revelation, this demands that you say that at the least the 144,000 and great multitude are directly related to each other in some manner. It may be that the 144,000 are sealed from the great multitude as those of God’s people, both Jew and Gentile, who survive the events of the end time and are alive to see the return of Jesus Christ. Some interpreters will say that the term “Israel” only refers to ethnic Jewish people, but that assumption relies very heavily on a certain interpretive method of Scripture, and it being the only correct one. But my question would be, what if someone doesn’t necessarily think that that way of interpreting Scripture is correct? That would mean that those interpreters who appeal to it would be begging the question. However, I will say that if I’m wrong about what I’ve said here about these verses it won’t bother me one bit to say that I was wrong. One has to have humility in interpreting passages that believers don’t agree completely on.

(Appeal) Now, I know all of that was a mouthful and it might be hard for some of you to digest, but I wanted to try to be as thorough as possible with the time I had in what I said. At the end of the day, whatever interpretation you hold as to who these 144,000 are, the most important thing to recognize is the fact that God seals and keeps those who are his, and from our perspective now if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, and he will never ever leave you. The NT evidence is clear that once the Spirit is given, he is NOT taken back. If this is something you want, I would encourage you to give your life to Christ today!

[1] Russell Moor: Person and Cosmic Eschatology in A Theology for the Church. Ed. Daniel Akin, 707.

[2] Christopher R. Smith quoted in Triumph of the Lamb by: Dennis Johnson, 132.

Worship from all People

Revelation 7:9–17 NASB95

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 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, 12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and 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, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 16 “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Eliza E. Hewitt wrote a hymn that many of you surely know well, the first stanza and chorus go like this, Sing the wonderous love of Jesus, Sing his mercy and his grace; In the mansions bright and blessed, He’ll prepare for us a place. When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be; When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory. Revelation 7:9-8:1 may well describe what Eliza Hewitt wrote about, but just as with the 144,000, there are some questions. Notice that in v.9 John begins a new block of visions because he says, “After these things I saw”. In other words, after John saw the events of Revelation 7:1-8, he saw what’s described in 7:9-8:1. These verses are some of the most amazing in the entire Bible, and the give you a picture of the hope those who are believers have, especially those who are called upon to give their lives for the cause of Christ. Notice that in vv.9-12 John describes how these people, who are from all over the world, worship God as they stand before the throne. The fact that they’re wearing white robes should cause us to recall what John said about believers who overcome or conquer in Rev. 3:5. He also says that that he saw them with palm branches in their hands. That should make us think about Jesus’ triumphal entry in Jerusalem in John 12:13. Check out what all of these people who are before the throne do in v.10; they cry out in a loud voice giving credit and praise to the one to whom it belongs, to God and the Lamb. Why? Because it was he who secured their salvation! (Pause) Now, there’s a little bit of a change in v.13 because one of the elders (who I take to be angelic beings) comes and asks John who all these people are, and where they came from. John doesn’t seem to be that sure of himself and so in v.14 he simply replies to the elder with the words, “You know”. The next words that are said by the elder have been the source of controversy throughout church history. The elder says (v.14), “These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white as snow in the blood of the Lamb.” There are several questions that come up at this point, 1) What is the “great tribulation? Is it the last few years of human history or is it the entire period between the ascension and the return of Christ? Both interpretations can be Scripturally defended. 2) What does the elder mean when he says that these people “washed their robes and made them white as snow in the blood of the Lamb”? Is this “just” talking about Christians who are martyrs, and if so, are these people who are martyred in the last few years of human history or are they those who have been martyred during the period between the ascension and return of our Savior. The answer to that question brings up the last question, “What is the great tribulation?” 3) Are they just Gentiles, or is this multitude made up of both believing Jews and Gentiles? (Pause) So, you can see how many questions arise from that one statement made by the elder. My view is that the great multitude consists of either those who are martyred at the end of human history, or they are a picture of all who are believers in Christ standing before the throne. My advice to you is that you read and study God’s Word and dig for yourself to form your own opinion. That said, here’s what I will tell you, the 144,000 and the Great Multitude are somehow related to each other because, remember, John only “hears” about the 144,000 (7:4), and then he “sees” the Great Multitude (7:9). Like I said before, consistency in interpretation seems to demand that there be at least some relationship between the two groups. However, I think we would be well served by placing all our hope, I mean every ounce of it in what John says in vv.16 and 17, he says, referring to these people who are believers, “16They will hunger no longer, not thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, not any heat; 17For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to the springs of the water of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Conclusion

Friend, if you’re here today and you can’t find hope in that, then there’s something wrong, but hear me well in what I say in conclusion. The hope that’s described in those two little verses is only available to those who place their faith in the Lamb, Jesus Christ. I would be amiss this morning if I ended this service without giving you the opportunity to do that. This morning, if you want the hope that I’ve just told you about, then come and give your life to Christ!

Invitation

Prayer