Rev 7:9-17, 8:1-5
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Prayer
In chapter 7 we have learned about the 144,000.
We learned in 7 v3-8 the seal protects the 144,000 “servants of God” from harm. What they do in their service is not clearly stated here but we will look at that later. Note; their function is different than that of the church. To rule and reign. This brings up some questions. Who are they? First we know they cannot be the church;
John 15:14–15 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Second, Is this literal or symbolic? We believe they are who the bible says they are, saved Jews.Notice though v4, “144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” When we allegorize Israel we in a sense “write” them out of God’s plan. We then have a very difficult time understanding Revelation as much of it has to do with Israel.
Where did this idea of the 144,000 being symbolic of the church come from?
You see, throughout history, Christians and cult members alike have attempted to take Israel out of the eschatological equation. Doctrines such as “Replacement Theology,” “Reconstructionism,” and “Kingdom Now” propound that all of God’s promises to Israel were passed on to the church because the Jews rejected Jesus. This is anything but a new idea.…
The teaching had its beginning with Constantine and making Christianity the State Religion in 312 AD.
It was carried forward by Origen, a heavyweight Bible teacher and philosopher of the day said, “I think we’ve been reading the Scriptures wrong. All of the promises given to Israel are simply allegories and illustrations.” And as a result, the power and potency, the effectiveness and impact of the church decreased steadily.
Origen left the scene and was followed by Augustine, who was such a gifted proponent of the case for the allegorizing of the Old Testament, that even in some of today’s King James Bibles, headings of the sections that speak of blessings upon Israel read “Blessings to the Church,” while sections that speak of curses upon Israel read “Cursing Upon Israel” (Micah 6–7).
Augustine was eventually followed by Martin Luther and thus many hold to this teaching today.
God is not through with His people. His promises to them are firmly rooted in the five covenants He made with them—four of which are unconditional.…
In the Abrahamic Covenant,
In the Palestinian Covenant,
In the Mosaic Covenant, Of the five covenants, only the Mosaic Covenant is conditional.
In the Davidic Covenant, God promised that an eternal King would come from David’s lineage—fulfilled, of course, in Jesus (2 Samuel 7).
In the New Covenant, God promised to give Israel a new heart upon which He would write His will (Jeremiah 31:31–33).
God is not through with the Jew. Because the promises He made to them were unconditional, they cannot be forfeited.
That’s why in Romans 9–11, God says, “Look at Israel. I have not turned My back on them—and I’ll not turn My back on you.”
Why should you care? Because if God doesn’t keep His promise to them how do you have confidence he keep His promise to you.
On the 144,000 we see in Ch 14
Revelation 14:4–5 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
– they are a special group. Many believe they are powerful evangelists used specifically during the Great Tribulation resulting in the great multitude in vs 9 – 17.
We noticed some unusual things about the list of tribes. No Dan and No Ephraim. Why? The omission of the tribe of Dan: Why is Dan left out? Some think it is because Dan is the tribe of the Antichrist, based on
Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
Footnote: Eze 48:1-3 Dan is not lost as it is given land in the Millennial kingdom.
Read 7: 9- 17 The great multitude
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.”
V9 Who is this group? that is the question and there is disagreement among various teachers.
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,
First notice, it begins with our favorite Greek words, Meta tauta, so after these things. So we are getting a progression here following the 144,000 Jewish evangelists.
Next, notice the multitude here is represented by who? Every kind of people group. In Greek he speaks every nation, Greek ethnos, ethnic group, tribes, peoples, and tongues. Very reminiscent of the gentile church.
· What does this imply? People maintain their individual differences in heaven. We don’t all look the same here or there.
· You will recognize others in heaven. We get a clue from the mount of Transfiguration where the apostles recognize Moses and Elijah.
Notice also that this multitude are wearing white robes and have palm branches. How does one get a white robe? Saving faith in Jesus, alone. The white robes and palm branches are also symbolic historically.
The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Glory of the Martyrs (Revelation 7:9–10)
It is in victory that the faithful finally arrive in the presence of God and of the Lamb. They appear not weary, battered and worn, but victorious. The white robe is the sign of victory; a Roman general celebrated his triumph clothed in white. The palm is also the sign of victory. When, under the power of the Maccabees, Jerusalem was freed from the pollutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, the people entered the city with ivy-leaved fronds and beautiful branches and palms and psalms (2 Maccabees 10:7).
Me continue with the vision;
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.”
I love the truth of v 10. Salvation is all and only of Jesus Christ! It belongs and comes from His shed blood. There is no other way.
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Some see the scene here in heaven as concentric circles, around the throne, Jesus in the middle, and then the angelic host, the elders, and the 4 living creatures.
Some teachers, see this group as representing the church others see them as martyrs down through ages. Some see this as a vision of the future millennial temple and throne here on earth. Our view as this is happening in the heavenly realm.
V13 - 14 Key verse as to understanding who these people are?
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.
They have died or martyred in the great tribulation. The Greek emphasizes “the” as not just any tribulation. The Greek here is very specific, literally, the tribulation the great, as opposed to the tribulation we encounter every day.
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.”
Notice also what this multitude will be doing;
· Serve Him day and night- literal or idiomtic?
· God spreads Tent over them - the word here in Greek is the same as in John 1:14, the Word became flesh and dwelt. literally tabernacled among us.”
· Never again hunger or thirst-
· No sun or scorching heat
· The Lamb shepherds them and leads them to the springs of living water
· God wipes away all tears.
with God wiping away all tears, will we remember loved ones who went to hell?
These truths bring great comfort to all believers. If you are looking for something to bring to someone who is dying this is a great one!
Lets move into chapter 8.
Rev 8: 1-5 the seventh seal
1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
We leave the parenthesis of Chapter 7 and the heavenly scene to move back to the tribulation on earth. This is the last and final seal, and fully opens the “scroll” or title deed for all to see.
V1 Silence in heaven for half an hour. 30 minutes until the “Wrath of God” is poured out on the earth. It is interesting to consider that all stops in heaven, worship and music and movement, to allow God to hear the payers of the saints.
The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Silence and the Thunder of Prayer (Revelation 8:1–5)
There may be something much more beautiful in it. The prayers of the saints are about to go up to God; and it may be that the idea is that everything in heaven halts so that the prayers of the saints may be heard. As R. H. Charles puts it in his commentary: ‘The needs of the saints are more to God than all the psalmody of heaven.’ Even the music of heaven and even the thunder of revelation are stilled so that God’s ear may catch the whispered prayer of the humblest of his trusting people.
It is an important reminder of just how valuable our prayers are to God. It is also scary to consider how little we pray.
V2 the seven angels some see as the Holy Spirit, the seven spirits of God. There is another interesting Jewish tradition regarding these angels;
The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Seven Angels with the Trumpets (Revelation 8:2, 6)
THESE seven angels, known as the angels of the presence, were the same as the archangels. Their names were Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel and Remiel (Tobit 12:15).
That they were called the angels of the presence means two things. First, they enjoyed a special honour. In a middle-eastern court, it was only the most favoured courtiers who had the right at all times to be in the presence of the king; to be a courtier of the presence was a special honour. Second, although to be in the presence of the king meant special honour, even more it meant immediate readiness to be despatched on service. Both Elijah and Elisha repeatedly spoke of ‘the Lord God of Israel … before whom I stand’ (1 Kings 17:1, 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14, 5:16); and the phrase really means, ‘the Lord God of Israel whose servant I am’.
V3 Another Angel with a Golden Censer, incense and prayers of the saints.
· Who is this angel? Some see Jesus as he appears to be mediating the prayers of the saints. We don’t observe any other angel acting as a priest
V5 He then takes the holy fire from altar and hurls it down to earth. And now begins the wrath of the lamb.
BTW I have been asked what is the difference between the Wrath of God and the Wrath of the Lamb. I believe they are the same with nuanced difference that, Jesus our Goel- kinsman redeemer, is our avenger of blood and had to be a close family member. In that sense Jesus Christ, came out of Heaven, put on Human Flesh and qualifies as our Goel- avenger of blood.