Who Can Stand?
End of Days • Sermon • Submitted
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· 11 viewsThe assurance of our salvation includes an assurance of perseverance and reward.
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Transcript
Will you listen closely today so you can tell one other person about the message this week.
Who can stand?
That’s the last words of the condemned in chapter 6.
All of the godless people of the earth, regardless their station in life, their very last words spoken on earth will be, “In the face of God the Father and the wrath of the Lamb, who can stand?”
Chapter 7 is an interlude passage.
It’s clearly designed to give us a moment to take our breath and understand that there is a people who have been created to stand.
Who can stand?
We can stand.
Chapter 7 opens with a flashback.
We have to remember that the visions coming to John happened to him one right after another, and he wrote them down one right after another, but they don’t follow each other in historical sequence.
The visions are to make points - to cause John and everyone who has ever read Revelation to feel and to think - and to know the message that God wants to deliver.
Sequence is secondary to meaning.
Chapter 7 opens with 4 angels holding back the 4 winds.
Wind represents judgment and we’ve already been introduced to the four angels - it’s another picture of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
A fifth angel rises from the east - the east may or may not mean something - and this angel says wait.
Now, from what we know already, when Jesus was resurrected from the dead and when he ascended into heaven, we said that was when Jesus took the scroll from the Father’s right hand.
The scroll was sealed perfectly with seven seals and only Jesus was qualified to open the seals.
The first four seals introduced the four horsemen.
Deception, war, famine and death - all four were released to begin exacting God’s judgment on those who do not believe.
At that moment, the fifth angel appears.
Wait just a moment before you start your horrible work - there is something more important that must happen first.
Revelation 7:3
saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
The seal the angel has in his hand would look like your high school senior ring - kind of - if they still do those kinds of things.
It would be large and ornate, and on it’s face it would have a signet - a seal that would be used to prove that something is genuine.
Have you ever had to have something notarized?
You go to the notary and you swear what you are presenting is factual and true.
The notary uses a seal that embosses the paper and that seal indicates to everyone who sees it that this document is legit.
The angel has a signet ring seal that is going to be pressed into the forehead of every true believer to identify them as legit.
Revelation 14:1 tells us what the seal looks like:
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Now, think with me here - this sealing happened when Jesus ascended, because we know that the horsemen have been released, don’t we?
Is this a literal seal?
No and yes.
No in that - look around you - do you see anyone with a seal on their foreheads with the name of Yahweh and Jesus in the seal?
No, you don’t.
However, yes it is literal, in that the Holy Spirit of God has come to dwell in every believer.
When someone believes, there are fruits of the Spirit born out of them.
In fact, Paul says we smell like Jesus, 2 Corinthians 2:15
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,
So yes, we are literally sealed.
We are sealed, we are set apart, we are marked by God as authentic.
If you are a born again follower of Jesus Christ, you are the real deal - God has sealed you.
Why does he seal us?
Ezekiel 9:3-7, it’s a vision.
Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city.
Ezekiel had a vision and in that vision, God told an angel to go through Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of the people who were distressed at the ungodliness of the city.
After you’ve marked everyone, go and kill, go and pour out my wrath on everyone without a seal.
Who can stand before the wrath of God?
Those who are sealed.
You may remember the story of the first passover.
The Lord was pouring out his final plague on Egypt and he told the Hebrew children to sacrifice a lamb and spread the blood over their doorposts.
This blood was a seal - an authentication - that the ones inside that house were the real deal - they were followers of Yahweh.
The angel of death roamed the streets of Egypt.
Wherever he found blood on the doorposts, he passed over that house.
Wherever he found no blood, he visited that house and poured out God’s wrath on that family.
Wait, the fifth angel said.
Don’t touch a soul until the people of God, God’s adopted children are sealed.
Those with a seal are under God’s protection.
Their souls are secure.
Whatever tribulation they are required to go through, because they are sealed, listen, listen, they cannot fail.
Listen, they cannot fall away.
They cannot be stolen, they cannot be deceived.
They cannot be tricked, coerced and forced to take the coming mark of the beast.
They are the real deal and they will always be the real deal.
We, born again followers of Jesus Christ, are the real deal, sealed and protected for all time.
We will suffer through tribulation.
The tests that you and I are going to face are going to purify us, they are going to make us more faithful, they are going to make us more bold.
The tests that are coming will prove us in the eyes of the world as followers of Christ.
Those same tests will harden the hearts of the ungodly towards God.
They will hate him all the more because of his righteous judgment of them.
It will get so bad eventually, that they will ask who can stand under this?
And we will say, We can stand!
Revelation 7:4
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Well, this is a can of worms and good people disagree with its interpretation.
Here’s where I and many others fall out - the 144,000 is not a literal number - most numbers in Revelation aren’t literal.
It’a apocalyptic literature - it’s made to make you think and feel - and it’s highly symbolic.
144,000 is 12 times 12 times 1000 and it represents the complete number of God’s elect.
Yes, the vision includes the 12 tribes of Israel - mostly.
The tribe of Dan is not included - most likely because Dan was apostate and followed after foreign gods.
And Manasseh is included.
Does this represent the number of Jews who will be saved during the great tribulation?
It can’t be - remember, those who are being sealed are being sealed before the four horsemen are released to start the tribulation when Jesus ascended into heaven.
So if it’s not the Jews - who is it?
We get a clue in verse 3, the angels says, “the servants of our God.”
This, again, is us -it’s the church.
Follow me here.
What is our spiritual heritage, who are our spiritual ancestors?
Well, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David - Christianity was born of Judaism, right?
And now that Messiah has come, who is the true Israel?
It’s the church of Jesus Christ - we are the true Israel.
Paul says in Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
The vision here is clear - the angel seals every son and daughter of God with the seal of the Holy Spirit to authenticate our adoption and to provide certain benefits.
What are some of those benefits?
First, the seal is our Father proclaiming to all of creation, these children are mine!
When I was 25 years old, my mother wanted to give me something to pass down through the generations as an heirloom.
She gave me a beautiful ring, which I have stored away, and this ring says, “This is my son.”
Maybe you’ve given something to your child or maybe your parent has given you something - something precious - an heirloom - that says “you are my child. There is nothing you can do about it.
“You can do nothing to make me stop loving you.
“You can do nothing that will ever make me disown you and say you are not my child.
“You are now and forever more will be, my flesh and blood and I will love you forever.”
Listen, that’s what the Father’s seal on you says.
“You are my child.
“There is nothing you can do to make me stop loving you.
“There is nothing you can do that will ever make me disown you and say you are not my child.
“You are now and forever more will be,my flesh and blood and I will love you forever.”
Now let me say this about that right quick.
If you have never trusted Christ as your savior, ask yourself why you would pass up such a love as that?
Down deep inside your heart, don’t you want to be loved like that?
What would you be willing to give to have that kind of love?
Where would you go, what would you do?
That love is offered to you right now, today, this minute - you give Jesus your life, and in return, he gives you more life and love than you can imagine.
That’s something to think about.
Another benefit of the seal is, knowing we are sealed and knowing we do have God as our Father, we can fearlessly proclaim the truth.
One of the commentators said we can be the “Church militant.”
We conquer “by maintaining our faith through suffering.”
We stand strong and firm, we do not back down in the face of whatever the devil throws at us.
In England right now they are debating legislation to outlaw “conversion therapy” is how they call it.
In a nutshell, if someone, including your child, expresses any thoughts of same-sex attraction, it will be illegal for anyone to counsel them otherwise.
But, the way the law is being debated, that will extend to parents and children.
The way the law is being considered, a parent would be breaking the law to pray with their child that the Lord would help them clearly understand what a Godly man or a Godly woman is.
Now let me say this about that real quickly - I know I mention same sex and transgender issues a lot lately.
It’s not that those sins are any worse than any other sin - all have sinned - if you break any law you are guilty of all of the laws - without God’s grace and mercy, we would be crying out ourselves, who can stand.
But here’s the deal, sex and gender is the hill the enemy has chosen to die on and it’s a brilliant strategy.
The Bible says in 1 John 4:8 that “God is love.”
What a seductive verse - if you define love as sentimental and romantic, then whatever is love is acceptable because whatever is love is God.
To deny love is to deny God.
To deny that any person can love any person is to deny what God has given - that’s the argument.
To deny that love is bigoted and discriminatory and hypocritical - because God is love.
Misguided and apostate churches teach this.
Seattle Pacific University is caught up in this right now as they say they believe one thing but have allowed this teaching to flourish on their campus.
This is a war and it’s not about sex or gender identity or LGBTQ issues.
It’s about God’s truth.
The seal the Lord has placed on our foreheads will give us the assurance to stand up and boldly proclaim truth.
One more benefit - and there are many more - but with this seal we no longer fear death.
Death may come - either naturally - or we may be called on to lose our lives as many of our brothers and sisters around the world have lost theirs.
Should that happen, no one can ever say, “What a waste,” because it’s not.
Death has no hold on us - we are sealed - and we are about to get a picture of what that looks like.
Flash forward - Revelation 7:9
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
The four horsemen have been released and have done their work.
This is the literal end of days - judgment is over.
The end is come.
What are we reading?
“A great multitude no one could number.”
Do you ever remember reading this? Genesis 22:17-18
I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
This is the promise God gave to Abraham.
This promised was passed down from generation to generation.
And now, at the end of days, we see the fulfillment of the promise.
Who can count the stars of heaven?
Who can count the grains of sand on the seashore?
Who can count the multitudes before the throne?
And who is this multitude?
They are people from “every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.”
This sounds familiar to us, because we read Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
They are standing there in robes made white because they endured through the tribulation and their robes were washed in the “soul cleansing blood of the Lamb.”
They are waving palm fronds in the air.
This is what middle eastern people did to welcome valiant warriors who won the victory.
In this cacophony of sight and sound, who is being cheered, who are the winners of the contest that deserves this reception?
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Why are they cheering?
Because it is the end of days and they know.
They know what the Father and the Son and the Spirit have done for them.
They now know by sight, no more by faith, but they can see with their own two eyes that what God promised, God deliverd.
Isaiah 49:10 is fulfilled.
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
For people who live in a mostly desert land, hunger and thirst are constant enemies.
So physically they will not hunger or thirst anymore.
But there is another level to this.
Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, at the end of day, they are satisfied.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in calamitous times.
The older you are, the more difficult what we are seeing is to believe.
Those of us who are older mourn for you younger folks that the tranquility in which we were raised, as deceptive as it now appears, that you won’t have that opportunity.
Some of you blame it on us - many of your peers blame the state of the world on us.
But it wasn’t us and it was us.
We we lulled to sleep.
The white horse deceived us for a season - but now we see the truth.
Our hope is - hope being an unrealized certainty - we know it will come.
Our hope is that you selected by God to be born in this time and when you receive Christ’s salvation and are sealed with the Spirit, that the Lord will use you to bring about a revival in the church and an awakening in the land.
Our hope is - one day - we’ll be among the multitudes of every nation, tribe, language and people - shouting the victory of Jesus.
One last prophecy I want us understand it’s fulfillment.
“And God will wipe away ever tear from their eyes.”
That’s a sweet sentiment - but it’s the fulfillment of a prophecy.
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
No more will anyone waste away before our very eyes.
Strong bodies and strong voices becoming living skeletons and high pitched weak voices.
We’ll not stand beside heel chairs, or death beds,or grave sides.
The curse of sin will be gone.
Death will be swallowed up forever.
The Lord has spoken.
G.K. Beale says, the tribulation - the time in which we are now living - “consists of pressures to compromise [our] faith.
“Those pressures coming from both within the church community through seductive teaching and from without through overt oppression.
“Sometimes the persecution is economically oriented...
“At other times the tribulation is heightened to include imprisonment and even death.
“Whatever it’s nature, tribulation always comes because of a believer’s faithful witness to Jesus.
The ‘greatness’ of the tribulation is the intensity of the seduction and oppression through which believers pass.” (G.K. Beale)
Our faith will be tested - it will be refined as with fire.
We will persevere through trials and hardships we cannot now imagine.
But when the heathen rage and cry out in a loud voice, “Who can stand?’
With our heads held high
With our voices lifted up
With palm fronds waving in the air
We will cry out, “We can stand, to the glory of God the Father and to the Lamb who was slain and to the Spirit who sealed us into God’s protection.”
Praise be to God - we can stand.
We will pray and sing.
Brothers and sisters, praise the one who have saved you and secured you forevermore.
Pray to be bold and strong and fearless, because that will make our brother Jesus proud.
Worship the Lamb that was slain so you could be washed white as snow.
And my dear friends who have not trusted Christ to save you,
Why would you wait - there is no better offer coming.
Jesus came not to condemn you, but to save you.
Please, this moment, today, ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins.
Turn from way you lived your life and turn to Jesus.
Come join the celebration.
As we sing, you can come talk to me.
Talk to a friend, tell someone you want Jesus to be your savior.
We want you to be in that number at the end of days with us.
Let’s pray.