Bible Study - Revelation SEVEN

In this episode, we explore Revelation Chapter 7 and the powerful message of God's protection, preservation, and redemption in the midst of coming judgment. Discover the significance of the 144,000 sealed servants of God, the meaning of the seal of the living God, and the identity of the great multitude from every nation standing before the throne. 

This chapter provides a breathtaking glimpse of God's faithfulness to Israel, His mercy toward the nations, and the eternal hope awaiting those who overcome through faith in Jesus Christ. Join us as we unpack the prophetic truths of Revelation 7 and reveal how God's sovereignty and salvation shine even in the darkest days of human history.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Summit Church Tennessee. Thank you for joining us as we share weekly sermons and teachings from Summit Church in Vision Forge, Tennessee. Our prayers that today's message encourages your faith and helps you grow in your relationship with Jesus. Check out our website at summitchurchtn.com. Thanks for listening, and we pray this message encourages you today.

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We're in Revelation chapter 7, and as you're getting there, I'll wait to the end and see if we got enough time to give you a glimpse of Peru. But we'll go ahead and get started on this chapter here so that we can get the ball rolling on this one. I hope you got something out of last week, even though it was on video. Um hope it was helpful. The one thing that we got to remember officially, you know, there's there's always the argument or the debates when does the tribulation period begin? If if the rapture is a pre-trib rapture in Revelation 4, then one would say that the tribulation begins there. Then you look, everything's going on in five, and but for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, when you get to Revelation chapter six and those seals start to open up, you know we're in tribulation period. So that we we can say that with 100% confidence where we're at. But chapter seven is going to be a little bit more interesting because you have chapter six has these breaking of these six seals, right? And then all of a sudden, it's like an intermission. And there's gonna be chapter seven, and then chapter eight, we're gonna get that seventh seal. It's almost like um, there's almost like this time out almost. As everything is unfolding, the seals are breaking open, and then all of a sudden, John sees everything that he's seeing in chapter seven. And so in this, there's no charts, no graphs because of of what it is, but it is this um what's the old word? Um is it in interlude? Is that it? Interlude, the in-between? I was thinking of the old movies when they used to have the old movies, and you'd stop me to see that word. Chapter six ended with that question, right? For the great day of the wrath has come and who is able to stand. But then here we're gonna get in chapter seven, we're gonna see this. This chapter has additional judgment unfolds. God pauses the narrative to reveal two groups. He's gonna talk about the 144,000 sealed servants of God, and the great multitude standing before the throne. The chapter is going to demonstrate God's protection of his people, his faithfulness to Israel, God's saving power during the tribulation. Now, let me let me just kind of jump in right here on this. This is something that for years will be debated and argued, and and there's people that they'll say, if the pre-trib rapture happens, the church is taken away, there are people that'll say the Holy Spirit is taken away, and during tribulation, no one can be saved. You you it's important that we read everything for what it is, because there will be people born again during tribulation period. And we need to know that and not just take somebody's word because and again, this is part of that fear tactic. Oh, you better get saved because if the trumpet sounds, then you're just you're damned to hell. There's no hope. Well, there's individuals during the tribulation period that are going to become martyrs. Well, how do you become a martyr? You have to be one that's living for Christ, right? So if you're in the tribulation period, and let's just say the rapture did happen, you're in the tribulation period, that would mean that salvation was there. This chapter also demonstrates God's mercy in the midst of judgment. And the certainty of ultimate victory for the redeemed. An overall theme for this chapter is that God knows his people, seals his people, preserves his people, and ultimately into his presence. If you can't catch on now, God cares about his people. Some things that'll be revealed in this chapter for angels who restrain judgment. Which that's pretty fascinating when you just think about that. But when we read it, it's even more fascinating to see how they do it. It reveals the sealing of the hundred and forty-four thousand, the identity and the purpose of the hundred and forty-four thousand, the great multitude from every nation, heavenly worship before the throne. There's this theme happening in heaven all the time. It's called worship. And if you're one of those individuals that don't like worship, you will struggle. You'll be on the struggle bus. I don't know what to do. Or the Lord may anoint your voice and put you in front of the choir. I don't know. And lastly, the blessings awaiting the redeemed. So let's look at verses one through three. 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 should blow on the earth or on the sea or any tree. 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, saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads. So, why do we have an intermission? Why does chapter six end with the sixth seal being broken, and chapter eight is going to start with the seventh seal? It tells us right here out of the gate. Everything has to take a pause, a break, a timeout for the sealing. S-E-A-L-I-N-G. I know my southern accent sometimes. But it's to make sure that they are God's. John sees the four angels. He sees them standing at the four corners of the earth, and he's holding back the, or they're holding back the four winds. Now, these winds represent destructive forces that are obviously connected with God's judgments because it talks about what the winds were going to do, yet the angels stopped them from doing that. And it gives us an understanding that the judgment is ready to proceed, but God's mercy temporarily restrains it. So let's talk about the four corners of the earth. This does not mean that the earth is flat. Okay? Now, you can disagree with me, and that's fine. I'm not looking to argue with anybody. I'm just going to give you scripture reference with stuff and so on and so forth. Um I have some really close friends that they're flat earthers. I mean, they're just, they're they're all in on flat earth. And they just talk to me about it, and I'll say, okay, how does this affect my life? How does it change my life? It doesn't change anything. But I do want to bring this out because it is important to understand the way that John is writing. I keep having to reiterate this because it is so easy to take some things literal and other things we miss that it's describing something in kind of an allegory. So when he says the four corners of the earth, he's not literally talking about flat earth and each of those corners in that. The Bible will use this kind of language throughout scripture. The Bible frequently describes things from the perception of human observation rather than scientific terminology. For example, Psalm 113 and 3 says the sun rises. In Ecclesiastes 1 and 5, it says the sun sets. Now, if you look at science, science would say that the earth rotates. And because the earth rotates, the sun is not literally setting. And it's not literally rising. But it's the language that is used. The Bible is describing how people observe certain things. And we still do that to this day. We say sunrise and sunset, right? Even though we know that the earth is a sphere, no one interprets it as some big scientific statement. So when we're talking about the four corners of the earth, we're talking about something that references north, south, east, and west. Four corners of the earth is also mentioned when people used to have compasses. The compasses have four directions north, south, east, west. Even though you may not have a compass, you could even get direction at nighttime by knowing the North Star. And we can't think that this is just something that happened, you know, in the 1800s and stuff. No, we have to remember the Magi that went to see Jesus when he was born, they were what? Astrologers. This is what they were. So this was these things, the language is happening at that time. So Revelation is one of the most symbolic books in Scripture. Within a few chapters, we see a seven-headed beast. We see dragons, we see a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. We see stars falling from heaven. We'll see locusts with human faces, and eventually a woman clothed with the sun. Even the most literal interpretations that the book of Revelation gives us, it has extensive symbolism. We can't allow the four corners of the earth just to be isolated and try to make theological debates over it. Now, I'm saying that to say, I could be totally wrong. The earth's not a circle, it's not a sphere, and it's flat, and nothing still changes. I'm just giving you the understanding of language. Several passages point away from a flat earth, such as Isaiah 40 and 22. It is he who sets above the circle of the earth. Isaiah 40 and 22 says that. That Hebrew word looks just like our English word, chug. C-H-U-G. That word in Hebrew means a circle, a circuit, a curved horizon. Now, again, like I said, I have some really good friends, they're flat earthers. And when I say that, they go, Oh yeah, the firmament. It's a curved horizon. And then I just say, I love you. You know. Um, I mean, it is that this stuff is not worth arguing over. You're not going to gain anything other than a headache. But I'm I'm touching on this because we have to look at the way John's writing. Again, we have to remember John is also going to use symbolism for what purpose? So the Jews would understand it first, then the Gentiles, and then everybody else wouldn't have a clue what he was talking about. So it's important that we remember that. The emphasis is on the four winds, the four directions, and the global restraint. So four angels are positioned at the extremities of the earth. And somehow, somehow, these angels restrain judgment from advancing. Now, if your wheels are already turning, and one might say, How could these angels have that power? I'm going to tell you a very educated guess. Are you ready? Because God said so. It's not that God was doing something and those angels become rebellious and they stop God's plan. That's not what's happening here. How do we know that? Because what's the purpose of it being stopped? So that God's people would be sealed. Isaiah 11 and 12 says, and gather dispersed, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. In Isaiah, this is mentioned because it's talking about every nation, every direction, every part of earth. It's important to remember as we go further. The purpose of all this is still to reveal God the Father, salvation through the Son, redemption through the Son, and how God deals with humanity. Here's the crazy thing about this. This is not the result of human effort. What's happening here is not because mankind is able to do something or mankind created something, but an alarming thing is too is how much of the earth is impacted because of this? All the earth. Well, yeah, I get, you know, Israel and all that's there, but we're gonna see where the whole earth is impacted. And our American Christianity is not gonna be the thing in which we get to plant our flag and say, you can't touch me. The angels are positioned all over the world. When we study scripture, an interesting thing jumps out about the wind. Now, we remember Acts chapter 2, there came a sound of a mighty rushing wind. But here's the thing that was a sound that was not the wind. In scripture, sound is often described or symbolizes judgment, destruction, and divine intervention. You can find this in Hosea 13 and 15, Jeremiah forty-nine and thirty-six, in Zechariah six, one through eight. Then John sees another angel ascending from the east, and this angel possesses the seal of the living God. And that angel commands the others do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads. Now that's an interesting thing. Just to think about. Now we understand that when he's talking about all the earth, he makes sure to cover it all, but he talks about the seal of the living God, and he calls them the bondservants. Why is that important? What is the bond servant? What'd you say? I can't hear you. A bond servant, something is paid for. What else? Why is a bond servant important to us? As sons of God, we are bondservants. That's exactly we're the scripture defines that for us. So we have to recognize that there's a commonality in this right here. And that's very important. It's not that God is just looking at somebody and saying, I like you more than I like the other ones. But what is that seal of the living God? Because the first six seals wasn't too good. The seal of the living God is God's mark of ownership, protection, identification, authenticity, and divine authority. We're seeing here that God is going to place this seal upon the hundred and forty-four thousand before any additional judgments are released upon the earth. So the seal is going to identify them as belonging to God and being set apart for his purpose. Matthew 27 and 66 says, Matthew 27 and 66, and they went and made the grave secure. And along with the guard, they set a seal on the stone. The Roman seal identified Roman authority, Roman ownership, Roman protection. But what happened? He came out of that grave. So even though the Roman government sealed Jesus and said, We own you, he proved him wrong. A seal would be something that no one was authorized to break unless the correct people were given the authority to do so. God's seal declares, these people belong to me. So one might ask the question, what does God's seal look like? We have no idea. In Revelation 14 and verse 1, when the 144,000 appear again, John writes having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. So one thing we know about the Seal of the living God is it includes his name and the name of Jesus. Now, sometimes people want to go down the road and say, Is this not the mark of the beast? Because you've possibly heard that the mark of the beast, you take the mark of the beast where? Hand or forehead? That's what you've heard, right? How many members uh Cain and Abel? Where was Cain marked? On the forehead. This is interesting because we see this pattern throughout Scripture. So to identify people, it is interesting that it is here in the forehead at all times. And again, the mark of the beast on the hand as well, possibly. But let's talk about something. The seal of God is given by God. The mark of the beast will be given by the Antichrist. The seal of God is a sign of ownership by God. Whereas the mark of the beast is a sign of allegiance to the beast. The Antichrist. The seal of God has protection. The mark of the beast is going to bring judgment. What do we know about the mark of the beast? Anyone that takes it, it's over. It's completely over. There is no taking it and then changing your mind saying, I'd rather be a martyr. No. It's done. Now we might sit here and say, I'll never take the mark of the beast. 2020 was a trial run. Just saying. The seal of God also gives truth, or the mark of the beast gives deception. The seal of God brings worship to God. While the mark of the beast is worship unto the Antichrist, the beast. Throughout Revelation, we're going to discover two main groups, those identified with God and those who identify with the beast. It can be put this simple. Which validates something that Jesus even said to the disciples, there will be some of you that said, Did we not do great signs, wonders, and miracles in your name? But I'll say to you on that day, depart from me because I never knew you. There is either with or without. So does this seal make them invincible? How many says yes? Just raise your hand. Invincible. How many or two? How many says no? One? So the rest of you have no clue. Right? Or you're too scared to say anything. This is not a trick question by me. Does the seal make them invincible? Not necessarily. The seal guarantees ownership, purpose, and preservation, but it does not mean they'll never suffer. Many believers in Revelation, again, are going to become martyrs. How do you become a martyr? You don't just die. What'd you say? It's going to hurt. That's a great expression of that. Yeah. You don't just take your last breath and kill over, and they go, oh, that was so awesome. No, you're going to be murdered. And probably some cruel way in some cases. Not all cases, but some cases. If Islam has a big role in this, beheading will be a big thing. And my opinion is Islam is going to have a big role in this. But we'll get there eventually. The 144,000 appear uniquely protected, but only for a specific mission during the tribulation. It's kind of like you know that God has anointed you to do something, and when you do it, you still go through trials and tribulations and frustrations because we live in this world. And whatever you do and your anointed assignment to do for the Lord, I promise you, the enemy is going to send somebody to pester you. And sometimes it'd be awesome if it was just a demon. A lot of times it's a person with demons. Ezekiel 9 actually mentions that before Ezekiel 9 and 4, before Jerusalem was judged, God instructed an angel, put a mark on their foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations. God's got this thing about marking them. Those who are marked, that seal, that protection, that's important. Now, the pattern is similar. Judgment is coming, God identifies his people, God marks his people, judgment is going to proceed. But we've got a little bit more to go through. Although Revelation 7 specifically concerns the 144,000, all believers today, the question is, are you sealed now? Those of you that are born again, you've gone through transformation, the blood, your sins have been washed. Have you been marked? Okay. Ephesians 1 and 13. You were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 4 and 30, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 2 Corinthians 1 and 22, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. We don't see it, but we've been marked. I'll give you just a real quick story. And how many knows Kevin Wallace down in Chattanooga? Kevin Wallace, this is when he had the campus at Old Tennessee Temple, when he had the church there. Not far from the campus there, some pretty rough neighborhoods. And they had a lot of witches and warlocks that would come in and you know all this. And so one day, Kevin is in his office, and this guy storms through. And so people are panicking because he he made it through everything. Then he gets to Kevin, Kevin's like, okay, what's going on? And this guy starts to share that he's a warlock. But he's being tormented by the Spirit of God. So Kevin started asking him some questions. And the warlock shared that when people are born again in the spirit, witches and warlocks could see a little flame right here. And they would know that person's born again. And they would know, go after them. But then the warlocks said, Then there are those who speak the language of God, and their entire body is one continually burning flame. And said, Stay away from them. We do nothing with them. And all I can do around, he was talking about the church. He said, You're tormenting me. There's so many people that are burning. We don't see stuff like that. We don't, right? We don't see a seal on our forehead. We don't know the name that God has given us, but we know the scripture says he's given us a name, a new name. We don't know it yet. Man, I'm hoping for something really good. I hope not Sue. That didn't work out for Johnny Cash. For believers today, the Holy Spirit is God's seal. He marks us as belonging to Christ and guarantees our future inheritance. But why the living God? The tribulation world is going to be filled with false gods. Idols, the beast and the false prophet. So if you've got false gods, idols, the beast, and the false prophet, how many knows that the living God is going to stand out amongst those. The God who created all things, rules all things, judges all things, gives eternal life. He is the living God. And the beauty of all this, God never loses track of his people. He knows you. That's such a crazy thing to think about. Because if you just go and you just comb your hair every day, think how much hair falls out. Is there an angel up there with a tally or something? But that's a crazy thing. Like I love Christy. Christy is absolutely, she's my best friend. I want to do stuff with her all the time. I want to hang out with her. She's everything to me. But I don't know the number of hair on her head. And as much as I love her, I'm not going to count them. That just seems tedious, right? That's where we say, oh Lord, can you give me the knowledge and the wisdom? All right, let's go to verse 4 through 8. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 100 and 44,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. From the tribe of Judah, the tribe, 12,000 were sealed. From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000. From the tribe of Gad, 12,000. From the tribe of Asher, 12,000. From the tribe of Nephtali, 12,000. From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000. From the tribe of Simeon, 12,000, from the tribe of Levi, 12,000. And from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000. From the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000. From the tribe of Joseph, 12,000. From the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000 were sealed. Now, who are these groups of people? Alright, I heard Sylvia say the twelve tribes of Israel. How many agree? Hands go up. How many disagree? Okay, let me ask this question. When was Issachar one of the twelve? When was Joseph one of the twelve? It's not the original twelve, but it is in like Issachar's case, in Joseph's case, there's a reason Joseph is going to be mentioned. I'll get to it in a second. Issachar is the descendants down. And it's important that we remember this because you will hear people who try to label you as a Zionist. And they'll say, you're a Zionist, and you're saying that all of Israel is going to be saved, and they don't have to do anything about it. I'm a Zionist because I'm for Israel. But I'm not saying just because they're Jews, they're going to be born again. The revelation of Jesus Christ is for those that don't know who Jesus Christ is. That's what this whole thing is about. But there is a relationship, obviously, with the 12 tribes. So, 12 tribes, 12,000 from each tribe. Let's go over the list. Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Neptiah, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. How many knows right out of the gate which tribe is missing? Dan. One of the most notable omissions is the tribe of Dan. Dan is not listed as one of the tribes being sealed. Now, there's several explanations that people will argue and debate. Most will come to the acknowledgement that Dan's association with idolatry is the thing that's going to withframe this. Judges 18 records Dan introducing idolatry, idolatrous worship into Israel. There will be other historians and theologians say that Dan, with prophetic passages, they show the concern of future rebellion. Scripture never really says why they're left out. It's only assumed idolatry and rebellion. Now, what's interesting about that is, does this mean all the other tribes never ran into that? No. Because if we study the history of Israel, this is a problem that repeats itself over and over and over, which sort of gives you an understanding that what Dan did, the descendants of the tribe of Dan, what they did, they took it to another level. Which is alarming. Now here's the thing, though. Though they're omitted here, Dan does appear in Ezekiel's millennial kingdom tribal listing. So there is this hope that shows us that God's discipline is not always God's rejection. If Ezekiel's talking about the millennial and it mentions Dan, what is that saying? That Dan eventually is going to get there, but it's not because they're going to be sealed, right here out of the 144,000. So there's hope, and how many knows with God? There's always hope. Now, anybody know which other one is not named? Joseph is named. Why is Joseph named? Why is it not Ephraim? Joseph appears. Since Manasseh already is listed, we think that Joseph is just listed for Ephraim. Why? Ephraim has a long history of idolatry. Now, again, can we 100% guarantee this? Nope. And who are exactly the 144,000? This is going to be one of the most debated questions to the end of time. You'll hear people say it is 100% Jews that comes from each of these. You'll hear some people say that it can't be 100% Jew because of how many, what's it? When you have nationalities that will uh give birth, and they yeah, I can't think of the word I'm trying to get off my head out of my head. I'm sorry. But you understand what I'm saying. Some people will say, oh, there's no way that now because we've had so many people, white people marry Hispanic or black or whatever the case may be, and all this, and so on and so forth. I promise you, along the way, there's some purity in there. It just probably ain't going to be what we think it is. Now, some people say that the 144,000 is the church. Some people say it's just symbolic believers. How can it be symbolic believers? Well, out of that count, some people will say, are we not grafted in? And yes, we are. We're grafted in. There's even those that will say this is just specifically a special group of saints. And then, of course, like I said, there's those who just say, it is literal Jews. So can we be 100% sure? No. What we can be 100% sure is they come from the tribes, and there's 12,000. And there's 12 names listed. 12 times 12,000 is 144,000. We can be sure of that. So that's where we'll go by that. Now, Romans 11 and 26 says, and so all Israel will be saved. This is where people sometimes get been out of shape because they say, oh, Israel doesn't have to do what Gentiles have to do. And when Paul wrote this in Romans 11, and by the way, if you think God is done with Israel, you need to reread the entire chapter of Romans 11. God has not abandoned his covenant promises. But it doesn't mean that because the Jews were God's chosen people in the beginning, the apple of his eye, it doesn't mean that they get a pass. They have to acknowledge a big thing. What big thing is that? That he's the Messiah. He is the Messiah. What's the problem for Jews right now? He ain't the Messiah. And they believe their Messiah is coming. So the thing is, what this 144,000 tells us, is God remembers his covenant promises because there's going to be those sealed. He preserves even Israel. Now that rubs people in the wrong way, but there's a lot of names here that make up Israel. And whether you like it or not, God will redeem Israel. Now, their purpose, the Bible doesn't exactly state what their mission is, but they're protected servants, they're witnesses, and eventually there'll be a first fruit harvest of Israel. They will be known for their faithfulness, their purity, and their devotion to Christ. Verse 9 and 10. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and all peoples and all tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm blanches were in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. So after he sees the hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, what does he see now? A multitude. From where? Every nation, every tribe, every people, every tongue. There's going to be a global harvest throughout the entire world. Matthew 24 and 14, Jesus said, The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. And again, what is the central aspect of this chapter? The throne room. Worship. Adoration. We see white robes mentioned again. We see that the robes are not earned, they're received through Christ. Then we see something very interesting. Palm branches. Does anybody remember seeing Jesus with palm branches before? What did they say then? Hosanna, Hosanna. Right? And just a few days later it was crucify him, crucify him. But this time, when the palm branches are brought out and put into their hands, they cry out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. It's interesting right here to recognize that even when Jesus entered Jerusalem on that day and they could not recognize him as the Messiah, God even redeems that moment in heaven. That's just wild to think about. Because I would have said, it's not necessary. But all things are necessary to God. Because when he starts something, he'll complete it. How do we know that? Well, he's the beginning and the end. He's Alpha and Omega. So if something is initiated, he will see that other side of it. Which is just so cool when you look at it. Verse 11 and 12. 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, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. So here, John again, what does he see? He sees the angels, he sees the elders, he sees the four living creatures, and what are they doing? Falling down, worshiping the Lord. John has, we're in the seventh chapter, and John has seen this multiple times. Do you think it made an impact on him? You think also he's trying to get a point across? It's about the one who sits on the throne. Now, here though, we get an interesting sevenfold praise. They declare blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might. I think, this is my opinion, so no one has to agree on this, but I think one of the things when you read this, the more that John sees in heaven God's redemptive work, I think he recognizes that worship increases. Just like when we talked about the four living creatures that when they went around and said, holy, holy, holy, it's because they got a new revelation of who he was. At this point, John has seen so much of the redemption of God, even though we're in the tribulation now. He's seeing how that worship increases because even though tribulation's happening on the earth, he's still worthy to be praised. 13 and 14. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed in white robes, who are they? And from where have they come? And 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. That's a strange scene. Here's John, and he's witnessing all that, and all of a sudden an elder acknowledges him. And an elder asks, What are they doing on all these white robes? Which I love John's response. How should I know? You're the one that would know. Who are the people? Well, we get an understanding that because all nations, every tribe, every tongue, all that, we're gonna see some believers out of the tribulation, we're gonna see redeemed saints, and we're gonna have those that walked and inherited the victorious overcomer within them. Most likely, those that were wearing the robes, when it says they have the robes washed in the blood of the lamb and it made them white, most likely what the elder is articulating is they are a martyr. Now, again, can we say that for 100%? No. But more than likely, that's what it is. Now, why is this important? Isaiah 1 and 18 says, Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow. Or some translations say as crimson, they'll be white as snow. Does anybody know why Isaiah quotes that? He's not quoting it just to be quoting it. Isaiah quotes this because of something that Isaiah saw. In the temple, in the in the temple at that time, above the door going into the temple, they would nail a crimson thread over the door. And if the Lord, this is in the Bible, you can look at this, if the Lord forgave the sins of Israel that year, that crimson thread would turn to white. But if it remained crimson or scarlet, they knew that the sins were not forgiven. And that's hard for us to wrap our mind around. But the Bible shows us that not every time Deavement was only one day of a year, not every time God forgave them. That'd be a hard pill to swallow. Because thank goodness we live under grace and mercy and love and you know, all that stuff. But Isaiah saw that, Isaiah quotes that, and now all of a sudden, their robes are white because of what? They were washed in the blood. Anyone ever got blood on a shirt? It's kind of hard to get out, ain't it? Turn white. What does that tell you? It's interesting because for me, I think it tells me this is the definition of transformation. Transformation is you were one way, but now you're completely something else. The other truth of this is what is the only basis for salvation? The blood of the Lamb. 15 through 17. 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 shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat. Thank you, Jesus. For the lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd. That's an interesting statement. And shall guide them to springs of the water of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eye. The redeemed, they enjoy immediate access to God, that unbroken fellowship and eternal communion. How long is worship going on? Day and night. But here's the thing: it's joyful. Here's something, and I know we talk about these things. I just want to encourage you to something. The greatest blessing of heaven is not the streets of gold. It's not the crowns, it's not the jewels and all the rewards. The greatest blessing is the one who sits in the center. Who is the lamb? Listen to it. The lamb who will be their shepherd. When do lambs become shepherds? That's so crazy to think about. John said they'll hunger no more. They'll thirst no more. And they'll experience no scorching heat. I don't know what that means exactly, but thank you, Jesus. All earthly affliction ends. He'll guide them to living waters. Everlasting satisfaction from the water of life. And he'll wipe away every tear from their eye. Now that's an interesting thing right here. I thought there were no tears in heaven. It's interesting, isn't it? Because it says every tear will be wiped from their eye. So obviously, at this point in time, there is tears. But after this point in time, there will be no tears. Because it'll be no more. It'll be removed forever. Now, why would there be tears? We don't know. Maybe they got to, because they're martyrs, they still have that experience of suffering or grief, or I don't know. I don't know how to explain that. But it also reveals something about the Lord, I think. He cares enough to wipe the tears. Oh. And that's the Lord. The question in Revelation 6 and 17 was who's able to stand? What's the answer? Those who belong to God and who are washed in the blood of the Lamb and sealed as his own forever. Chapter seven answers the last question in chapter six. God protects his servants, remembers Israel, saves the multitude, receives worship, and he comforts the redeemed. Gosh, that's so awesome. Any questions? Right here. This is one of those chapters that's really not a whole lot of questions, and I know it. So I mean it's just it's an interesting chap.

SPEAKER_04 56:49

144,000. Um I'll take the Darrell Franklin um description where the Lord usually says literal in the Bible, things are kind of literal. So if that is um uh 144,000 of the 12 tribes of um Israel, is it kind of like safe to say that this is the remnant that was saved, even though Israel was like the sands of the sea, but only a remnant will be saved? Um what is your opinion on that? Is this is this the the totalitary of uh people that are saved coming during this time coming out of the Great Tribulation? This is this is it for Israel.

SPEAKER_02 57:30

Okay, so again, we we go through the all the 144,000, the different debates. Now I'm gonna share my opinion. And again, it's just my opinion. So you can take it, like it, love it, lump it, whatever. Because it specifically talks about these individuals, and we trace the genealogy of these individuals. I genuinely believe this is Jews. That this is out of Israel, out of the nation. Now, here's the thing. This is my opinion. It doesn't mean that God just says, oh, I'm gonna randomly pick 12,000 and you still don't have to go through the process of recognizing who Messiah is. That's still got to happen. Israel does not get a pass. They don't get the pass. Here's something we have to remember. When Jesus came to the earth, who did he come for first? Israel. He came for the Jews, and they received him not. So then he goes to the Gentiles. Why did he go to the Gentiles? Was it because the Gentiles just simply received him? No, the scripture tells us the reason that he went to the Gentiles is because eventually the Gentiles was going to be able to show Jews. The anger, the frustration, the jealousy, the this and that. Part of our assignment is to reveal Messiah. It's why it's so important. So I do think that this is Israel being protected. However, I also will say I don't think there's only 144,000. I'm saying that he is sealing these for certain purposes, but I genuinely believe that the number will be quite significantly more. That's my own opinion. Now, again, nobody has to agree with that. Most people would say it couldn't be significantly more because of how much Jews hate Christians. You know, I mean, I know that Jews, a true Jew right now, um, they have a hard time understanding Christianity. I get that. But before you ever was born again, didn't you have a hard time understanding Christianity too? You know, in some cases, some of you were a Baptist or a Methodist or a Church of God or a Pentecostal, and you were that before you were born again. And those things can be stumbling blocks just as much it is for the Jews. So I believe it is descendants, and I do believe it is a remnant, but that's my opinion. Because of that, I can't say 100%, which is frustrating, in my honest opinion. Now, I think also the coolest one out of this is Issachar. What are the sons of Issachar most famous for? Knowing the times and the seasons. Why is Issachar in this group? I it could be, I'm just hypothetically saying this, it could be that the sons of Issachar, part of their assignment is to get these other ones to be able to say, this is the time, this is the season, this is the one. You see what I'm saying when I say that? But it's just my opinion. Any other questions? Hang on just a second, we'll get both of you.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:26

How do you fit chapter 14, verse 4, which talks about the 144 and who they are? How do you fit that in? How does that go together? Do you have any opinion on that?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:42

Um I'm trying, I don't want to, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'll I'll say it because of what is going to happen in 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, it'll be the beginning of the end. What is in the middle is significantly important. And I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, but what's going to button this up is because of what has to take place in these sections. And and the ball gets rolling here. I mean, we're fixing to go downhill in a hurry and it's going to get gnarly pretty quick. If that makes sense. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:32

Yeah, talking about the tribes. We know Judah's mentioned, and Jesus comes out of the tribe of Judah. And Dan's not mentioned. Personally, I believe the Antichrist is going to be Jewish. Is it a possibility, in your opinion, he could come out of the tribe of Dan?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:52

Um, well, first of all, anything's possible. Uh, I want to say that. So anything is possible. I don't I don't want everyone to discredit that. Um, and I've heard, I've heard other teachers, not the Antichrist, ironically. I've heard other teachers say that the false prophet would be of Jewish descent. Uh, but I've not heard it on the Antichrist side of it. I've also heard like the false prophet, I mean the Antichrist would be a Pope, and the false prophet would be a Pope, and so on and so forth. Um, so anything's possible. However, when we get to the Antichrist, it's going to be very detailed in how the Antichrist operates. And when you see how the Antichrist operates, you'll be able to see real quick like how there's even people on the earth now that operate in the same manner. And I don't mean that they have a spirit of Antichrist and that's just it. I'm talking about the way they live and the way they do things and how they do it. We're seeing some similarities that it that we could point the finger and say it could be this or that. But again, anything is possible. I I'm I'm never gonna say uh absolutely positively on some of this stuff because I it it's we won't know until it starts happening. And you know, um some people will say, well, I'm a pre-trib guy, so I just miss out and I won't know. Okay. And then some say I'm a mid-trib or a post-trib, and you know, neither here nor there. All we can do is study for what we know and what we don't know, don't worry about it because God's got it in order. God's got this in this side of it. But we're not gonna go down the fear tactic because it's not to be feared. This is about the revelation of Jesus Christ. And a big thing, who does Jesus need to be revealed to? The Jews. In Jeremiah, uh, oh gosh, I can't remember if it's 30 or 33 off the top of my head. Somebody can correct me if I I can remember, if if you remember, and I just can't. Um in Jeremiah, Israel had sinned so much, and God had had enough. And sometimes we feel like God, oh, God would never do that. Yeah, he'll do that. You know, that's how the flood came. He was sorry he made the people, but there was grace found in the eyes of Noah. And then we come to Abraham, and God's mad, and he's gonna kill them all again, and Abraham pleads. Moses is on top of the mountain, he's gonna wipe out the whole nation of Israel. And Moses does what? He mediates for them. And he so we see this, this does happen before Jesus is ever on the scene physically. What we see is in Jeremiah, God does say to the nation of Israel, because of your sin, I am giving you a bill of divorcement. But, there's a big but in this, I will redeem my covenant with you. Now that sounds horrible, because why would God do that? Well, we know that eventually Jesus comes and he tries again to make covenant with them, but what happens? They reject him. So God goes to Jesus goes to the Gentiles. The Gentiles do not replace Israel, but they become grafted in to become one new man. Ephesians 2 tells us this. This is an understanding that all of a sudden, even though Israel sinned and did what they did, God still made a way for one to be grafted in, for the thing to flip all the way over, that they too will one day be awakened. And that's what all this is about.