
PODCAST
The Seven Seals
February 2, 2025 | Brandon CooperThe sermon covers the opening of the seven seals in Revelation, which reveal God’s judgment on the world through conquest, war, famine, and plague. The fifth and sixth seals show the persecution of believers and the coming day of God’s wrath. An interlude describes God sealing and protecting his people before the final seal is opened. The sermon emphasizes the importance of looking ahead, counting the cost of sin and discipleship, and trusting in Jesus faithfully.
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TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
Good morning church. You can grab your Bibles open up to Revelation chapter six. We’ll be in chapter six and seven this morning, Revelation six and seven. As you’re turning there, if you were here last week, you just you remember how glorious it was. Just one of the greatest passages in all of Scripture, the lion lamb has triumphed. All glory be to Christ. And he’s taken the scroll from his father’s hand. He now holds history in his hands and will work it out for His Father’s glory as he brings it to its purpose. Conclusion, awesome, Christ is reigning, except is he raining? Because you look around sometimes and you can start to wonder, it doesn’t always feel like a good and gracious God is on the throne. There’s this tension in history, in our lives, and it’s a tension that we actually see in our reading this morning as well, because we have this idea Christ is king. So at least for those of us who have submitted joyfully to his rule, everything should be coming up, sunshine and rainbows, right? Blue skies, green meadows, all day, every day. So why isn’t it? Why is there so much evil and misery? Still, this tension that we feel and that we see in the text today helps us because, as we see Jesus, take the scroll, which remember, is God’s secret plan for human history, how it’s going to unfold. We see Jesus take the scroll, we begin to ask some questions. When? What exactly is going to happen here? How long is it going to take? All those questions are going to help us read Revelation really badly, but this tension pushes us in a different direction. Instead, as as Jesus slowly unseals the scroll, he’s going to point us to an answer to a much more important question, which is, why? Why? Why? Why is the world still this place of evil and violence and misery, and with it comes a second question for ourselves, which is really, how are you responding to that when you see evil and suffering, are you primarily just bummed because it makes your life hard, or is there something more to it? I’ll put it like this, is your response to all of this, me centered, or God centered, like when someone offends you, lies about you, something like that causes you distress for that reason. Do you think that person just disobeyed the two great commandments, to love the Lord to God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, to love your neighbor as yourself, they have offended a holy God, are your concerns? God’s concerns, in other words, like, is that where your heart, where your mind go? If yes, by the way, if you’re thinking, Yep, that sounds right. I get that today’s passage will make sense to you. And if that’s not how you think, if you are just thinking kind of at this level of people me and those around me, today’s passage will not make sense to you, because we’re getting into God’s wrath. We’ll be there for a while, of course, because we’re in Revelation. If you know God, you know that he is just, that he must be just, or he would cease to be God, and therefore you know his plan must involve justice, judgment. That’s where we’re headed. Now, there is a structure here that I always want to bring out up front. You can see it in the notes there. So we’re going to take this in three scenes, but we get the seven seals, and we’re going to get seven trumpets, we’re going to get seven bowls, and all of them follow the same structure, which is the first four go together, and then the next two go together, and then you get a little break, an interlude, and then you get one more. So that’s what our structure is going to do today. Four seals, four horses, okay, two seals, two groups, and then one interlude with a multitude and a final seal. So let’s dive in. Scene one, four seals, four horses. Chapter Six, verses one to eight. I watched as the Lamb open the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder come. I looked, and there before me was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror, bent on conquest. When the Lamb opened the second scroll, I heard the second living creature say, Come. And another horse came out, a fiery red one. His rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him, was given a large sword. When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, come. I looked, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying, two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine. When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, come I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague and by the wild beasts of the earth. So the only worthy lamb begins to unseal the scroll. As he pops the first seal off, one of the four living creatures, says come and we understand immediately that he is calling the first horse. Now these horses, we gotta understand, are drawing from Old Testament, good. We’re catching on, okay, Old Testament. Zechariah, vision of the four chariots. There are some differences. For example, there are no chariots here, but clearly based on it? This is Zachariah 61, to three. I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains, mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, then the fourth dappled. And these horses that are coming in Zachariah vision are coming to bring judgment on those nations that reject God and oppress his people, Israel. Now we get a new order here in Revelation six, and there’s no dappled horse, but it still is the same basic idea. God is sending these horses to bring judgment on the earth. So here different order. Like I said, the first horse is white. He’s got a bow, he’s got a crown, and he is bent on conquest. Now the white horse is the trickiest one, because there really are two options as to who this could be, because we have a white horse elsewhere in Revelation, and his rider is called Faithful and True, Jesus Christ. And so there are a number of commentators who go, look white horse. White Horse probably talking about the same person, if that’s the case, because you’re like, how is Jesus a conqueror bent on conquest? Be talking about the Gospels advance across the earth, and then these other three horses are what would be happening as the church lives out its mission to spread the Gospel. Commentators that I respect enormously think that I don’t think it’s right, however, because of the other three, I think it just makes more sense to take the four of them together. And I think this first horse, this white one, is actually conquest because of the next three. So what’s the connection with the white horse? Specifically, the white horse is what a conqueror would get to ride when he had his military parade, his triumph. So we read of Caesar, for example, when he comes back from his triumph. This is the historian Dio Cassius saying he was given permission to ride in a chariot drawn by white horses. So this is a conqueror bent on conquest. What does that bring? Well, you know, that’s going to bring the next three of course, because war is what happens. If you’re going to conquer people, you’re going to have to slaughter them. And that’s really what this horse is talking about, the red one. I mean, Rome promised peace. They were famous for the Pax Romana, of course, that they brought peace to this whole region. But how many multitudes did they have to slaughter in order to conquer those people in the first place and then to keep them subdued? Conquest brings war, and war then inevitably produces famine, and see it today, like going on right now in Sudan, in Gaza, places like that. So the people here are reduced to, I understand that these words don’t mean anything to us, but they are reduced to subsistence living like this is how much you need. So a day’s wages buys you just enough food for that day. That’s what’s happened here. This is enormous inflation, even back in a culture that was way more subsistence based than we are. So we know something about inflation here. We just did some inflation in this country. It was like year over year, like 8% and everybody’s complaining. So multiply that by 100 and think of the effect that would have on your life. That’s what’s going on here. Now, what about the oil and the wine? It’s possible that this is saying the rich are fine and it’s just the poor people who are suffering, except that oil and wine were actually staples for all groups of people, every socio economic status. So more likely, I think it’s because of where we are. Remember, we’re writing all this to western Turkey, the seven churches there in Asia Minor. Asia Minor produces its own oil and wine. Does not produce grain or barley. That’s got to get shipped from somewhere else. And all this gets disrupted, supply chain disruptions. We know about those things too, right? So most of the grain comes from Egypt, or interestingly, Ukraine, Ukraine has been. The bread basket for Europe since time immemorial. So probably that’s what’s going on there. In any case, we get a fourth horse. It says pale. I know some of you are picturing like white. That’s not at pale, like sickly. So the word that’s used here, we actually get our word chlorine from it means green, like a pale green. So picture the emoji for when you’re feeling nauseous, all right, that’s the color of this horse, and it is not so much death, then, as pestilence or plague specifically, which again, inevitably results in war torn areas and in military encampments. Rome was rarely stopped in Gaul, for example, example, but, but Gallic bacteria took care of the army on multiple occasions. So that’s what’s happening here. So you get, because you see it at the end there, where it says they were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword. That’s the second horse, right? And then famine, that’s the third horse, and plague, that’s the fourth horse. That’s why I think it is plague. It’s actually the same word death that’s used in both of those. Why do they keep translating it as plague? Probably because they’re drawing from Ezekiel 1421 which will explain the wild beasts as well. Because you’re like, Where’d the wild beasts come in? Here it is Ezekiel 1421, how much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments, sword and famine and wild beasts and plague. The point of this, though, is, this is what results from humanity’s lust for conquest, for the desire to get more for yourself, whether that’s power or glory, which of course, Rome was after money, whatever it is, this is what results from the lust for conquest, death and devastation. So what are we talking about? Then? When is this happening? Exactly? Because we’ve got some options. Rome is doing this right now. When this letter is being written, I guarantee you, that’s what the seven churches would have been thinking about at this point. But we could think of people Genghis Khan, we could think of Hitler, like lots of people. Or is this a future thing? Because, you know, Revelation, we tend to think about it being about the future. There are different schools of interpretation when it comes to Revelation. If you took Kyle’s Class A couple weeks back, you know this already, one of them is called the preterist school. Preterite meaning past tense. That’s the one that looks at exactly when this was written. So if you’re going to read this from a preterist perspective, you’re going to think this is Rome, and they’re Pax Romana. There’s another option, which is the idealist option, which kind of says this sort of describes the way it always looks, Genghis Kyle Hitler, or, if you’re a futurist, another school which is looking at the future you’re gonna see. Okay, sure, all of that, but it gets more intense. The best way to read Revelation, by the way, is to read all of them. Right? It’s multiple embodiments. These are all true, like, which one of those sounded wrong to you? This is just the way it goes. That’s how it was then. That’s what it’ll be like in the future. So we get these multiple embodiments. If you were here for Joel or Daniel, you remember the mountains, right mountain peaks like that’s what we’re doing right here. If you weren’t, it’s online. Good luck to you. Okay, sorry, but I do think that this is talking especially about all of history from Jesus until the end, because of what Jesus himself says, Luke, chapter 21 this is when Jesus is giving His Olivet Discourse, his description of the end of time. And he says, when you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Then he said to them, Nation will rise against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. Boy, that sure sounds like conquest, doesn’t it? There will be great earthquakes, which we’ll get to in a moment, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. And Jesus is saying, that’s not the end. That’s not the end. Okay, that’s just history. That’s just what humans do to each other. So I think that’s what’s going on here. Now, what are we to take from all of this? Though, a couple things to notice here. First of all, remember, this is God’s judgment. We see that because the Old Testament background. We see that because the scroll itself, written on both sides, like Ezekiel scroll, when Ezekiel was prophesying lament and mourning and woe. So this is God’s judgment on sinful humanity. But notice that God doesn’t do anything. God’s not sending fire from heaven here. The judgment is just that God goes y’all do whatever you want. He leaves evil unchecked. And of course, our sin brings its own consequences. This is when God is most actively judging us. Is when he takes his hand off the wheel. Basically, this is Romans chapter one, right when he says, God gave them over. Hey. Handed them over to a depraved minds that they do what ought not to be done. God says, Have it your way, and this is what results, which means, of course, then this is a warning and a rebuke to us in part two, because these judgments are happening now. This is not future. This is not the end. This is what’s happening now, and God’s judgments now are acts of mercy, because there is still time to repent, because we can wake up when we experience this and turn from our sin and trust in Jesus. So this is an invitation for us to see the cost of our sin, to reckon it out, to look at it and go, You know what? This is too much. This is too much. I will not pay this price. Now. How often we ask in this world, why did God allow fill in the blank? Why did God allow this? And one answer, not the only answer, but one answer that Scripture gives over and over and over again, is so that we wake up and see our folly, and especially here, to see the clear contrast between his rule and ours. Like this is what happens when you reject the one true God and the one true King and chase after the world’s pale imitations. This is what happens when we replace the glorious, worthy Jesus with whatever chump looks good and speaks well at that moment when we do that mayhem and madness result. So let me ask you to think of this passage the next time you want to rationalize away your cherished sins, no matter how little they may be too, whatever sin it is that you are clinging to, going, it’s fine, it’s no big deal. It’s just a bit of Gossip. Gossip doesn’t bring death and destruction, except that, of course, it does. Means you destroy a person’s reputation has ended in suicide multiple times. Of course, we know that like this is what results from our sin. Think of that the next time you’re trying to excuse your sin, this is such an implicit call to repentance and to trust in the only king who can bring peace and justice. So you got a horse here. Name is Death, and Hades is coming with him. Do you remember revelation 118 the vision of Christ, who holds the keys of death and hades in his hand? What are we afraid of? Let’s worship him. Let’s follow him. And that brings us peace, even now, knowing that he is King, that knowing that God is in control of this evil, even if he’s not doing it. He is sovereign over it, and knowing also that, at least at this point, it is limited in time and scope, he saw that in verse eight, of course, only a fourth, right? And I don’t think that’s a literal number, because I don’t think the numbers in Revelation are literal. But he’s saying Not everyone, not everyone, not yet. That takes us to the second scene though two seals, two groups. So here are seals, five and six. Me keep reading the rest of chapter six. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, how long Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood. Then each of them was given a white robe. They were told to wait a little longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters were killed, just as they had been. I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There’s a great earthquake. Sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair. The whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth as figs dropped from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind, the heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty and everyone else, both slave and free, hidden caves and among the rocks in the mountains, they called the mountains, and the rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it. So you you see these four horses, and the churches there are reading these, hearing this the first time these four horses and and the people of God are wondering what is going to happen to them in all of this, like, What is God doing for his people here? And a partial answer is given in this vision of the martyrs, specifically in the fifth seal. Now. Now it’s not a pretty picture, of course, because they’re martyrs, their blood has been poured out. Why are they under the altar? By the way, in the Old Testament, the blood from a sacrifice is poured at the base of the altar, and since these people’s lives have been poured out as a sacrifice to their god, that’s why it’s just there at the base of the altar, is the idea. And why were they murdered? Why were they killed in the first place? The answer is because they were like Jesus. Remember, Jesus is the faithful and true witness. We’ve seen that already. We will see it again. And these men and women were faithful and true witnesses as well, so that, as it says, they maintained their testimony even in persecution and even to the point of death. So what happens now, if you remember back in Genesis four, when Cain slays his brother, Abel, and God comes to Cain and says, Your brother’s blood is crying out to me. It is crying out for vengeance, that is what is happening here, except here, since the murders are themselves, the blood poured on the base of the altar. They are crying out. And they are crying out that God would be God, that he would rule with justice, that he would vindicate them and avenge their blood. And I know some of us hear that, and we go, well, this doesn’t sound very New Testament. I thought we’re supposed to forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us and whatnot, but notice what they’re doing. They’re not bringing vengeance, because they know, as God himself said, Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord, they’re leaving it in God’s hands, and God will bring justice in the end. That’s what they’re crying out for here. That means there is a subtle shift, though, because in the first four seals, sinners are killing sinners. But here with the fifth seal, we have sinners destroying saints. Sinner saints. Yes, we’re all sinners. I know that, but sinners are destroying saints. And so there’s this this injustice in it. That’s why they’re crying out. And so they’re given a white robe. We’ll talk white robes more in Revelation. But obviously this is the reward for the righteous, the reward for those who overcome, who are faithful to the end. We’ve seen that in the letters, for example. And then they’re told to wait. Okay, not yet. We’re not at the end yet. Not even with the fifth seal, are we at the end. Told to wait. It’s not the end yet, and then they’re given this other promise that’s just not overly comforting. Is it like God? What about us? And God says it’s not time yet. We got to wait until the rest of them get killed, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed, just as they had been. So that’s not comforting to begin with. Let me make it more uncomfortable for you who set this number. It wasn’t Satan. He doesn’t have that power. This is God. God set the number of his children who would be killed? Now, why would God again? I think we could give multiple answers to this question, but one of them, and it’s the one that’s here, he says because of what martyrdom says. Remember the word martyr? It’s a Greek word. It means witness, every kind of witness, but since so many Christian witnesses died, it eventually became person who gets killed for their faith, but think of what martyrdom says, the witness that it gives, this is the clearest testimony you can offer that Jesus is better than everything this life has to offer, because you would not even shrink from death In order to follow Him. He will worship no false god. You will bow before no false king. You will serve the worthy God, even to the point of death. That’s what murderdom says. I think of Richard rombrand, the Romanian pastor who was imprisoned, tortured multiple times under communist rule, and they kept threatening him with death every time they torture him, you gotta renounce your faith, or else we’re gonna kill you. And he said, go ahead and kill me, because if you kill me, I’ve got all these tapes in my sermon. Now there’s cassette tapes, kids, you’re gonna have to look that up when you get home. Okay, we got all these tapes of my sermons that are out there, and what’s gonna happen is people, when they find out that I’ve been killed for this. They will say, we better listen to these tapes, because this message was so important, he was willing to die for these tapes. Have been baptized in his blood. That’s what martyrdom says. Another question, though, is, where do these murders come from? Well, these murders, they come from the seven churches. Of course, we’ve already met some of them. One of them has been killed already. We saw in the seven letters series there are others who are in danger of this death. But then we also talked about the fact that seven churches symbolically stand for all churches as well, which means the martyrs come from all churches. Martyrs might come from Cityview. There’s this implicit question just hanging out there for all of us, when we read this passage, this giant mount ball just floating out there, what will you do if it comes to this? Will you drink from death, or will you be faithful to the end and testify that Jesus is better than all that this life has to offer. With that, we open the sixth seal, and there’s a great earthquake. Now in Revelation, not in other biblical books, but in Revelation. The Great Earthquake always signals the end. This is the day of the Lord, and Jesus comes back, and the very foundations of the earth shake in His presence. This, by the way, would be powerful imagery to the churches in western Turkey, who’ve just been through two major earthquakes within their lifetime, like cities level, they would go, I know what you’re talking about here. You also have Vesuvius, having gone off in 8079 wiped out Pompeii, like they understand these signs that mean devastation. So throw in some astronomical phenomena as well, and we can certainly confirm that this is the end. Jesus said, as much same passage I quoted earlier, Luke 21 there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. People will faint from terror, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. And the very next verse, By the way, says, At that time, you will see the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. So we are at the end. Now that’s why there is this shaking that is happening. It’s the shaking of the old created order to make way for the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth that is coming. The language is taken from Isaiah 34 verse four, which, again, is God’s judgment on the nations. And so listen, you’ll you’ll hear what we’re talking about here. All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll. All the starry hosts will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. So we’re rolling up the heavens like a scroll. I mean, the image that comes to mind for me, at least, is like when you’re done camping and you roll up the tent like that’s what’s happening here you were in a temporary dwelling, and it’s time to pack that one up and go to your permanent dwelling, the new heavens and the new earth. So that’s what’s happening here. How do the people respond? Well, look at verse 15. Count them with me here, would you then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty and everyone else, both slave and free. Seven types of people, shocking seven types of people, complete judgment on all people, everyone who has not turned from their sin and trusted in Jesus. And what do they do? They run to the mountains and the caves for shelter. By the way, this proves that this is symbolic, right? We’re using apocalyptic imagery. It’s not meant to be taken totally literally, because what happened in verse 14, every mountain got removed from its place, and here, just one verse later, the mountains are all there, and you can flee to them for refuge. Okay, so we’re stacking up images. They’re not meant to make literal sense. They’re meant to startle you awake, which they certainly will do. But did you notice that the people respond here in terror before the coming of the Lord? Terror, but not repentance. What do they do when they see the Lord like Adam and Eve, they don’t run to God and say, we can’t believe we did this. They run away and they hide from him. The offer of redemption has been met with rejection. The language is taken from Isaiah two, but, but the proper response in is in Isaiah two also, and it says, people will flee to caves and the rocks and the holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, His beauty, they are fleeing from his beauty when he rises to shake the earth like we should respond with awe, yes, trembling, awe. But we shouldn’t flee. We should be running to him, especially in light of the Lamb who was slain to rescue us from our sin, but the great day of wrath the inhabitants of the earth, just the great day of salvation for God’s people, has come. Now. I get it. We don’t like wrath today. We don’t like talking about it, but we need to understand that wrath is an expression of justice. We have to see that God is treating he’s putting sin in quarantine. That’s what happens in this moment. God is saying, I will not let the virus of sin infect the new heavens and the new earth, or you will make it into a new hell. It, because that’s what sin does. So you can either put your sin down, or you will stay out of the new heavens and the new earth. That is what wrath is. But this reminds us of the seriousness of our sin as well, because the big problem with wrath that we have is we think we’re not that bad, and God’s saying, I’d beg to differ, right? This goes back to the opening questions that we ask, like, when somebody offends you, you go, you’re actually offending a holy God. You’re grieving his heart. And you go, Eh, it’s no big deal. We are talking about the unyielding rejection of God, because even here at the end, they are still rejecting him. The question for us as Christians, though, is, how do we respond to the knowledge of God’s wrath? Good? Say more. Let me just give you three ideas. First of all, and most importantly, of course, we respond with prayerful, bold, urgent evangelism, because we know what’s coming. We know that God has plucked us out of this destruction through no merit of our own, and so if he has pulled us out of the pit, we will do all that we can, by His grace, to pluck others from the pit as well. If you can read Revelation and not think to yourself, I need to talk to my friends and family and colleagues and neighbors, I don’t think you’re reading Revelation. I don’t know what has happened to your heart. Like this should stir us so prayerful, bold, urgent evangelism. Second, grief, of course, we weep to think what is coming, especially for those that we love, if they have not turned to Jesus. But third, and it’s there also, and we can’t lose it, and it’s here in Revelation, over and over again, we respond with worship, and we will respond with worship in the end, as we see God’s perfect reign, his perfect rule, his perfect justice, his perfect holiness on display. So God is shaking creation. The image here. I’ve used it before, but I think it makes sense, you know, when you make glitter projects, so you’re asking somebody to turn about, or something like that, and you put the glue down, you know, and then you dump like, eight pounds of glitter on it, so get the thin little line, and then what do you do after the glue dries? You shake it off, right? That’s what’s God. What God is doing here? Okay, he’s shaking to see what is permanent, what should remain. That’s what Hebrews 12 tells us, when God comes again to shake the heavens, the earth only what cannot be shaken may remain. And so here, I think the question is not so much what can’t be shaken, but who can’t be shaken? The big question is there in verse 17, right? Great day, the www can withstand it. The big question is, who can stand when God shakes the earth? And that’s what leads us into the interlude. Let me read chapter seven for us and 81 after this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. I saw another angel coming up from the east having the seal the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea, do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From each of these tribes, 12,000 Judah, Reuben, Gad Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying Amen Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen, one of the elders asked me, these in white robes, who are they, and where did they come from? I answered, Sir, you know, and he said, These are they who have come out of the Great Tribulation. They’ve washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 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 shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst. The sun will not be doubt on them, nor any scorching heat. For the lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. So the four angels here hold back the four winds of heaven. These are the judgments of the sixth seal. That’s what’s being held back here. There’s this interlude between six and seven, and what happens in this. Interlude is we are we’re given comfort for the saints. God knows who are his, and God protects who are His. What this means, though, then, is that this is out of order, because we just got the sixth seal. And then God says, Wait, hang on. Don’t do that until they’re all sealed. It’s gonna be really good to keep that in mind throughout our reading of Revelation. We like things very linear in the West, very chronological. A, B, C, D, E. That’s not how Eastern thought works. It’s really not how John works. Read First John. Sometime John writes like this, okay, getting deeper and deeper as we go and they quote GB carrot here, commentator on Revelation. I love how he describes revelation. He says the unity of John’s book is neither chronological nor arithmetical, but artistic like that of a musical theme with variations, each variation adding something new to the significance of the whole composition. If you know anything about symphonies, you know, you get recapitulation, recaps, right? The theme comes back up. That’s what’s going to happen. So things are going to be out of order here and elsewhere. The interlude shows God’s patience, okay? This is between five and six, right? So before he brings judgment. God is patient. Why? Because he wants no one to perish, but all to come to repentance. And so six won’t happen. We already saw this until the full number of martyrs is completed, and then until God’s people are sealed. The seal comes from Ezekiel nine, verse four, where God sends His angel, says, go throughout the city of Jerusalem. Put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. That’s God’s concerns, again, right? So that’s what he’s saying. Seal those who care about the things that I care about. But the seal itself shows God’s ownership and protection, protection from spiritual harm, because these people in Jerusalem, they’re still getting sacked, even the ones who are faithful, even the ones who grieve sin, their homes still get burned. They still get shipped off into exile. They’re still experiencing famine and plague. They still are put under the sword. I mean, think about it. We just talked about these two things so that the sixth seal doesn’t happen until God’s people are sealed, so that they won’t be harmed and the full number of God’s people are killed. Okay, yep, tension. I told you, tension. We’re talking about different spheres. Of course, we’re talking about people who are sealed so that they are spared from God’s wrath, not spared from the Beast’s wrath. They haven’t met the beast yet. CHAPTER 11, we’ll meet him. Chapter 13, we’ll talk way more about him, okay, but that’s what’s happened. So we’re spirit spared spiritual harm, not physical harm, and so it’s a little bit like the sign of the Passover. Then again, God’s people in Egypt, they’re experiencing oppression. They are slaves. They are being persecuted. But they put the sign, which is like a seal on the doorpost, the blood of the Lamb, and it protects them from the destroyer, from God’s destroyer, who’s bringing the plagues, which, by the way, wait till you get to the trumpets and the bowls. Guess what? Those are the plagues. Okay, so this is all making sense to us, right? And by the way, it’s the same thing. How are we sealed? The blood of the Lamb. It’s the blood of the Lamb. It’s always the blood of the lamb that seals us. Likely not a literal mark, by the way, if we talk about sealing elsewhere in Scripture, Ephesians, 113, and 14 were sealed by God’s Spirit, the guarantee depositing our inheritance until the coming of those who are whatever. I lost it. But you get the idea, we’re sealed with the Spirit of God. You can look it up, Ephesians. One, I promise it’s there. Okay, sealed with the Spirit. So this is probably a spiritual seal that we’re talking about. Now the big question, who are the 144,000 from the 12 tribes? I will step on some toes here, I’m sure, because almost certainly, this is not referring to the Jewish people. This is referring to all the redeemed of the Lord, the multitude of chapter seven, verse nine that we just read about. Why? A couple things to think about. First of all, this is obviously a symbolic number. It’s 12, which is symbolic, times 12, which is symbolic, times 1000 which is symbolic. So we’re already not talking about little groups. If you’re trying to count out 144,000 people, and some have tried to do that in history. Good luck to you. Close the book. Find something else to do. Okay, like you’re not doing this well. But here are some reasons. I’m going to give more reasons than I normally would, because I think it’s so important to get this right. First of all, this is the answer to the question asked in 617 who can stand in the day of God’s wrath? And certainly it is not just the Jewish people who can stand at that moment. Second I’m. Notice what happens. Verse four, I heard the number of those who were sealed. And then verse nine, after that, I looked and saw a multitude, kind of like we heard about the lion from the tribe of Judah. And then John turns and he sees a lamb who was slain, and the Lion and the Lamb are the same being, and these are the same multitude. Third, they’re called servants, and the servants word is used of God’s people, all of them in Revelation, unless it is explicitly narrowed, like my servants, the prophets, or something like that. So it’s all believers in Revelation. Fourth, maybe most importantly, it is supported by revelation 14, three, which we’ll get to, of course, where these 144,000 are singing a song, and the only ones who can learn it are the 144,000 who have been redeemed from the earth, which would be a really weird way to refer To those who have been redeemed from Israel. Specifically, I the fifth, sixth, wherever I am, these are not the 12 tribes. I don’t want to get into this too much. Dan isn’t there, maybe because he’s idolatrous, but honestly, they’re all idolatrous. So that doesn’t make any sense. Usually, Levi isn’t counted because Joseph’s kids, Ephraim and Manasseh each get one. So they’re actually like 13 tribes, but Levi didn’t get lamb, but Levi is here, so Manassas here, but then it’s not Ephraim, it’s Joseph. Good luck, by the way, I read a bunch of commentaries, and they were all like, no idea, no idea. Okay, so, but if not the 12 tribes, which seems significant. And finally, Jesus himself has prepared us to read Israel, the Jewish people, as the New Testament people of God, the church of God, already in Revelation in chapter two, verse nine, when he’s speaking to one of the churches don’t remember, which maybe Smyrna, he says, you know, he’s talking about the persecution that’s happening from those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. So what makes you Jewish, in Jesus mind here in Revelation, at least, is that you believe in the same God that Abraham believed in. And that’s the point. Of course, this emphasizes our Israelite heritage as Christians, we are the seed of Abraham, not by blood, but by faith, because we have Abraham’s faith. That’s Galatians chapter three. But notice this group here is the Church on earth, right? We are on earth because these judgments are still coming. This is the Church Militant, not in the sense that we go out with sword and spear and things like that, but that we go out to serve our God. We are bent on conquest. It’s the conquest of the gospel, though not war. And we’re not willing to take life for the name of Christ, but we are willing to give our lives for the name of Christ. This is the Church on earth, but with 79 we shifted the church in heaven. This is the church triumphant. This is the group that has been taken out of the Great Tribulation. And here the emphasis is on the global character of the church from every nation, tribe, people, tongue, and what are they doing? What are they doing? They are standing before the throne and before the Lamb who can stand in the day of God’s wrath. This multitude, those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, are standing before God’s throne, and they’ve been given white robes to wear, which, remember, is what was given to those in 611 the witnesses. Why? Because we are all witnesses, whether killed or not, we wave palm branches because that’s what you do to celebrate God’s deliverance. And they sing a song, Salvation belongs to our God. That just means he can do it. We can’t save ourselves. He alone can save it. And then we get a seven fold Praise, praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength. It’s a different one, but still a seven fold praise. And at the end of it, the elder asks John a question that’s meant to build suspense, to get us wondering about the question. He knows the answer already. Who are these people? And the elder tells us there are those who have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Now we know what the white robes are, but again, the whole point is, it is the lamb’s work. We are saved by grace alone, in Christ alone, and that means it is to His glory alone. And this is the multitude who came out of the Great Tribulation, those who have come out of the Great Tribulation, that is Exodus. Language, right? Israel comes out of Egypt, which is important. It means we’re not spared from the tribulation, but we are delivered out of the Tribulation. And as a result, we serve God as priests in his. Heavenly Temple, which is the New Jerusalem we’ll see later on. And God cares for us forever, he get these three precious, precious promises, first, that we will enjoy God’s presence forever in worship. Second, that all sorrows will cease, both internal and external. Threats to our joy are removed, no hunger, no thirst, no scorching heat, and all the rest. And then third, the lamb, will shepherd us into a perfect rest. I hope you all appreciate the irony of a lamb that has been slaughtered shepherding other lambs. But that’s the glory of the gospel right there. And it takes us to the very end, of course, because this language about God wiping away every tear from their eyes. I mean, that’s revelation 21 and 22 this is the end at that point, which is interesting, because then 81 he finally opens the last seal, and there’s silence for 30 minutes. And as we will see next week, this is what ushers in the seven trumpets. But you’re all wondering, how can that be? Because history is over. We’re at the end already. Time for another theme. Okay, time for some recapitulation. That’s what’s happening here. Now, why are they silent in heaven? Question you’re asking, I know, probably taken from the Old Testament, if I had to guess, Habakkuk, 220 the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him. It is the silence of awe before Almighty God. But also we see silence before God’s coming judgment. Zephaniah, one, verse seven, for example, be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near and again. This is when he brings his judgment on the wicked. You put them together, what do you get? Awe in God’s presence, but a trembling fear before the judgment from which we have been spared. So let’s recap, just like Revelation, where have we been? God’s people experience tribulation, distress, violence, misery. Why? Because we live in a god rejecting world, which is what brings judgment in the first place? Of course, that is the cost of sin. Sin brings death and suffering and it brings God’s wrath. It promises peace like Rome and it delivers war. So we’re being encouraged to count the cost of sin in this chapter. The question, then in response, is, so how do we endure? How do we ensure that we will stand in the end? What will make us faithful to the end? And to do that, we have to look ahead. We have to look ahead to the day of wrath or the day of salvation, and we have to make our choice, pull them together, and you get our big idea, like our takeaway from these chapters. Look ahead and count the cost. Look ahead and count the cost. There’s a choice set before us all today and absolutely every day. It is a choice between idolatry and apostasy on the one hand, faithfulness on the other, choice between judgment and salvation. And you think, easy choice, easy choice, except when it’s also a choice between pleasure or persecution, then the choice gets harder. Now, to be clear, temporary pleasure, water, after which you will thirst again and quite quickly and temporary persecution, after which you will enter your forever home, your forever rest, never thirst again, never hunger again. But persecution is a reality. Suffering is a reality in this life, which means we count the cost of sin, but we have to count the cost of disciples. Of discipleship as well. Count the Cost of Discipleship as well. When we look ahead, we see wrath, we see salvation and the glory of Christ, Jesus, and we recommit to putting Jesus first in all things, to fall down before him, just like everyone in Revelation keeps doing we see how much better Jesus is, and all of a sudden we’re willing to lose our lives in order to receive them back seven fold. We listen to Jesus Mark eight when he says, Don’t forfeit your soul to gain the whole world that will forfeit the whole world, because that’s gonna be shaken, to take hold of that which will not be shaken. So ask yourself, as you were leaving here today in your idolatry, and every one of us has got idols in our hearts, still in your idolatry, and you’re lusting for whatever it is, power, sex, fame, money, I don’t care. How are you bringing death and destruction? You see it like, are you putting in too many hours because you’re chasing that promotion that will not bring you the joy you think it will, and you’re bringing death. Faith and destruction to your family as a result, whatever it is you think of it for yourself, face it squarely and repent of it even now. Look ahead. Count the cost. Count the cost of that sin. Count the cost of your discipleship, but also count the cost of your salvation. When you see the lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, standing like a lamb who was slain for you, his bloodshed for your salvation, that is the glory of the gospel, a love so deep that it transforms our hearts so that we want to repent and follow Him and endure forever. Look ahead. Count the cost. Follow Jesus. Let’s pray, Lord. There was a lot here this morning. There’s a lot for us to take in, a lot of truth to chew on, and a lot of painful reality to reckon with. Would you give us open eyes and clear minds to sort through this as we go from here? Would you help us to count the cost clearly? You help us to see what’s coming clearly? Would you help us to see the sin and idolatry and the consequences of it in our own lives clearly as we go from here, so that we can turn from our sin and trust in you and bring you the glory that you so richly deserve. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.