Revelation – Lesson 13

 

Revelation 7 – Sealing of 144,000

John saw 4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the earth.  They were holding back the 4 winds of the earth which represent God’s judgments.  He’s delaying the judgment to allow the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God.  Then he saw another angel with a seal of God telling the 4 angels to not harm the land, the sea or the trees until the 144,000 of God’s servants have His seal on their foreheads.  Theses 144,000 are 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. (Rev. 7:5-8).  The tribe of Judah is mentioned first , maybe because Jesus came from that tribe. 

They are NOT the number of people who will reign with Christ in heaven as described by the false doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  These 144,000 are Jews sealed meaning they are under God’s protection and will be witnesses of Jesus to the Jews and to all the world.  Because of their witnessing we see in Rev. 7:9-14 a great multitude from every nation and all tribes of people, Jew and Gentile worshipping the Lord.  They were wearing white robes and worshipping God saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” – Rev. 7:10.  “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation…” – Rev. 7:14.  This will be a true revival.

This angel in verse 2 is special and is sent from God and will be entrusted to mark God’s people to protect them in the mists of the wrath that is coming.  This group will be on earth during this terrible wrath, but will be protected from it because of the seal with God’s name is on their forehead.  Since all believers have been miraculously removed from the earth - known as the rapture, they will be God’s witnesses.  God has not and will not ever leave earth without a witness of His salvation.  God needs them to tell the gospel to the world. 

There are several beliefs on when the rapture will occur.  Will it be before, during or at the 7 years of tribulation?  The 7 years is broken up into two 3 ½ periods.  The first is called the tribulation and the second is called the Great Tribulation.  I believe the church will be raptured or taken to heaven before the 7 years starts.  I believe He will rescue believers from His wrath.  “… Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” – 1 Thess. 1:10b.  Whatever you believe about the rapture, Jesus is the only way to heaven.  (John 14:6)  God has the final say and believers have eternal security.  You may suffer in this life here on earth, but if you are a believer the pain you suffer is only temporary.

We cannot take credit for our salvation.  It is a free gift through the God’s grace.  Jesus deserves all the credit, because of His bloodshed on the cross for us.  We must praise and worship Him for what He has done.

This great multitude is not the same as the 144,000.  The 144,000 are on earth and the multitude is in heaven, who have received their white robes.  This multitude are Jews and Gentiles who have accepted Jesus after the rapture and have been martyred for their faith during the tribulation.  (Rev. 7:14)

The great multitude is praising God for their salvation.  In the presence of God there will be no hunger, thirst, sunburn, heat stroke, or tears.  The Lamb will be at the center of the throne and will be the Shepherd.  He will be the protector of all believers.  (Rev. 7:15-17).  It will be a happy time.  It will be eternal peace and joy.  It will be an eternal life with Jesus.

The book of John tells us a lot about Jesus –

John 1:29 tells us about the Lamb – He takes away the sin of the world.

John 10:1-18 tell us about the Shepherd – He is the gate for the sheep and whoever enter through Him will be saved.  He is the Good Shepherd and lays down His life for the sheep.  He knows the sheep and the sheep know Him.

John 4:4-17; 7:38  tell us about the Living Water – The water He gives will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.  Whoever believes in Him streams of living water will flow from within him.

Principle:  In the midst of tribulation God’s people are eternally secure.

The whole purpose of this chapter is that God offers protection to all believers.  Chapter 6 had relentless punishment of the wicked, but now the focus is on the security of the faithful.  God will protect His people.  He deserves our praises.  He knows everything and has all wisdom.  We should constantly thank Him for all He has done for us.  Only He deserves honor and glory.  He sent His son, Jesus to die on the cross for us while we were still sinners.  Jesus has overcome all that is against us.

We will continue our study with Revelation 8 after the Christmas break.  We will see the seventh seal broken.  The seventh seal is the worst of all and includes 7 trumpets and 7 bowls.  With each seal broken the judgments increase with intensity.  The end of the world comes after the 7 bowls.  Merry Christmas! -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Revelation – Lesson 12

 

Revelation 6 – Breaking of the 6 Seals

In this chapter the scroll with the 7 seals needed to be broken.  The breaking of these seals is known as The Great Tribulation”.  We see 6 of the 7 seals broken by the Lamb, Jesus.  They were broken in heaven, but its effects will be on earth.  The 4 horses mentioned are commonly referred to as the 4 Horsemen of The Apocalypse.  See Matt. 24 for signs of the end of the age.  All these horsemen are symbolic of the different events which will take place in the end times. 

John saw the Lame break the first seal and heard one of the creatures say “Come”.  Then John saw a white horse and the one sitting on it.  He held a bow and was given a crown.  He went out conquering. (Rev. 6:1-2)  The crown indicates that he was given authority to conquer all who opposed him.  He wants to conquer the world and have complete domination over it.  He is most likely the antichrist, since he is an imitator of Christ who will also return on a white horse in Rev. 19. 

The Lamb broke the second seal and John heard the second creature say, “Come”.  Then John saw a red horse and the one sitting on it was given a great sword.  He was granted to take peace from the earth.  Men will slay one another. (Rev. 6:3-4)  This seal releases terrible warfare that will break out in the end times.   There will be violence and death and there will be no peace on earth.

The Lamb broke the third seal and John heard the third creature say, “Come”.  John saw a black horse and the one sitting on it had a pair of scales in his hand.  Then he heard a voice saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages and do not damage the oil and the wine.” (Rev. 6:5-6)  Black is symbolic of famine.  This rider indicates prices of food will be out of sight from the normal.  There will not be enough food so it will be very expensive and some may starve.  The instruction to not harm the oil and wine may mean that the rich will still have access to luxuries.  All this is probably the result of the wars from the second horseman.

Then John saw the Lamb break the fourth seal and with it he saw an ashen horse or a pale horse.  The one sitting on it had the name of Death and Hades was following.  Hades is the grave, a temporary place where unrighteous souls are held until the end when they will be thrown into to Lake of Fire.  Remember all believers go to heaven when they die.  Authority over ¼ of the earth was given to him to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts.  Many will die by the sword because of wars and murder and others from lack of food.  Many will die because of diseases and attacks from wide animals.  There are about 8 billion on the earth today with over 9 billion being projected by 2050.  A fourth of the population will die in a short period of time resulting in war and famine, disease and wild animals.

Remember as you read this our Redeemer still holds everything together.  He rules with love in catastrophe as well as in peace.

Then the fifth seal was broken and John saw the altar of the souls who were slain because of the Word of God.  The souls cried out, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”  - Rev. 6:9.  Each of the souls were rewarded with a white robe which represent purity and salvation.  They were told to wait a little longer, because God would delay His vengeance until the number of future martyrs was complete.  Then the time will come and God will act. (Rev. 6:9-11)  These martyrs were the faithful followers of Christ who paid the ultimate sacrifice for Him with their lives throughout history and during the Tribulation.  These martyrs are kept close to God, underneath the altar in the throne room.  They died violent deaths and wanted justice.

We are told that Christians will suffer persecution because of the Christian life, but we should rejoice because it produces perseverance, character, and hope (Romans. 5:3-5).  We should not be surprised when we suffer, but rejoice (1 Peter 4:12-16).  1 Peter 5:10 tells us that after we have suffered He will restore us.  He will make us strong, firm and steadfast.

Many believe that Christians will be taken up to heaven before the Tribulation begins.  (1 Thess. 4:14; 1 Thess. 2:1).  This is called the “rapture” although this word doesn’t exist in the Bible.  Rapture means “caught up” and occurs in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 and Rev. 19.   

There are several beliefs about the rapture:

A-Tribulation – no literal tribulation period

Post Tribulation – means after the tribulation

Mid-Tribulation – Jesus will return for believers in the middle of the 7 year tribulation period

Partial Rapture – Spirit filled believers will be raptured before the tribulation and carnal believers afterward.

Pre-Tribulation – Jesus will get His people before the tribulation and then return to earth to set up His Kingdom for 1,000 years.

Remember no one knows when the end will come.  (Matt. 24:36-51)

After the rapture there will be many people who will wake up and realize they were left behind.  They will repent and turn to Jesus for salvation.  But the world will be different – no religious freedom, preaching of the gospel will not be permitted, many people will be killed because of their new found belief in God.  They will be martyrs.  God will be waiting for people to repent, but for many there will be no repentance.  They will acknowledge that the judgments are from God, but they will not repent.  So while you have an opportunity to avoid these terrible times, repent and believe in the gospel.

Then the sixth seal was broken and John saw there was a great earthquake; the sun became black and the moon became like blood; the starts fell; the sky was split apart; and every mountain and island moved out of their places. (Rev. 6:12-14).  These are signs that something BIG is about to happen and soon.  These six signs are designed to get man’s attention.  No one can deny that the Great God of heaven is coming with His wrath.

There are similarities in the following passages:

Exodus 19:18 – Mount Sinai was covered with smoke and trembled violently.

Isaiah 34:4 – At judgment stars in heaven will be dissolved.

Jeremiah 4:23-26 – The earth was empty, heaven and light were gone, mountains were quaking.

Joel 2:30-31 – There will be wonders in heaven and earth - billows of smoke, sun will turn dark, moon will turn the blood before the dreadful day of the Lord.

Zechariah 14:3-5 – The day will come when the Lord will destroy all nations who are against Israel.

Then John saw that everyone from kings to slaves hid themselves in caves in fear.  They recognized the power of God and their sinfulness.  They knew they deserved God’s wrath and would not be able to stand against it.  They were so frightened they called for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and kill them and even hide them so they would not have to face God’s judgment.  They didn’t take refuge in God.  “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev. 6:15-17)  No one can stand up against the wrath of God!

The purpose of God’s wrath in Revelation is also restoration.  He desires to cleanse the earth of all sin.  But people don’t want to receive restoration, they just want to hide from His judgement.

Psalm 46 tells us God is our refuge, strength, and help in trouble and we are not to fear.  Romans 5:1-11 tell us we have been justified through faith and have peace with God through Jesus.  We are to rejoice in our suffering and remember we when we were still sinners, Jesus died for us which reconciled us to God.

Principle:  Judgment day is coming and we need to be ready.

Reading Revelation is eye opening and all the more reason to repent of your sins and confess that Jesus is Lord.  God promises believers will not suffer the Great Tribulation.  If you are not a believer when Jesus returns, you will see all these things that John has written about.  I know you don’t want to be here on earth when these things happen.  So get on your knees and surrender to Jesus Christ.  See the bottom of this blog page for helpful steps on “How To Be Saved”.  Don’t put if off.  He is coming soon!

Next time we will study Revelation 7.  Before the seventh seal is broken, we will see the 144,000 sealed (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) indicating they belong to God.  – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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