Revelation Sermon - 17

Lars Janssen

Revelation Series • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Revelation: Whoa! That’s a lot of People

Revelation 7:1-8

1. Introduction – This morning we come to the first interlude of Revelation.

a. Remember, we’ve been cruising along looking at the opening of the 7 seals. Seals 1-4, the 4 horsemen, aren’t there to cause us to look for 4 giant literal horses galloping around the earth.

i. They show us what happens when sinful humanity resists the coming of God’s kingdom.

1. If we don’t go the way of the Lamb – conquest and war and injustice and death will all increase.

ii. Seals 5&6 shows us that despite the resistance to God’s coming kingdom, the gospel is still going out.

1. It presents us with the heavenly perspective of Christian martyrdom. And in seal 6 we have God’s answer to the question, “How long?” And the answer is, “Wait a little longer.”

b. Chapter 6 concluded with a dramatic question, “Who is able to survive the day of the Lord?”

i. And in order to answer that question, the breaking of the seals stops and we come to a section known as the interlude.

1. This interlude seeks to answer the question posed at the end of chapter 6, but it is also a dramatic pause in the action.

c. Think of it this way – the scroll has yet to be opened. Remember from chapter 5 that the scroll in God’s right hand…

i. The scroll of God’s divine plan, it had writing inside and outside…and it was sealed with 7 seals.

1. But in order to reveal the content of the scroll, the Lamb, Jesus, first had to break the seals.

a. What we’ve looked at the past couple weeks, isn’t even the content of the scroll, it’s the precursor to the scroll’s content.

d. But now, 6 of the 7 seals have been broken. The 7th is about to be broken and then the scroll will be open and its content revealed.

i. But first…a dramatic pause in the action. A pause that is intended to bring hope to God’s people – not to confuse them.

e. This morning I have 3 tasks I want to accomplish.

i. First – we are going to reminds ourselves of how Revelation is written in order to better understand what is written.

1. Secondly, I’ll explain to you who I think the 144,000 are. We’ll look at how we get that number and the significance of it.

a. And finally, we’ll look at what it means and what it looks like to be sealed by God.

2. How its Written – Do you remember back to the beginning of this series, or even back to the review week a while back when I explained to you how Revelation was written?

a. Revelation keeps us on our toes because it is not written in a linear or chronological order.

i. Revelation is written in a loop to loop pattern. Where we think the visions are coming to an end, only to have it start all over again.

1. Or the visions go back and explain an event that has already taken place.

a. The events aren’t recorded chronologically but are recorded in the order that John saw them.

b. In my own study I have found this question to be helpful, “What did John see next?” Not, ‘what happens next?” John always says, “I looked and a I saw…” He never says, “Then this happened, and this happened, and this happened.”

i. This interlude is one of those times where what John saw next didn’t follow in the chronological order of what John saw previously.

1. Here in chapter 7, the first interlude, we see the loop to loop pattern of Revelation in full affect.

c. We come to chapter 7 and it seems rather odd that God would seal his people AFTER the 4 horsemen wreak havoc on earth.

i. That God would seal his people AFTER some of them had been martyred for their faith. And it seems odd, because it is odd.

1. It would be easy for us to think that this sealing of the 144,000 takes happens in between the 6th and 7th seal because that’s where it falls in the book.

a. But I’m going to argue, and it makes a whole lot more sense, if we see this happening BEFORE the horsemen step on the scene. A loop to loop.

d. Notice what John sees…He saw 4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the earth, holding back the 4 winds,

i. But before the winds could blow and destruction comes to the earth we hear “WAIT!”

1. Nothing was to happen until God’s people were sealed.

e. Now, if this happened after the 4 horsemen rode and after people were martyred, it doesn’t make much sense of bring any hope.

i. But, if we understand this to have already taken place before the horse and riders were called forward, it can and it does bring hope.

f. The idea of the 4 angels at the 4 corners holding back the 4 winds is to take us back to seals 1-4 and the 4 horsemen mentioned there.

i. This interlude is telling us that before the breaking of the seals, before conquest and war and injustice and death increased…

1. Before some faithful ones were martyred for their faith, before all of that happened…

a. God sealed his people. He put is seal of approval, his stamp of ownership on his people.

g. When we see this and we understand that this sealing happened before the chaos and destruction of seals 1-4 and the martyrdom of seals 5-6…

i. This interlude gives Christians then and now, hope, protection and assurance – knowing that they have already been sealed by God.

3. 144,000 – But before we look at what it means and looks like to be sealed by God, let’s figure out this pesky number of 144,000. Much ink has been split on this subject.

a. We’ll figure out who or what this number represents and we’ll figure out if this is intended to be a literal number or not.

b. First, who is this group? Depends on who you ask.

i. The JW’s it’s them. It’s not. Some think it refers to Christian martyrs.

1. 6:11 talks about the number of martyrs yet to be complete, so some think that this 144,000 is the completed number of martyrs.

a. A nice idea, but most likely not.

c. Still others think this refers to a literal number of Israelites who will come to faith in Jesus. A pretty good option.

i. The listing of 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. This list is modelled after the census that was taken in the book of Numbers.

1. The vision here could be John seeing his native people turning to Jesus in faith and receiving for themselves the seal of God.

d. But while this view sounds good and looks good, it is actually quite problematic.

i. It’s problematic when we start making ethnic distinctions within God’s kingdom. Why would God only seal Israelites? And only 144,000 of them at that?

1. Think back a couple weeks to chapter 5 where it’s said that through his blood, Jesus ransomed people from every tribe, language, people and nation.

a. If Jesus ransomed all those different kinds of people – why only seal 144,000 of them? Why only seal Israelites?

i. So, the 144,000 is not referring to JW’s, or to the martyrs; it’s not even referring to saved and sealed Israelites.

e. So then, who or what does this number represent? Well, in order to answer that question, we’ll also see if this is a real number or not.

i. This group of 144,000 represents the church – it represents all people for all time who have been ransomed by Jesus’ blood…

1. Saved by grace through faith and sealed by God.

a. And so, if this represents the faithful people of God – from all time and from every tribe, language, people and nation – then 144,000 can’t be a literal number.

i. It is however, a highly symbolic number.

f. Obviously, the number 12 is important in this chapter. 12 tribes listed, 12,000 from each of those 12 tribes.

i. And throughout the Bible the number 12 is important.

1. The 12 tribes of ancient Israel, the 12 apostles. Later in Revelation, we’re told that the New Jerusalem had 12 gates and 12 foundation stones.

a. What’s the significance of the number 12? It’s another number for completeness.

g. But an ancient way of saying something was completely complete was by multiplying that number by another number.

i. Remember when Peter and Jesus were talking about forgiveness, and Peter asked, how many times should I forgive someone? Seven times?

1. Remember what Jesus replied, “Not 7 times, but seventy times seven. In other words – a big number.

ii. Well the same thing is happening here, how many people did John hear? Well, 12 tribes – let’s multiply that by itself and 12x12=144 or 12x12= something that is complete completeness.

1. But here, not only is 12 multiplied by itself, it is also multiplied by 1000.

a. This was an ancient way of saying ‘a really big number.’ John heard a numberless number of people sealed.

i. 12x12x1000 literally equals 144,000 – but in symbolic terms it represents completely complete completeness.

1. The entire people of God from every tribe, tongue and nation – sealed by God.

h. In the first part of this vision, before the havoc of the 4 horsemen, God sealed his people…

i. A numberless number of people, Revelation’s symbolic way of showing God’s people God’s faithfulness to them.

4. Sealed – So what did this sealing involve? What does it look like? What’s the significance?

a. If we want to understand this vision, we have to understand the background to this vision.

i. This idea of sealing God’s people is taken from the book of Ezekiel chapter 9.

1. Actually, a lot of the visions in Revelation are based off visions from Ezekiel.

b. In Ezekiel, an angel was given authority to mark the foreheads of all those who were devastated by Jerusalem’s sinfulness.

i. Those who were marked were saved, those who didn’t receive a mark were killed.

1. And that’s what’s happening here. God protects his people.

a. That’s why its important for us to understand that this sealed happened before the breaking of the first 4 seals and the destruction and death of the 4 horsemen.

c. God’s people were sealed…but what does that mean?

i. Well in the ancient world, servants were sealed was a sign of ownership.

1. By God sealing his people it shows that they don’t belong to this earth, but they belong to the sovereign, holy and true God.

ii. A seal was also a sign of protection. Again, since servants were sealed, they become a de facto member of the family.

1. To be sealed by God means to join his family and receive divine protection from the destruction of this world.

iii. And a seal serves to authenticate. Want to know who the real people of God are? Look for the authenticating seal of God.

5. What is this seal? – So, I’ll ask the obvious question, “What is this seal?”

a. Later on, we’re told that the seal is the name of the Lamb and his Father.

i. Does that mean the authentic, owned and protected people of God will all have God’s name tattooed on their foreheads?

1. No – here’s what it means to be sealed by God.

a. To be sealed by God means that it is blatantly obvious to everyone around us that we belong to God.

i. If the Father and the Son have sealed us, then it will shine through us in our actions, our words and our conduct.

1. If we are sealed by God, then people will be able to experience God’s love through us.

a. They will see our love for God and our love for other people.

b. So what is this seal? Not a tattoo, what is it then? Well, let’s look elsewhere in Scripture.

i. Paul writes to the church in Corinth and he says…

1. He writes to the church in Ephesus and he says…

a. Again, in Ephesians he says…

i. The authenticating seal of God is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

c. It is the Holy Spirit who molds us and shapes us and transforms us into the likeness of Jesus.

i. It is the Spirit who shines through us in our godly actions, words and conduct.

d. Here’s the amazing truth of this interlude…God not only loves us and saves – but he also seals us and in dwells in his people.

i. He takes ownership of us; he protects us and, through his Spirit, he transforms us so that everyone can see that we belong to God.

6. Application – So how does this apply to us in the 21st century?

a. First, we need to find comfort in this passage. Find comfort in God’s protection, and rest assured in his ownership in your life.

i. Understand that God might not necessarily protect you from physical harm

1. The martyrs of chapters 6&11 prove that.

a. God offers protection, but not isolation.

ii. The truth of this chapter is the assurance that in life and in death, we belong to God. That even though conquest and war and injustice and death will increase….

1. God’s people can be assured that he won’t abandon them when those things do increase.

b. And if we have this assurance, if we have the utmost confidence in God’s seal in our lives…

i. Then the trials of life can actually work to strengthen our faith, and not be a crisis of faith.

1. Whenever we experience trials in life, whatever those trials look like, we have 2 options.

a. We can curse God and die, or we can allow God to use trials to strength our faith, trust, hope and reliance on him.

i. We can allow trials to strengthen our confidence that since he has sealed us, he will keep us.

c. And finally, if God has placed his seal on you; if you have repented of your sins and accepted God’s free offer salvation through Jesus’ blood.

i. If God has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you…

1. Then we need to make sure that God’s light is shining through us.

d. We need to be growing…continually growing. We need to be growing in grace, growing in the fruit of the Spirit, growing, growing, growing.

i. So that people see God through you. So, people come to recognize your source of strength, hope, peace, joy, and assurance.

1. Being sealed by God doesn’t mean there’s no work to do.

a. We work out our salvation, we keep in step with the Spirit, so that people will see the name of the Lamb and his Father written on us – done through the power of the Holy Spirit.

i. What a great scene!

7. Conclusion – For next week, we’re going to continue in the second scene of this interlude.

a. Read 7:9-17 and ask “What leaps out at me?” and “What puzzles me?”

i. We’ll discuss that scene and how it connects to this one when we gather together next week.