Revelation 7 Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Darin Wilt

Things To Watch • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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God seals his people from His wrath.

Notes

Transcript

Intro:

Read Verses:

Main Point: God’s People are sealed by His covenant and he will deliver them into the Promised land

I. The Covenant Protects (1-8)

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel rising up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea, 3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed:

When we closed chapter 6 the people were terrified, asking to be buried under rocks and in caves rather than face the wrath of God.

John Opens Chapter 7 with a look at the chaos and drama being restrained. Again, we see the Power of God and how he uses it for His people.

We have more angels and. We have four angels restraining the four winds that come from the four corners. North, south, east, and west. Now, we all know the earth is basically a sphere, and the Bible is not actually saying the Earth is Flat and thus can be proven wrong. Phrases like the four corners, or the setting sun have been around for a while. It also appears in Isaiah 11:12 “And gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

John paints the picture that everything is. Still. No wind is blowing and another angel comes and he has the seal of the Living God. Think of the seal as the ones Kings used to seal letters or scrolls.

Look at the contrast here. Jesus Opens the first six seals and all kinds of calamity happen. A fourth of the population is Killed, but then there is a pause or a shift in the future or what is going to happen.

There is good news. People will live. People will be victorious.

Application: God completely fulfills the covenant to his people.

God’s seal does not protect against martyrdom or suffering in general. But it does insulate the 144,000 from specific manifestations of the wrath of God and perhaps from apostasy

The sealing of the 144,000 may indicate either a unique need for preservation in order to fulfill their Tribulation mission or to prevent them from suffering God’s wrath directly. The reason for the number 144,000 is perhaps twofold, being large enough to represent the size of the remnant of Israelite believers and a group adequate for their mission during the Tribulation.

12 thousand people from each of the 12 tribes. It is clear and if you are consistent in your reading you see that this does literally mean the Israelites. There are groups that take the 144 thousand to be the church that is raptured, but every time the word 12 in the Bible is used with reference to the people of the Lord, it always refers to Israel.

Whether it is a literal 144,000 or is just a number to illustrate that the Israelites will be a part of the new heaven and new earth, it is easy to see that there will be equal representation and that God remembers His people. And not only that, he is actively protecting them.

After John sees the angel seal they Israelites, he turns his attention to another scene.

II. The Covenant Extends (9-12)

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

The Rose Bowl holds a little over 92 thousand people and most of the NFL stadiums hold around 100 thousand people so imagine full stands and a completely full field of people with workers in the stadium as well. It is to be believed the 144 thousand could all fit in the stadium in North Korea. The Sealed Israelites can fit in a football stadium plus parking lot or field.

But the next group John sees is innumerable. You could fill all the football stadiums full of these people. And possibly still need the parking lots and more stadiums to be built.

But again It is unclear if the comment is exaggeration to a literal meaning.

Here is way at we do know, The nation for Israel is smaller so of course its a smaller And the other number represents a much larger group of people considered the Christian church. The two theories are this is everyone that is saved for all time,, or if this scene takes place either midway through or after the tribulation, then these are the people who accept Christ during the tribulation.

This is why I believe there is a post-tribulation rapture, because the covenant comes with the same rules.it does not rule out any trials and tribulations we will face. It wont even saves from the great tribulation But what it does do is protect us from God’s wrath.

But he does not limit his covenant to one nation. We are saved through that nation.

Application: God extends His covenant to those who put their faith in Him.

So we talk about the seal, but what is it?

Paul explains in Ephesians 1:13 says you were sealed after that you trusted in Christ, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30 Paul goes on and says And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption.

WA Criswell states Fearlessly and in bravery, they gave witness to the Word and to the salvation in Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the seal of God. And it is visible to the Angels because the Father’s name will be written on their forehead.

For us to receive the Holy spirit, Jesus had to be the sacrifice to fulfill God’s covenant. Blood had to be paid in order to cleanse the sins of the world and God’s elect. The trials and tribulations are our version of Jesus’ sufferings Peter says Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in that name.

III. The Covenant Provides (13-17)

John seems a little surprised by the elder’s reaction,when John is asked who are these people that are clothed in white robes? He goes on to say “The group has come out: literally, “the ones coming out” (of this Tribulation, v. 14), which has the effect of making the action more vivid (Greek present tense participle). Nonetheless, for John and us, the whole scene is proleptic—portraying a future event as if presently happening for dramatic effect. It is plausible that the proleptic vision of victorious Tribulation saints was included at this point in Revelation to answer the question posed in 6:17; and the picture of these victorious Tribulation saints serves as an encouragement to believers of every generation who undergo tribulation to any degree. However, the Great Tribulation of 7:14 is eschatological and falls within the final seven-year period of history at the end of this age.”

Picture by John August Swanson

They are “clothed with white robes,” awarded to saints because of faithfulness to Christ (3:4, 5). “Robes” (Greek stolas) indicates long robes, “more appropriate to glorious garments than workaday clothing” (L. Morris 113). They may be symbolic both of the imputed righteousness of Christ (justification) and of the righteous acts of the saints (sanctification). Together, these constitute the totality of spiritual victory from God’s perspective, encompassing belief (faith) and behavior (good works).

They hold “palms in their hands,” a token of victorious celebration in Jewish history (1 Maccabees 13:51). Palm branches were used in the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40), and it is possible that the gathering of the great multitude here is modeled after this (cf. Zech. 14:16–21). Victory or triumph, then, is by far the prevailing symbolism of the palm branch in antiquity (Aune I:468–470; Moffat 398). The scene symbolizes the saints’ victory achieved by remaining faithful to Christ in the Tribulation.

Application:

The covenant provides identification People know who you are because of the clothes you wear. In tonight’s Super Bowl, you know which teams are which or at least who is on the same team because you are all wearing the same uniform. The bite robes are a dead giveaway that you belong to God’s team.

There are three sections in this chapter that people are praising God. They know who they belong to. So. When you do not know what to do or who you are, you remember if you are saved, then you are a child of God. You are one of His.

And that is what the warnings in the New Testament and the Old Testament are. They are reminders to us about where our citizenship lies. 1 Peter 2:9 says but you are a chosen race a royal priesthood.

The covenant provides: Sustenance, Rest, Direction The fourth chapter of Hebrews explains this. the Sabbath. Jesus is the bread of life. if you eat it you will never Hunger. If you drink His water, you will never be thirsty. You will be completely satisfied and you will not want anything else except Jesus. He leads you beside still waters. HE directs your path the Psalms are full of this imagery and encouragement.

Conclusion

Since this is a topic of discussion off and on, here is what you need to remember:

God’s people are sealed with His Name

Satan’s people are marked, with what is called the mark of the beast. So you either are God’s or not. It doesn’t matter if they give you a shot, or a tattoo or anything else, if you are one of God’s Elect.

God does the selecting and sealing because it is His covenant. And it is his covenant. Your place in the process is to respond to the seed of regenerate faith that he places in you and it grows until you are compelled to repent of your sins. The Holy sacrifice of Jesus and the blood shed the cross have made your acceptance into the covenant possible.