Revelation 7
Notes
Transcript
Translation
Translation
After those things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding onto the four winds of the earth so that the wind wouldn’t blow on earth, on the sea, or on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the rising sun, holding the signet of the Living God, and announcing in a loud voice to the four angels which had been granted authority to harm the earth and see, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the see, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God their foreheads. I heard the number of those sealed, 144,000, sealed from the tribes of Israel.
From the Tribe of Judah 12,000 sealed,
from Reuben 12,000,
From Gad 12,000,
From Asher 12,000,
From Naphtali 12,000,
From Manasseh 12,000,
From Simeon 12,000,
from Levi 12,000,
from Issachar 12,000,
from Joseph 12,000,
From Benjamin 12,000 sealed.
After these things I looked, and behold: a great crowd which no one could number, from every ethnicity, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the little lamb, clothed in white robes, palm branches in their hands, shouting in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to Our God seated on the throne and to the little lamb!”
And all the angels that stood around the throne, the elders, and the four creatures fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and might belong to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
And one of the elders said to me, “Who are the ones dressed in white robes, and where do they come from?” I answered him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are the ones coming from the Great Persecution, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the little lamb.
Because of this, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne shelters them. They will not hunger or thirst again, neither will the sun fall on them, nor any heat, because the little lamb, the one in the midst of the throne, he will shepherd them and guide them to the well of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Preservation of the Church
Preservation of the Church
Who can stand? Those whom God chooses
Symbolism inspired by Ezekiel, Passover
Four winds = judgement, four horsemen
144,000
Christians preserved through the trials unleashed by the seven seals
The Church Triumphant
The Church Triumphant
But what of those who don’t survive? Is death a sign of God’s disfavor? No!
Saints in heaven far outnumber those on earth
from every people
Christians who died depicted as victorious
Palm branches
Purified
white robes
God’s Shelter (σκηνοω)
The Church Militant
The Church Militant