Revelation 7

We study through books of the Bible here at the Village Chapel.

And this week we're continuing our study of the action-packed, grace-soaked, hope-giving, Christ-exalting book of Revelation.

And I'm so excited to study this text with you today.

So good to be with you.

This week, our study of Revelation brings us to what we call chapter 7.

Chapter 7 is an interlude, it's a pause or a transition after John has just described a vision of the opening of the first six of the seven seals.

The sixth seal, the last seal we studied with Pastor Jim last week, described the end of history, the righteous final judgment for sin, sin that has wrecked God's good creation.

From the moment that the word of the serpent was heard and obeyed above the word of God, sin has distorted what is true, good, and beautiful, and it disintegrates our humanity.

It breaks fellowship between tribe and tongue, family and friend.

The effects of sin, anyone who's paying attention can see when you glance at the news, when you look through your social media feed, or more importantly, when you look in your own heart.

The book of Revelation is not shy in its description of this wrath, this righteous judgment.

But this judgment is not capricious or willy-nilly judgment.

It is a wholly established defiance against that which is in rebellion to God's original creation.

Sin has wrecked Shalom.

Shalom is that perfect peace between God and man, man and the rest of creation.

I love the way that Becky Pippert gets at this.

God's wrath is not a cranky explosion, but his settled opposition to the cancer of sin, which is eating out the insides of the human race.

So good.

God promises to set things right.

That's what the whole book of Revelation is telling us here, to renew his creation.

And God is redeeming a people he can call his own, a people from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation.

And it is this redeemed people of God that our chapter we're studying this morning is laser focused on, an international family of worshipers of Jesus, worshiping without fear, without pain, without sorrow, without anxiety, without disease.

Oh, how we long for that day.

In the vision of John we studied last week, if you remember, a question was posed by the kings of the earth and others, as they were witness to this righteous judgment for sin.

So they were watching this judgment, and they asked this question for the great day of the wrath has come, and who can stand?

In other words, they're asking, who can stand against this righteous judgment of God against sin?

It's a great question.

And Pastor Jim and I were talking about this question, and it's not a stretch to speculate that this was likely a hypothetical question that the kings of this, kings of the earth and others were asking.

And in their head, when they asked this question, they had in mind the answer no one can stand.

But chapter seven answers this question for us today with glorious hope for all those who call in the name of Jesus.

So before we get into the text, I invite you to pray with me in your home as we get started.

Living God, help us so to hear your holy word that we may truly understand.

And that understanding we may believe, and believing we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that we do through Christ our Lord.

We all said.

Amen.

So if you would take your Bible or your device and turn to Revelation 7.

It's at the end of the Bible, if you're not familiar with it.

Chapter 7, verse 1.

After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on the earth or sea or against any tree.

Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.

So here we see the lens shifting, as it were.

And John says at the beginning of this chapter, After this I saw.

And it's important to do the work of reading this inspired apocalyptic literature with its authorial intent in mind.

What does he mean when he says, after this?

Is it chronological or is it theological?

And we want to try our best anytime we come to the text of Scripture, we want to try our best to follow the grain of the text.

What does the author mean?

In the previous chapter we studied last week, we are a witness to the final day of judgment for sin, like we had talked about.

Yet in this text, we see a constraining of judgment.

Boundaries are being put up by God, with the fifth angel saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God.

What we're looking at here is not a chronological sequence.

Rather, this vision is revealing a bigger picture of what's going on in salvation history.

This lens shift is revealing the sovereignty of God over all things at all times.

To borrow from Scottish theologian Sinclair Ferguson, I love this, it's as if in the last chapter we were looking at one part of an expansive and intricate tapestry or mural.

And the spirit pulls the camera back from that one spot of the tapestry to give John a glimpse of another part of this rich tapestry or mural.

It's like when you think of the Sistine Chapel, most people immediately think of the image of the hand of God reaching out to Adam.

But if you've seen photographs of the whole work of art in the Sistine Chapel, or if you've seen the entire chapel with your own eyes, you know that this work is extraordinary in its scope.

It's far more than just the single image of God and Adam.

And that's what we're reading here.

The camera has widened its view from the final judgment we read about in chapter six.

And now we see the four corners of the earth, figurative language indicating God's authority over all things, even in the midst of what seems like an out-of-control world that we read about in chapter six.

Last week we read about the four horsemen, symbolic of the very real judgment for sin.

And it's likely that the four winds here that we read about at the beginning of chapter seven are linked with these four horsemen.

So we see God's authority on full display, and for this particular moment, he is constraining, putting boundaries on these four winds, on the judgments of the four horsemen.

Why?

For the sake of God's people, so that they might be sealed.

And we'll unpack the importance of that seal in just a little bit.

So the camera has widened, and as we continue to read this vision of John, he's going to answer in more detail that question of chapter six: who can stand?

Who can stand against the judgment of God?

So let's continue reading at uh verse four, if you would.

And I heard the number, and I heard, you might circle the word heard in your Bibles or highlight it, I heard the number of the sealed.

A hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.

Twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah were sealed, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

We continue in verse nine.

After this I looked.

And so before in verse four he said, and I heard the number, and now he's saying in verse nine, after this I looked.

So you might circle the word looked.

Verse nine, after this I looked and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing.

Remember the question, who can stand?

He's answered the question here.

All tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces.

First they were standing, and now they're falling, in deference to this, to God.

Fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, verse 12, saying, Amen.

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever.

Amen.

Amen means so be it.

First of all, this text should at least make me, make you sit up, maybe even stand up and say, Wow, we're given a peek into the heavenly throne room where thunderous worship is vividly on display, a portrait of Shalom.

So before we get ahead of ourselves, or before I get ahead of myself, let's unpack this description of God's people.

In verses four through eight, I mentioned it before, John hears the number of the people of God, numbered at 144,000.

But in verse 9, John sees a great multitude that no person could number.

So what are we witnessing here?

We're witnessing here the redeemed people of God from two different perspectives.

The first from God's perspective, and the second from the perspective of man from John.

When taken with the whole reading of Revelation and how apocalyptic literature is put together, the 144,000 is not a statistic.

It's a symbol of the perfect number of God's people.

Not one of them is missing.

The Lord knows exactly who are his.

12 squared is 144,000.

The 12 tribes of Israel are mentioned.

And towards the end of the book of Revelation, which we'll get to later, we see the 12 foundation stones of the New Jerusalem are the 12 apostles of the church.

It's at least interesting that this diagram of the church is much like a census.

If you remember in the Old Testament book of Numbers, it's a counting of God's people, and the Lord knows exactly who his people are, and that's what we're seeing here.

But in verse 9, we read from the perspective of man, after this I looked, John says.

So first he heard, and now he's looking, and he's seeing it with his own eyes, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation and all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

The first perspective of God should give us comfort that God knows who are his, and not one is lost, out of place, unaccounted for.

And as Alster Begg says, the story of the Bible, the whole story of the Bible, can really be summarized in the first few chapters of Genesis, which we've already talked about a little bit, and this final book of Revelation.

For example, do you remember the story of the Tower of Babel or Babel in Genesis 11?

The people of earth spoke one language, but because of their pride and their arrogance, they built for themselves a city and a tower so that they might be like God.

And the consequence for this rebellion, for this pride, for this sin was confused language.

And here in Revelation 7, we see all languages coming together.

Worshipers of Jesus coming together to sing, united in worship of the Lamb.

In Genesis 12 and 17, God covenants himself with Abraham.

And he says, This, I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.

And in you, meaning Abraham, in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

And he says in Genesis 17, Behold, my covenant is with you, Abraham, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be called Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham literally means in the original languages, language, multitude of nations.

That's what Abraham means, the name.

God's plan for redemption was always every tribe and every tongue.

Later, God tested Abraham with his only son Isaac, Isaac, the promised son, who was supposed to be the seed that would make these multitude of nations.

Abraham goes up with Isaac up the mountain for this sacrifice, and Isaac, being a smart kid, reminds his dad that one thing was missing: a lamb to sacrifice.

And what does God, or what does Abraham rather say?

Abraham tells Isaac, The Lord will provide a lamb, my son.

He even names that place, the Lord will provide.

And then we get to the New Testament in the first chapter of the New Testament Gospel of John.

Jesus walks onto the scene, the very first chapter, and John the Baptist says, Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

And here in Revelation 7, we see the seed of Abraham, not just one people group, an international family, before the throne and before the risen Lamb, singing.

Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

Salvation belongs to God and not to us.

Look at this gracious initiative of God from the very beginning.

We just read a whole sweep of scripture there.

From the very beginning of salvation history until he comes to wrap things up on a rescue mission for me and for you, for all people who call in the name of Jesus.

That heavenly throne room includes the redeemed throughout history.

Which why it's why it's a number that we can't, no human could count.

Think of all the believers throughout history, and I can't help but think of the saints that have gone before us singing at the top of their lungs, my grandpa Tom, and Don.

All of my ancestors from Ireland and Scotland and England.

I think of Augustine from Northern Africa from Clement or Clement from Rome, Italy, and so much more, every nation represented before the throne and before the land.

Should give us great hope.

But let's keep reading before I get carried away.

Verse 13.

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these clothed in white robes?

And from where have they come?

And I said to him, Sir, you know.

And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.

They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

I love questions like these that we find in the Bible.

Obviously hypothetical.

One of the elders in heaven asks John who these people are, and John says, Well, sir, you tell me.

These are the redeemed people of God wrapped in the righteousness of God, wearing their white robes.

And they've come out of suffering.

It's an international church, yes, but it's an indestructible church, a kingdom that can't be shaken, as we read about in Hebrews.

I love the way Michael Wilcox says it.

Why do these stand before God's throne?

What qualifies them to be there?

The twin facts that they have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and do emerge from suffering.

He who is numbered among that multitude is the man who has been cleansed from his old life of sin, a past event, and has been given an irrepressible new life, which no tribulation can quench a present experience.

So good.

We have to be honest and acknowledge that there are many views of what this word tribulation means here.

And it's something that is our is it something rather that has already happened?

Is it an event that's yet to come in the future, or is it a present reality?

Perspectives that Pastor Jim has mentioned in earlier studies would be great for you to study if you're interested in that.

I believe the likeliest answer to all those is yes.

The Apostle Paul uses this same word tribulation 20, at least 23 times throughout the New Testament, describing the ongoing suffering and persecution of the church.

Remember, this letter is being written by John, exiled on a prison island for his faith.

Jesus himself said that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

There will be tribulation from the first century until he returns again.

I believe this tribulation period is now, from the first century until he sets all things right.

What this text is telling us is that the sealed people of God, those who are wearing robes of white, those who have been held fast by God through suffering and persecute persecution all throughout history, these are the people of God.

And he holds them fast.

God knows who his people are, not one is out of his sight.

Even in the middle of rampant persecution, in the middle of suffering and disease, pestilence, it is God who promises to hold his people fast to the end.

And that's what we're witnessing here.

And it is the work of Christ the Lamb, sealed by the Spirit, which has guaranteed this promise for those who turn to him in faith.

Let's continue reading to this picture of Shalom, which is going to be more fully blossomed here in verses 15 on.

Verse 15 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.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.

The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

This is such glorious good news for us today.

This great multitude, a redeemed family perfectly satisfied in the presence of God because of the work of Jesus Christ, because of the Lamb who was slain and rose again on the third day and is now sitting in heaven, interceding for you and for me.

Let's just go through some of the riches that we see here in this text in verse 15 through 17.

One, we'll be in the presence of God.

The redeemed people will be in the presence of God, the very throne room, nothing to fear.

You don't fear when you're in the throne room of the king.

You don't fear your enemy.

Pestilence, disease, war, famine, no more.

The people of God are not only in the presence of God, where fear no longer has any grip.

But remember, much of the book of Revelation has near fulfillment and far fulfillment.

Think of the persecuted church of the first century, of John himself, like I mentioned, locked in the prison.

Think of our brothers and sisters now who are facing very real persecution in the unknown corners of the world today.

He promises that he will shelter his people.

Not only his presence, he's going to shelter his people.

Some translations say he will make a tabernacle for them, a structure that keeps them safe.

And this structure, both the near fulfillment of us now, but also in the future, when he holds us fast to the end.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore.

All of our desires, hungers, cravings all point to our deepest longing, which is unbroken communion with the Creator God.

And here we see a deep satisfaction.

Do you see it?

A people satisfied because their deepest hunger has been satiated.

The thirst has been quenched because they are in the presence of the lamb.

The lamb who's also the shepherd, isn't that interesting?

The lamb who is also their shepherd, who leads them to living waters, which reminds us of everlasting life.

What good news for us today.

My favorite dessert is pie.

I like nearly all kinds of pie, and I'm not kidding.

Blueberry, strawberry, rhubarb, apple, key lime.

I have a bit of a problem with pie, you can ask my wife.

But whether or not you have a sweet tooth, you likely have a favorite dish of some kind, I'm sure.

Have you ever made plans to visit a restaurant and all week you've been waiting and anticipating the joy of eating your favorite dish, your favorite key lime pie, let's say.

Only to get there and order a slice and find out that the recipe has changed and the crust is too thin.

The filling is off.

The whipped cream is just not quite right.

It's a let-down, it's disatisfying, dissatisfying bite of pie.

But probably you've also had the opposite experience of ordering your favorite dish, your favorite pie, and every bite, every morsel is spot-on satisfaction.

Even the best satisfaction, though, that we have here on earth is but a pale reflection of what awaits us in the renewed heavens and the renewed earth.

As Scottie Smith reminded us a few weeks ago, even the most beautiful beaches we see today are broken beaches.

Even the most delicious key lime pie is a broken key lime pie.

The most majestic mountain is a broken mountain.

What's it going to be like when Christ comes to set things right and renews heavens and earth and we see a redeemed mountain, a redeemed key lime pie.

I can't wait.

I love the way John Piper puts this.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

And that's the promise here we see in Revelation 7.

This chapter is so rich.

I love to give us a few takeaways as we meditate on this vision of God's promise fulfilled when the Lamb, who is also our shepherd, sets all things to rights.

This vision reveals to us at least three things, I think.

All those who have been redeemed through Jesus Christ, the Lamb, are sealed, they're singing, and they're satisfied.

All those who have been redeemed through the Lamb are sealed.

What does it mean to be sealed?

And why is that important?

I mentioned it early on.

In the first century, much like today, a seal was often placed on an item or a package or a letter, and it indicated at least three things: ownership, authenticity, and protection.

Ownership, a letter from a king or a general, would have a wax marked with a signet ring.

And it marked it that this belonged to the king.

Authenticity, that signet ring, that wax, said that this is the real deal.

Protection, this object must be secure.

Why?

Because it's authentic.

Why?

Because it's owned by the king himself and carries with it the full weight and power of the king.

That's what a seal would have meant to the first century.

And we do the same thing today.

We use the same principle with certified mail, for example.

We have to sign it, sign, sealed, and delivered.

When we travel internationally, our U.S.

passport is what tells authorities in other countries that we belong to the United States.

Unless you're watching from another country, we are authentic citizens of our nation with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with it.

And our government's primary responsibility is the protection of all of its citizens.

That's what a seal would be.

That's what the passport acts for us today.

It says who we belong to, that we're authentic, and that our government will protect us.

And so when we read in this text that the people of God are those who have been sealed, we would do well to remember the glorious hope that is wrapped up in that word, sealed.

We belong to the King of Kings.

We have assurance of authenticity because of the sealing of the Holy Spirit.

And it is God Himself who ensures the protection of His people, the church.

Not necessarily protection from every evil or sin that is wrought on this earth here and now.

That's why you mentioned the tribulation.

But an eternal protection, he will hold you fast until the day he wraps up history.

And we are standing around the throne, singing, salvation belongs to our God.

We belong to him.

We're an authentic people of God.

And he will protect us, he will shelter us, he will tabernacle us.

Number two, all those who have been redeemed through the Lamb are singing.

We see that here in Revelation 7.

Through much of the book of Revelation, we are witness to vibrant singing.

And we see this singing on luminous display here in this chapter.

Even all the heavenly creatures, did you notice it wasn't just the great multitude of God's sealed people?

All the heavenly creatures, the angels, the elders, fell on their faces.

First they're standing and now they're falling.

Amen.

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever.

Amen.

They say amen twice.

So our charismatic brothers and sisters standing next to our Presbyterians and our Methodists and Nazarenes in the heavenly throne room, they all sang Amen and Amen.

Can't wait for that day.

We were designed to sing, and I know Jim says this and I do as well.

The most often repeated positive command in the Bible is to sing or to praise.

We were designed to sing.

And I can't wait for the day when we get to sing together in our Hillsborough village chapel, a room that was designed for singing.

We'll sing crown hymn with many crowns.

The lamb upon his throne.

Or like we sang earlier today, all creatures of our God and king, lift up your voice and with us sing.

Oh, praise him.

Oh, praise him.

Alleluia.

But even that first day back in our chapel, and if you're watching online, I hope you can visit us sometime because we have a beautiful chapel.

But even that first day when we will sing together, it'll only be a pale reflection of what it will be like to sing with the innumerable multitude renewed heavens and the earth.

The singing is not just for singing's sake, the singing indicates unabated joy, unrelenting happiness.

It's indicative of what shalom will be like.

I love what William Hendrickson says.

They worship him.

That is, they render to him the spontaneous, glad, and thorough devotion of the heart.

It is an unceasing worship.

These redeemed saints in glory, moreover, experience the sweetest, fullest, and most intimate fellowship with God through Christ.

They worship him in his sanctuary, that is, in his immediate presence.

The one who sits on the throne treats them as his own dear children, for such by grace they are.

Satisfaction is such an interesting word.

It's more than just contentment, it's more than just mere pleasure or gladness.

It's the idea that you have a longing that has been fulfilled to its fullest.

In the text, we are witness to a promise that was made long ago and has finally come to fulfillment, and we see the satisfied people of God singing.

Our relationship with God broken by sin has been fully repaired because Christ took the righteous judgment for sin that was due to me, to you.

Relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, often marred and broken beyond repair.

Here we see Shalom in full force, every tribe, skin tone, spoken language, political persuasion, every nation.

We're visually, we're viscerally rather aware in 2020 of our deep longing for those horizontal relationships to be fully set right when he returns.

And we're witness here in Revelation 7 to that wonder that is to come.

There's no more hunger, there's no more thirst, because we are fully satisfied with the glorious bounty available to us in the renewed heavens and earth.

There's an abundance.

There's no need to hunger, no need to thirst.

Derek Kidner says this: God's beautiful but tantalizing world, that is, this created world right now, is too big for us, yet its satisfactions are too small.

Since we were made for eternity, the things of time cannot fully and permanently satisfy.

God Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

What tenderness and gentleness we see in that text there.

We have tears now.

The already and the not yet.

We're in that not yet.

We have sorrow now as we await this fulfilled promise.

We await full satisfaction.

We await the healing that Shalom will bring, healing socially, spiritually, physically, emotionally.

But for those who are sealed, and that's me and you who call on the name of Jesus, sadness will be replaced.

Sadness will be replaced with satisfaction and unending joy.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1, 13 to 14.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

May this vision from John give us great hope for the day that is to come, but also for strength today, as he promises to hold his people fast until that day.

And God, through Jesus Christ, the Lamb and through the sealing of the Holy Spirit has guaranteed that for us.

We can trust this sure word.

We can trust this promise.

For that, we must give thanks.

Let's pray together.

This is a prayer from Richard Baxter, Puritan pastor.

Quicken, Lord, our longing for that blessed state and day.

O come, Lord Jesus, come quickly and fulfill your word that we may be with you where you are and may behold your glory.

Hasten, O Lord, the salvation of your people, and keep them in uprightness and patience to the end.

We all said.

Amen.