The Seven Seals

Is he safe?

Is he safe?

Remember the Pevensey children asking Mr. Beaver about Aslan,

the figure of the Christ, the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe.

They've been hearing about Aslan on the move.

He's a lion.

And they ask Mr. Beaver, is he safe?

Is he safe?

This morning I want to ask the question,

is the lamb safe?

Many of us in the room really want him to be safe.

Maybe you've come wanting a safe Jesus.

This morning I'm going to ask a question of you over and over again throughout the sermon.

Here's the question.

Is this your Jesus?

The Jesus, the risen lamb we see in Revelation chapter 6,

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

is this your Jesus?

Is this the Jesus that is your first love?

What we're going to see is the lamb who was slain is on his throne and he is in control of all things.

And he's carrying out God's plan for the fullness of time.

And it includes devastations and destructions.

He's turning up the heat as he's carrying out God's plan.

And this morning as we turn to Revelation 6,

I'm going to do my best to get us through the opening of the seven seals of the scroll of God's plan

for the fullness of time.

And this scene actually starts earlier than Revelation chapter 6.

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

It starts in Revelation chapter 4.

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

And there we are shown one seated on the throne.

He is brilliant in his glory and he's surrounded by 24 elders and four living creatures who are constantly falling down

and praising him without ceasing.

They're praising him.

Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and who is and who is to come.

And then in chapter 5, there we see in the hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with seven seals.

You've got to think of those seals as kind of authorizations.

Only one person can break open those seals.

And we learn from chapter 5 who that one person is.

Who has the authority?

Who's got the credentials?

Who's got the qualifications to open the seal?

It's the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David.

And what qualifies him to conquer is his blood.

In verse 6 of chapter 5,

Look, in the midst of the throne, John shows us the one who is cross-certified to open the seven seals.

Quote,

I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain.

End quote.

There with God in the midst of the throne

is the risen lamb, Jesus Christ.

Is this your Jesus?

Standing in the midst of the throne?

The lamb that's been slain?

It was by his death that qualifies him.

It's his death that qualifies him to break open the seals.

And it's his death that has conquered sin.

It's his death that has thrown down the devil onto earth.

It's his death that handed death its death notice.

In chapters 4 and 5,

All of heaven is going nuts in their praise of the lamb and the one seated on the throne.

It's a loud place.

Chapter 4, 5, and 6.

Heaven is a loud place with the praises of God.

And so what we see happening in 4 and 5 is God's plan for the fullness of time

to save men and women from every tribe, language, people, and nation

is also a plan to bring judgment on all the inhabitants of the earth.

It's a plan to bring utter devastation to the current heaven and the earth as we know it.

And this plan has been placed in the hands of the lamb on the throne.

And the lamb is going to execute God's plan for the fullness of time to the uttermost.

And so this morning I want you to see that the risen lamb is on his throne.

He's in control now.

And he's carrying out God's plan for the fullness of time.

Is this your Jesus?

By the time we get to chapter 6,

what we see happening is the lamb begins to open the seven seals of the scroll

of God's plan for the fullness of time.

It's the plan being enacted.

And so what we're going to see is again and again,

as the lamb opens seal after seal,

we're given vision after vision of immediate happenings of cosmic proportions.

It's going to make you a little uncomfortable.

Is this your Jesus?

We're going to see the lamb in a light this morning that

that you may have never seen him before,

or maybe you care not to see him like this.

The question is, is it true?

The lamb is on the throne.

He's in control.

And he's carrying out God's plan for the fullness of time.

And he uses calamity and destruction

according to his will for God's glory.

So here's how we're going to move forward.

We're going to look at the lamb and the four horsemen.

Seals one through four.

And then we're going to look at the lamb and his martyrs.

Seal five.

And then the lamb and his wrath.

Seal six.

And then the lamb and the ominous silence.

Seal seven.

So we're going to focus on chapter six.

Take a, kind of dip our toe into chapter eight.

And you might be wondering, well, what about chapter seven?

We'll come back to that next week.

You'll understand why in a little bit.

Let's look at the lamb and the four horsemen.

Seals one through four.

We're going to take them all together.

This is chapter six, one through eight.

Every seal that the lamb opens is an authoritative act

of him carrying out God's plan for all time.

And what I want you to see is he's turning up the heat on humanity.

These first four seals are all related.

They have a lot of similarities as you go through him, through them.

And if you're wondering about these four horsemen, like where did John think these things up?

He actually didn't think them up.

He's actually riffing off the four horsemen in Zechariah chapter one and chapter six.

And those horsemen were sent out by God to patrol the earth.

They were agents of God's purposes.

And the horsemen we're going to look at now are agents of God's purposes.

Here's what we're going to see over and over again.

We're going to see the lamb open a seal.

And then we're going to see after the opening of a seal, one of the living creatures, they cry out,

come!

And they call forth one of the horsemen.

And one of those horsemen, there's a horse that's either white, red, black, and pale.

And then there's a rider on one of those horses.

And usually one of the riders is given something.

The rider of the white horse in chapter six, verses one and two, he's given a bow and a crown to conquer.

The rider on the red horse in chapter six, verses three and four, he's on a red horse and he's given a great sword.

And he is to remove the peace on the earth to men slay one another.

It's a picture of war and bloodshed.

The rider on the black horse in chapter six, verses five and six, has a pair of scales.

And there's a voice from the midst of the throne saying, a quart of wheat is worth a denarius.

One day's food is worth one day's wage.

Scarcity.

Economic difficulty.

And then the rider on the pale horse.

Literally, corpse green horse.

And the rider on that horse, chapter six, verses seven and eight, it's the only rider that's been given a name.

Death.

Accompanied by his partner Hades, the place of the dead.

And that rider is given authority to bring the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts to kill a fourth of humankind.

The four horsemen of Revelation chapter six, these four seals, they represent calamities that are sent forth by the lamb.

Human conquest, the rider on the white horse, to conquer.

National, international power grabbing.

Control, human dominance.

And that results in great bloodshed.

The rider on the red horse with the great sword.

Human conquest, the prideful dominion over one people over another, leads to the shedding of great blood of one people over another.

Which, of course, results in economic scarcity.

Famines brought on by war.

Famines brought on by bloodshed.

Famines brought on by the exertion of human will to conquer.

Just think of North Korea and the famine that's been going on there for years.

And then it all lands with death.

Death after death after death after death.

Here's what's going on with these four seals.

What I want you to see is that Jesus is setting each one into motion.

He opens a seal.

A living creature says, come.

The horse and the rider come.

They're given something.

And they go.

And they wreak havoc on the earth.

So, the risen Christ, who's positioned on the throne with one seat on the throne,

in all his cross-certified authority,

sends calamity after calamity onto the earth.

Is this your Jesus?

Who's reigning on high?

Remember the pedancy children?

Upon hearing of Aslan,

is he safe?

This Jesus that we're looking at is the Lion of Judah.

He's the Lamb who was slain.

And he ushers in calamity on the earth.

I mean, he said he would.

Matthew 24, chapter 24, verses 4 through 8.

If you want to turn back to that.

This is Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 24, verse 4 through 8.

Matthew 24:4–8

He's talking about the end.

What will happen?

And we hear him say this.

See that no one leads you astray.

For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ.

And they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not alarmed.

For this must take place.

It must take place.

But the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation,

and kingdom against kingdom.

And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

What we are seeing in the four horsemen are the birth pains.

I want to help you guys think about something.

It's not when the four horsemen will come.

It's that they have already come.

You hear horsebeats, hoofbeats already.

Every time you open up your news feed on your smartphone,

and you hear about devastations,

think hoofbeats.

When you see the news,

when you hear on the radio,

things that make you say,

no, not again.

Hoofbeats.

Hoofbeats.

I mean, if you are familiar with the genocides over the last hundred years,

how many millions of people have died?

How many Armenians died at the hand of Turks?

How many Jews died at the hand of Nazis?

How many Russians died?

How many Cambodians died?

How many Africans have died of famines?

And North Koreans have died of famines?

How much death has happened?

Hoofbeats are sounding all over the place.

We're living in it.

Why is this happening?

The end is coming.

We're one day closer.

We read in the book of Romans chapter 1

Romans 1 · chapter mention

that sinful humanity exchanges the truth of God for a lie.

It's idolatry in the first order.

And if you're God,

and you get swapped out for something you've made,

it is a tremendous offense.

In the words of Paul in Romans 1.28,

since they, sinful humanity,

did not see fit to acknowledge God,

God gave them up to a debased mind

to do what not ought to be done.

The Lamb,

the Lamb is handing an idolatrous generation

over to its cravings and consequences.

And we're hearing hoofbeats all over the place.

The Lamb's turning up the heat.

Now, if you started showing symptoms

of a headache and a cough

and a temperature and chills,

chances are you're going to start thinking,

well, I think I got the flu.

I need to go get checked out.

But if you ignore it,

you ignore it to your own peril.

Think about the other symptoms going on

that Jesus is describing.

Human conquest,

great bloodshed,

famine, scarcity,

death, death, death.

Symptoms of the times.

Hoofbeats are sounding all around us.

Jesus is raising the heat.

We can't ignore it.

Billy Graham is quoted as saying,

the sun that melts the butter

hardens the clay.

The sun that melts the butter

hardens the clay.

And depending on the condition

of your heart,

when you experience this kind of heat,

will determine how you respond.

And for those who have a tender heart,

Jesus is giving us time

to repent and to turn to Him

and bow our knee.

But those with a hardened heart,

ignore at your own peril.

You'll see what will that happen

in seal six.

Is this your Jesus

who's on His throne,

controlling all things

and carrying out God's plan

for the fullness of time,

turning up the heat with hoofbeats?

Those are the four seals.

Now let's look at seal five.

The Lamb and His Martyrs.

This is chapter six,

verses nine through eleven.

The fifth seal.

That word martyr,

the word martyr

has an interesting history.

Literally, the Greek word,

it actually shows up

in this chapter.

And it's the word witness.

It literally means,

martyr literally means

in the original language,

witness.

Like you witness

in a court of law.

But over time,

as Christian after Christian

bearing witness to Christ

to their death,

martyr evolved into the meaning

to faithfully bear witness

unto death.

And what we see happening

in seal five is

we're given a vision

of the faithful martyrs

in heaven.

Those who've gone before

faithful to professing Jesus

all the way to the end

of their own lives.

And in verse nine,

we are explicitly shown

who they are.

I saw under the altar

the souls of those

who had been slain.

The souls of those

who've been slain.

The soul is kind of

the disembodied saint.

They are absent from the body

but present with the Lord.

They are in God's presence

in His heavenly temple.

And they're there

because they've been slain.

And notice what they were slain for.

The word of God.

And there it is.

It's a witness they bore.

And what I want you to notice

is exactly where they are.

They are under the altar

of the heavenly temple

in the presence of God.

Now in the Jerusalem temple complex

there were two altars.

The altar of sacrifice

and the altar of incense.

And when an animal

was sacrificed

on the altar of sacrifice

do you know

where its blood would pool?

Under the altar.

What John is showing us

is a very vivid way

to describe

the martyrs of Jesus

as an offering

sacrificed unto the Lord.

They are in a place

where blood would pool.

Who are these martyrs?

Think of Stephen

in the book of Acts.

John Wycliffe.

John Huss.

William Tyndale.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Jim Elliot.

I was reading about

Gracia Burnham this week.

Kayla Mueller this week.

There are men and women

from all different ethnicities

and languages

who have given their lives

for Jesus.

And Jesus knows

every one of them.

Maybe you've seen brothers

on YouTube

who have been beheaded

for being Christ followers

in the Middle East

under the altar.

And notice what they are crying out.

They are crying out

with a loud voice.

Oh Sovereign Lord.

That's to the Lamb.

Oh Sovereign Lord.

It's the word we get despot from.

Oh Sovereign Lord.

Ruler of all.

How long before you judge

and avenge our blood

on those who dwell on the earth?

When will you vindicate us?

When?

They are crying out to the Lamb.

Bring your justice.

How long?

How long will you

avenge until you avenge us?

On those who dwell on the earth.

It's a very important phrase

in the book of Revelation.

Those who dwell on the earth.

And when we hear that

we probably think of like

the seven point

whatever billion people

inhabitants of the earth right now.

Well the book of Revelation

it's a little bit more specific

and technical.

Here's what I mean by that.

As we make our way

through the book of Revelation

when that phrase show up

the dwellers of the earth

here's what's true of them.

They are deceived

by the false prophet

to worship the beast.

They are deceived.

They make an image

of the beast and worshiper.

The dwellers on the earth.

The dwellers on the earth

are given the mark

of the beast.

The dwellers on the earth

become drunk

with the wine

of immorality

of the great prostitute.

And so when you start

to understand

how the book of Revelation

uses that phrase

the dwellers of the earth

you realize

it's not all the inhabitants

of the earth.

It's those

who have refused

to become followers

of Jesus

who are still in their sin.

They're idolaters.

They're unbelievers.

not all the earth's population.

These are the ones

who have turned

from the lamb

to worship

anything but the lamb

and these are the ones

who make it difficult

for the people of God.

And the martyrs

are crying out

how long

how long

until you vindicate us.

Did you notice

did you notice

that the martyrs

they're talking

about the lamb

as the judge of all.

Come judge

and vindicate

avenge.

Is this your Jesus?

Just as the writers

were given something

now these martyrs

are given something.

They're given white robes.

And what these white robes

are in verse 11

they are

they're to show

that they share

in the lamb's conquering

in his victory.

It's assurance.

It's like hey

you guys are legit.

You should be here.

I've shed my blood

for you.

You're in my conquest.

My victory.

Not just that.

They are told something.

They're told to rest

rest a little longer.

Rest a little longer

until the number

of their fellow servants

and their brothers

should be complete

who were to be killed

as they themselves

had been killed.

This is really

sober stuff here.

Because what we're

reading about

is Jesus is giving us

a kind of a

of a marker.

these martyrs

have run

their course

faithfully

to

the appointed

end of giving

their lives

for Jesus.

And what we're

learning now

is that

hey

rest

wait

until

the full number

of the martyrs

comes in.

There's a set

number of martyrs

apparently.

We're being given

a reference point.

In Matthew 24 14

we're given

another kind of

a reference point

by Jesus.

Jesus talks about

the end will come

after the gospel

of the kingdom

is proclaimed

throughout the whole

world to all nations.

Then the end

will come.

So what we know is

the end won't come

until that happens.

Here we're given

another kind of a marker.

That as the gospel

is proclaimed

to the nations

there will be

brothers and sisters

who will be giving

their lives to that.

There's a set

number of martyrs.

People will die

for the cause

of Jesus.

Loving people

helping them

pointing them

to Jesus.

Maybe this will help.

Have you ever seen

those kind of like

desktop daily

countdown calendars?

It sits on your desk

and there is like

the date

January 20th

and then you rip it off

and the next day

is January 21st

and it's all

going down

to the last day.

Think about

the lamb

having a kind

of countdown

calendar

but it's not

by days.

It's by

martyrs.

martyrs.

He knows them

one by one.

One at a time.

Count down

of the martyrs

until

they're done.

And then

the end

comes.

It's sobering

isn't it?

Stakes are high.

The worship

of the lamb

is at stake.

What we've

learned here

is that

the lamb

is the sovereign

Lord who will

judge with

vengeance

all who oppose

him and his

faithful martyrs.

As the judge

he knows

his own.

He loves

his own.

He hears

his own.

He's heard

their cries.

He loves

them.

He shed

their blood

for them.

He will

vindicate

them.

And just

imagine if

you're one of

the seven

churches in

the first

century that

received this

and you're

also being

told that

you're going

to be facing

persecution

and some

of you

will die.

This is

going to be

encouragement

to you.

He's on

the throne.

He's in

control and

he's carrying

out God's

plan for the

fullness of

time including

martyrdom.

is this

your Jesus?

Maybe you're

asking is

he safe?

The sixth

seal we

read about in

chapter 12

verse 17 and

it is related

to the fifth

seal.

I love movie

previews.

I like getting

early to movies

to see the

previews.

And you

know how

previews work.

They give

you a kind

of present

limited glimpse

of a future

release.

So you get

like 30,

60 seconds

of something

coming later

that is going

to be two

hours of

wonder.

The sixth

seal is a

present glimpse

of a future

destruction

of the first

heaven and the

first earth.

earth.

It's

describing what

Revelation 21

describes as

the passing

away of the

first heaven and

the first earth.

Let me read it

for you.

Chapter 6

verse 12

the sixth

seal.

When he

opened the

sixth seal I

looked and

behold there

was a great

earthquake and

the sun became

black as

sackcloth.

The full moon

became like

blood and the

stars of the

sky fell to

the earth as

the fig tree

sheds its

winter fruit when

shaken by a

gale.

What a

visual.

The sky

vanished like

a scroll that

is being rolled

up and every

mountain and

island was

removed from

its place.

Again

Revelation 21

describes this

as the first

heaven and first

earth passing

away.

If you turn to

2 Peter

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

2 Peter

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

describes this

in a little

different terminology.

In verse 7

we read this.

But by the

same word the

heavens and

earth that

now exist are

stored up for

fire being

kept until the

day of judgment

and destruction

of the ungodly.

And if you look

down to verse

10 we read

but the day of

the Lord will

come like a

thief and then

the heavens will

pass away with a

roar and the

heavenly bodies

will be burned

up and dissolved

and the earth

and the works

that are done

on it will be

exposed.

What Jesus is

describing

what we see

here in the

sixth seal is

the final

devastation of

the present

heaven and

earth.

It's a preview

of cosmic

destruction

to come.

The earth

as we know

it will be

dramatically

changed.

It's describing

an event

earthquake.

Did you see

the word

earthquake?

Earthquake

throughout the

Bible usually

is connected

to God's

coming.

A theophany

an appearing.

And here is

the great

earthquake.

I looked

and behold

there was a

great earthquake

and we see

the results

of it in

verse 14.

Every mountain

and island

was removed

from its

place.

But it's

more than

just a

quaking

of the

earth.

It's a

cosmic

quake

because the

heavenly

bodies

are

dramatically

shaken

and altered

too.

The sun

has turned

black.

The full

moon

has turned

blood red.

Stars fall

to the

earth and

the sky

vanishes

like a

scroll.

The scope

and scale

is absolute

devastation of

the present

heavens and

earth as

we know

them.

And who

set it in

motion?

the lamb.

Is this

your Jesus?

The lamb

is on his

throne in

control and

carrying out

God's plan for

the fullness

of time.

And here he

is as the

catalyst of

the destruction

of the heavens

and the earth

as we know

it.

He opens

the seal

and heavens

and earth

are dissolved.

is he

safe?

I wouldn't

put him in

a safe

category at

this point.

In verses

15 and

17 we

move from

absolute

devastation

in 12

and 14

to another

preview of

the absolute

terror and

fear for

those who

are still

left present

on the

earth when

the great

day of

God's wrath

comes.

we read

this.

Then the

kings of

the earth

and the

great ones

and the

generals

and the

rich and

powerful

and everyone

slave and

free hid

themselves in

the caves

and among

the rocks

of the

mountains

calling to

the mountains

and rocks

fall on

us and hide

us from

the face

of him

who is

seated on

the throne

and from

the wrath

of the

lamb

for the

great day

of the

wrath has

come

and who

can stand?

We move

from absolute

devastation

to absolute

terror for

those left

on earth.

Now the

question my

wife asked

last night

is well

where are

we?

Where are

the redeemed?

The church?

Look at that

next week in

chapter 7.

But these are

the dwellers

of the earth.

What I was

telling you

before of

those who

have opposed

the lamb

and his

people,

those who

have rejected

him for

idols,

they're still

on the

earth and

when this

devastation

hits,

they are

terrified.

And notice,

it's a

diverse group

of people.

Kings,

great ones,

generals,

rich,

powerful,

everyone,

slaves and

free.

Everyone who

hasn't bowed

the knee and

is on the

planet when

this happens

are going

to be

terrified.

I mean,

think about

it.

Kings,

great ones,

generals,

rich and

powerful,

they're not

the type that

should be

hiding.

Usually,

people hide

from them.

But now,

they're hiding.

They're afraid

because they

know what

has now

come upon

them.

It's going

to be

extensive

devastation.

They're united

in their

fearful

chorus.

Look what

they say.

They're calling

to the mountains

and rocks.

Notice,

they're not

calling out

to the one

seated on

the throne

or to

the Lamb.

They're

calling to

the mountains

and the rocks,

fall on us

and hide us

from the face

of Him.

These are the

big dudes

of the world.

Hide us

from Him

who is seated

on the throne.

Don't let us

see His face.

Hide us

from the wrath

of the Lamb.

They are

still unwilling

to turn to

God even

at this

point.

They're

hiding like

Adam and

Eve hid

in Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

from God's

presence because

of their

wrongdoing.

But on

this day,

no one

escapes God's

presence.

No one

escapes the

wrath of the

Lamb.

which raises

a really

interesting

question.

When you

think about

the Lamb,

I'm guessing

you don't

think wrath.

It's almost

paradoxical.

Why is the

Lamb so

full of

wrath?

That He

would destroy

the heavens

and the earth

that He

created?

That He

would terrify

the inhabitants

of the world?

Why is the

Lamb so

full of

wrath?

Well,

you've got to

understand,

God's anger

is not like

our anger.

His anger

is always

sinless.

It's never

kind of

quick-tempered.

His anger

is always

just and

right.

It's a

holy wrath.

And His

wrath is

the outworking

of His

perfect

justice.

We read

in John 3

that those

who do not

believe in

Jesus,

they're under

God's

condemnation.

They're under

His wrath

now.

Now,

when you

sin against

a holy,

just God,

when you

swap Him

out for

something else

as an

idol,

it provokes

His wrath.

It's a

terrible thing

to fall

into the

hands of

the living

God,

Hebrews

says.

Is He

safe?

Is this

your Jesus,

Lamb?

His wrath

will be

poured out

on all

those who

refuse to

submit to

Him,

who

swapped

Him out

for something

else,

and who

mock and

hurt those

who follow

the Lamb.

His wrath

will be

final,

it will be

full,

and it

will be

forever.

Forever.

forever.

And we

have an

announcement.

Verse 17.

These

terrified

ones,

they announce

the great

day of

God's

wrath

has

come.

How about

that for a

preview?

The

destruction

of the

world

and

those

left on

the

planet

who

has

not

yielded

to

Jesus

hiding

from

Him.

But I

got to

tell you

something.

If you're

afraid right

now of

the wrath

of the

Lamb,

you don't

need to

be afraid.

Because

right now

He is

offering

you to

be

free,

forgiven.

You don't

need to

wait

until

that

day.

Today

can be

the

day

in

which

you

turn

to

the

Lamb

who

was

slain

for

you,

who

bore

God's

wrath

on the

cross.

So you

don't have

to bear

God's

wrath

on that

day.

It's

an incredible

display of

mercy.

The

Lamb

who is

wrathful

bore

God's

wrath

for

his

idolaters

today.

And

He offers

it to

all.

Don't

miss the

question

that gets

asked

at the

end of

verse 17

by the

ones who

are terrified.

They say

the great

day of

the wrath

has come

and then

they ask

well who

can stand?

It's a

rhetorical

question.

They don't

think anybody

can stand.

But

chapter 7

answers the

question

who can

stand?

Briefly

look at

chapter 7

verse 9.

After this

I looked

and behold

a great

multitude

that no

one could

number

from every

nation

from all

tribes and

people and

languages

standing

before the

throne

crying out

with a

loud voice

salvation

belongs to

our God

who sits

on the

throne

and to

the Lamb.

Chapter

7 is

really good

news for

us.

It

answers the

question

who can

stand?

We'll come

back to that

more next

week.

But now

would you

turn to

chapter 8

verse 1

and the

last seal?

We read

when the

Lamb opened

the seventh

seal there

was silence

in heaven

for about

half an

hour.

I mentioned

earlier that

the throne

room has

been a

relatively loud

place up

until this

point.

Chapter

4 people

all sorts

of beings

praising the

one seated

on the

throne.

chapter 5

everybody

around the

one seated

on the

throne

and the

Lamb

giving

praises

to him.

Chapter 6

with the

seals.

Seals 1

through 4

we have

the four

living

creatures

yelling

come.

And seal

number 5

we have

the martyrs

calling out

how long?

And then

seal number

6 we have

those dwellers

on the

earth who

are facing

God's wrath

yelling out

fall on

us to the

mountains.

chapter 7

it's loud

praise of

the one

sitting on

the throne

and to

the Lamb.

Salvation

belongs to

him.

We see

that up

until this

point

revelation

this set

of visions

is just

loud.

And then

chapter 8

verse 1

silence.

The

seventh seal

the last

seal

silence

in heaven

for

half an

hour.

Very

specific.

Here's how

to be

thinking about

this ominous

silence.

It's the

calm before

the storm.

Specifically

it's the

calm

before

the fire

storm.

Because when

you see

the trumpets

and what

gets poured

out on a

third of

creation

it's all

burning.

Chapter 8

verse 1

through 5

transitions us

to the

second

or the

third cycle

of

judgments

the trumpet

judgments

and we're

going to

look at

that in

two weeks.

But seal

seven

ends on

a rather

ominous

note.

I've been

asking you a

question

throughout the

sermon.

Is this

your Jesus?

Is the

Lamb of

Revelation

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

the Jesus

who is your

first love?

Who you

will live

for all the

days of your

life no

matter what

you face?

Is he

your

Jesus?

And maybe

you're still

asking the

question something

like the

Pevensey

children

is he

safe?

Well here's

what I can

tell you.

The Lamb is

on his throne.

He's in

control and

he's carrying

out God's

plan for the

fullness of

time including

devastations and

destructions.

I wouldn't

put him in

the safe

category but

you remember

what the

Beaver,

Mr.

Beaver told

the Pevensey

children when

they asked is

he safe?

He said he's

a lion.

He's not

safe but

he's good.

The Lamb is

good.

The Lamb who

was slain for

you is good.

He is good

and he's on

the throne and

he's in

control and

he is carrying

out God's

plan for the

fullness of

time and he

is good which

means you can

trust him all

the days of

your life no

matter what you

encounter to be

faithful to the

end.

Is he safe?

He's good.

He shed his

blood for you.

He's raining on

high.

Let's pray.

God would

you press this

into our

hearts and

help us to

respond with

the appropriate

reverence and

sobriety,

long-suffering,

willingness to

endure that is

in keeping with

those who follow

you.

O risen Lamb,

will you give us

the strength to

press forward

regardless of what

comes.

It's in the name

of Jesus we

pray.

Amen.