The Cry of The Martyrs (The Fifth Seal) | Revelation 6:9-11 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series)

Please let's turn together in the Book of Revelation chapter 6

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

as we endeavor to explore 3 verses beginning in verse 9 of

that chapter. Revelation 6.

Starting in verse 9, when he opened the 5th seal, I saw under

the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of

God and for the witness they had borne.

They cried out with a loud voice, O sovereign Lord, holy

and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood

on those who dwell on the earth? Then they were each given a

white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number

of their fellow servants and their brothers should be

complete, who are to be killed as they themselves had been.

Father, Your Word tells us through the apostle Peter that

though You do not see Him, you love Him, and though you do not

now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is

inexpressible and filled with glory.

Lord, we believe that that is our inheritance and we pray that

You would use the means of grace today to fill our hearts with

that joy and to know that glory in a tangible, undeniable way.

We rest in Your promise and we believe that will be our

portion. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Well, hopefully we remember that we are still exploring this

series within a series of the breaking of the seven seals of a

heavenly scroll that reveals and explains the initial judgments

that will be unleashed by Christ upon the earth at the beginning

of the Tribulation period. And hopefully we also remember

that the events that we've been looking at here mirror the

sequence of events that Christ taught when he was giving his

disciples A thorough understanding of the events of

the last days in Matthew 24. In fact, the first four seals

that we've already covered are mentioned by the Lord Jesus in

Matthew 24, verse one down to verse 8.

It should be no surprise then that the 5th seal, the seal that

we just read about, will follow as the next episode in the

closing moments of human history.

So after the Lord warns about false Christ's wars and rumors

of wars, famines and earthquakes, allow me to remind

you what He said in Matthew 24, nine to 10.

Jesus says then they will deliver you up to tribulation

and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for

my name's sake, and then many will fall away and betray one

another and hate one another. What is Christ referring to

here? Global persecution against

followers of Jesus Christ, one that will escalate during the

Tribulation like never before. And the hostility against

believers at that time will be so intense that in verse 10 we

learned that many will fall away in response to it.

Many nominal Christians, many empty professors, many who

enjoyed the benefits of cultural Christianity, many who on the

surface look like they actually loved Christ.

When the tribulation comes, Jesus predicted that many of

those will indeed fall away. In fact, it will be some of

those who will turn Christians in to the persecutors.

They will hate one another and betray one another.

This is something startling to consider.

However, there is a difference between what Jesus taught in

Matthew 24 and what John saw in Revelation chapter 6.

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

You see, what Jesus explained in Matthew 24 was from an earthly

vantage point, whereas John saw this from heaven.

And the heavenly perspective is so crucial to understand because

it reveals the true meaning of this seal judgement.

What is its purpose? You see, there are many who have

made the mistake of believing that when this 5th seal on the

scroll is broken, it will set into motion this international

wave of persecution. But that interpretation doesn't

hold up for one main reason. These seals that will be broken

speak of Christ's judgement being released.

And so if you think that that fifth seal means that Christ is

going to be judging his own people, you have to search a

little bit deeper and understand that's not how he works.

Instead, what John sees and explains is that the breaking of

the 5th seal is directly connected to the prayers of

these martyrs, and it will be the prayers who plead with God

here to carry out his vengeance and justly deal with those

responsible for their cruel deaths.

That's in view. In other words, it's the prayers

of the Saints who've been slaughtered that will play a

major part in the beginning of the tribulation and the events

that will follow. And so if anybody were to ask us

what is the 5th seal in Revelation 6 all about, our

answer should be that it reveals how the Lord Jesus is ready to

act on behalf of his followers who have been killed for his

namesake. Here's another way to think

about it. In Matthew, the Lord Jesus tells

us what will happen to Christians in the Tribulation.

And in Revelation 6, we learn what Christ will do for

Christians in the Tribulation. That's essentially the summary.

But we're not going to settle for an overview today, are we?

No, no, no, no. I want us to consider at least

three elements of the 5th seal. Though it is predictive, though

it is a prophecy of what will to come, it also has benefit for us

today. And these three observations are

neatly divided in these 3 verses. 1 Observation perverse.

Did you notice how in verse 9 John saw an assembly, an

assembly, a particular group of people found in a different

realm? Given a very unique description?

There is an assembly that we have to consider.

But from this assembly we learn in verse 10 that there is an

appeal made, an urgent request made unto God that is worth

meditating on. And finally we come to the final

verse there of our reading and we'll learn about encouraging

assurance, assurance that God gives to this assembly who make

this appeal. Let's look in our Bibles now in

verse 9 again, what do we read? When he opened the 5th seal, I

saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the

word of God and for the witness they had borne.

That's the first thing that caught John's attention.

He noticed this group of souls who are under an altar in

heaven. And there are two questions that

we have to answer here. Number one, who are these souls?

We don't have to guess. The very same verse tells us

they are the souls of those who were slain because they stood

for the truth, because they were not ashamed of their allegiance

to the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel, They were murdered.

But does John see here the innumerable Saints of all ages?

Is he looking at those who have been persecuted unto death from

the beginning of time? Some would say yes.

I'm convinced that it's not the case.

I'm convinced that what John is looking at here are the group of

Christians who will be killed during the Tribulation.

Here's a hint. Look at verse 10 and carefully

observe what they cry out to God for as they ask Him to avenge

their blood. They request that the Lord would

bring justice to those who dwell on the earth.

Implying what? That their persecutors and

murders were still alive at the time of the breaking of the

seal? And if we're looking at the

initial judgments of the Tribulation period, then the

conclusion is obvious. And it becomes even more clear

in Revelation 13, where we discover that the Antichrist is

the mastermind behind this global campaign to target and

hunt down Christians, those who refuse to take his mark, those

who refuse to worship him or anybody else.

What's especially curious, though, is that these souls are

seen under an altar. Under the altar in heaven.

What are they doing there? That's a very unusual place for

disembodied spirits to be. Well, John, by the spirit is

assuming that you and I know our Old Testament well, and there

should already be a connection between the concept of something

being slain and an altar, right? There should be, but not just an

altar, the base of the altar. They are under this altar and

there's something that comes to mind from Leviticus 4, verse 7.

Leviticus 4:7

Listen to these instructions for some of the sacrifices in the

Levitical system. Levitical, Leviticus 4/7 is your

reference that you want to remember.

It says here, and the priest shall put some of the blood on

the horns of the altar, a fragrant incense before the Lord

that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of

the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt

offering, that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

So this was a common practice with many of the animal

sacrifices, that some of the blood would be placed on the

horns of the altar, that brazen altar that the first thing you

would see when you entered into the temple courts, But with the

rest of the blood, it would be poured out at the base of that

instrument of worship. And Jesus Christ borrows that

imagery and he applies it to these believers who willingly

laid down their lives because in his sight that was an act of

worship that he will choose to remember for all eternity.

This shouldn't be so foreign to us.

Even the Apostle Paul does something similar when he speaks

about his impending death. Do you remember when he wrote to

his spiritual son Timothy and his final letter?

He says the following in Second Timothy 4/6 For I am already

being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my

departure has come. But Paul is more specific.

Why, out of all the offerings that you could have offered

under the Old covenant, does he speak about his departure and

likens it to the drink offering? Can I tell you why he is so

spirit LED? Brilliant.

So again, I understand that many people's attempts to read

through the Bible ends at Leviticus.

I get it. But you can't enjoy Revelation.

You can't even translate Paul's words without that book, without

Numbers, without Deuteronomy. Let me show you an example why

Paul is so precise. Because according to Numbers

1510 drink offerings were to be 1/2 hen of wine.

Now, half in, in today's measurements would be closely

equivalent to 3/4 of a gallon. And when you look there, numbers

15, you'll realize that this drink offering often accompanied

an animal sacrifice. And it was to be poured out, in

a sense, upon that animal sacrifice almost as a final act

of worship once everything out has been laid out.

And Paul even uses this in another place.

I mean, look at this later. Talk about it at the picnic

where he says in Philippians 217 that he is willing to even be a

drink offering upon the sacrifice of the Philippians.

So Paul even elaborates in that place to speak about how that

drink offering was to be given. It was one of the last things

that you would do once everything else has been

prepared. You would take out a half hint

of wine and pour it out upon that sacrifice.

And it's as though Paul is saying to Timothy, Timothy, just

as the drink offering was poured out last after everything else

was done. I'm ready to follow in that

example as my life has been a living sacrifice consecrated

unto God day and night. My willingness to die for the

gospel will be my final act of worship to Him.

Here I am now, and I smell my execution.

But I want to let you know, Timothy, that I'm consecrating

this final moment as a drink offering.

My death will be a drink offering.

What an amazing man of God. And it's thrilling as this is.

I'm not sure how these insights resonate with American

Christians because you know this very well, that we live with an

unusual level of peace and measure of tranquility in

comparison to the rest of the world.

But I will say this, should persecution arise suddenly, and

persecution has a tendency of arriving unannounced, read the

Bible carefully. Very rarely are people warmed up

to it. It tends to crash on the scene.

Should that happen in our lifetime?

Remember these truths when you go back to Revelation 6, verse

Revelation 6:9

9. Did you notice that John says

that he saw souls, the souls of those who had been slain?

That comforts me for many reasons.

One, because even though these precious Saints were killed, as

Jesus says, don't fear those who can kill the body.

But what cannot destroy the soul?

What can a murderer really do? OK, Yeah.

He kills you. To what end?

To usher you into a greater reality.

I saw the souls of those who have been slain.

The souls the soul untouched, safe, set apart.

I don't know about you. Let me just say this as a side

note. This is just another verse that

dispels the notion of soul sleep.

If you don't know, the belief of soul sleep is that when a person

dies, when a Christian dies, when a believer in Christ dies,

apparently their soul becomes unconscious and dormant and

remains in that state until the resurrection or final judgement.

There are millions of people who believe this, but that certainly

doesn't match the description we find here, does it?

They were slain for the word of God and their souls were in

heaven totally conscience speaking, aware in community

that should infusing you a fresh confidence and greater level of

bliss even in the face of death, no matter its 'cause why?

Because the moment you and I die, we will enter into a

reality of such glory that it will compare, won't be able to

compare to anything that you've experienced with this earthly

frame. Nothing.

And I understand that this is a unique vision with a specific

message, but I want to take the opportunity to say this to those

who have lost believing loved ones who have left you behind in

your pilgrimage. If they trusted in Christ,

they're home. They're not waiting to be home.

They are home right now as we speak, as we're here hearing

about the Word of God, as we're here speaking about Christ.

They're in His presence, unfiltered, face to face like

these souls that we find here. Look at verse 11.

The Lord addresses them and He tells them something

interesting. We'll explore it in a few

moments. He tells them to rest a little

longer. Implying what?

That they are in a place of heavenly calm.

They are enjoying complete security.

They are swimming an endless refreshment.

That's where the souls of those who belong to Christ are at this

moment. And I'm sure these brief details

to the original readers of John's writing would have really

appreciated what he was saying here.

As they themselves are being persecuted in their own

churches, their own families, some of their own leaders being

killed, John, in this one vision says these souls, they're safe.

They're savoring glory, and that is our future as well.

This is the assembly that John sees, but the encouragement only

continues. As you look at verse 10 and

recognize the appeal that they make, you can almost say that

this is the first recorded prayer in the Book of

Revelation. Look at verse 10.

Once more they cried out with a loud voice.

O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge

and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?

It's fascinating that one of the first prayers that we find in

this book is not one of people, the Saints, praying for their

enemies, but praying against them.

They're not asking here for pardon.

They're asking here for judgement.

And I understand how that can be challenging to us at face value

because we remember the the teachings of Jesus who told us

to do what and pray for your enemies over and over.

He said that in so many different contexts.

And what about the first Christian martyr, Stephen, who

while he was being stoned said, Lord, do not hold this sin

against them. So what we find here in this in

this verse of chapter 6, are we looking at a group of believers

who in the heat of frustration disobeyed Christ?

Are we looking at Christians who are less sanctified?

Than Stephen and other martyrs throughout the ages.

Absolutely not. If we want to figure out this

apparent dilemma, context, context, context.

And the one thing that we need to establish is when was this

prayer made? I'm not sure if you remember,

but a few weeks ago I made the following comment when we were

discussing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Common grace will become less common when the tribulation

begins and progresses. Common grace will become less

common as a tribulation starts and as it advances.

This is time for judgement. That's what's happening here,

and I believe that will be reflected in part in how prayers

are made and answered during this period.

In other words, we all know that one day God will bring an end to

this period of grace the world has known for two millennia, and

there is an appointed time where He will pour out his act of

wrath instead, and prayers for His judgement will be entirely

acceptable then. So this is not an example of

everyday prayer. This supplication can't be

categorized as such for the simple reason that it's not

being offered within a typical period of time.

Christ is unleashing His judgement.

So it makes sense then that His people, in tune with His Spirit,

in tune with His mind, are asking for the same.

Lord, bring judgement. If you think that's challenging,

wait till we get to the end of Revelation where the people in

heaven are actually singing and rejoicing in God's judgement.

Not a lot of worship songs about that, but it says something

about how our minds will be transformed in that place.

That's for another time. So if this is not the best

example for typical prayer, day by day, though, you can make a

sense about the, you can make a case about the imprecatory

Psalms in the Book of Psalms. Let's just stick with this

context. What can we learn from it then?

Well, I think there's something very important to learn from it,

and it is this. You and I must be willing to

accept that the God that we worship is not one of only great

grace, but of judgement. God is a God of justice.

God is a God of wrath. God is holy, and he will not

tolerate iniquity. He will deal with it with

ferocious righteousness. And beware of those who

propagate and believe in a Jesus that is empty of wrath.

He doesn't exist. He's another Jesus.

And I thought to myself the other night, how can we

demonstrate this? And I want to take you to a

book, the book right before the Book of Revelation.

It's a little epistle called Jude.

And I want you to see a couple of verses with me.

Now, this will be especially helpful if you hold the ESV

translation in your hands. But if you don't, I'll explain

how this can still benefit you. Look at verse 5.

There are no chapters Jude 5 and notice what is said here, Jude

says. Now I want to remind you,

although you once fully knew it, that Jesus who saved a people

out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who

did not believe. So the same Jesus who delivered

the people out of Egypt is the same one who destroyed many of

them in the wilderness. Now if you have any other word

for word translation, like the new King James, the King James,

the NESB, or any other really popular English translation,

you'll notice that where Jesus is named here is rendered as

what Lord Lord, so it would read.

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it,

that the Lord who saved the people out of the land of Egypt

afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

So is the ESV including something that's not in the

original text? Are they forcing Christ to try

to promote a pre-existing Christ, an eternal Christ?

No, that's not what's happening at all.

The main reason why the ESV went with this translation is because

of manuscript evidence and some of the earliest and most

reputable Greek manuscripts of Jude 5 actually say Jesus

instead of Lord. And I can name those different

manuscripts. This is widely available if you

want to look into it. It's fascinating.

And so the the minds behind this translation saw what was

available, especially as we advance in archaeology and

discovered these greater things that some of the earliest

manuscripts, some of the most reputable ones have the name

Jesus there. And so they decided to use this

manuscript variant for their English translation.

Now, for those who might even just struggle with the idea that

Christ was somehow present during the Exodus, it's not such

a foreign concept in the Bible. We're going to come back to

Jude, but let's just go on a little bit of a rabbit trail

here. Do you remember what Paul said

to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 10 for when he spoke

about the rock that followed the Israelites in the wilderness,

and he said that it was a spiritual rock.

And he says this, that rock was who?

Christ, Christ. And that's something for us to

consider because the apostles and the teachers who laid down

the foundation of the doctrine of the church understood that

Jesus Christ was present with Israel from the moment they were

delivered throughout their journey.

And so it's not so confusing that I hope that when Jude says

here that Jesus was done who saved them out of the land that

land Egypt and destroyed some of them that it's in alignment with

the rest of the New Testament. But let's just say that you

don't have the ESV and you you really enjoy your King James,

your new King James or any other translation.

Does this still apply to Christ? Can it?

And I want to make the case that even if you have Lord there in

Jude 5, that this strongly suggests that the Spirit of God

had Jesus in view here within the Godhead.

Here's just one example. And I'm just going to give you 1

because if if we if we go beyond this, we'll be in Jude for the

rest of the service. Look at the verse immediately

before Jude five. Look at verse 4.

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were

designated for this condemnation.

Ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality

and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ.

Again, it might be rendered a little differently if you have

those other translations, but what a staggering claim that

Jude makes about Christ. And I believe that this is more

accurate to the Greek, our only, our only, our only master and

Lord Jesus Christ. Now again, those other

translations, it will say what? Lord Jesus Christ, right?

It'll say Lord Christ. This is something to expound on

at another time, our only master and Lord Jesus Christ.

But notice here the context, the last reference to Lord is Jesus

Christ, and immediately following that he talks about

the Lord saving a people out of Egypt and destroying them.

So contextually, if you honor the flow of thought, even though

you don't have the ESV, even though it's not Jesus in your

translation, who is supposed to come to mind when Jude speaks

about Lord in verse 5, the Lord of verse 4, Jesus Christ, and

more can be said about that. But here's the point that I want

to make. When Kora Dathan Abiram and

their followers were swallowed up by the earth, that was

Christ. When the Israelites complained

to Moses and Aaron following that incident and fiery serpents

were released to strike the heels of those stubborn

Israelites, that was Christ. When the Moabite woman came into

the camp and seduced the men and so many of them engage with them

sexually and worship their gods, so plague was unleashed and

24,000 of them died, that was Christ.

I think you get the point. When we understand Jesus role in

the Exodus, we limit him to what?

He's the greater Passover lamb. He's the one who faithfully

brought them out. It's his blood that we apply in

our lives as we hide from the destroyer.

Don't limit Christ there. Jesus Christ is also the one who

destroyed those who approached the promised Land and did not

believe that God can bring them through.

Is that your Jesus? That's the Bible Jesus.

That's the complete Jesus. Not just the Jesus who saves,

who delivers us from bondage, but destroys those who refuse to

be free and trust him to bring him into the promised land.

Jesus is the one who's saved and the one who destroys.

That's the balanced view. And Revelation is helping us be

balanced. Don't forget that as we're going

through these seals that the one who's breaking them is the Lamb

of God. The Lamb of God who was slain

standing in victory is the same one who's pouring out judgement

on the earth. I'm afraid many professing

Christians will not even be able to recognize Christ when he

returns. But stick your face in the Bible

and let the Bible inform your vision and your understanding of

who He is. Not culture, not popular

preachers. The Word.

So this is the appeal that they make.

O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge

and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?

And we come to the final point now of this message, the

assurance that is given in verse 11.

Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a

little longer until the number of their fellow servants and

their brothers should be complete, who are to be killed

as they themselves had been. The response of the Sovereign

Lord who represents the Father in this vision is so comforting

and wonderful if you think about it, because He does 2 initial

things. He gives them two things.

The first first thing that He offers them is a white robe.

And what does that represent? We may not know how that works

with disembodied spirits, robes, spiritual beings.

That may not be clear, but the message is, do you remember what

Jesus promised one of the churches in the letters if they

would be faithful until the end? Look what He said to the church

in Sardis back in Revelation 3, verse 5.

Revelation 3:5

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments,

and I will never blot His name out of the book of life.

I will confess His name before my Father and before his angels.

So this white garment primarily speaks about reward for

faithfulness. You finished the race, you

crossed the line, you kept the faith.

Here's your graduation robe. So they were clothed with

dignity, they were clothed with glory, They were clothed with

God's pleasure. But beyond that, we realized

that He also provides a word, not just a robe.

They were told to rest a little longer.

Meaning it was not a matter of if the Lord was going to judge

those earth dwellers, but when He would do it, but at an

appointed time. And He could not vindicate His

people at the very moment they asked for it.

For what reason? Why the delay?

Because there was still more to be killed in the tribulation.

This is amazing. God has a number in mind of how

many were to be slain before He says enough is enough time to

judge. He has a number of mind and I

don't want to get ahead of myself here, but this one verse

alone is so rich with application.

Just verse 11 to begin. I don't know about you.

I was tremendously helped by being reminded of one of the

ways God answers our prayers. Sometimes yes, other times no.

And the one that we struggle with the most.

Wait, wait, how long? Go, Lord, just rest a little

longer. And again, I understand this is

a unique vision with a precise message.

But here's here's a wonderful way of reading your Bible.

Draw out the principle. What's the principle?

The more I study my Bible, the more I'm convinced of this one

truth concerning the character of God.

You ready? He's never in a rush.

You and I are. He's not ever.

When he makes and molds his men and women, he takes his time.

Sometimes he sticks them in the wilderness for a few years.

He's patient with the process. And here's what's so striking

when we come to the final script of human history.

He's not in a rush either. How long, O Lord?

Just wait a little longer. We're the antsy ones.

We're the ones who try to push his hand.

We're the one who tried to convince him to go ahead because

maybe he's busy, He doesn't understand what's really

happening. And at the same time, not only

do I learn something about the Lord, I learned something about

how we can wait. Well, what does he say?

Rest a little longer. Rest while you wait.

Relax. And if you need any motivation,

no matter what you're trusting God to intervene for, be fixated

on the reality of how He is sovereign over every detail.

It's even here, I mentioned it already before.

The Sovereign Lord here understands that there is a

particular number when His Saints are going to die and how

they're going to die. He's fully aware of this.

He's supervising that element of their existence.

And so if God here is clearly in charge about the way you and I

exit this world, is He not equally careful about the

moments and the milestones of your brief existence?

He is so Lord, how long? I've been here for a while.

Remember verse 11? I think what he says to them

applies to us. Rest.

Rest in my sovereignty, rest in my knowledge, rest in my wisdom,

Rest. But more than that, I mentioned

brief existence. I said this earlier and I'll say

it in closing. Notice here in verse 11 how God

refers to the heavenly dwelling place as also a place of rest.

And that description comes up more than once in the Book of

Revelation. And this blissful reality not

only gives us hope for tomorrow, but it also must transform how

we function and operate. Until then, I want you to go to

another place where the Lord talks about the the Saints and

the tribulation who will be slain.

Look here at Revelation 14, verse 12.

Revelation 14:12

Again, we're looking at Revelation chronologically.

So at this point some time has passed and yet even in chapter

14, there's still more Christians who will die for the

gospel as this world is governed by this Antichrist system.

Notice what the Lord says in Revelation 14.

Scroll down to verse 12. Here is a call for the endurance

of the Saints, those who keep the commandments of God and

their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven

saying, write this, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord

from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit.

Oh, I guess the spirit talks. He's not an impersonal force.

He's not just an energy, He's not just power.

He talks. Blessed indeed, says the spirit,

that they may rest from their laborers for their deeds follow

them. Here is yet another description

that the world to come will be a place of rest.

Maybe you've met these Christians.

I've met they're they're especially prevalent in America.

Christians who spend all their energy and all their resources

trying to make this world as close to heaven as possible.

Nothing else is a priority to them.

My comfort, my luxury. I want to do as much as I can,

build as much as I can, spend as much as I can, invest as much as

I can, forgetting that this is not your permanent home and the

you can't deny this. The Lord delights in US enjoying

things on this earth. There is no doubt they are

expressions of His grace and goodness, your focus and mine.

Brother and sister, our priority is not to plant ourselves in

this world. There is a place of rest that

awaits, and until then, Christ and His work is our goal.

His Kingdom is what we advance. His purpose is what we push.

His plan and His person is what we endeavor to know more and

more. And it's the greatest joy of

all. Look what the Spirit says.

He says that those who die in the Lord will rest from their

laborers. You know what the Greek word for

laborers is taking a beating. Now you can limit this to how

the Tribulation Saints will finally rest from all the

harassment and the difficulties of trying to cling to their

trust in God and the truth of the gospel while everything

around them is against them. Sure, you can say that, but you

can also understand it as the exhausting work and faithful

service rendered to the Lord at that time.

Their deeds will follow them. Now is the time to serve Him

with everything that is in you. And one of the motivations to do

that with such devotion and sacrifice is that our deeds,

whatever we do here, will follow us and we'll be remembered and

rewarded by our God. And here's what came to my mind

this morning. Coming getting ready to come to

church today. Whenever I get called home, I

don't want crumbs to follow me because I got so wrapped up and

I got bamboozled by the American dream.

I don't want crumbs of good works to follow me.

Now notice the good works follow.

I'm not saved by good works. They follow us, We go marching

into that place with our confidence in the finished work

of Jesus Christ. At the same time, though, I am

covered in his blood, though I am clothed in his righteousness.

If it says here that my deeds follow me, I want to come with

something of worth. I don't know about you, but

that's what we learned here. Blessed are those who die in the

Lord. And the Spirit says indeed,

because rest is their promise. Anything that you know of pain,

of disturbance, of difficulty in your faith for Christ is

temporary. It's temporary, 10 seconds into

eternity and all those things that seem to last for an

eternity will disappear. All of those scars, all those

challenges, all those things that made days feel like weeks

and weeks feel like months, all of that will dissolve the moment

you step foot into that golden shore.

Before I get ahead of myself and say more, let me just end it

here. Actually, I'm fully aware that

if we, as we've been looking at this 5th seal, this assembly,

this appeal, and this glorious assurance that some in this very

room right now do not know the Jesus that I speak of, it's very

possible. The Book of Revelation is a

fascinating book. It can draw in a curious amount

of people from different backgrounds and different

intents. But let me end it with this

thought. The Lord says blessed are those

who die in the Lord. Every single one of us has an

invisible expiration date on our lives.

We don't know what it is, but it's certain we will all die.

Church to tell people that all the time.

By the way, because we have this invincibility complex, we think

that we're immortal. No, you're going to die.

The preacher's going to die. We're all going to die.

But here's what I want to tell you.

We can all die differently, not the way we die, but spiritually

how we die. Here we learn that you can die

in the Lord. That sounds good.

The Spirit says it's actually a blessing.

What's the alternative? Let me tell you what Jesus said

in John 824. I told you that you would die in

your sins. For unless you believe that I am

He, you will die in your sins. Those are your only two options,

friend. You'll either die in the Lord or

die in your sins. One promises glory, the other

one promises condemnation. So here's the question.

How do I transfer from dying in my sins to dying in the Lord?

Well, Jesus said it. You must believe that He is who

He says He is. That's the way.

And I want to present to you the Jesus of the Bible.

You heard a little bit about Him.

He is holy and He is love. He is God who took on flesh and

He came to this world for a purpose to make a payment for

your sins. Everything that you have done,

every wicked deed, every carnal thought, every rebellious

decision that you've made was accounted for.

Jesus in His massive mega love, instead of destroying us, and

yet every right to do so, instead extended an olive

branch. And he chose to pave a way for

us to be reconciled, though we were enemies, not just

indifferent enemies. I'm not an enemy of Christ.

The Bible says you are if you don't have him as Lord.

And even though we were hostile against them, even though we

hated His righteousness, even though we chose to be our own

gods, and his great affection for us reaches out and says, I

will do whatever it takes for you to be redeemed and

reconciled unto me. And that's what he did on that

cross. And now we are living in a

period of grace. What you just heard in this past

50 minutes speaks about a future time where that door of the

grace of God being extended to humanity for centuries upon

centuries. We're still in it.

We'll come to a close and it'll be much more difficult during

this time to accept Christ, with the cost for doing so being so

severe. But while we're in this period,

you have an opportunity to bend your knee to receive His

forgiveness, and to live for why you were created.

He wants to forgive you of every degree of offense and wrong and

more than that, not just empty those things out, but fill you

with His glory, His joy, His purity, and His purpose.

You're saying this sounds too good to be true.

It must require something of me. Well, this is what gospel means.

Good news, good news. I come to you with good news

today. You can be redeemed, you can be

transformed, and you can know the God who made you.

What do I do? You acknowledge who He says He

is. I am the way I am the truth.

I am the life. No one can come to the Father

except through me. You acknowledge that if you say

you're the only Savior, and you say that I'm a Sinner, that I

humble myself. I'm not here to argue with you.

I surrender. And in that moment, if you do so

in sincerity, something supernatural will take place.

You're not going to get some kind of certificate.

You're not going to just get welcomed into some kind of a

nonprofit organization. No, no, no, the breath of God,

the life of God will fill you and you'll walk out of here

lighter and you'll walk out of here knowing I'm saved, I'm

saved, I have nothing to fear. I belong to Him.

Do you have that assurance? You can have it today.

Today can mark the day where you have heaven as your home and you

can know the abundant life. Until then, this is the good

news. Lord, we thank you for the

service. We thank you how you've spoken

to us in these three passages, these 3 verses, and we thank you

for the glorious gospel. Lord, help us take advantage of

the freedoms we have in this nation.

Lord of these Saints, we're willing to be slain for the word

of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Help us be willing to live for it where there is no danger or

threat for doing so. Only You can stimulate the heart

in that direction by Your Spirit we just ask for it.

So Lord, for the believer in large our hearts that mean we

may run in the way of Your commandments, quicken us that we

may call upon you. And Lord, for the person here

who doesn't have the assurance that they are saved, may Your

spirit go with them and convict the deepest parts of who they

are, and hear Your voice and Your voice alone until they

realize the sweetness of it, the joy of it, and give themselves

to it. But we love you and we worship

you. Even as we explore this 5th

seal. We do not fear, for our future

is a hopeful 1. And even if our bodies are

killed, we should fear You instead.

And we choose to give you our awe.

This afternoon, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Let's stand together, Church, and let's rejoice in our

Redeemer.