I remember when I was in the seventh grade; I was the new kid in school and had the great misfortune of standing up against the school bully. To make a long story short, and because I actually had the audacity of arguing with him in front of his friends, he began to hit me. I saw the fist coming, and then I saw it retreat, just to come at me again. This happened several times in quick succession.
Each time it withdrew, gave me reason to be thankful for, even though it was brief, it was the pause before the storm. Today, I want to talk about such pauses, and how they give us a time to either change our course, or hunker down for another barrage of attacks.
In REVELATION 6, we saw the breaking of the six seals. Each seal released suffering upon a rebellious world. This is a quick recap of what each seal brought forth.
WHITE HORSE – (1st Seal of the Scroll)
This brought forth the antichrist, or the “little horn” mentioned in Daniel 7:8 – also known as “The Man of Lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The bow represents an attempt of making peace – such as in diplomacy. At any rate, this is a temporary and false peace.
RED HORSE – (2nd Seal of the Scroll)
This was a horse that took peace from the earth. The red color represents war and bloodshed.
BLACK HORSE – (3rd Seal of the Scroll)
This horse spreads famine and hunger throughout the world.
PALE/GREEN HORSE – (4th Seal of the Scroll)
This sickly colored one will spread death as a result of the war and famine. 25% of the world’s population will die as a result of this horse.
THE SOULS OF THOSE MARTYRS – (5th Seal of the Scroll)
At the opening of this seal, the souls of those martyred on earth are shown in the Temple in Heaven. They lost their lives due to their FAITH , showing they were willing to offer themselves as a sacrifice to the LORD. They were praying for judgment against their killers, and asked God how long they would have to wait. They were told to wait until the final number of martyrs has died.
THE FINAL REALIZATION OF JESUS CHRIST – (6th Seal of the Scroll)
The vengeance they requested is now beginning to be poured out.
STUDY OF REVELATION 7 - THE PAUSE BEFORE THE STORM
VERSE 1 –
“After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.”
The four angels have been empowered to cause great HARM to the earth, but they are told to temporarily restrain from doing these things. The terminology “four corners” has always been used as a metaphor for “everywhere” or “from every direction.”
The word “wind” here is from the Greek word “anemos”, which is used to describe a judgment of God upon the earth. And just as there are a few moments before a thunderstorm that are still and quiet, God will quiet the winds for a short while before His judgment is delivered to an unrepentant world.
VERSES 2,3 –
“Then I saw another angel rise up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered to harm the earth and the sea: ‘Don’t harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.’”
The angel mentioned in verse 2 commands restraint on the part of the original four angels mentioned in verse 1, and there is a reason for doing so: “Until the slaves of God were sealed on their foreheads.”
This imagery is drawn from Ezekiel’s vision in EZEKIEL 9:3-6 where a "man clothed in linen" was told to go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and weep over all the sinful things that are done in that city by other people. And those who are marked will be spared the coming destruction.
VERSES 4-8 tell us who these slaves of God are going to be that receive the seal.
They will come out of each of the 12 tribes of Israel; 12,000 from each tribe. They will be Jewish men who become evangelists.
Even among Christian scholars, there is some debate regarding who these men will be. One explanation suggests they come from the super orthodox Jews, who have dedicated their lives to the study of God’s word. These men will be virgins, singers, students, and evangelists. And there are approximately 150,000 of these young men now.
Another explanation is the 144,000 are not evangelists, but the number of people who will be saved during the Tribulation. There are many theories as to who these people are, and not all of them are right.
(This shows that we must be very careful as to who we listen to because there are some beliefs out there that have no biblical foundation to them.)
We must also be aware that the question of who the 144,000 are will have no bearing on our personal salvation, for we will already be gone when they appear, so watch that you do not get into any negative discussions with others who have a different belief. The negative frame of mind we could develop having such a discussion could very well have something to do with our salvation!
2 TIMOTHY 2:16 warns us of such debates.
“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”
VERSE 9 –
“After this, I looked and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number – standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.”
These are the ones who have been saved by the message of the 144,000. These are the last fruits of a great revival for God’s kingdom. In this verse, it refers to a “vast multitude” that is from “every nation, tribe, people, and language.” This shows that although the Jewish evangelists will be proclaiming Jesus primarily to the Jews, there will be some Gentiles who hear and believe, also.
The verse ends by saying they were robed in white and carrying palm branches. Since they were wearing white, it signifies that they were willing to be sacrificed.
These are the same people mentioned in REVELATION 6:9-11:
“When He opened the 5th seal, I saw under the altar, the souls of those slaughtered because of God’s Word and because of the testimony they had. They cried out with a loud voice: ‘Oh, Lord – how long before You judge and avenge our blood from those who have done this to us?” So, a white robe was given to each one of them and they were told to wait a little longer until the number of their fellow slaves (believers) are killed for their faith just as they have been.’ And then, it would be complete.”
The vast multitude in chapter 7:9, are the same martyrs mentioned in chapter 6:9-11. Going back into chapter 7, let us continue.
VERSES 10-12 show these people cried out in praise to God and then were joined by all the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures … all singing praises to God. It would be kind of like a heavenly how-down or a sing-a-long with one goal in mine; to worship our Lord with all of the honor due Him.
VERSE 13,14 tells us that one of the elders turned to John and asked him who all the people in white were. John answers by saying the elder already knows who they are.
The elder tells John that they are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. The elder also says they washed their robes in the blood of Jesus and made them white as snow. This has a double meaning. They were martyred, which means there had to have been blood on their clothing, and now they have been washed and their clothing is now white.
It also carries a spiritual meaning. As mentioned above, these people were willing to sacrifice their lives for their FAITH in Jesus.
Some people believe this group is the church, but the church has already left by this time. The church is the body of Christ, and the real body of Christ will be raised in the Rapture. I say “real” because there are many who go to church today, but they do not have any kind of personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They hold on to tradition, or the trappings of church, but have never invited Jesus into their lives. These people are only fooling themselves and will not be going in the Rapture. They are among some of the people mentioned in:
2 TIMOTHY 3:2-5 –
“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a type of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
There is an old saying that is very true: “Just standing in a kitchen doesn’t make you a cook anymore than just sitting in church makes you a Christian.” The multitude mentioned in Revelation 9 was real believers. They lived their faith to the fullest possible extent – just as we should be doing today.
Returning to close our study of REVELATION 7;
VERSE 15 -
“For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. And the One seated upon the throne will shelter them.”
Because they stood fast and never ran for cover when the going got tough, they are now in heaven, and will always stand before GOD , serving Him, praising Him, and loving Him.
VERSE 16,17 –
“No longer will they hunger or thirst; no longer will the sun strike them or any heat. Because the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; He will guide them to streams of Living Waters, and God will wipe away ever tear from their eyes.”
This chapter closes with a wonderful picture of how God protects those who truly love Him. He will keep them safe and full of joy forever.
The people depicted in this chapter are models for all of the believers today. We are to love Jesus so much that we are willing to make a sacrifice for Him – even if that sacrifice must be our lives.
Too many times, we want to be strong believers, but when push comes to shove, many of us crumble and shy away from being persecuted, even if that persecution is nasty words or looks.
We must make a choice – a choice that we are willing to keep, no matter what may come. That choice is simply this: Who do we want to please more; other people who do not believe in Jesus, or would we rather please Jesus instead?
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for more sermons on Revelation & the End Times, go to our website at -
http://www.bruceballministries.com/d_revelation_series.html
