Two preachers were holding up signs on a portion of roadway, trying to get the attention of passing cars. The first preacher’s sign read, “THE END IS NEAR!” A sports car flew by and upon reading the sign, the driver slowed down and yelled to the preacher, “TELL SOMEBODY WHO CARES!”
About that time, the car passed the second preacher, whose sign read, “TURN AROUND BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!” Not wanting to miss a chance at another wise crack, the driver yelled out, “RELIGIOUS FREAK!”
A few seconds later, as the car disappeared around a bend, the sound of screeching brakes drowning away into the distance before a muffled "THUD" could be heard, followed by utter silence. One preacher told the other, “Maybe we should change to one sign that reads, “BRIDGE OUT AHEAD!”
Humanity can be seen in the attitude of the man in the car. We don’t want anyone telling us what to do, even God! And not only do we have that rebellious attitude, we tend to show that in the way we talk to others, too. It would seem to me that we would be much better off if we would talk less and pay attention more; especially to the Word of God.
Rather than hear the truth and then simply acknowledge it as truth, we tend to deny the simple truth and make up all kinds of wild stories to take its place – even if those stories take more faith to believe than it would take to just believe the truth. And we must remember that there is something called consequences. Every decision we make has some kind of consequence attached to it. And, as we will see in the book of Revelation, there are severe consequences for those who deny God and His truth from their lives.
Here in chapter 7, we continue our message about how there will come a day when all consequences will be paid for if we continue to deny and ignore God. In chapter 6, we saw where Jesus had been given a scroll from God. That scroll had seven seals on it. As each seal is broken, we see a new round of punishment coming on the people of earth, trying to get them to turn away from Satan and turn towards Jesus.
And now, we are seeing Jesus open yet another seal.
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.”
After what? After John saw Jesus opening the sixth seal that unleashed great punishment upon the ground of the earth, he saw four angels who had been empowered to cause great harm to the earth, but they were told to temporarily restrain from doing anything. 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 brief time 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:
“Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.”
There are many ideas as to who the 144,000 are. Some claim they will be the 144,000 and other groups believe that the 144,000 consists of Gentiles who were saved. But the only truth is what the Bible tells us about it, and the bible says they are Jews. They will come from the 12 tribes of Israel, 12,000 men from each tribe. And they will go out into the world and preach and teach about Jesus Christ as Messiah.
We are called upon to study the word of God; so we will understand it, but once we know it, we are to state it as a fact, not debate it as if it were a theory. And when we are confronted with someone who wants to argue about the Bible, we should refuse to respond, and if necessary, walk away, as nothing we say will satisfy those types of people. Their only purpose in debating the truth of the Bible is to cause dissention and trouble.
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 listened to the message of the 144,000 and have accepted Jesus as the Messiah. These are among the last 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 for Jesus’ sake.
These are the same people mentioned in the previous chapter of 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:
“And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
The “vast multitude” are not the 144,000. The 144,000 are the Jewish men who go out and spread the news of Jesus. The “vast multitude” are those who hear them and accept Jesus as their Messiah and Master and then are martyred for that belief. In these verses, it shows them crying out to God in praise then being 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 the honor due Him.
VERSE 13~14:
“Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes - who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
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. And then, 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 with spiritual purity. 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.”
The people described above not only will be found in the Tribulation period, they can be found all around us today, too. Look at any television show, advertisement, or look in any church and you will undoubtedly see a sampling of these people, too.
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 of people mentioned in Revelation 9 will have been saved by believing Jesus was their Messiah before being martyred for that belief.
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.”
Notice the blessings of this verse. They will possess the perfect nearness of God as they are before the throne and perfect fellowship with Him as they worship Him day and night.
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.”
Continued blessings are also revealed in these verses. They will receive perfect satisfaction cause they will never hunger or thirst, and perfect security from the sun and heat. Also, they will have perfect guidance from the Lamb who will shepherd and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and perfect joy from God, the Father, as He wipes away every tear from their eyes.
This chapter closes with this 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
Jesus?
LET US CLOSE IN PRAYER
In case you are teaching this in a small group, I have included an easy quiz that may help to keep your members focused on the lesson taught.
1. Verse 1 says 4 angels “restraining the wind”. What does that mean?
........ They were making sure no tornadoes would occur
........ They were waiting before unleashing the wrath of God
2. What were they waiting for? (See verse 3)
........ Until all who would be martyred had been martyred
........ Until all believers had marks tattooed on their foreheads
3. Verses 4-8 mention the 144,000. Who are they and where are they from?
........ Gentile men from Iran and Egypt who have become preachers.
........ 12,000 Jewish men from each of the 12 tribes of Israel who evangelize.
4. Verse 9 tells of a vast number that are too many to count. Who are they?
........ People who heard the 144,000, believed them, and then were killed.
........ This was the number of non-Jewish people still left on the earth.
5. In verses 10-12, those who were martyred praised God, and then everyone -
........ Lifted their hands and began praising God
........ Fell down and began praising and worshiping God
........ Started looking for more ways to persecute the sinful
6. In verse 13-14, an elder asked John who those people were. John said …
........ That the elder already knew
........ The elder shouldn’t ask questions he already knows the answers to
7. The elder replied that these people were …
........ Those who had been martyred in the Tribulation for Christ’s sake
........ Those who had received Jesus moments after the Rapture
8. In verses 15-17, what do we find out about the future of the martyred?
........ They will always praise God in worship, and He will always protect them
........ He will always shelter and meet the needs of the people
........ We begin to see God’s enormous love for those who love Him
........ All of the above
