Salvation Belongs To Our God
Revelation 7:1-17ESV
Between Revelation 7, and Revelation 8, the blessed reader gets a look at another powerful event that will take place.
Revelation 7:1ESV After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
Angels, who are so prominent in Revelation, are the instruments that God uses to temporarily suspend judgment on the earth. They are used both to withhold judgment (7:1-3) and to execute it (8:2).
One scripture reference—Jeremiah 51:1ESV The Lord says:“I will cause a destructive wind to blow against Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia.
The indication is that judgment is impending, it is about to be poured out.
The “four corners of the earth” speak of global authority and activity under God’s sovereignty.
These angels will hold back, “Holding back” is the Greek word kratew. It is a strong word meaning, “to grasp, seize, restrain.”
Fact—Angels are God’s created beings. For every believer, angels excel to do God’s word.
Listen to Psalm 103:20-21ESV Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!
“Angels are active now, and will be active during end time events.” P.H
Psalm 91:1ESV He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Revelation 7:2-3ESV Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
“Understand that God has the ability to hold back, and or, even destroy your foes!’ ‘Time and time again in the OT, God speaks to His people to stand still a watch the salvation of the Lord.” P.H
Revelation 7:4-8ESV And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
These 144,000 are the first to be saved; they are the first converts after the Tribulation begins.
It’s important to note that God’s bride will be caught up just prior to the tribulation. Jesus will call His bride, the bride of Christ home, and these 144,000 Jews will fill the spiritual vacuum after the rapture.
1 Corinthians 15:52KJV “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18NIV For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Revelation 7:9-10ESV After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
“Clothed in white robes” speaks symbolically of the imputed righteousness of Christ given to them at the point of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Notice, Revelation 7:9b…with palm branches in their hands…
Again, with palm branches in their hands… This suggests the element of joy and worship. The use of palm branches according to ancient traditions symbolized festive joy and worship as well as victory or triumph!
1 John 5:4-5ESV For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
To me—lifting of the hands is an act of worship. In the OT Israel would give God a wave offering.
This wave offering was given by the Israelites after some sacrificial offering.
In Exodus 29:22-28 and Leviticus 7:29-36, God commands the Israelites to present the priests with the fat, organs, breast and thighs of sacrificed rams, as well as loaves of bread, as peace offerings. God instructs the priests to hold the offerings and wave them in the air before burning them on the altar.
As you lift up your hands, as you think about— maybe the Lord’s tithe, or some other offering you give unto the Lord, try waving your hands as an act of faith, and recall your offerings you’ve made unto the Lord. P.H
Psalm 143:6ESV I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
When the Queen arrives, people will wave their flags. When the champions ride in, people throw confetti and streamers. But when Jesus heads up that road, He is greeted with the waving of what Mark calls, “leafy branches” (v 8). From the gospel of John we know that these are palm branches.
1 Timothy 2:8KJV I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Psalms 134:2KJV Lift up your hands [in] the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
Lamentations 3:41KJV Let us lift up our heart with [our] hands unto God in the heavens.
Revelation 7:11-12ESV And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Angels falling unto their faces. All saying in harmony—Verse 12…“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Listen to Jesus’ words in, Luke 15:8-10ESV “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Revelation 7:13-14ESV Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They are identified as those who come out of the Tribulation, literally, ‘The Tribulation,’ the great one. These are martyrs killed in the last half of the Tribulation during the reign of the beast as depicted in Revelation 13.
Revelation 7:15ESV “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
At last, Union with God, trusting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Revelation 7:16-17ESV They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
“For these tribulation saints, finally a refreshing. All the heartache of sin and of course the tribulation is behind them!” P.H
Benediction.
