Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Sep 26, 2010: Revelation 7 Who Is Able To Stand
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. As we are here in Revelation chapter 7 this morning, I want to remind you kind of where we're at in the book of Revelation because Jesus gave us an outline of the book of Revelation in chapter 1 verse 19, where there he tells John to write down the things which he had seen. And that was the vision that he saw of Jesus back in chapter 1 of the book of Revelation while John was out on the island of Patmos. And Jesus appeared to him and he recorded those things that he had seen already. And then Jesus tells him to write down the things which are. He wrote down the past, that was the vision of Jesus, now he's to write down the present, that is the church age, the time of the church. And we spent a good deal of time looking at chapters 2 and 3, which are the things which are. It's the present age, it's the church age that continues and extends even to this day, the time of the church. But the time of the church will come to an end with the rapture of the church and then we'll bring on the third part of the book of Revelation which is yet future and Jesus told John to write down the things which must take place after this. The things that are going to take place after the church is gone, after the church is out of the picture. And so here in chapter 7, we're looking at the events that are yet future. Chapters 4 through the end of the book are things that are yet to take place. They are going to happen and Jesus said they must shortly take place. That means that they will come suddenly and without warning, these things will begin to unfold. But until then, it has not happened yet. And so it's things that we're looking forward to. It's history in advance, if you would, of the things that are going to take place upon the earth. Now it's important to study these things because these are things that God wants us to know. Back in chapter 1 verse 1 of the book of Revelation, we're told that this book, this revelation was given to us because God wanted to show us the things which must shortly take place. And so God wants us to know these things and that's why we're taking our time studying them and spending this time going through the book of Revelation. Revelation 4 The Rapture of the Church That time when the church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air, to forever be with the Lord. Something exciting, something that's comforting to us as believers, and it's something that we are looking forward to. Well, on the earth, after the church is taken out of the way, then the earth is going to go through a time of tribulation like it's never seen before. Seven years of tribulation. We started looking at that account in chapter 6 last week with the opening of the six seals. And we saw very clearly that the time of tribulation was far worse than anything that this world has seen in the past. Nothing really comes close or compares to the type of calamities and death and destruction that is going to take place during the seven years of tribulation. Well, it's only seven years. It comes to an end with the return of Jesus Christ, where he, at the battle of Armageddon, defeats the armies that are there that turn against him. And then he establishes his kingdom for 1,000 years. And he rules and he reigns on this earth for 1,000 years. During that time, the earth is renewed and restored. The saints who were caught up to meet with the Lord now come back with him to rule and to reign along with him. And also during that time, Satan is bound in the bottomless pit for that 1,000 years. At the end of that thousand years, however, Satan is released for a short time and he leads one final rebellion against God, which of course is not successful. God puts an end to it and then we have the Great White Throne Judgment. And at that time, Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire. And Revelation chapter 20 also tells us that whoever's name is not written in the book of life will also be cast into the lake of fire at that time. After the final judgment is done, then we enter into a new era, the eternal plan that God has for us. He creates a new heavens and a new earth. There's a new Jerusalem and then eternity that spans before us. We get little hints about it, a little bit of a picture of what is going to be happening there in chapter 21 and 22 of Revelation. But really, as we often say or as I often share, that our minds cannot comprehend. Our vocabulary cannot even begin to describe the things that God has in store for us. And so we get little hints, we get little pictures about what is going to happen. But what God has in store for us is beyond our ability to describe or even to imagine. And so we're looking forward to that eternity with God and the things that he has in store for us. Well, last week as we studied through chapter 6, we began looking at the tribulation period that was happening upon the earth. And it started out with the opening of the first six seals on the scroll that's sealed with seven seals. That scroll we were introduced to in Revelation chapter 5. It's the title deed to the earth. And as each seal is being opened, there's a particular type of judgment that is coming upon the earth. And so just as a review... Those six judgments that we studied last week are the first seal is opened and then came forth the Antichrist and he came upon the earth, he rose to power and he leads a one world rebellion against God, a one world government and a one world religion. We'll be talking a lot about him as we go forward in the book of Revelation. As Jesus opened the second seal, what immediately followed the Antichrist was war. Although he came to power in peace, there's actually going to be war that breaks out upon the earth like the world has never seen before. And then as Jesus opened the third seal, then famine came upon the earth. And whether it be the results of war, which often results in famine, or it be the results of the things that are happening and the things that are going on around the world, the lack of rain, those types of things, there's this famine that goes all around the world and it's going to be very costly just to barely survive, just to be able to have enough food to survive the day. Then as Jesus opens the fourth seal, we talked about the death that would take place around the world. Specifically mentions that one-fourth of the earth will be killed at that time. That with the opening of this fourth seal is going to be massive, massive deaths. In fact, we looked at just kind of a... A calculation based on today's population and estimated number of Christians, just to get a little bit of an idea, not accurate at all, but we came up with 1.16 billion people would die at the opening of that fourth seal, one quarter of the earth, an estimated population of that time. Then as the fifth seal is opened, we were able to see the martyrs that were there before the throne of God and how they were crying out for vengeance for those who put them to death for their faith in Jesus. But they were comforted, they were given white robes, and they were told that they needed to rest until the full number came in. And we'll look at that even a little bit more today in chapter 7. Then in the 6th seal is opened, and here's really when it begins to get terrible. It was bad before, but it gets much worse with the sixth seal when catastrophic events happen all over the world. With the sun being darkened, with earthquakes, massive earthquakes going on, comets hitting the earth was kind of what we speculated because it talks about the stars falling from the sky and the effects of that. It just is really beyond our ability to comprehend or for Hollywood to produce. It's really terrible, the things that are going to be happening. And as we reminded ourselves last week, it's really just the beginning of what is to come because there's still the seventh seal and the seven trumpets and the seven bowls. There's lots more judgments that are yet to be unleashed upon the earth after this sixth seal. Well, that brought us through chapter six. This morning, we're going to be looking at chapter seven. And chapter 7 doesn't continue on with the seventh seal as you would expect. In fact, we take a little bit of a break in this chapter and we look at a different subject altogether. And this happens a couple times in the book of Revelation. It's called a parenthetical thought or a parenthetical subject where he kind of steps back from the sequence of events and the chronology of the things as they're being played out. And he gives us a picture of something else that is going on. And it might be limited to that same time frame or it might actually expand to the whole tribulation period and beyond. And so that's what we'll be looking at here in chapter 7. We're looking at the subject of the 144,000 who are sealed and and this great multitude that stands before the throne. These two groups of people that we'll be talking about today in chapter 7. Next week we'll continue on in chapter 8 and open the seventh seal and then we'll see the seven trumpets being prepared and then also part of the seventh seal will be the seven bowls that we'll get to later on in the book of Revelation. So those are the seven seals of the scroll. We've gone through six of them. Here in chapter 7 we're kind of taking a step back and we're talking about two specific groups of people. And these two groups of people are significant as we will see because these are groups of people that will be able to stand during the tribulation period. We ended last week in chapter 6 with verse 17 where the people are crying out. They recognize as all of these catastrophic events are taking place, They recognize that this is the work of God and it's specifically the wrath of God that is being poured out upon the earth. And so the people say in verse 17, the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand? Who is able to stand in the day of the wrath of God? And that's the question we want to answer today and talk about today. And two of those groups that are able to stand we see here in chapter 7. And so in order to divide up and understand the chapter, I've put it into four separate sections for us here in Revelation chapter 7. Four sections that we'll go through to get a good understanding of these groups that are presented here in chapter 7. The first part of this chapter is verses 1 through 3. And what we see here is four angels who are holding back harm from coming upon the earth. Look with me at verse 1. It says... After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. And so what we have here in verse 1 is four angels that are placed at four different parts of the earth. It's described as the four corners of the earth. Now, of course, you know, there's not four corners, you know, points like this upon the earth. But he's speaking of the points of the compass, north, south, east and west of the earth. are referred to as the four corners of the earth. And they're holding back the four winds of the earth. And again, you have the north, the south, the east, and the west winds. And so they are around the earth, strategically placed and holding back the winds. Now, this may be referring to literal winds that are being held back, that the circulation system, the ecosystem of the earth is being shut down at this point and there's no wind blowing and the clouds are not being carried and so on and so forth. And you can imagine that if that was going on, the effects would be absolutely devastating. We need the wind, we need the circulation, we need that whole system to be functioning. It leaves a lot of the smog, the heat and those types of things. And so it's possible that they are holding back the actual winds from blowing upon the earth But I prefer to understand this as a figurative wind in that they are holding back the winds of judgment that are going to come upon the earth. And the reason why I believe that is because here in verse 1 it says that they're holding it back that they should not blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. Those specific things, the earth, the sea or on the tree. Now, as we go forward in chapter 8 next week, we'll see the first three trumpets, which are the next judgments that come, deal with the earth and the sea and the trees. And so what I believe is happening here is that this judgment is being held back until there's a particular thing that needs to be accomplished, and then they'll stop holding back those winds of judgment. As we go forward in verse 2 and 3, it also gives a little bit more insight to this. It says, Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And so here we see again these four angels, but there's a fifth that comes up and he gives those four angels some instruction. He says, listen guys, you've been given the power to harm the earth and the trees and the sea, but don't do it yet. You've been given power to harm those things, but don't harm them yet. And so again, it's the winds of judgment that are being held back. This harm is being held back specifically on the earth, the sea, and the trees. And again, in chapter 8, that's the first, the second, and the third trumpet that deal with the earth, the trees, and the seas. And so they're holding back judgment these winds of judgment, this harm that is going to come in order for something else to happen, for something specific to take place. And this angel who ascends out of the east declares what needs to happen is the servants of God have to be sealed. And so this angel comes on the scene and he has the seal of God. Now, The seal, it was something in those days that they would relate to well and understand well because the seal would be something that would identify ownership of something. If you could think about, you know, they would have the signet rings of that day and on that signet ring would be their seal. If you were an owner, if you owned land, if you, you know, owned certain things that, you would have this seal and you could place your seal upon something and it would indicate, it would let everybody know that that was yours. If you want to think maybe a little bit more old west type of imagery, it's like branding cattle, right? And the brand on the cattle told everybody who that cattle belonged to, who is the owner and who is in charge of the cattle. And so this angel had the seal of God. It was the insignia of God, the mark of God. And he was going to place this mark on some specific servants of God. We find out actually in Revelation chapter 14 that this seal is or contains the name of God. And so it's speaking about God's name being placed upon the foreheads of the servants of God. And this is very interesting because there's a similar event to this that we have recorded in the scriptures. You can check it out later on your own in Ezekiel chapter 9. There in Ezekiel chapter 9, God is about to bring judgment upon the city of Jerusalem. And as he's about to bring judgment on the city of Jerusalem, he sends out an angel to put his mark on those who are righteous. The city of Jerusalem was in rebellion against God and deserved his judgment. But there was a few within the city who were righteous and they didn't participate in the rebellion against God. They weren't living in sin. And so God put his seal upon them so that when he brought the judgment, that they would not be part of the judgment for that rebellion. And so it's very similar to what's happening here, that God is about to bring judgment upon the earth. These angels are holding it back though, so that these servants can be marked with God's name, so that they can be sealed with God's seal. These servants of the Lord are going to be sealed. Now the fact that they are servants of God is very interesting and it answers for us some important questions regarding the tribulation period. One question that we often deal with is, will there be people who get saved during the tribulation? And very clearly here in chapter 7, we see the answer is yes. That after the rapture has taken place, after the church is out of this world, after the tribulation begins, people will still have an opportunity to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. And these servants that are about to be sealed are those who have turned to God, who have believed in Jesus Christ, after the tribulation has already begun and after the rapture has taken place. Everyone who believes in Jesus right now, everyone who turns to God and receives the forgiveness that's offered to us in Jesus Christ because of his finished work there upon the cross, those who are faithful to God as described in Revelation chapter 3 in Jesus' letter to the Church of Philadelphia, the church, the believers, those who are faithful to God, they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Unless we die first and meet the Lord that way. But at the end, before the tribulation begins, the church is going to be caught up and taken out of this world. You can read about that in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15. But after the church is taken out, there will still be opportunity to receive Jesus for those who are left behind. And so these servants of God that are being talked about here are such people. They've turned to God. They've believed in Jesus Christ. But the tribulation has already begun. So they're in the midst of this tribulation period. And God is now going to mark them. He's going to seal them. This seal is going to put upon them a divine protection where God is going to protect them and take care of them supernaturally. Again, the four angels are holding back the harm to the earth and the trees and the sea. And those are the very next judgments that are going to take place. And these servants of God are going to be protected through those judgments. As we go further into the tribulation period in Revelation chapter 9, it's going to go beyond some of the physical elements of judgment and then there's going to be some supernatural elements of judgment as demonic forces are unleashed upon humanity and demonic forces are going to inflict tribulation and pain and torment upon humanity. But God gives specific instruction in Revelation chapter 9 verse 4 that they were only, this demonic horde, this demonic force is only to bring trouble upon those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And so this seal that is being applied here is protection for them from the judgments that are to come, both physical and also spiritual and demonic that will be coming upon the earth during the tribulation period. This seal is going to be a mark of God's protection through the end of the tribulation period. Because in Revelation chapter 14, when we get there, we'll see the 144,000 that we'll talk about in a moment. These servants of God standing on Mount Zion with Jesus Christ. They survive, they go through the tribulation period. It's interesting because, again, it's another parallel that we see. It parallels the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. If you remember back when Israel was the slaves of Egypt... And as slaves, they were, you know, building, they were making bricks, they were, you know, in servitude to the land of Egypt. But they were crying out to God and God sends them a deliverer named Moses. And God, using Moses, brings the nation of Israel out of Egypt with ten plagues. Right? And you remember the plagues, they're difficult, they're excruciatingly hard to imagine. The things that the nation went through as these plagues were brought upon the nation of Egypt. And it's interesting that the first few plagues that take place the nation of Israel that's there within Egypt, they experience those plagues as well. They go through some of the same difficulties that the land of Egypt is going through as these plagues are being brought upon them by God. But then, God makes a distinction between In Exodus chapter 8 verse 23, God declares, I'm going to make a difference between my people and your people. And it's on the plague of the flies that was going to come upon the land. And God declared, in the land where my people dwell, there will be no flies. But this plague of flies will be all over the rest of Egypt. And so they experienced some of the plagues, but then God made a distinction and separated them. And so they didn't experience the rest of the plagues that took place as God was bringing them out of Egypt. Well, in a similar way, in parallel with that, is these servants of God who have gone through the first six seals and they've experienced the judgment that has been poured out upon the earth up to this point. But now God is sealing them. He's making a difference, making a distinction so that for the rest of the tribulation, they will be protected and preserved by God. And so here what we have in verses 1 through 3 is angels holding back the harm so that these servants of God could be sealed. Now, who are these servants that will be protected during the coming judgments? Well, that brings us to the next verses, verses 4 through 8, where we see the 144,000 sealed servants. Verse 4 says, And I heard the number of those who were sealed. 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed. And so we get a little bit of insight about these servants of God that are sealed at this time. It's a specific number of people, 144,000. It's not all believers. It's not every person who has turned to Jesus Christ in this time that is sealed, but it's a specific number, 144,000 of those who have turned to Jesus. Not only that, but they're not just in general all people around the world. They are descendants of Abraham, children of Israel. They are Jews who are sealed. It's 144,000 of the Jewish people who are sealed at this time as described to us here in verse 4. So it's a specific number and it's a specific nation. Now many groups have... sought to identify themselves with the 144,000 throughout the years. I think the most famous, the one you'll probably know right off the bat, is the Jehovah's Witnesses declared themselves to be the 144,000. And when they first began the cults, they declared that all the Jehovah's Witnesses would be saved and part of the 144,000. But then they grew in number so that there was... more Jehovah's Witnesses than 144,000 and they had to kind of change their theology so that now the idea is kind of like the best of the best, you know, the best Jehovah's Witnesses, the 144,000 elite Jehovah's Witnesses, they're the ones who... you know, are the 144,000. The rest, you know, they don't quite make it. And so kind of an incentive, right? You know, you got to be the best Jehovah's Witness you can be according to what they teach. And lots of different groups have had similar perspectives and ideas about Some even teach that this 144,000 is not an actual number, but it just kind of generally represents the church, and the church replaces Israel. It's called replacement theology. But you know, even though there's all these groups who teach all these different things, I don't think God could have made it any more clear that this is a specific number of the nation of Israel, descendants of Abraham. Because Because he goes on in verse 5, 6, 7, and 8, taking the time in detail to name each tribe and to specify a certain amount of people from each tribe. Now, of course, it's the same amount of people, the same number of people from each tribe, but he takes the time. It's almost kind of boring, isn't it? It's like, why are you repeating yourself? I think sometimes, you know, Isn't there an easier way to say this so that we don't have to read this over and over again? You know, like, okay, we got the point after the second verse. It's done. I understand what you're trying to say. God couldn't make it any more clear. It was 12,000 people from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 people from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 people from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 people from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 people from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 people from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 people from the tribe of Simeon, You're bored already listening to me, right? You want me just to finish. 12,000 people from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 people from Issachar, 12,000 people from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 people from the tribe of Joseph, and 12,000 people from the tribe of Benjamin. Now, that's 12 different tribes, 12,000 from each tribe. You do the math, it's 144,000. Very clearly and specifically, God is saying, these are specifically 144,000 disciples descendants of Abraham that are going to be sealed for the tribulation period at this time. Now, some will bring up and discuss and dispute, you know, well, we don't know, the genealogies are lost, who belongs to what tribe, you know, and that would be important if it was up to us to seal all of these 144,000, but it's not up to us. God is the one who's going to do it, and he hasn't lost the records. He knows exactly who belongs to what tribe, and so he is going to do this. He's going to seal 12,000 from each tribe 144,000 of the Jewish people are going to be sealed and have God's divine protection through the tribulation period One question that comes up often as you go through this passage is, where is the tribe of Dan? Because the tribe of Dan is not listed here as one of the tribes that are sealed for this tribulation period. And God doesn't tell us specifically why the tribe of Dan is not listed. And so all we can do is speculate. All we can do is guess. So just to give you the common guess, the common speculation, it's not really the points, but it's kind of something you have to deal with when you go through this portion. The nation of Israel was divided into 12 tribes, but in reality, there were 13 tribes. Jacob, also named Israel, had 12 sons. And you remember the account as Joseph, the youngest, went before them into Egypt and was raised up and then he brought his family down. And when Jacob brought his 11 sons to meet his 12th son, Joseph, in Egypt, Joseph had two sons at that point. And when Jacob was on his deathbed, he took Joseph's sons as his own. And so if you take the 12 sons that Jacob had, you minus Joseph, now you have 11 sons, but then you add Joseph's two sons, then you end up with 13. And so in reality, there were 13 tribes for the nation of Israel. But we commonly refer to them as the 12 tribes because we mostly refer to the tribes when we're talking about the land of Israel. That God divided the land of Israel into 12 sections. One part, one area designated for each tribe. And the tribe of Levi was not given land in the nation of Israel because their inheritance, their portion was to serve God in the temple or in the tabernacle. And so in serving God, that was their inheritance. They weren't given a section of land in the nation of Israel. And so the nation of Israel was divided into 12 sections. And that's where we get and talk about the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel, even though technically there's 13 tribes to the nation of Israel. And so here in Revelation chapter 7, there's 12 tribes listed. The one that's not listed, Levi's included in this list, but who's not included is the tribe of Dan. Now, why is Dan not included? Well, the speculation is, the best guess is, that it's because Dan was the first to go into idolatry. In Judges chapter 18, the tribe of Dan... goes directly into an idolatrous relationship. They begin worshiping these false gods. And in Deuteronomy chapter 29, God pronounces a judgment on those who turn to idols and that they will be cut off. And so it's the understanding that because they were the first tribe to do it, they're not sealed and part of God's protection for the tribulation period. The tribe of Dan is not lost. It's not that there's nobody left. In fact, in Ezekiel chapter 48, the tribe of Dan is mentioned... And in Ezekiel chapter 48, it's after the tribulation has taken place. It's at the beginning of the millennium. And the tribe of Dan is the first tribe to receive their portion at that time of the land of Israel in the millennium. It gets a little bit technical and complicated. I apologize for that. But you can read those things. Judges 18, Deuteronomy 29, Ezekiel chapter 48, and wrestle with that on your own. That's not the real point of this passage and so moving right along, the 144,000 here is described as being sealed and protected divinely by God so that through the rest of the tribulation they will be able to persevere and they will have a preservation from God. It's a specific number of Jewish people, 144,000, 12,000 from each tribe that will be protected by God at that time. And so the first group that we see here in chapter 7 is the 144,000. I hope it's clear now. They're specifically Jewish people. There's a specific number of them and they will be protected by God for the remainder of the tribulation. Well, the next group that we see here in chapter 7 is this great multitude. And that brings us to the third section of chapter 7, which is here in verses 9 through 12. And what we see is the great multitude before the throne. Verse 9 says, After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. Here as we continue on looking at this next group of people, what we see is a great multitude. A multitude that's so great, no one can number it. And so it's an innumerable multitude. It's a number that is beyond our ability to calculate. And this multitude Great multitude, we're told here in verse 9, comes out of all nations and all tribes and all peoples and all tongues. So it's a... complete contrast to what we just studied where there was a specific number and a specific nation. This is not able to be numbered, this group, this great multitude. And it's not from just the Jewish people. It's not just from the Americans. It's not just from a certain race or nationality or gender or language. It's from all peoples from all regions of the earth. And this great multitude we see here are clothed with white robes, which is important because white robes signify it and remind us of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And so this great multitude that's before the throne is a great multitude of people who are saved, a great multitude of people who have believed in Jesus Christ. And we'll see that in verse 14 when we get there. So these are believers, though, who have believed in Jesus after the rapture has taken place. This is not the church. The church has already been caught up to be with the Lord. We saw that in chapters 4 and 5, and we'll see that even a little bit clearer as we go on in a couple of verses. But this great multitude... It's not the church that was raptured. This great multitude is a group of believers who come out of the tribulation period. They have believed in Jesus after the church has been taken out of this world. They've believed in Jesus after the tribulation has taken place. And probably, kind of making a guess because of their connection here in chapter 7, that these are people who have believed as a result of of the ministry of these 144,000 who were sealed by God. That they are sealed by God, they're servants of God, and that they are going into all the world and proclaiming the gospel. And these guys, this great multitude, is probably the fruit of that, the result of them sharing the gospel in all the world. Now, I would also add to that, that this great multitude is also probably the fruit of your work in the world today and my work in the world today, where God has called us with the great commission to go and to share the gospel. And you know how it is. It's not that everyone that you share the gospel with immediately receives it and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord. Oh, we wish that were so. And wouldn't that be amazing? But it's not reality. What happens is some people decide, well, I don't believe that. Some people say, I think that's true, but I want to live my life right now. I don't want to follow the Lord. Some people say, I'm going to decide on whether I believe that later. You know, all kinds of responses that we get as we share the gospel message. But, Those who have not responded right now will have an opportunity during that tribulation period to respond. And so the gospel is going to be preached. And as a result of the gospel being preached, there's going to be this great multitude before the throne of God of those who have believed in Jesus. And again, it says that no one can number this multitude. And to me, this is so awesome. This is very exciting. Because during the tribulation period, you understand life will be difficult. Nobody wants to be there and nobody that you know, you don't want them to be there. It's something that you wouldn't wish upon anybody. It's going to be much harder to follow Jesus at that time. And I think... And understanding that, we often kind of imagine or picture that, well, not many people will follow Jesus because they're probably going to have to die for their faith. It's going to be very difficult. And there's going to be lots of persecution and tribulation. And so I think we tend to imagine a small group of people who get saved in the tribulation period. But that's not what this is describing. This is describing a great multitude that no one can number. It's not just a few people who will receive Jesus during that tribulation period. It's a great multitude. And that's so awesome. That's so exciting. It speaks of the grace of God, the mercy of God, and it also gives us hope and comfort for those who reject the gospel right now. Those who are not faithful to God right now. We wish that they were and we want them to be included with the church as we're caught up to be with the Lord today. But they have a chance, they have an opportunity, even after we're taken out of this world, to turn to Jesus and to follow Him and to receive His offer of forgiveness. It's not a specific nationality, this great multitude. It's out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues. And that's something that Jesus specifically prophesied about in Matthew 24, 14. He says that the gospel will be preached to all nations and then after that, the end will come. And so during the tribulation period, the gospel is going to be preached to all nations. And as the gospel is preached to all nations, there will be those from all nations, from all regions, who will respond and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And so there's this great multitude that is there before the throne. They're holding palm branches, which represent, which are symbolic of victory, right? The victory that they have accomplished, they have overcome. In Revelation chapter 12 verse 11, it talks about the saints of the tribulation period and how they overcome the Antichrist in three specific ways or with three specific things. It says, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. By the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death. These three things is by these three things that they overcame the Antichrist and overcame in the tribulation by the blood of the Lamb. They are coming to Jesus Christ in the same way that you and I do today. They're being washed in the blood of the Lamb. Their sins are being forgiven by the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross. Also by their testimony. They're holding fast to their testimony. They're holding fast to what they have believed and the God that they have believed in. And they've not loved their lives to the death. That is that they are faithful to God even to the point of death. And that is really what's going to be required of anyone who believes in Jesus during that tribulation period. That is how they overcome. And in overcoming, they're now standing before the throne. With palm branches. A great number. A great multitude that no one can number. And they're up there worshipping God. Saying salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. They're worshipping God because He has saved them. For the salvation that He has offered. They've come at the 11th hour, the last minute. You can't really get much later than that. But they've come and God has granted to them grace and mercy. And so they're worshiping him as a result. Well, going on in verse 11, it says, And so here's this great multitude saying, It's there before the throne, they're worshipping God and it causes the rest of those who are already before the throne to worship God. And who is it that's there? Well, it's the angels, the four living creatures. We've talked a lot about them in chapter 4 and 5. But notice it's also the elders. Now the elders, again, we dealt with in chapter 4 and 5 of Revelation. They represent the church. And so the church is there. It's a distinct and separate group from this multitude that comes out of the tribulation, from this multitude of people that are saved. And the church is... is rejoicing and praising God along with the angels and the four living creatures as this great multitude is praising God as well. And so here we are in heaven. This is future. We're there already. We're in heaven. And here comes this great multitude out of the tribulation and it causes us to worship God once again. As we've talked about already a few times, heaven is going to be full of worship. It's just going to be full, just completely packed with worship, continual worship going on. And to some that sounds kind of boring, but understand it's not a forced worship. It's not that you're forced from the outside. You know, the biggest angel comes in and says, worship God or else. And you have to worship God or else. It's not forced from the outside. It's forced from the inside that you can't contain it. That as you see this group come in, that God has shown them mercy and grace and they've been saved out of the tribulation period, it will cause us once again to cry out to God and rejoice and praise Him. And so heaven is going to be full of worship because we won't be able to contain the joy that will be expressed in our hearts. And so we'll be worshiping God continually. And so we have this great multitude here And now verses 13 through 17, this great multitude is explained. We've already talked about who they are, but here it's explained to John who they are. Verse 13 says, And so John's here, he's watching all of this unfold. He's watching this take place. And it says that one of the elders, and again the elders are the church, so someone from the church, a representative for the church comes and I kind of picture in my mind it's George Sedota, right? He comes up to the Apostle John and says, hey John, how's it going, man? Who are these, this great multitude? Do you know who they are? Now, John doesn't know who they are, but God wants us to know. And so he gives us this opportunity to find out the identity of this great multitude. And so George goes over to explain. It says in verse 14, John says, Sir, you know. And then George says back, Hey, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and they wash their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Making you laugh too hard over there? I didn't think it was that funny. So here the elder explains to John that this great multitude comes out of the great tribulation. They didn't come escaping the tribulation like the church, but they have died within the tribulation time frame, within the tribulation period. They've washed their robes, And understand this isn't laundry advice. You know, I don't recommend you pour some blood in, you know, with your whites to try to get them clean. That's not what he's talking about. He's saying they are saved in the same way that you and I are. They're saved just like us by faith in Jesus Christ. They've been washed in the blood of the Lamb, which is, of course, speaking spiritually that we have been forgiven by by believing in what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross. You know, it's like the old song that we sing from time to time. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And so there's this great multitude that comes out of the tribulation. Some of them have been martyred. They've been put to death. They were given the option to deny Jesus and live or hold fast to Jesus and be executed or put to death. And those martyrs will be part of this great multitude. Others will be those who receive Jesus Christ's and they die as a result of the judgments that are being poured out upon the earth. And so, you know, the rocks are falling, there's earthquakes, there's war and famine and so they're going to die as a result of those things that are happening there upon the earth. As we saw in the fourth seal, 1.16 billion people will be killed killed upon the earth. Some of those will be those who have believed in Jesus Christ and they will be part of this great multitude that is there in heaven. Verse 15, Therefore, he goes on to explain, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple and he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. And so they've come out of the tribulation. Their robes have been washed. And so therefore, they serve God day by day in His temple. They're serving the Lord there in heaven. They've made it. They just barely made it. Eleventh hour. They're in the tribulation period, but they've believed in Jesus. And God in His grace and mercy has granted to them an opportunity to spend eternity with Him. A role and a place in His eternal plan and His eternal kingdom. Verse 16. He says, "...they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any heat." For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to the living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And here we get the understanding, here we have a little bit of clarity that these are people who have gone through the tribulation period and they've experienced the effects of of the judgments that are being poured out upon the earth. The severe famine. He says they will not hunger anymore. And then later on, as we go next week and further on into the judgments of the tribulation, the waters are going to be struck and much of the water is not going to be drinkable any longer. And so there's going to be massive thirsts around the world. And so these are those who have hungered from the famine and thirsted from the judgments that are yet to come. And then he says that the sun will not strike them. And again, later on in the book of Revelation, as the judgments are unleashed, the sun, as part of one of the judgments, will become increasingly hot and will scorch men. And so this, again, is John kind of zooming out. He's taking a step back from the sequence of the seals and he's looking back at beyond and into the further judgments that are coming. And he sees this great multitude that comes up out of the midst of the whole tribulation period that are experiencing things that are yet to come as we go forward in the book of Revelation. And so this great multitude has been saved. Now, there's these two groups that are here talked about in chapter 7, the 144,000 and the great multitude that stands before the throne. And again, the question we're seeking to answer is the one that's given in Revelation 6, 17. Who is able to stand? Who is able to stand? In regards to the tribulation period and the wrath of God that's being poured out, Who is it that's able to stand? We saw two groups here, but I want to kind of give you the whole spectrum of those who are able to stand. Kind of a menu, as it were, and so you get to pick and choose which way that you want to stand. The seven-year tribulation period is going to happen. There's no escaping it. There's no getting around it. It is going to take place. It will happen suddenly and without warning, and there's no one who will be able to get out of it. Except for those who are able to stand. And who is able to stand? Well, the first option, by far the best option, is the church. Jesus told us in Luke chapter 21 verse 36, He said, Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. Who is able to stand? Those who are watching and praying that they would be counted worthy to escape. Jesus says, you will stand before the Son of Man. Jesus wrote to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation chapter 3 and said that they would not go through the hour of testing that was going to come upon the world. Again, it's speaking of the rapture of the church. Jesus said, those who are raptured, those who are the faithful church, those who are faithful to me will be caught up to be with me and they will stand before the Son of Man. Well, the next group that will be able to stand will stand at much greater cost. It's the martyrs who come out of the tribulation period. We saw them back in chapter 6, verse 9, as the fifth seal is opened and he sees the martyrs there that are being comforted. And they're part of this group in Revelation chapter 7, this great multitude that's standing before the throne. And what are they doing? They're standing before the throne. Who is able to stand? Those who die for their faith in Jesus Christ at the hands of persecutors. being faithful to God even until death. They will stand in that tribulation period, or rather, out of the tribulation period, they will stand before the throne of God, having been victorious, having overcome. Well, the third group of those who will stand is the rest of the believers. And again, some will be martyred and put to death for their faith, but there will be others who believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him and are faithful to Him. They're not necessarily put to death for their faith, but they just experience death as a result of the catastrophic events that are taking place. And so there are many believers who will be brought out of the tribulation by death. And what will they be doing? Revelation chapter 7 tells us they will stand... before the throne. They're going to be standing before God. They're going to get there. It's going to be very tough. They're going to have to be faithful until death. Death of starvation, dying of thirst, death of, you know, rocks crushing you, comets hitting you, those types of things. It's going to be a hard and horrible death, a terrible way to go. But also there's going to be some believers, and we'll get to this later in Revelation, who actually survive all the way through the end of the tribulation period. And I do not envy those guys at all. I would not want to live through that time. But there are going to be those who live through and they enter into the millennial kingdom. Well, then there's the 144,000. And I know, you know, you probably want to be a part of that group, right? If you're left behind, if you don't want to follow Jesus right now, you think, well, I'll just, you know, try really hard to be a part of the 144,000 because they're sealed and protected, you know, from all of the things. And the 144,000 do survive the whole tribulation period. Revelation chapter 14 verse 1 tells us that at the end after the tribulation is done that they are found standing on Mount Zion with Jesus when he returns. And so who is able to stand? The 144,000 stand, but they stand having gone through the entire tribulation period. Now, if you're thinking, hey, you know, well, I'll just try to be the one of the 144,000. Remember the criteria. Okay. In order to have this divine protection, you have to be part of the nation of Israel. You have to be from one of those specific tribes. And if you're of the tribe of Dan, sorry, you're out of luck. No ceiling, no protection for you. Also, Revelation chapter 14 declares that they are celibate, that they're virgins. And so if your idea is like, well, hey, I'm just going to live it up and party right now and just live my life and then after the rapture, then I'll get right and hopefully I'll be part of the sealed. Well, if, you know, there's some sexual immorality as a result of your plans until that time, you're disqualified from the 144,000. So count that right out. You won't be part of that group. So the 144,000 stand, but they go through the tribulation period. They're God's servants that are set aside and devoted to God. Well, the fifth group who will stand, you're not going to like very much, and those are unbelievers. Unbelievers, they will stand, but not in the way that you would want. In Revelation chapter 20, verse 12, John says, "...I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God." And the books were opened. It's the time of judgment. They'll be standing before God, not in victory, but in judgment. And those who reject Jesus Christ, but die right now, they are waiting for this day of judgment described in Revelation chapter 20. Those who died during the tribulation period... They go to the same place, the place of waiting until that final judgment when they will stand before God at the great white throne. Those who die at the end of the tribulation period, they go to the same place, this place of waiting until the great white throne where they will stand before God to experience the judgment of God. And so that's not a good option no matter which way you cut it or slice it. You do not want to leave this life having rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The best option is to right now decide to follow Jesus. And because of this, we've included in your bulletin these little cards. These little cards, they have five different colors on here and this is what's known as the wordless book. Except for I put words on here so that you don't have to remember what each part represents. Because you know what it's like when you get put on the spot, even if it's an easy question or an easy thing that you know. somehow it just rushes right out of your mind, doesn't it? You know, it's like, and it's a question you know, but you just can't seem to get it on your lips. And so I put the words on here just so that, you know, you don't have that look and that expression whenever you're dealing with this situation. But the point I want to share and the thing I want to close with is this card. Because what this is, is it's just a simple and helpful reminder for sharing the gospel message. You see, the time is right for right now. The season is coming to an end. The church is going to be out of here. Those who go into the tribulation period, they're going to suffer greatly. And those who follow Jesus, there's going to be a great multitude, but they will do it at great cost. As we look at and study those things, it should cause in us a passion and a burden for the people around us, for the world around us, that there's not anybody in our lives that we want to go through those things and risk. Maybe later on they will receive Jesus Christ as Lord. Maybe they will follow Him and be faithful to death. Now you see, the time is now for us to include as many as we can in the church in preparing the bride of Christ for His return. The time is right for us right now to share the gospel message. And so that's why I give these things to you. They're credit card size, so you can slip it right in your wallet, keep it with your money. I know you got money. I know you go and refer to that often. So keep it right there, something you refer to often. And remember what the gospel message is and use this as a tool to share the gospel as God gives you opportunity. Let me run through it with you. Now, if you are here today or if you're listening to this and you have not been born again or you do not have right relationship with God, if you're not ready for His return, then pay attention to what I'm sharing with the rest of the believers because this is also for you. So the first color here is black, which represents our sin. You and I, we have sinned. We fall short of the glory of God. Every single one of us, Romans chapter 3 verse 23 tells us we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And so, although God loves us and although He is our creator and He desires for us to spend eternity with Him, we have this problem of sin that separates us from God. But then you move on to the next color. It's red, which represents the blood of Jesus. And although we have sinned and we have been separated from God, God so loved us. He loved us so greatly that He sent His only begotten Son, that Jesus willingly came and He died upon the cross. He lived a sinless and perfect life and His blood was shed in order to pay the price for for your sin and for my sin. And so that brings us to the white. Now you and I, we can have forgiveness by believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We can have forgiveness for that sin. We can be washed clean from our sin. Not only that, but then you go on to the green. Not only are we washed clean from sin, but we're given a new life. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5.17 that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have gone. Behold, all things become new. That God gives us a new fresh start in life by His grace and His mercy. By believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, there's a brand new work that happens. We have spiritual life where once we had none and we're brand new in Christ. A fresh clean slate to serve the Lord and to walk with Him and to grow in relationship with Him. But that's not all. God wants to give us an incredible life, a joyful, abundant life as we grow in Him. But not just here on this earth. You move down to the gold on the bottom of the card, the final color, which represents to us the eternity that God has in store for us, what we call heaven. God promises and gives those who believe in Jesus Christ the hope of eternity with Him, that we get to spend the rest of forever and ever enjoying the incredible grace and mercy of God. And so that is very simply the gospel message. And it's a reminder for you, those of you who are believers, that's what the gospel message is. Carry that with you. Have a burden and a passion for those who are lost and share the gospel. Use it as a tool. Use it as a reminder for what the gospel message is that you would have the opportunity to share with those around you. And if you're listening to this, If you need to receive this message and receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers to you, you can do it very easily by praying a simple prayer. And let's bow our heads and hearts together. And if you want to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, just pray this in your heart to God. Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and yet I believe that you died upon the cross for my sin. And Jesus, I receive your gift of salvation. Lord, forgive me of my sins. I turn from sin now to follow you. Lord, give me new life in you and help me to walk in obedience to the things that you have commanded. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.