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The Identity of The 144,000 | Revelation 7:1-8 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Let's come together now to the Book of Revelation in Chapter 7.
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I am thrilled to walk through this chapter with you today for
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many reasons, but the main one is because Revelation 7 holds
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the answer to the closing question of Revelation Chapter 6
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now, hopefully. You remember that at the
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breaking of the 6th seal, the people realize that this is
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something coming directly from God.
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The global disturbance, the the cosmic shakings was undoubtedly
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the outcome of God's direct wrath.
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And so humanity will flee and they will try to find refuge.
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And when it dawned upon them that this is indeed God's
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justice, God's doing, John hears them in their panicked voices
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cry out. Who can stand, Who can escape
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the fury of God's wrath? Who can hide from the blazing
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holiness that he has manifested? Who can shield themselves from
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his judgments? And before John is given
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insight. Into what will happen at the
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breaking of the 7th and final seal of the scroll.
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God gives them the answer to that question.
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Let's read it together in Revelation 7, beginning in verse
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one down to verse 8. After this I saw 4 angels
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standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four
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winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or see or
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against any tree. Then I saw another Angel
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ascending from the rising of the sun with the seal of the living
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God. And he called it with a loud
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voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth
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and sea, saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees,
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until we have sealed the servants of our God on their
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foreheads. And I heard the number of the
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seal, the 144,000. Sealed from every tribe of the
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sons of Israel, 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed
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12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
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12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of
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Naftali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manessa, 12,000 from the
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tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the
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tribe of Issachar. 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000
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from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were
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sealed. Father, we, we need your wisdom,
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we need your help, we need your guidance, and we rest in the
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truth that you promised to give us the answers in your Word.
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And so we come now, Lord, hungry and thirsty, and we believe we
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will be filled because you are a gracious God.
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We thank you in advance for this message may be given in clarity.
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May it deal with any confusion or contradiction, and may it
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produce consecration. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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So there are two companies of people who will be untouched by
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the disasters that will follow this moment.
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The things that are yet to be unfolded, the things that are
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yet to be realized. In the Book of Revelation, the
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first group is described in the section that we just read.
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They are defined by their Jewish heritage and they are numbered
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precisely 144,000. The second group we will touch
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on next week if the Lord wills, and they are different than the
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first, but I think it's worth looking at it very briefly.
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Just take a peek at them in verse 9 to see how this second
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group is identified. Look at verse 9 after this I
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looked and behold a great multitude that no one could
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number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
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languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
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clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
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So you see, there's a division here.
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Unlike the first group, the second group is not limited to 1
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ethnicity. They are drawn from all nations,
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they are drawn from all tribes. They are defined by a variety of
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peoples. Also, we find that unlike the
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first group, there is no number to the second.
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There is no count. There is no exact record.
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It's actually beyond a number. And finally, the another
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difference to consider is that unlike the first group, the
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second group that John sees is in heaven, while the 144,000 are
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still on earth at this point. Now, there's a lot to discuss.
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That's why we're going to take our time by investigating the
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first group today, famously known as the 144. 1000 So I want
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us to go back to verse one now and let me just say this from
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the beginning. You're going to need your
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Bibles. You're always going to need your
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Bibles. But especially with this text, I
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want us to travel to different portions of Scripture because it
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will help us make sense of what seems to be mysterious and
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cryptic, and it will be a reward.
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So hold on to your Bible and let's go together now and see
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what God has to say to us through this.
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There is an obvious contrast between the chaos and the
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previous chapter and what we find here in the opening text.
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What we find in the last scene of chapter 6 is utter chaos.
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And then suddenly we are faced with strange, calm, very unusual
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atmosphere in this book. That what you find here is the
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source of the the troubles and the turbulences that we've
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studied so far is the very same cause for the tranquility here.
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It's the Lord. God is the one who brings about
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this peace, this temporary repose.
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We read A4 Angels who are standing at the four corners of
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the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth.
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What is that? Well, the four corners of the
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earth is a scriptural metaphor that speaks of the earth as a
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whole. You find that in the book of
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Isaiah especially. So it's not talking about the
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actual landscape of our planet necessarily, it just speaking
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about the entirety of our world. What about these four winds?
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Are they literal winds? Likely not.
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Again, this is another phrase that is familiar in the Bible
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that refers to an unusual act of God on a massive scale.
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It speaks about this remarkable manifestation that will take
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place in a way that cannot be ignored by the masses.
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And so in some contexts, whenever you see these four
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winds defined, it actually speaks of a great miracle that
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is about to take place. In other instances, it's
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actually speaking about a significant act of judgment.
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So you don't have to turn there. But if you're a note taker,
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you'll appreciate these two references from the Old
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Testament. You remember the Valley of Dry
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Bones when the prophet Ezekiel was brought there by God?
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And it was a. Vision, but it spoke about the
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hopelessness of the nation of Israel and God gives Ezekiel
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instructions of how to speak to this valley and how they can be
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revived. And let me read to you what he
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says in Ezekiel 37 verse 9. Ezekiel says, then he said to me
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prophesied to the breath prophecy, son of man, and say to
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the breath. Thus says the Lord God come from
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the four winds, O breath and breath on the slain, that they
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may live. So here's a positive reality to
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these four winds, that it's a call for this force, this power
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to bring about something good and redemptive.
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But here's an example of it leading to judgment.
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It's an obscure passage, but again, you don't have to turn
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there. Just listen carefully and write
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down the reference for later in Jeremiah 49, verse 36.
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Listen to what God says, and I will bring upon Elam the four
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winds from the four quarters of heaven, and I will scatter them
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to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which
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those driven out of Elam shall not come.
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So there is this call for the four winds to scatter a certain
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people group, which is obviously an act of discipline and
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chastisement. In Revelation 7, when the four
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winds are mentioned, it's. Clear that judgement is in view.
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And that the Lord calls his servants, his heavenly angels,
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to hold back further punishment, to put it on pause.
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And I can't help but recognize something before we move on.
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And it is how precise God's protection is.
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Notice again here at the last part of verse one.
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Look there in Revelation 7 that no wind might blow on earth or
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sea or against. Any tree, not one tree can be
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affected. Not one tree can be cut down.
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Not one tree can blow over or be uprooted unless God permits it.
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Beyond that, not one leaf can be broken off any shrub or tree
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unless God wishes it. And in case you think that this
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is just a text to prove just how much God cares about the
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environment, oh, if he cares about trees this much, how much
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more you and I, I'll never forget it some time ago, sitting
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in my living room going through the book of Job.
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And I've read that book many times, but something so simple
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yet profound touched me. And it still ministers to me
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today. And I hope it ministers.
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To you do. You remember what Satan said to
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God when he brings up his observation of the detailed care
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that Job had because of his relationship with God.
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This is worth turning to in Job One and highlight.
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It may be printed and put it somewhere in your house because
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it is a wonderful insight into the great.
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Compassion and supervision that God has for His servants in Job
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One, verse 9 and 10. Then Satan answered the Lord and
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said, does Job fear God for no reason?
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Have you not put a hedge around him?
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Highlight that around Job himself and his house and all
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that he has. That's pretty descriptive.
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Wouldn't you say? And he doesn't even end it
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there. Notice what he says at the last
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part on every side, not just one side.
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So I was in my living room, I was reading this and I thought.
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Pause, Lord, you don't just keep watching my front door.
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You're in the backyard and you're in the side door going
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into the garage. And any and everything that I
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own, you protect because it's yours.
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Ultimately, every part of your life is guarded and watched over
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by your God. What are you anxious about?
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What are you fearful about? Every part of you, the sole of
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your foot up to the crown of your head, is taken into
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consideration. So here is the Lord showing,
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even in Revelation 7, just how meticulous He is, just how
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caring He is. Things that you don't even think
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about, God thinks about, or maybe things that you
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obsessively watch over and are worried about.
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God is already there, and it's not just Job in view here.
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Job is not just a special character.
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What you find in Revelation 7 is that the reason why God holds
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back further judgement is because there's another group of
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people that He is watching over and wants to do something with.
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And this is what we want to look at.
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Come back to verse 2 of Revelation 7.
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Verse two and three reads Do not harm the earth or the sea or the
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trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their
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foreheads. We got to talk about this seal
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in the ancient world, this practice of sealing something
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what was very familiar. If you were a ruler or an owner
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of some kind of property or an estate, you probably had a
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signet ring, a ring that had an autograph of some sorts or
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initials or some kind of emblem that was undoubtedly tied to
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you. And someone would take that ring
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and they would press it into wax and it would seal a document, a
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contract, or even a significant item to mark ownership, to
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authorize it and to say this belongs to someone.
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And So what you have here is God borrowing that practice in order
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to communicate that he is looking to identify a certain
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group of people in order to authenticate His ownership and
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to protect them. And so he tells these angels,
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let's stop here because we still have to seal the servants of our
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God. And listen, this should not be
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unfamiliar to the Old Testament student, because we find this
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practice in Ezekiel Chapter 9. This is when God was about to
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pass judgment on Jerusalem and before judgment is unleashed,
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listen to what he says. It's incredible in verse 4 of
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Ezekiel 9 and the Lord said to him, pass.
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Through the city, he's speaking to a divine messenger.
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Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the
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foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the
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abominations that are committed in it.
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Do you see that? So he speaks to, contextually,
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an Angel. He's about to unleash punishment
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upon his own. He's about to discipline the
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holy city. And he says, before we move
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forward, I'm asking you to mark a certain group of people on
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their foreheads. Sound familiar?
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Do you see just how saturated revelation is with the Old
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Testament? But notice that people who are
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marked, I want you to mark those who sigh and groan over all the
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abominations that are being practiced in this place.
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One of the evidences of somebody's relationship with God
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being true and genuine and sincere is how you and I not
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only respond to our own sin, but the sin around us.
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What was it that God was looking for at this time?
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I want you to find those who are broken over the abominations
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that are being practiced. I want you to find those who are
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who are shattered by the idolatry that is being
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committed. God looks for how we view sin.
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That's important to God. But then he goes on to say this
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in verse 6 of Ezekiel 9. Kill old men outright, young men
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and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one whom is
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the mark on whom is the mark and begin at my sanctuary.
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So they began with the elders who are before the house.
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So again, this mark. Is a protective thing and both
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in Ezekiel and in Revelation we we see that the Lord has his own
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seal which is spiritually applied to those who belong to
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him so that when judgement does go forth, they would be spared,
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they would not experience wrath. So we see consistent reality to
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the seal. Now if you're sitting here
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wondering, OK, there's a seal obviously available in the Old
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Testament. It's there in Ezekiel, and there
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will be seal that will be known in the Tribulation period.
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What about now? Well, I'm here to remind you
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that if you do belong to Christ, you are sealed.
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What did Paul tell the Ephesians?
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You know this very well in Ephesians 113 in him you also,
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when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
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salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised
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Holy Spirit. I'm sealed, So are you.
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And this is, this is incredible if you truly grasp it, because
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it's one of the many ways that God assures us that because of
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our faith in the gospel, we are securely owned by God.
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We belong to him. We are his eternal possession
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because he has placed his signature on your soul and mine.
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The Savior's name is there, and no one can change that.
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Listen very carefully. It doesn't matter how intense
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the doubts are relating to your standing with God.
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It doesn't alter this reality. And it doesn't matter how
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convincing Satan's arguments are against you.
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You are promised a seal. You are sealed.
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And the significance of this seal is that it not only
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protects us from dangers in this life, but it promises us eternal
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life. The same word sealed in
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Revelation 7, three is in that verse, Ephesians 113.
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And in Ephesians 430, we're told do not grieve the Holy Spirit by
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whom you were sealed until the day or to the day of redemption.
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What's the purpose of that seal? It's meant to mark me and keep
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me until I am totally redeemed. He's not going anywhere and
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there's no one who can pry him away.
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This is speaking about just how safe we are in Christ, sealed
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until the day of redemption. And that beauty, that
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inheritance, that down payment that was made should move you to
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the degree where you say I don't want to grieve him.
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He's chosen to taking up residence in me.
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He's chosen to hold me and to keep me until the end.
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And so, between now and that day of redemption, oh, may I please
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him, May I honour him. May he not be broken, though
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committed to keeping me because of that precious blood, may be
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pleased to take up his home in my heart.
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Now I find something quite fascinating about this seal in
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Revelation 7. Many things, and the one that
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comes to mind is this, that this seal in Revelation 7 appears
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before another mark that will be placed on the foreheads.
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Of others. You guys know where we're going
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with this, right? The mark of the beast.
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The mark of the beast that will show up in Revelation chapter
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13. In Revelation 1316, we learned
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that those who would pledge their allegiance to the
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Antichrist will be marked with his name or the number of his
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name on their foreheads or on their hand.
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And we'll talk about why that is the case when we come to that
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chapter. But what does it tell you about
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Satan? That he has his own mark.
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I'll tell you what it means. It means that he is so envious
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of God, so covetous, that he seeks to imitate him in every
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way possible. He so wants to be God, that even
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with God's mark, he tries to have his own version of it.
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If God marks his people with a seal, I'll mark my people with
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my own seal. This is how demented and twisted
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the enemy is. So you have to understand that
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the mark of the beast is a demonic counterfeit.
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It's a dark parody of the wonderful gift that we have in
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God through the Holy Spirit. But here's the difference
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between God's seal and Satan's seal.
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The seal of God comes upon those who willingly and humbly receive
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Jesus. Christ as Lord.
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Being sealed and owned by the Lord is something that you do
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because you recognize His great love and how expensive your
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salvation is and how sweet and loving your God is, and so you
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surrender to that seal. Satan, on the other hand, makes
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no such offer. Satan will set up this system
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through the Antichrist to coerce and to bully you into taking
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this seal. Yes, there will be many who will
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freely pledge their loyalty to the Antichrist because they're
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deceived, but the system will be set up so that it forces the
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masses. Because in that same chapter in
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Revelation 13, you can't buy or sell without that seal.
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You can't live normally. And so recognize just how
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pathetic the devil is as a master.
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There is nothing about him that is love or mercy.
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He has to twist your arm. He has to threaten you in order
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for you to bend your knee. And yet we as blood bought
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Christians, we bend our knee because we're overwhelmed by the
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love of Christ. We give ourselves freely.
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Oh, you are worthy of 10,000 lives to be lived, but I'll give
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you my one. Seal me, mark me.
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And now that we've identified the nature and the purpose of
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this seal to protect this group, in order to help them stand in
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what's to follow in these judgments on the earth, we now
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have to turn our attention to the group that will receive it
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at this. Point in God's story.
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So let's come back again to verse 4 of Revelation 7.
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There are two main perspectives regarding this numbered group.
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There are some who see it as a symbolic picture of the
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universal church, while there are others who understand it as
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a literal count of Jews who have put their faith in the Lord
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Jesus Christ during the Tribulation period.
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So I want to speak on the symbolic view.
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For a moment. Why is it that there are some
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believers who do not see this as actual Jews being saved and
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instead a picture of the church? Well, they will argue that
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numbers in apocalyptic literature are often symbolic.
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And they will continue to add that since we are in the New
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Covenant, there is no reason to distinguish the Jewish people,
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since in Christ there is a new man comprised of both Jew and
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Gentiles. So.
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So why are we making a highlight here of the Jewish people when
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God's main program here at this point is the church?
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And they would. Go on to explain that the
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#144,000 when broken down, makes this case 12 * 12 * 1000 equals
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this number. So you have the 12 tribes of
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Israel. You have the 12 apostles and
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then you have the number 1000, which speaks of completion or
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fullness. And so that equation essentially
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means this, that what we have in view here is the fullness of
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God's people, both from old and new covenants, who together make
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up the new spiritual Israel. Interesting take.
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Additionally, this view argues that the innumerable multitude
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from every tribe and tongue that John sees following the 144.
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Remember we peeked at them in verse 9.
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Those who are proponents of this view will say those aren't 2
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distinct groups, they're actually one and the same from
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two different perspectives. And in order to back that up,
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they will go to an interesting part of Revelation to show how
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it parallels. Do you remember in Revelation 55
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when John was told about the line of the tribe of Judah?
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He was told about the line of the tribe of Judah, but when he
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looked more carefully, he didn't see a lion.
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What did he see? A lamb standing.
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So two different descriptions of the same person.
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He heard the lion, but he saw the lamb.
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And people who hold to this perspective will also argue that
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John is experiencing something similar here.
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He hears about the 144 if you look at the language carefully,
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but when you go to verse 9 down, he sees an innumerable amount of
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people from different tribes and tongues, two different
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descriptions of the same identity of the same entity.
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So the argument is essentially that the 144 is just an
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artistic, descriptive, symbolic way of speaking about the
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universal church. Finally, they'll kind of get
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into the details and point out how the tribes that are listed
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here are never to be found listed in the Old Testament the
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way it's listed, primarily because.
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Who's omitted? Did you notice it?
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Dan is omitted. The tribe of Dan is not there
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and you can make a case that Ephraim also is not there by
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name. Levi is there for whatever
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reason as well. Joseph is included.
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And so they'll say, listen, this can't be about Israel because
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you don't find this kind of catalog, this kind of record in
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the Hebrew Scriptures. There are more arguments that
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they make. That's just an overview, but how
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do we make a case for the literal view?
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Here's what I want to say to begin with.
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Revelation makes it clear in other places in this book.
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How the Jewish people and their land plays a distinctive and
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imperative role in God's work in the last days.
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It's found in other places in Revelation.
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May I give you 2 examples? And listen, listen, listen, pay
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attention. My dear brother and sister.
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There's a lot of talk about Israel today, and I'm not
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concerned what the world has to say about Israel.
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I'm concerned about theology. I'm concerned what the Bible has
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to say about it. You and I need to be informed.
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You and I need to know what the Bible says.
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You and I need to be equipped. So this is where you really want
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to lean in and take notes. Let's look at a couple of
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examples here. Go to Revelation 11.
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We talked about this a few services ago briefly, where you
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have the two witnesses here who will play a very important
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evangelistic role in the Tribulation period.
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But I want you to see something interesting in verse 7 and verse
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8, Revelation 11, verse 7 and verse 8.
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And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that
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rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and
27:47
conquer them and kill them. Oh, I said this before.
27:50
Can I say it again? Don't you love it that they
27:52
could not be killed until their testimony was done?
27:56
You and I are not going anywhere until our testimony is over.
28:01
Verse 8. And their dead bodies will lie
28:04
in the street of the great city. Pause.
28:10
A city. We're talking about an actual
28:11
city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt.
28:16
I really appreciate that the Book of Revelation tells us when
28:18
something is symbolic. There are times when it's
28:23
obviously symbolic, but we see here that the Spirit tells us
28:26
that the city is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt.
28:29
Now, now we know where the city is, where their Lord was
28:33
crucified. Where's where's the city?
28:35
Good Jerusalem. That wasn't clear enough.
28:38
Look at verse 13 and at that hour there was a great
28:42
earthquake and a tenth of the city fell. 7000 people were
28:47
killed in the earthquake and the rest were terrified.
28:50
And gave glory to the God of heaven.
28:54
Highlight the fact that this is speaking about a literal city in
28:59
an actual Jerusalem in a nation actually called Israel.
29:03
Be mindful of that. Go to chapter 16.
29:06
Let's look at verse 14. This is a description of the
29:17
preparation of the battle of Armageddon.
29:20
Notice what it said here in Revelation 16, verse 14.
29:23
For they are demonic spirits performing signs, who go abroad
29:27
to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for battle on
29:31
the great day of God the Almighty.
29:33
Verse 15. Behold, I am coming like a
29:35
thief. Blessed is the one who stays
29:37
awake keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked
29:41
and be seen exposed. And they assemble them at the
29:45
place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
29:50
Armageddon in Hebrew means Mount Megiddo.
29:53
It's 2 words. I confirmed this with one of our
29:55
pastors, Mount Megiddo. And here's what's interesting.
30:01
There is no specific mountain called Megiddo in that region.
30:05
But it can also mean Hill Country.
30:07
So it's very likely that this is speaking about the Hill Country
30:11
surrounding the plain of Megiddo, which is mentioned more
30:15
than once in the Old Testament. I personally have seen the plain
30:17
of Megiddo. We, we cross, we're, we're
30:19
traveling through Israel, the northern part.
30:21
And we, we stopped somewhere for lunch.
30:23
And in passing, the tour guide said, Oh, by the way, that's
30:26
Megiddo. And.
30:27
Then we just went on with lunch. I'm like, whoa, that's where
30:30
that's where the final thing is going to take place.
30:31
Why are we and people just, I'm staying here, I'm taking
30:34
pictures, you guys go ahead. And I looked at it and this is
30:37
the thought that dawned on me. It's this flat.
30:38
Like perfectly flat. And I thought to myself, that's
30:41
a perfect terrain for war. It's incredible.
30:46
So I grabbed somebody and said, hey, look, take a picture.
30:48
I want Megiddo behind me. I said this is.
30:51
Where it's going to all go down now?
30:55
It's a plane located 60 to 70 miles north of Jerusalem, and
30:59
it's a site where many battles have been fought in biblical
31:02
history and even in human history.
31:05
And it's the very piece of real estate that God will choose to
31:08
execute the nation's upon Christ's return.
31:12
Why am I bringing all of this up?
31:15
If the 144,000 are symbolic, should these Jewish geographical
31:20
references be symbolic as well? And if they are symbolic, what
31:28
do they represent? What?
31:31
What do they speak about? We're talking about actual real
31:37
estate, actual Jews and actual nation, different parts of that
31:41
nation. You either take it literally or
31:44
you do spiritual. Origami with the Bible, I see it
31:50
plain. It's too detailed to be
31:52
allegorical. It's so obvious.
31:56
It's so clear and unlike those who see no value or revel
32:00
relevance in the 144,000 being ethnic Jews, their literal
32:05
identity actually aligns perfectly with prophecies and
32:11
promises throughout the Scriptures, including those who
32:14
are found in the New Testament. As I mentioned earlier, there's
32:20
a lot of conversation regarding God's relationship with ethnic
32:23
Israel today. And interestingly, it was
32:27
something that the early church was wrestling with in Paul's
32:30
day. And that's why the Holy Spirit
32:34
inspired Paul to give answers. And so he helps him, inspires
32:39
him, and guides him to pen Romans 9 to 11.
32:43
And in those chapters, we learn about Israel's past and the
32:48
relationship with God, Israel's present, and in Romans 11,
32:52
Israel's future. Let's turn to Romans 11 and
33:00
let's skip over to verse 25. Listen, if you struggle and try
33:06
to make sense of God's relationship with Israel, go to
33:11
Romans 11. Go to Romans 11.
33:14
And I want you to see what he says here in verse 25.
33:17
This is brilliant Paul speaking to many Gentiles, and he says
33:23
this lest you be wise in your own sight.
33:28
Pause. In other words, I don't want you
33:30
to come up with your own idea of how this all works.
33:35
I don't want you to come to your own conclusions separate from
33:38
what God's Word has to say. So don't let politics influence
33:43
your theology. Don't let what's popular
33:48
influence what's true. I'm not concerned with what
33:50
people have to say. I'm concerned.
33:51
What God? Has to say.
33:55
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be
33:59
unaware of this mystery. Pause again.
34:01
Forgive me. How many people are unaware of
34:07
what God's Word has to say from Genesis to Revelation about His
34:09
relationship with Israel? How many?
34:12
So many, you have people who have come to conclusions about
34:16
this, who haven't even read through the Bible once, who
34:21
don't know the Old Testament, the foundation of the new.
34:24
And they come out confidently saying, well, this is what you
34:27
heard, that you didn't even investigate it.
34:30
You're regurgitating what somebody said from the pulpit.
34:32
Are you a brain? Did you examine the Scriptures
34:34
for yourself? Have you come to that conclusion
34:36
by your own study? He says, I don't want you to be
34:41
unaware. OK, I understand it's not a
34:43
salivific issue, but the Holy Spirit wants Christians to know.
34:48
I don't know. No, I want you to know, I don't
34:52
want you to be unaware of this mystery.
34:54
Brothers, a partial hardening has come upon Israel.
35:01
What hardening are we talking about here?
35:02
We're talking about a partial which speaks of the timing of
35:05
it. It's not a permanent hardening,
35:09
and it's not a complete hardening in the sense that
35:11
every single Jew is hardened. The early church was filled with
35:16
Jews. Your Messiah is Jewish and there
35:21
are Jews today who are coming to Christ.
35:23
A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness
35:29
of the Gentiles has come in. So there is a limit to this
35:33
hardening. There's debate around what does
35:36
this mean? The fullness of the Gentiles has
35:38
come in. The most likely interpretation
35:39
is that God is going to do something with the Gentiles,
35:42
which he is now in this church age and when the last Gentile
35:46
comes to Christ. There's going to be a shift.
35:49
There's going to be a change of focus.
35:53
Verse 26. And in this way all Israel will
35:55
be saved. That is not saying every single
35:59
Jewish person will come to Christ.
36:01
What it is saying is that the nation will identify Jesus
36:04
Christ of Nazareth as their official Messiah and in this
36:09
way. All Israel will be saved, as it
36:12
is written. The Deliverer will come from
36:15
Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob, and this will be my
36:20
covenant with them when I take away their sins.
36:25
Look at verse 28. As regards the gospel, they are.
36:30
Enemies for your sake, but as regards election, they are
36:33
beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
36:37
Honestly, yes, go through Romans 11 if you struggle with this.
36:40
But if you don't even want to go through Romans 11, what do you
36:43
do with verse 28? Just verse 28, because what do
36:47
people say? Well, the reason why Israel is
36:51
no longer relevant, no longer will receive special attention
36:57
from God, is because they've denied the Messiah.
36:59
And Paul understands that they are enemies regarding the
37:02
gospel, but that does not nullify their election.
37:09
As unthinkable and as brutal as that denial of their Messiah is,
37:15
Paul says you have to understand God made a promise to their
37:18
forefathers and even their current rejection of the gospel
37:22
does not cancel those promises. It's clear as day.
37:26
It's clear as day, and here's why this all matters.
37:33
God is saving Gentiles, and when the final Gentile comes into the
37:38
fold, He will once again turn his attention to the people of
37:42
Israel on a much larger scale. And it makes perfect sense to
37:45
understand the Tribulation period as fulfilling that
37:48
mission, a time when the Jewish people, amid great turmoil, will
37:53
be awakened to the folly of denying the Lord Jesus Christ as
37:56
their Messiah, leading to a spiritual revival as the
38:00
hardening of their hearts is lifted.
38:04
So when we're studying revelation, we're looking at
38:05
what, yes, judgments and catastrophe, catastrophes being
38:09
unleashed upon the world. But it's not just to judge the
38:12
world and give them a final wake up call.
38:14
It's also to awaken Israel. And we should recognize the
38:22
144,000 as representing the first.
38:25
Fruits of Israel's salvation, the very same thing that Paul
38:32
speaking about in verse 26. All Israel will be saved.
38:34
When is that going to happen? Well, we're seeing the
38:37
beginnings of it in Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation.
38:43
And we have good reason to believe that that same number of
38:45
people will serve God in a unique way.
38:47
Remember, they are identified as servants of our God and I
38:50
believe that they will be spreading the Gospel to the
38:52
world. Remember in Matthew 24 that
38:54
Jesus in the middle of all those descriptions of what will happen
38:58
in the final period of human history, the gospel will also go
39:01
to what the entire world? I persuaded that the 144,000
39:08
will play a major role of evangelizing the nations.
39:11
Can you imagine that 144,000 Jews will be preaching the
39:15
Gospel and the most dangerous and trying time of human
39:19
history, and they'll also be preaching to their own brothers
39:23
and sisters of the Jewish race? So if you are someone again who
39:30
is struggling to accept this, I want you to go back to Romans
39:32
11, the passage we just read and see how Paul quotes the Old
39:36
Testament. He goes to Isaiah 59.
39:38
He goes to Isaiah 27 and verse 26 and verse 27 of Romans 11.
39:43
To show what that the basis of his argument is grounded in the
39:46
Hebrew Scriptures, he takes 2 portions.
39:50
You can argue maybe even 3, combines them together, and he's
39:54
showing his Gentile readers, look, I'm telling you this
39:57
because the Bible predicted it. The Bible speaks about it, the
40:00
prophets foretold it. Why is that important?
40:06
Because those who believe that the church has replaced Israel
40:09
will also say that every promise made to Israel in the Old is
40:13
given to the church. Well, hold on.
40:15
Paul quotes an Old Testament promise and ascribes it to
40:18
Israel, ethnic Israel. And when I found about those who
40:25
believe every single promise in the Old Testament now goes to
40:27
the church is that they don't want to take any of the curses
40:31
that are warned against Israel. Give us the promises.
40:34
Keep the curses. This serves as many proofs that
40:40
not every promise made to Israel in the Old Testament is
40:43
fulfilled in the church, despite what many people claim.
40:46
Contrary to that distortion, Paul is testifying that the
40:49
spiritual salvation of Israel has been promised from of old,
40:53
and the current rejection of the gospel does not cancel those
40:56
promises. Let's come back to Revelation 7.
41:02
We're talking about actual Jews, a real revival, and we're seeing
41:06
the budding of the promise that all Israel shall be saved.
41:13
Now, all of what we just said as we're ready to close is just an
41:16
overview. And I'm sure you can see how
41:19
there can be a debate about this and people can go back and
41:22
forth. So maybe you're less interested
41:25
in the conversation of whether or not this is speaking about
41:27
real Jews or the speaking about the church, and you have more
41:31
intricate inquiries, like. All right, yeah, I already am
41:34
convinced that this is speaking about actual Israel, actual
41:37
tribes, actual people, actual numbers.
41:41
But the preacher? Where's Dan and why is this an
41:45
unusual list of tribes? I'm not going to answer every
41:51
single question, but I think that's the most common 1 when it
41:53
comes to this text, when it comes to Q&A's and people love
41:56
the Book of Revelation. They will ask, hey, where's Dan
41:58
in Revelation 7? There are some who say, well
42:05
Revelation 7 omits Dan because the Antichrist will come from
42:09
the tribe of Dan. Where did you get that from?
42:12
That's pure speculation. There are some who just want to
42:16
explain it away by saying, well, Dan is omitted because he has
42:19
gone extinct. That specific tribe just dried
42:23
out and they're they're no longer present.
42:24
At this point we can't say for certain why, but if there is any
42:31
argument we can make from Scripture is by looking at the
42:35
history of the tribe of Dan and seeing if that can provide any
42:40
light to why they are not included in the ceiling and in
42:43
the service in the tribulation period.
42:46
Again, if you know the Old Testament, while you'll remember
42:49
that Dan is associated with great idolatry throughout the
42:52
Old Testament, you find it in Judges 18.
42:56
Even in the early stages of the conquest and the settling of the
43:00
people of Israel in the promised land, Dan rushed into apostasy.
43:05
Dan adopted false gods and promoted it false priesthood.
43:11
It's very concerning. Then you Fast forward.
43:16
At the division of the Kingdom, when Rehoboam took over, his
43:19
father Solomon and Jeroboam caused the split.
43:22
He took 10 tribes from the north, and in fear of those
43:27
tribes going down to Jerusalem to worship at the temple and
43:30
losing their allegiance, he sets up false worship.
43:33
And he resurrects the golden calf.
43:36
And he places one and Bethel and another one, where in the region
43:40
of Dan it became a. Hub of idolatry.
43:46
There are other things, other narratives and other clues, even
43:48
prophecies that indicate that Dan did not have the greatest
43:52
future. And Dan, they have caused much
43:56
suffering in terms of the spiritual strength.
43:58
Of their brethren. So if we go with that, then we
44:05
have a practical truth here that sin disqualifies us from
44:10
service. If God is sealing this group of
44:14
Jews, this remnant, in order to serve a purpose, an amazing
44:17
purpose at a very critical time in human history and doesn't
44:21
include Dan. I argue that this is just one of
44:25
many illustrations showing us one of the costs of sin.
44:30
That's why you knowing your gifts and you knowing your
44:34
ministry is important for your sanctification.
44:38
Although not the primary motive, it is a motive nonetheless.
44:42
I want to be used maximally by God.
44:44
I don't want to miss out opportunities in my life to
44:46
serve God because of silly sin, because of anything that would
44:53
compromise my testimony. I don't.
44:55
Want to miss out If you want to learn anything from this is
44:59
Lord, please let there be nothing in my life that causes
45:02
you to overlook me when you're ready to use your people.
45:06
I want to be used. I want to be fit for the masters
45:09
use and so I want to cleanse myself and I'm praying that you
45:12
cleanse me and this day and hour that's so relevant for us.
45:18
We heard it in the announcements that laborers are few.
45:22
And I believe the laborers are few for many reasons.
45:25
And one of the reasons why there are no no laborers today as much
45:28
as there could be because people are caught in iniquity, caught
45:32
in worldliness and compromise and and sins in secret.
45:35
Just get rid of all of it. Let God use you.
45:38
Let him recruit you. At the same time, there's a
45:47
message of hope here, even for Dan.
45:51
Even if you are here today and you are in sin, and you've been
45:55
in sin since we've even started Revelation.
45:58
You're interested, you're curious, you're stimulated
46:00
intellectually, but you haven't developed this hunger to break
46:05
free from these shackles. Yes, sin disqualifies us, but it
46:13
never removes you from grace. Never.
46:15
Grace is always available. Here's what's so interesting.
46:21
Some people believe that Dan again has just kind of been
46:24
swallowed up in obscurity or has so damaged their relationship
46:29
with God as a people group within this nation that they are
46:32
no longer, they are no longer relevant to God.
46:37
So we preach A literal millennial reign of Christ, that
46:40
when Jesus Christ does come back, he will physically rule
46:43
and reign on the earth. And when you look at the book of
46:47
Ezekiel, you actually get a blueprint of how some of the the
46:52
actual geography will look like when Christ does come back
46:55
again. You're either left with that
46:57
option, or the choice to say what you find in Ezekiel 40 to
47:00
48 is all allegorical. All of those details, the
47:05
details of the temple, the details of the parameters and
47:08
the allotted periods of land, all of that is just spiritual
47:11
speaking about the abundance of the blessings that we have in
47:13
the gospel, in Christ. I choose a literal approach.
47:18
And when you look at the very last chapter of Ezekiel, where
47:22
God gives Ezekiel an actual insight into what will take
47:27
place around the headquarters of the Messiah in Jerusalem in
47:32
Israel, you discover something as the tribes are brought up yet
47:36
once again and are given different portions of.
47:40
That region go to Ezekiel 48. This will be worth it.
47:43
This is where we're ending Ezekiel 48 and speaking about
47:55
that future time, that actual Kingdom, that literal reign with
48:01
real land and view Ezekiel 48 verse one.
48:06
These are the names of the tribes beginning at the northern
48:09
extreme, beside the way of Hephlon of Libo Hamath, as far
48:14
as Hazar Inan, which is on the northern border of Damascus over
48:17
against Hamas, and extending to the east side to the West.
48:23
Dan 1 portion. You see what's happening here,
48:31
the very same tribe that's omitted and people say, well,
48:33
where's Ephraim? Well, you can make a case that
48:35
he's attached to Joseph. Ephraim is also associated with
48:38
idolatry. But what's really, really
48:39
concerning to people is Dan, the same Dan in Revelation 7, who is
48:43
not mentioned as being under the protection of God during the
48:47
Tribulation period and being sent out to serve God with the
48:49
Gospel is the first. Tribe mentioned in the
48:53
millennial reign, at the end of the Tribulation period, when
48:57
Christ comes back and is given a portion of land, the first one
49:00
out of all the 12. What are we supposed to take
49:05
from that? The grace of God, The grace of
49:08
God? Yes, they were disciplined.
49:11
Yes, they were removed from this group, but all when the Prince
49:15
of Peace comes, when the Messiah arrives, who's on his mind first
49:20
as he establishes his ruling reign?
49:22
Dan, Dan, where's Dan? Dan, this is yours.
49:28
Is he worthy of it? No, none of us are.
49:30
Does he deserve this? According to his history?
49:32
Absolutely not. But that's what grace is.
49:36
Do you see that? You can even find the character
49:38
of God in the tribes of Israel, in their mention, in their own
49:40
mission and prophecies to come. Oh, what a glorious God we have.
49:45
So when you and I leave this place and somebody asks who are
49:48
the 144,000, you can say, well, there's a tribulation period
49:52
coming. And God made promises to the
49:54
nation of Israel that they shall all be saved.
49:58
And God will select a group from every tribe, all the lost tribes
50:01
of Israel. What do you mean?
50:02
They don't even know where they come from.
50:03
God knows where they come from and he will recruit them and he
50:09
will use them because he will fulfill his promises to them and
50:12
He will show the world that he is a faithful God.
50:15
And what you find in Revelation 7 is just the first fruits of
50:17
what Paul said in Romans 11, that all Israel shall be saved.
50:23
What an amazing book this is. LO, we thank you for this word.
50:27
We thank you for your promises. We thank you for prophecy.
50:30
We thank you for the plain reading of these shrews.
50:33
We thank you that although there is an element of mystery to it,
50:37
when we interpret scripture with Scripture, we can have
50:40
clarification. LO, we thank you that this issue
50:44
of your relationship with the people of Israel.
50:47
Is not separate from your character.
50:49
It ties in to who you are and what We pray that you give us
50:53
wisdom and grace even around this conversation.
50:57
We pray that you equip us further.
50:59
We pray that we would not operate in our own wisdom and
51:01
our own presuppositions or ideas.
51:03
Lord help us just submit to. The word of God and to the word
51:06
of God alone. Lord, we also, in light of this
51:09
future truth that we're studying, ask for this present
51:12
time. Oh, use us.
51:14
Thank you for the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
51:16
Thank you that we're protected from all danger.
51:18
Thank you that we're not getting out of here until our testimony
51:20
is over. But O Lord, we don't want
51:22
anything in our lives to hinder us from your service.
51:25
So all idols and all sin and all filth, Lord, we pray that you
51:30
get rid of it and use us, Lord, not because we are worthy, but
51:33
because you are, and we long to serve you and there's no other.
51:35
Way we want to live. So Lord, we pray, continue to
51:38
guide us through this book and for now we pause to rejoice in
51:42
the God of this book. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
51:45
Let's stand. Let's worship the living God.