Discovering Revelation Part 20
Revelation Part 20
The Four Angels holding back the 4 winds at the four corners!
• The four corners are what church? North, South, East, and West!
• “holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.”
• These would be holding back the winds of judgment for a short period of time! Why?
• Nothing is allowed to move till God accomplishes His purpose!
• What’s that purpose that all people would have an opportunity to be Saved!
• So, this will be a period where many will turn to Him!
• A great number will be Saved! That’s what these judgments will accomplish a purpose for God!
• Listen, it will cause a multitude to turn to Him and will cause another multitude to turn away from Him! To follow anti-Christ!
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
• 144,000 is the number sealed from the nation of Israel!
• These 144,000 do not belong to any cult of today! Amen
• These 144,000 are going to be called out of every tribe of the children of Israel!
• Listen if you say you belong to the 144,000 you not only say you belong to Israel, but you had better know your tribe because they alone will be identified!
• God has a remnant to be Saved! This is not really that big a number!
• There are 14.8 million Jews in the world today!
• This number is but a remnant!
• During the Great Tribulation there will be a remnant of Israel, that number is 144,000!
• They will be a witness of the Gospel to the world during that first 31/2 years of the Tribulation!
• The Gospel of the Kingdom is the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
• The nation of Israel will see Jesus is the Savior and Messiah of Israel!
• They will preach this Gospel and then they will say something we can’t!
• “and then the end will come.” Amen?
• It won’t be long till He will be back! We don’t know when that day is but they will know.
• 12,000 are sealed out of every tribe! 144,000 divided by 12! All Israel!
• God promised to come and establish His Kingdom.
• They will witness in the Great Tribulation!
• God continues to turn and turn again to the nation of Israel has not given up in them!
Revelation 7:9
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
• This describes a huge amount of people from all the nations of the world!
• The United States formally recognizes 195 countries.
• On a complete list of country codes you will find 249 nations listed, because dependent territories and self-declared nations are included.
• These totals make up the nearly 8 Billion world population today!
• This verse could also include the Israelites that we mention earlier as the 144,000!
• The phrase “every nation”
• “After these things” if you remember from previous verses introduces a new vision for John!
• Different from vs.1-8 of this chapter!
• “Behold” brings shock factor by starling John!
• Think about all the people John has seen Saved by Christ!
• Yet, Gentiles churches had been founded most of them very small house churches. They also endured much persecution!
• Thus vision John received must have excited John renewing his hope in Jesus plans!
• John realizing that the church would survive and thrive with many being Saved in tremendous number!
• This group is definitely distinct from the 144,000 from the first 8 verses of Chapter 7. Look what is says!
• “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues,”
• No specific number is mentioned here! Remember last week how Christ deals with numbers for Israel but not for others?
• Notice too that the 144,000 comes from every tribe of Israel!
• This group comes from every nation, tribe, people and language!
• Also, the 144,000 are beyond the reach of their persecutors because they are sealed for protection from persecution! On earth! Amen?
• This second group is also beyond the persecutors because they are already in Heaven!
• 7:14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
• Same as the Martyrs in verses 6:9-11!
• But these numbers will increase as with the number of believers who will die naturally or violently, becoming that massive !
• The robes are the symbol, since the saints do not yet have their resurrected bodies!
• White robes for Holiness! These are reserved specifically for Christ!
• His Angels and the glorified church in heaven with Jesus! Amen?
• “standing before the throne and before the Lamb” Victorious, joyous saints standing before the thrones
• Many suffering death at the hands of the anti-Christ! Refusing to take the Mark of the Beast!
• Or even worship him, these stand triumphantly before the throne of God! Amen?
• “and palm branches were in their hands;” this is all in celebration of Joy and Triumph! They are delivered!
• There is coming very imminent during this time a real triumphal entry into the New City!
John 12:13
took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”
• What a symbol of Christ salvation for all of us! Amen? See Vs.10!
10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
• They are crying out in exalted worship of the One True God!
Psalms 66:1-4
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; 2 Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. 4 “All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.”
Selah.
• They are glorifying and praising God these folks were murdered for the Gospel of Jesus Christ Amen?
• No more intercessory prayer for them no sir! To rescue them to save them for vengeance of their murders!
• Listen for them Heaven is forever they are there never to leave! No more accuser of the brethren!
• Eternal Praise forever and ever! Claiming God as there own! Amen and Amen!
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
• Now this is where it gets interesting with the myriad of in-numerous angels with the others Praising God over and over and over!
Revelation 5:11
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,
• Simply overwhelmed by Gods power and glory they fall in their face as dead men!
• Worshipping continually!
• They know Gods Sovereignty! Do we? Do we live like he is sovereign in our lives?
• They cry out Amen, Amen, Amen! “So let it be!”
• This is a praise that will continually be expressed for all eternity never to cease! Amen?
• Worship above and forever for all things never ceasing no never.
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• Now we see John questioned by one of the Elders! Not asking for information mind you but it’s an emphasis! Emphasizing a point to the Apostle John!
• The question is emphasizing the truth that people will be Saved during the Tribulation!
• This is a great many folks who have been living a long time even past the rapture will be Saved in the Tribulation!
• These were folks who lived into it, where redeemed during it, and have now come out of it through death!
• This was a prolonged process! It took some time but it was quick I promise you 7 years it not much time!
• These folks are distinguished from any other group of people!
• The elder tells them how they are rescued! They adorn white robes!
• These are made white as snow by the Blood of the Lamb! Holiness and purity pure and perfect”
Isaiah 64:6
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
• We need this kind of washing in blood to really be clean forever Amen?
• This is for spiritual cleansing! Purification! To the uttermost!
• Jesus to the place of all people for all time on a Cross and by repentant Faith they were all justified and reconciled to God!
Romans 5:10
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
• There’s a great exchange that is to take place in our lives!
• Jesus came to reset our lives under His eternal control!
• What happens is we try to hold on to it! That is sin! Amen?
15 For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
• Because these believers are purified they get to stand around the Throne of God cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of this world!
• These saints are fitted for the presence of God to serve Him day and night forever and ever!
• This is a continuous nonstop occupation! Amen?
• There location for this is in Gods Temple!
• There is one currently in Heaven and there will be one here on earth. The millennial Reign!
• Eventually there will be none in Heaven for there will be no need for one in Heaven!
Revelation 21:22
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
• You see God is going to occupy all places in the end there will be no need for any Temple!
• We will all serve Him from where ever we will be in our eternal state and serve Him forever!
• He will spread His tent over all of us! That Shekinah Glory!
• Gods sheltering presence for His people!
• These witness will have observed unspeakable suffering and indescribable horrors as Gods judgments were poured out on the world!
• Suffering unimaginable persecution at the hands of the antichrist and his followers!
• They will receive shelter like nothing ever experienced before!
• From the remaining destructive judgments of God!
16 They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
• Almost identical to!
Isaiah 49:10
“They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water.
• During this torturous time during the tribulation, these sufferers endured hunger, thirst, scorching heat as the sun roasted them!
• But now they will enjoy eternal bliss forever!
• For Jesus is in the center of His Throne! He will be their Shepherd!
• Guiding His people the River of life!
• Gods Saving Grace for us is wonderful wouldn’t you agree?
• God will redeem His people Amen?
• We should be highly motivated today for all we have to look forward too starting this day!
• We must Praise Him for the greatness of His plan! Amen?