All right, let's pray before we get started. Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this time. We pray, Father, that your word would be what feeds us. Help us, Lord God, that we would be people who hunger and thirst for righteousness, that we would desire you and actively, Lord, pursue you.

We pray, Father God, that you would help us to be genuine in our faith, that we would not hide in traditions, in habits, but genuinely search our hearts, Lord God, that we may worship you genuinely. Help us, Lord God, to examine our faith, that we may grow and mature, that we would, whatever we do, that we would do in spirit and in truth.

We pray, Father God, that the focus would be upon your word, that things that we do understand and things that it may be harder for us to understand. Help us, Lord God, to glean from all of these things and to really have an impression in our heart, Lord, that the Holy Spirit desires.

So we entrust this time to you in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Okay, so as a quick overview, if you remember, if we look at chapter six, the seal judgments were opened up and it went up to the sixth seal. And remember, like part of the thing that I asked you to observe is when these seals were being opened, what was the progression of these judgments?

Were they getting lighter or harsher? Harsher, right? So in each one of these, with the exception of the fifth one, the fifth one explains about the martyrs who are under the altar basically as an act of sacrifice. But if you look at the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seal, each one of these seals elevates this judgment.

And then there's chapter seven is kind of like a parenthetical statement where it's not necessarily taking a break, but it opens up the sixth seal. But before it gets to the seventh seal, and with seventh seal, I asked you to kind of look at to see if that's opening up and within the seventh seal, the other judgment, the trumpet judgments, and then within the seventh trumpet, the bowl judgment is coming or whether that's consecutive.

Whatever the case is, again, we're going to be looking at that in the coming weeks, but before the seventh seal gets opened up in chapter eight, the sixth seal opens up and then what we are seeing in chapter seven is happening within the sixth seal. So there's an escalation of what's happening in these judgments.

And remember we talked about that last week, like we study these things kind of to observe like what does that mean? Like what are the creatures? Why is this happening? And remember we talked about last week, like if you were the first recipients of this letter, what would have been your response?

You still might have been confused. You might have read this things like, who are these eagles? Who are these oxes? You might have asked that question, but what would have been a universal response from everybody who received this letter? Don't think theologically. Think how you would response if you read this letter for the first time as a first recipient.

Huh? Fear. Remember we talked about that last week? Even if we don't understand the details of what's going on, the immediate response of everybody would be there's an imminent danger that's coming upon the world. So yes, the end conclusion is Christ is going to come and he's going to redeem us.

We're all going to be in heaven, right? In chapter 21, chapter 22. But prior to us getting to that point, he says, here's these things coming and these aren't just slapping the wrist. These aren't just a few people. Remember we talked about that in one of the seals, one of the judgments, they have a fourth, they have the authority to wipe out a fourth of the world, right?

There's going to be famine. There's going to be natural disasters. There's going to be wars, persecutions. So all these things that we can think about, it's intensified and it's increasing, right? And remember I talked to you about if you read ahead, if you look at the trumpet judgments and then by the time we get to the bowl judgments, it's going to make the seal judgments seem pretty tame.

And this escalation is not going to end until we get to the very end. It continues to escalate. So imagine what's been said already. And we're only in the beginning part of this. That the real intense judgment is going to be seen in the latter part of the trumpets and when we get into the bowl judgments.

So the immediate response of everybody who reads this is there is a sense of urgency, right? There might be relief for somebody like Apostle John who's being persecuted and under hardship that is promised that the Messiah is going to come and deliver them. But at the same time, if you knew that this judgment was coming upon the world, remember last week we looked at chapter six.

When Christ comes in his full wrath, what is the response of the world? Do they bow down and worship him? Remember chapter six. How does it describe the response of the people when Christ comes? Not Christians, but the world. Don't look at me, look at your Bible. What happens?

You're still looking at me. If you don't know the answer, look at your Bible. What happens? What is their response? Right. Fear and terror falls upon them, right? And they cry out to the mountains to cover them. So tremendous fear comes upon them because Christ is not coming as a humble servant to wash people's feet.

He's already done the work. It is finished. So the second time he comes, he's going to come to consummate everything that he started with his death and resurrection, which is to bring the judgment. And at the end of this judgment, he's going to deliver his church and we'll be in a new heaven and new earth, right?

So if you heard this for the first time, the natural reaction obviously would be fear. What is another thing that you would think of if you knew that Christ was going to come and he's going to come in his full fury and you knew that a fourth of everybody you know can die of famine or disease as an act of God's divine judgment, what would your response be outside of fear?

Don't think theologically, just think what would your, huh? Evangelize. I would think, I mean, I don't know if all of you would think that way. I would think the first thing you think about like all the people that you know who are under this judgment that they need to know, right?

But do you think that the Holy Spirit had intentions to sober the church with this letter? I think absolutely. You think there's a reason why God left it semi-ambiguous? There are certain things that seem clear and certain things that are ambiguous on purpose. When he says to watch carefully so that it does not overtake us like a thief, he wanted every generation, every Christian from that moment on, whether he came that year, whether he came 2,000 years later, that every generation is to examine this book and to have the same effect on us, that we ought to live soberly, not like we're going to be here forever.

You know, we typically don't think about death until death comes, right? But if you're studying the book of Revelation carefully, how can you not come out of this thinking if you really believe this, a sense of urgency, right? Sense of urgency for me to live soberly and sense of urgency to spread the gospel.

And I think that's exactly what was intended in the letter and the reason why he gave it to us in this format, right? So he doesn't say, "Well, he's not going to, don't worry, he's not going to come for another 2,000 years." Like, oh, 2,000 years, don't have to worry about that.

He made it specific enough and ambiguous enough so that every generation there was a possibility that he could come, right? And there's no human being that has ever lived that had to wait more than 80, 90, 100 years, right? Because we died. Whether he came or we died, right?

But that time that we have from the moment we meet Christ until he comes, we were to live with this in mind, with this vision in mind, that Christ is going to come, but when he comes, this is coming with him, right? So chapter 6, we saw the beginning of this elevation of judgment and then there is a, it ends with this question.

Actually if you look at number 1, okay, the chapter 7 is divided into two parts. You'll see the first part ends in verse 8 and it's talking about the 144,000. The angels begin and one of the angels tell them to withhold the judgment until the full number of the seals have been confirmed and 144,000 and then after that, the great multitude.

So there's two. You know what? I did not highlight any of this. I forgot, but yours is empty anyway, so you just kind of have to figure out what's missing, okay? So you're going to take a little bit longer, right? But here's what happens. If you look at the end of chapter 6, in verse 17, it says, in verse 16, "Calling to the mountains and the rock," this is the response of the world.

He says, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand?" So chapter 6 ends with this rhetorical question. If this is really going to happen, who's going to be able to make it out of this?

The whole earth is going to be wiped out. And so chapter 7 is an answer to that question, right? That yes, if God doesn't intervene in some way, the whole earth would be wiped out. It would be the end of human history and no one would be able to withstand this.

And that's the beginning of chapter 7, and he shows us, like, who's going to stand this? Those who are sealed, right? And that's basically the answer that he gives, right? So in verses 1 to 3, they describe the work of the four angels holding back the four winds, right?

So in other words, the four winds in other parts of the Bible is described as wrath. So whenever we hear this term in the Old Testament, prophetic, apocalyptic literature, it's typically talking about God's wrath. In other words, it's coming from all sides. It's like the full wrath of God, again, the imagery that these four corners represent to us is that his wrath is not just going to come in one direction, right?

Remember, he's already described that there's going to be a famine, there's going to be war, there's going to be disasters, right? So when he says the judgment is coming in four corners, these angels are holding it back, that when it's time, he releases that. Famine is coming not in one direction, but in every direction, right?

Like things that you couldn't have thought of. So when we think about today, like persecution and hardship and disaster for Christians, it doesn't just come from terrorists. A lot of times it could come from your neighbors, it can come from financial hardship, it can come from within the church, it can even come from within the home.

So when God's judgment is described, and he says he's withholding, in verse 7, "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against the tree." So each one of these descriptions, again, in Daniel 7, 2, it describes the four winds of heaven to churn up the great sea and the four great beasts to come forth on their mission of destruction.

Jeremiah 49, 36 and on, it says, "The four winds carry out the fierce anger of Yahweh upon Elam." So again, the four winds are descriptions of the completeness of his wrath. So obviously it's metaphorically speaking that it's going to come in every which way. But who's going to withstand this?

It says in verse 2, "Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel." So again, the answer to the question that chapter 6 ends with is who can stand this?

He said, "These people that they're going to be mentioning here, the 144,000 and then the great multitude, is because God is telling the angels to hold off until it's time." It is not yet ready. It is not time. At some point, it will be time. When the full number of his elect are sealed, he said, then he's going to let the angels go and then the corners of the earth is going to collapse.

And everything that he's talking about is going to unfold. So right now, no matter how chaotic things may get, economically, politically, North Korea, it seems like the nuclear bomb is going to go off. There's been periods in human history where I think people would have thought God must be unleashing his wrath.

You can think about all the different wars and disasters, the Holocaust, World War I, World War II. I think if there's great fear, there's a great fear of World War III with nuclear bombs, what the next war is going to look like. But all of these things are going to pale in comparison to when God says it's time, when the fullness of number comes.

And everything that is holding back his wrath, we're only seeing glimpses of his wrath. So where you and I are right now, we've only seen glimpses of his glory. The world has only seen glimpses of his wrath. So when he comes, we're going to see him in his full glory.

But as we see him in his full glory, the world will also see the full wrath. So chapter 7 is basically encouraging the church, yes, this is going to happen, but it won't happen until the full number has been sealed. And so that's what chapter 7, the beginning is.

Verses 4 to 12, it describes the people who will be sealed. And he says, "In order that they may stand in the day of judgment." What's interesting is it says the seal is going to have the name, have God's name upon their forehead. And this is also described in chapter 14.1.

The mark of the seal that will be on the foreheads will be the father's name. And again, it is repeated in chapter 22, verse 4. But you know what's interesting about this is the mark of the beast, right, those who are not followers, they do not have the seal of Christ, it says the alternative of that is that they're going to have the mark of the beast.

So Christians will have the mark of the father on their forehead, but the non-Christians are going to have the mark of the beast. Meaning, if you think about the rebellion of Satan, from the very get-go, he wanted to have God's glory. And ever since then, the greatest thing that Satan does is to mimic what God does.

He wants the worship that people give him, the glory and honor, and that's why his attack to get some of his glory was to go after his children. And so it says when deception comes, how is he going to come? As an angel of what? Angel of light. He's going to come representing God.

And that's why if you look at the Ten Commandments, one is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," because Satanic attack is constantly tempting us to worship other gods. But the second temptation is not to make any graven images. To say, kind of like, remember when they made the golden calf and said, "This is Yahweh, this is what delivered you?" So there was an imitation of God.

One is to introduce a completely different idolatry, and the second temptation is to introduce God and worship a god in your own image. And that's the second. And the third is not to use the Lord's name in vain, that we would basically project what we think of God and use his name.

"Oh, we're doing it for God, but it has nothing to do with him," which is what the Pharisees were guilty of. They had the right theology, they had the Torah, and they wouldn't even say his name, but he said, "You call me Lord, Lord, but I have nothing to do with you." They were using his name in vain.

So the satanic activity within human history is to always mimic what Yahweh does, because that's what he wants. He wants what Yahweh has. So at the end times, it says that the children of God are going to be sealed with the name of the Father, and the Lamb, but those who do not have the seal of Christ is going to have the seal of the beast.

His name and his number, 666. So some of you may have attended seminars about this, and that we're going to get chips in our hands, or tattoos on our forehead. What was that movie, Left Behind? They had a whole movie based upon that, and some people who've read that or heard that always comes and asks, "What do you think about the chips?" I don't think it's going to be that deceptive.

I don't think you're going to get a chip so that you can bank better, and then one day realize, "Oh shoot, I got the mark of the beast." I don't think it's going to be like... I think it's going to be a willful denial of Christ. So whatever that mark may be, whether that's a physical mark or whether that's a spiritual mark, that it's going to be a willful rejection of God.

You got tricked into it. "Oh, you shouldn't have got that trip." So I remember when I was younger, the older pastors who kind of believed this would say, "Oh, don't ever get the chip, or don't ever get tattoos, because that might be the mark of the beast." And I remember, "Well, they know better than me.

They must know something." And then I started reading, and it's like, "No, that don't make any sense." It's definitely going to be willful. The next big question in this is then, who are the 144,000? So many different groups have different interpretation of who they are, and there are some interpretations within the evangelical boundary, the Presbyterians and the Baptists and non-denominational.

We all have different views on this. But then you have some groups who have claimed, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, that the 144,000 are them. Have you ever talked to any Jehovah's Witnesses about this? If you ask them, they will never tell you that that's who they are, because they can't have assurance of salvation.

The best that they can tell you is, if they did enough good works, they're hoping that they might be one of these 144,000, and they believe it's a literal 144,000. But they're not allowed to have assurance of salvation. So they're working hard, going door to door, being persecuted, hoping that if they do enough of that, they can be one of these people.

So I've seen variations of this in the local church, the Church of Christ. Especially where there's works-based salvation, I found that this is one of the interpretations that they have. You want to be one of these people. Whether that's a literal 144,000 or figurative, you have to work to get it.

And obviously that's not orthodox. That's not evangelical theology. Some say, since they believe that the Church has completely replaced the need for Israel, that this number from the tribe of Israel is also symbolic, referenced to the whole church. And so they just look at it as all the numbers are symbolic, all the 12 tribes are symbolic, and so they just kind of interpret it as this is just the church.

That's one of the views. And typically if you meet a friend from the Presbyterian church, this is typically the view that they will hold. And again, I'm not going to go too deep into this, but they believe that the church has completely replaced Israel. Israel was the church of the Old Testament, and the church is the Israel of the New Testament.

So the nation of Israel is gone, and it is complete. And so because of that, when they talk about at the end times, it describes the Jews and the 12 tribes, this can't be the literal Israel. Because in their theology, Israel is already gone. So that's one of the views.

Another variation of that view is some believe that it is figurative number of Christians who have been martyred for their faith. So instead of it being all the church, that this is a specific – and there's a reason why they say this, because this answers the question of the great multitude that comes behind them.

So how do you identify – if 144,000 is just the church, and then verse 9 and on is also the church, how do you make this distinction? So they came up with a variation of the second view, is that this is talking about a part of the church who's been martyred.

So this is some of the views. And obviously the number one is not an orthodox view. Second and third view, it depends on which commentary you read. I think I already told you that I lean toward the fourth view, which is some believers that it is figurative number of converted Jews at the end times.

And I'm going to make a case for this, at least briefly. I went to a dispensational school, a progressive dispensational school, who was very clear about he's going to come before seven years, and in the middle the persecution is going to start, and at the end of it, Christ is going to come, we're going to enter the millennium.

So I learned all of that. And there was a lot of that that was very confusing. I saw some parts of it and some parts I didn't see. This is one of them. I didn't really learn a lot of eschatology growing up, even though I grew up in a Presbyterian home.

But there's something about like, Israel is going to come back? Didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially after Israel was destroyed in AD 70. And they don't even speak the Hebrew language, not the language that they spoke at that time. And so at the end times, Israel is just going to reappear?

So it didn't make sense to me. But I'm going to make a case of why I lean toward that, and I can always change. I can always repent and change. But what caused me to think that this in particular is in reference to Israel, to Jews. It doesn't mean that it's the national Jew, meaning that the whole country, but why this is in reference to the Jews.

And I'm going to give you some of it. In the New Testament, we are told repeatedly that salvation first comes to Jews. Remember in Romans 1 16, Paul says that the gospel saves the Jew first and also to the Greek. And he says to the Samaritan woman that, you know, if you're talking about truth, that the Jews have the truth, but God is looking for people who worship in spirit and in truth.

So he says that the Jews had the benefit of having the law. Now all of that up to this point is just verses. It can be interpreted one way or the other. But the part that really caused me to think and change my mind about this was when I was going through the book of Romans.

And what really changed my paradigm was study through chapter 9 through 11, especially chapter 11. So if you can turn your Bibles to Revelation, not Revelation, Romans chapter 11. Now this argument started all the way from the beginning of chapter 1, right? We've been studying the book of Romans and he's primarily addressing Jews who had a hard time with the gospel, meaning that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, meaning everything that I've done is useless, then what benefit is there from being a Jew?

Like it benefited in every way. You had the law, you had the prophets. And so he's been trying to convince Israel or the Jews that you have huge benefits. So the argument picks up in chapter 9, right? Then how can God be fair? Then all of that was for nothing if God chooses us and the Gentiles and Jews are the same?

And then it culminates all the way up to chapter 11 where this is the question that the Jews were asking from the very beginning. I asked then, has God rejected his people? And the answer he gives is by no means. By no means. And then he begins to explain all throughout chapter 11 that God is not done with Israel, that they've experienced a hardening of their heart and so they've been cut out because of unbelief.

And he says, but don't look down on these Jews because through them you came the gospel. Right now because they're rejecting the gospel, they've been cut out and you have been grafted in but there's going to come a time when they will repent and they will be re-grafted in.

So in verse 11, so I asked, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means. Rather through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous. Right? So the period of Gentiles has come and in order to stir them up to repentance to bring them back.

So you and I are living in a period where the Gentile church is where Christ is ruling. And he's using the Gentiles to wake up the Jews again. That's what he's saying in chapter 11. So repeatedly over and over again he asked that question, then what about the Jews?

What about the Jews? He said, I'm a Jew. Right? I don't hate the Jew. God loves the Jews. God is not done with the Jews. It's just that they will also have to repent and come in. Right? Now you could say, well, that doesn't necessarily say that Jews are going to remain separate.

If they get regrafted into the church, don't they all just become one big group? Right? Now you can make that argument, but if you read from chapter 9 through 11, Paul makes a very strong distinction between the two. The other part is Acts chapter 1. Turn to Acts chapter 1.

Remember if you read the gospel of Matthew, one of the major themes of the gospel of Matthew is what? Kingdom of God. Right? And the Jews just could not get over it. He says the kingdom of God. Is he coming? You know, when the kingdom of God comes, can we sit on the left or to the right?

To the Jew, the kingdom of God was Israel. There was a part of the understanding of the kingdom of God that they didn't fully understand that the Gentiles were going to come in and they're going to be grafted in. But the Jews always thought that Christ is going to come and he's going to restore Israel.

Right? You follow me? So when the Jews are asking about the kingdom, he doesn't correct them and say, no, it is no longer the Jews. It is everybody. So if you look with me, before he leaves, the disciples clearly don't have a clear picture of the kingdom. In their idea of the kingdom, the Gentiles don't exist or they basically have to repent and become a Jew to be a follower of Christ.

Right? Remember all that the disciples were thinking when Jesus was going to the cross, when he says I'm going to go to the cross and be crucified and raised. Remember Luke and I mean, James and John, when the kingdom comes, can we sit to the left or to the right?

That's all they were thinking about. Who's going to be the greatest in God's kingdom? Because Jesus is going to bring the kingdom. He's going to reestablish Israel. Right? But when Jesus goes to the cross, they're confused because Jesus never corrects them about the kingdom. He said it is coming.

You just don't understand the kingdom. It is coming. So he goes to the cross, he's like, wait a second, if he dies, who's going to be the king over this kingdom? And they're completely confused. And that's why I believe that they're watching from a distance. Maybe Jesus has some trick up his sleeve.

He's going to pretend that he's going to give in and all of a sudden he's going to show his glory and wipe them all out. Well, that never happens. Right? And that's why when Jesus is crucified, the disciples gave up. Even though Jesus said he's going to rise in the third day, they didn't hear any of that because their hope of the kingdom was crushed when he died.

And even after he was resurrected, it wasn't until after he resurrected, they started remembering he did say he was going to come back from the dead. Right? Now all of that is a set up to chapter one. He said in the first book, Acts chapter one, in the first book, okay, I won't read all of that, starting from verse three, he presented himself alive to them after suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

So what was the primary thing that he was teaching the disciples? About the kingdom, because this was on their mind. Right? And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise. So in verse six, so when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to who?

To Israel." Okay? So the whole time they were following Jesus, they're thinking about the kingdom. They're confused because he dies and they said, "What's going to happen to the kingdom?" He resurrects and that hope is revived. Jesus spends the time after resurrection talking about the kingdom. So when Jesus is about to leave, he said, "Is it now?" We thought it was going to be before you went into Jerusalem, but now that you're going to ascend, is it now you're going to restore the kingdom of what?

Of Israel. If Jesus was teaching them after the resurrection that Israel and the Gentiles are going to become one, right? But the question that they ask is, "Are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus' response, he said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or the season that the father has fixed by his own authority." In other words, you're not going to know and I'm not going to tell you.

He doesn't correct them and say, "You still asking me that question? After all of that, you still haven't heard me?" No, he doesn't say that. He says, "It is not the time." Right? Okay. I hope you followed me up to that point. Because if you didn't, yeah, it's going to be a long Bible study.

Hopefully you followed me to that point. Okay? If the kingdom that he's referring to is the establishment of the church, as some believe, then Jesus knows exactly when the kingdom is coming. Right? Because he tells them the Holy Spirit's going to come and he's going to inaugurate the church at the Pentecost.

Yes? Because that's the beginning of the church. When the Holy Spirit comes, makes a dwelling among them, that's the beginning of the church. So when the disciples ask, "Are you now going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" He doesn't say, "No, you got it wrong." He doesn't say, you know, he says, "Wait, it is not the time." Right?

But if he was referring to the church, he would have said, "Wait a second, it's going to come in a few days." Or he would have said, "To Israel? You're still stuck on Israel?" Right? Hopefully you followed me up to this point. Okay? So along with that, along with the other things that I've said to you, along with that, if you come to this passage in Revelation chapter 7, it distinguishes between the Jews and all the nations.

So if you look at the second part, he said, "I looked a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all the tribes." So every nation, all the Gentile world is distinguished with who? With Israel. Yes? So, when you put all of that together, it seems like to me that God is not done with Israel.

Now, is that going to be a national Israel? Is that going to be a spiritual Israel within the church? That I can't tell you exactly. But he does not extinguish the hope that the disciples have of restoring Israel. He just says, "It is not time." So though he is experiencing the kingdom on earth through the church, the full manifestation or restoration of what he had planned is going to happen in the millennium, we believe in the millennium, where Israel is going to take the front seat.

And everything that he promised to the nation of Israel will be fulfilled at that time. And so that's why in the Old Testament, a lot of the prophecies that he gives to the nation of Israel, where a part of the universal church believes that it was all fulfilled in the church, where I believe, and again, the progressive dispensational or dispensational will believe that a lot of that will happen in the millennium.

Okay. Yeah, that's how the dispensations will interpret that. You didn't hear the question, right? Okay. Then we'll just move on. All right? Because it would take too long. Okay. So she's talking about the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. Okay. So some of you guys who know that argument, we can talk about it another time, but I don't want to spend all my time on this.

Okay. But again, I'm just telling you this is where I lean. Could I be corrected? Yes. If something is shown to me that's like, "Huh, okay, I don't get that." But it seems like to me that God is not done with Israel. Like, how is that going to happen?

Is it going to be a national Israel? The number of 144,000, I think there is a, again, in my opinion, a decent explanation about the number. The number 144,000 can be explained by how Israel was organized. In Numbers 31, 4 through 6, Moses actually organizes the nation of Israel by 12 tribes and each tribe having a thousand soldiers, right?

And representing 12. So Craig S. Keener, he is the... Which commentary is this? Okay. It slips my mind, but one of the commentaries I'm reading. It might be the pillar commentary. He suggests that the battalions of 1,000 were fairly standard units that Israel used and that each tribe supplies 12 battalions, which would make 12 times 12, which would make 144,000.

And in Revelations chapter 12, 7 through 9, it talks about the spiritual battle that will take place. So this is often described, again, in Revelation 14, 1 through 5, 144,000 comes out again, and these 144,000 are described as virgin men, right? Who serve the Lamb of God and they follow Him everywhere He goes.

Now, the significance of that is Numbers 1, 45 and 46. It describes the 600,000 men. Remember how we talk about how, you know, when Israel went into the desert, there were 600,000? Well, the 600,000 men described in Numbers 1, 4 to 5 are described as men under the age of 20 who is able to fight.

So these were soldiers, right? So this census that they took of Israel that came in were not just everybody. It was just men under 20 who was able to fight. So the actual number probably is way over a million people. So these are just who were able to fight.

So what Craig Keener thinks is that this number is actually a description of a Jewish army. Now is it actual 144,000? Who knows? But he's talking about an organized Jewish army who has committed themselves to the work of Christ, the Lamb, in the last days, which makes sense, okay?

That this is not just a random number of people, a random group of normal citizens, but these are people who are serving the Lord in a very specific way. And again, if you connect the dots in the way that they took census in the Old Testament, that this is actually talking about a Jewish army, possibly, okay?

Yes? Huh? I put over the H? Which one are you looking at? Did I get that wrong? Oh, 20 was over, yeah, yeah, okay. So that's wrong. Not under, older. Older than 20. Men. You know what he's referring to right there? It shouldn't be under, it should be over.

20 and over. Thank you for pointing that out. So again, it begins with a description, possibly, of a Jewish army, whether that's spiritual or whether that's physical, who's going to fight alongside with Christ at the end. And then the great multitude that follows, he said, these are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.

Now the word for tribulation typically means trials or hardship. The word is used generally talking about the judgment of God or it could be famine or whatever it may be. But in this case, the word the, the article is, I don't think it's in the ESV, but in the Greek it has the article D in front of it.

So in the English, when we say the, the the is put in pretty much everywhere, but every once in a while we will say it is the, the church or the house. It's like the, whatever. We're singling that out for, for specific purpose. So in the Greek, the word tribulation in front of it is the article the, and so what it means is this tribulation is not any ordinary tribulation.

This is the tribulation that's been prophesied all through the prophets, all through the Old Testament. Jesus is Matthew chapter 24, everything that he's been saying in Thessalonians, the tribulation, the end time tribulation. He said, these are the people who come out of that, right? This is part of the reason why, oops, part of the reason why, you know, I kind of lean toward post-tribulation because when I look at the language here and other parts, it says those who, who persevere to the end will be saved.

And so even here, he doesn't say he's going to preserve them, meaning pluck them out and then they're not going to face the trials. He said, these are the people who go through the tribulation without forsaking Christ. So it seems like to me that the church is actually going to go through this tribulation and everyone's faith, genuine or disingenuine, is going to be tested and only true faith is going to remain at the end.

Before the four creatures would initiate worship, so again, if you remember in the beginning of chapter one and chapter six, that the four creatures function for what purpose? They're constantly surrounding the throne of God saying, holy, holy, holy, right? The Lord of hosts. And so they are basically the worship leaders and they would initiate the worship.

The elders would initiate and then bow down and worship. When the elders would bow down, the angels would bow down, right? In this heavenly scene, it's the opposite where the multitudes begin to cry out and they begin to worship, right? And then the angels respond and then the elders and then the creatures.

And so it's kind of like a back and forth, right? So the scene that we see in heaven is the creatures initiate and then once they initiate, the congregation would sing and then when they would sing, the others would sing. It was just this scene of worship going back and forth from the congregation to the choir directors, to the choir directors, to the elders, to the angels, back and forth.

And he says, when is this going to happen? Over and over again. So this scene that we see at the end of chapter seven, that's the picture of heaven that we are given. When we get to Revelation chapter 21, there's going to be a more detailed description. It's not, you know, it's going to be talking about all kinds of precious stones and the meanings behind that.

But when we think of heaven, at least something tangible that we can picture of what heaven is going to look like, this is the scene that is pictured for us by Christ, right? We typically think of green pastures, lakes, mountains, angels, I don't know, buffets, whatever it is that we're hoping, you know, whatever it is that we imagine, but we don't have to imagine because this is the scene that is given to us, that we're going to be as closer to the glory of God than we've ever been.

And you see how nobody's like, hey, how come you're not worshiping over there? People fall down and worship. They're bound down because they're in the presence of his glory, right? True worship. That's what we're going to be seeing up in heaven. So when we think of heaven, like what to look forward to, right?

So people who hunger and thirst for righteousness, he said, what's going to happen? You will be satisfied. So the hungering and thirsting for righteousness in the end is a hungering and thirsting for God's glory, isn't it? Right? So those who hunger and thirst for his glory are going to be satisfied because you're going to be in the presence of his glory like you've never been before.

But if the presence of his glory is not something that stirs you up, something to look forward to, if watching a basketball game is more exciting to you than worshiping God, it's just a matter of time that that's going to take you away. It's just a matter of time because Satan can give that to you.

The only thing that Satan cannot mimic is his glory. So he can mimic Koinonia. He can mimic the church. He can mimic a sense of purpose. He can mimic friendship. The whole world experiences this in different avenues. The only thing that Satan cannot mimic is his glory because only God has that glory.

So he's trying to imitate it. He's trying to get us and draw us away from him by imitating everything else, right? So if what we're looking for isn't the glory of God, satanic work will eventually mimic – it's not going to replace it, but it'll mimic it enough to bring – if that's what you're going to go for, right?

That's why I think being lukewarm is so dangerous. It's not like, "Well, at least I'm at church." It's like, "No, you could be spiritually dead at church." Right? I mean, you have – when you talk about the glory of God, there's nothing stirring in you. There's no desire to seek after him.

There's no actual planning of going after and wanting more of. It's just clock in, clock out of church. But when we get to heaven, this is the scene that he gives us. I want to spend maybe at least just a few minutes talking about the very last part where it – again, this is a description of what heaven is going to be like.

And I want to give you some opportunity in your small group to talk about this, but it says, "Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple." Right? Again, serving him is going to be our reward, right? It's not like, "Oh, we got to go there and serve too.

Isn't it enough we put in the work?" Right? Because again, that's somebody who's not worshiping God, just not doing the work. He said, "When we get to heaven, part of the reward is that we're going to be worshiping, serving him day and night, and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence." The literal interpretation of that is he's going to pitch a tent among us, right?

Meaning his dwelling isn't going to be coming and going. It's going to be a permanent presence within us. Verse 16, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more." Now, we can immediately, like if you're poor and you know what it means to be hungry and thirsty, like really hungry and thirsty, right?

I mean, obviously, that would have immediate application, but for most of us, we probably don't even know what that means, other than like you skip breakfast or you fasted for a couple of days on purpose, not necessarily because we didn't have food. But when Jesus talks about hunger and thirsting, you know he meant a lot more than physical hunger and physical thirsting, right?

There's an emptiness, a longing for something more that this world can't give, that you can find friendship, money, and travel and do all of this stuff, and at the end of the day, it's just kind of like a, you know, you just kind of get a scratch in your back, but it's never fully satisfied, right?

So if you go and eat of the bread of this world, you will be hungry again. If you drink of the water of the world, you will be thirsty again. So what he's talking about here is more than just physical food and thirsting. He says that in heaven, our longing and our desire is going to be fully satisfied because he who satisfies is going to pitch a tent among us, and he's not going to come and go.

He's going to be with us. The author of life is going to be in the midst of us permanently. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. You know, when I think about that, I immediately think of Jonah sitting out in the sun, right? He's just annoyed because this, you know, this covering just disappears.

Like, oh God, you know, I'm about to die because of this. And he says, you know, the annoyance of that is going to be gone. Verse 17, for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. That's interesting, verse 17. You know, usually who's the one shepherding and who's the one being shepherded?

It's interesting the wording here where he says, it's the lamb. Lamb is usually the one being shepherded, but he says that lamb is going to shepherd us, right? The lamb who made himself a lamb, the Lion of Judah who made himself a lamb, a servant, he will now shepherd us and he will guide them to the springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

And then fulfillment of what Jesus said, he who is least in the kingdom shall become the greatest and no one humble himself more than Christ. And so at the end, Christ, the lamb, is going to be exalted as a shepherd and he will lead us to green pastures and water.

And that's the description of heaven, right? So one of the things that I asked, I think in your small group, is take some time to think about what it says here and what part of that do you long for, look forward to when you think about heaven. So the questions about persecution, you know, one and two, what's the worst thing that has ever happened to you because of your faith in Christ, right?

That's number one. Two, John is writing to churches that are enduring and will endure persecution and suffering. There's, throughout Revelation, acknowledgement that the followers of Jesus will suffer and we all know that. Why then do we so often receive suffering in our lives as an anomaly or why does suffering often make us question God?

Theologically, we know, but it's almost like a knee-jerk reaction when something goes wrong why is God doing this to me, right? Knowing that we've been warned, encouraged, and prepped for it. And third one is what I just put up there. Take some time to look over the passage that we just read at the end and which part of the description about heavenly scenes stand out to you the most and look forward to the most.

So maybe in your small group, take some time to discuss that, okay? So let me pray for us and then I'll end it for this evening. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We know, Father, that all that we are reading and studying, that none of this, Lord, is possible without the sacrifice that you've made.

You for whatever the reason decided to have mercy and compassion on us and to persevere, Lord God, even at times when we are distracted and unfaithful. I pray that your word in Revelation would have the same effect on us as it did to the first-generation Christians. Help us, Lord God, to not to allow our comfort and ease to dictate our lives.

Help us to live with a kingdom paradigm, to know, Father, that we are not citizens of this world. Help us to number our days, to know just how short our lives are, that we would not be satisfied with things that eventually pass. I pray, Father, that each one of these visions, whether it is clear or ambiguous, would cause us to be sober, that stir in us a greater hunger, Lord God, to see you, and a real desire, Lord, to be with you in eternity.

Help us, Lord, in our discussion, in our fellowship, in our study, that we may be sharpened, that each one of us would actively think how to provoke one another on toward love and good deeds, especially as we see the day drawing near. We thank you in Jesus' name we pray, amen.