Revelation 7:1-4The Four Angels/ Greg Bahnsen {Part 25 of 63}

Sophomore. Lord, we thank you this day that you would call us your people, that you would bring us into your kingdom, and that you deliver to us such wonderful promises as we find in your word. We ask that we would be comforted and strengthened and boldened by those things that we see taught. Lord, we would take them to heart and that you'd make us a different kind of people living in this world. A people that have a witness of confidence and hope. A people that know where they're going and know the one who is bringing them through all of the tribulations to an eternal rest in a glorious kingdom. We thank you for Jesus Christ, our King, and we pray that by his spirit we would be more and more obedient to him and to his will. For it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let's begin by reading Revelation chapter 7. This morning after this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. And I saw another angel ascend from the sun rising, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, and saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, 304 and 4,000 sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel of the tribe of Judah were sealed. Twelve thousand of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. Twelve thousand. After these things I saw and behold a great multitude which no man could number out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes and palms in their hands. And they cry with a great voice saying salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne and unto the Lamb. And all the angels were standing round about the throne and about the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell down before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying Amen, blessing and and glory and Wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power, and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, these that are arrayed in the white robes, who are they? And whence came they? And I said unto him, my Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they that come out of the great tribulation. And they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And therefore are they before the throne of God. And they serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat. For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. In chapter one of the Book of Revelation, the theme might very well be summarized in the words of Jesus at the time of the Great Commission, where he said that all power and authority in heaven and earth was his, and that he was with his church always to the end of the age. In chapter one of Revelation, we read of the power and authority of Jesus Christ, the one who is the King of kings, the one who by his resurrection has rule over all the nations. And then at the end of the chapter, we read that Jesus Christ walks among the seven candle stands. That is, he is with his church. He's in the midst of his church. So Jesus has triumphed, and he is present in his church. And then Jesus writes letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor living in John's day. And those letters have as a common theme that the church should triumph. As John says, his first Epistle, that even as Jesus overcame the world, so we are to overcome the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. And so the faith of the Christian triumphs. It overcomes. The blessing is upon the church that overcomes. Jesus has overcome. He is with his church. He bids his Church to overcome. And then in chapters four and five, we read of the sovereignty of God that makes this overcoming possible. The sovereignty of God in creation. First of all, the One who has created all things can perform every one of his promises. And then the sovereignty of God in redemption. The Lamb of God, the lion of the tribe of Judah, has overcome and is able to open the scroll of history and to lay out its plan before us. He is the one who dominates every event in human history. Now, as we are preparing to See what that scroll has to say to us, that scroll of judgment upon the persecutors of God's church. As we're waiting to see what the scroll itself should say, each of the seals is being broken on the back of the scroll so that we can finally open it up. And as the seals are broken, we get a preview of the contents that are going to be found in that scroll. The first four seals, as they're broken, show us four horsemen, the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Jesus, of course, is the horseman, the rider on the white horse, coming forth, conquering and to conquer. He is the one who has triumphed and will triumph again. He is the one who tells his Church to triumph. He is the one who has sovereignty over history and therefore can guarantee our triumph. But we see that he triumphs not only by spreading the gospel, but by bringing woe upon those who won't submit to him. As the Prince of peace, he brings warfare and economic scarcity and death. In addition, Jesus, through the use of his sovereign powers in history, is going to judge the first enemy of the people of God. And we saw last week that that was Jerusalem. When he opened the sixth seal, it became quite clear that there was going to be an answer to the cry of the martyrs, the fifth seal, an answer to the cry of the martyrs that Jerusalem will now suffer for its rejection of the Messiah and for its persecution of the Messiah's people. And that's where we kind of left things last Lord's day, when we were together. We come into chapter seven, and it's important to see the relationship of chapter seven then to what is just preceded at the end of chapter six. In the seals that have been broken thus far, the six seals of the scroll, certain significant aspects of history have been laid out before the Church. We see the conquering Christ, the advance of the Church. We see warfare and violence, if you will. The sorts of things that are most put before us, I think most prominently in the political world. In the six o' clock news, economic turmoil. We see death through the sword, pestilence, the plague and wild beast. There you see the orientation toward God, the imposition of God's rule on history. And then we turn to seals 5, 6 and 7, and we see an orientation toward man, the imploring of man in history, the cry of God's people for vengeance. First of all, at Seal 5, there's a tension for the people of God in history. They're always waiting patiently that God will perform his will and will make good his promises to them. In the midst of their turmoil. Well, there's the cry of God's people for vengeance. But at Seal 6, you'll see another type of cry, the cry of the rebels against God. And they are crying against the wrath of God. They are crying out in terror against the wrath of the Lamb seeking safety even in death. And then when we get to seal seven, which we won't find until we begin chapter eight, finally the trumpets of judgment will begin blaring and God's judgment will fall in history upon Jerusalem. Well then, what is chapter seven all about? Chapter six ends with the sixth seal, the crying of the rebels against the wrath of God. Chapter eight will begin the breaking of the seventh seal and therefore the opening of the scroll. That's what that indicates, the opening of the scroll and the actual beginning of God's judgment. Chapter 7 is sandwiched in between there. And what is that all about? Well, seven. However many commentators call chapter seven an interlude. I tend to think chapter seven can best be seen as a continuation of the sixth seal. It doesn't make a great deal of difference, I suppose. But you see in the sixth seal you see those who are crying against the wrath of God, they are in torment because of what God's going to do to Jerusalem. But what God's going to do to Jerusalem is not going to affect his people. Chapter seven is all about that. It's kind of the other side of the coin from what is presented in the sixth seal of chapter six. In chapter seven we get a picture of the sealed church in its ultimate security and its ultimate triumph. Let's begin looking at verse one after this. I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. The four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. This is allegedly one of those things that's supposed to embarrass people who hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. Because we are told that hereby John and those to whom he wrote had a certain pre scientific cosmology, a pre scientific view of the world whereby the thought of the world is flat, having four corners, and not only that, the but actually having angels standing at each of the four corners of the earth. Well, I'll leave it to you to do your own reading on the inerrancy of Scripture. Suffice it to say this morning that nobody who holds to the inerrancy of scripture thinks that when the Bible gives us literary metaphors or gives us figures of speech. They are to be taken literally even as we speak of the sun rising today. And we can speak of all sorts of other things metaphorically and not have to be taken as making mistakes. So John has that privilege as well. It was a common literary metaphor, an idiom, to speak of the four corners of the earth and the angels of the four corners, which was just a way of saying that the angels of God overshadow the whole world. The angels of God are his messengers. They perform his will, they take his decree and put it into effect. None of the world, no portion of the world, is beyond the control of God's angels. That's what we're being told here. They stand at the four corners of the earth. Nothing is outside, you see, the parameters of their control, and in particular, their function is to hold back the four winds of the earth. And so what does this reference to the four winds of the earth mean? Verse 2 makes it clear that these are harmful winds. I saw another angel ascend from the sun rising, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, etc. Now, winds are, throughout Scripture, a natural symbol of destruction and a symbol of God's judgment. You'll notice that In Jeremiah, the fourth chapter, in Jeremiah the 51st chapter, especially we might note in terms of Old Testament background, Jeremiah 49:36. Let's look at that a second. Jeremiah 49:36. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the heaven, and will scatter them towards all those winds, and there shall be no nation whither the outcast of Elam shall not come. In connection with that reference, look at Daniel 11:4. In Daniel 11:4 we read, and when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion, wherewith he ruleth. See, the four winds are a symbol of the destruction of a kingdom and the scattering of its inhabitants. And so John is told of the four angels that hold the four winds that will unleash God's judgment upon the nations, and in particular upon the nation of Israel, upon Jerusalem. And what will happen when Jerusalem is destroyed? Well, of course, its inhabitants will either be themselves destroyed or they'll have to be scattered. The four winds can be, in scripture, a directional type of metaphor signifying the whole earth. That is, we read of the four winds, we may be reading, of the whole expanse of the earth. And the four winds, interestingly, are connected in Ezekiel 37 with the reviving of the dry bones. The four winds blow across the dry bones and they are revived. There you have this great resurrection scene. And then in Zechariah, the sixth chapter, Zachariah's four horsemen in the chariots of Zechariah that we have talked about previously are identified with the four winds as well. So obviously this is not some kind of a pre scientific cosmology that John's gotten taken away with and has made a mistake in describing the the situation in the world to us. It is a common Old Testament metaphor for the work of God in history, particularly the judgmental work of God in history. Let's go back to verse two and see this other angel. Now there are four angels at the four corners of the earth and they are holding back. You see the winds of God's judgment. I saw another angel ascend from the sun rising. This angel is ascending from the east, obviously. And it would appear to me that this is meant as a source of blessing. That is where light originates upon the world. That's the source of blessing. And so here's an angel coming from the area that is the source of blessing. And this angel is carrying something he has or possesses, the seal of the living God. We'll have to take a few minutes to talk about that because to understand that symbolism is very important. The seal of the living God. What is a seal? We don't use them so often these days. And so I think the reference can be lost on us easily. Basically, a seal in the ancient world was a mark of ownership. Let's look at the Song of Songs, Chapter 8, Also called the Song of Solomon by some interpreters, perhaps better. Canticles are the greatest song. In chapter eight of Canticles, verse six we read, set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm. For love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as she. All the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very flame of Jehovah. To set me as a seal upon thy heart, basically is an indication of ownership. Make it clear that you see, I belong to you. And so when we read of the seal of the living God here in Revelation 7, the seal of God marks Christians believers as God's own possession. And because God possesses believers, he will preserve them from destruction. He will preserve them from the destruction that's going to fall on other people. And that's an important Old Testament theme. The preserving of God's people through the midst of judgment to fall on the world. An obvious substantiation of that theme can be found in Exodus the 12th chapter, verse 23. Exodus 12:23 reads, For Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you see, Terrible things are going to happen to the Egyptians. The angel of death is going to come upon their households. But God will pass over your houses. You see, you have the seal of God upon you. What was that seal on that day? A sign of the sacrificial blood of the Lamb, you see, upon the doorpost and over the lintel of the door. And when God sees that seal, then he will preserve that household. Look at Ezekiel, the ninth chapter, verses three to seven. Ezekiel 9, beginning at verse three. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn by his side. And Jehovah said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said, in my hearing, go ye through the city after him and smite. Let not your eyes spare, neither have ye pity. Slay utterly the old man, the young men, and the virgin, and little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house. And he said unto them, defile the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go ye forth. And they went forth and smote. And the city. A very powerful image, isn't it? God says to the man of the inkhorn, go through and mark my people. Mark them how? With my name upon their foreheads. And then judgment will be sent upon the city of Jerusalem. And who will be spared? Only those who have the mark of God upon them. God protects what he owns, and God guarantees the safe keeping of his possessions. If God punishes those who steal his title, notice that God throughout Scripture is very jealous of his name, and anybody who takes his name in vain, those who try to steal his title, those who just presume to use the very vocabulary that is appropriate only of God. If God punishes those who steal his title, how much more is he going to punish those who molest his living property? That is, how much more will God protect those upon whom his name has been set? God sets his name upon believers, and God will not allow his possessions to be tampered with. We can find references to seals in the New Testament as well. Perhaps we could look at these for some background. Romans, the fourth chapter, verse 11. Speaking of Abraham, Paul, Paul says, and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all them that believed. Abraham received a sign and a seal. It's important to remember when we think about the sacraments, that the sacraments are signs and seals. Very often, I think, particularly in a Baptistic orientation, we think of the sacraments as signs, don't we? It's a sign to the world. It's an indication to the world. But you see here we see that Abraham's circumcision was a seal of God's ownership, that God was the God of Abraham and that Abraham was in the covenant of God. When God lays his hand of possession upon Abraham, he seals him. Of course, Abraham's circumcision is assigned to the nations as well, but it's a sign and a seal. Romans 15:28. Paul says, when therefore, I have accomplished this and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by you unto Spain. Paul says that he's going to do certain things in terms of his ministerial capacity. And when he accomplishes these things, and when he seals to them the fruit of that ministry, then he'll go beyond Rome to Spain. Of course, we know in the life of Paul he never made it to Spain, but it was his intention. The important thing is to see the significance of the word sealing here. A seal is a guarantee that he's going to do something. He's going to seal to them the fruit of his ministry. First Corinthians 9:2. Beginning at verse one, Paul says, Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you. For the seal of mine apostleship. Are ye in the Lord? Where's the sign that Paul is an apostle? Where's the guarantee that he is an apostle? Where is the sign that Paul has a certain ownership in these people? See, they belong to the Lord. And that's the sign that Paul is an apostle that seals it. And look at John 3:33, this well known chapter where Jesus has the night visitation from Nicodemus. John 3 toward the end at verse 33, he that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this that God is true. He that hath received his witness sets his own seal to this that God is true. The seal is used in society to denote ownership, then to attest something, to guarantee it, to certify it. And the Bible tells us not only about seals and their function in the ancient world, but the Bible tells us that God himself does sealing work. Let's look at John 6:27. Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you. For him the Father, even God hath sealed. You see, you just can't read over the Gospel of John and fail to pick up on that illusion. God has sealed, sealed his Son. God certifies his ownership in his Son and His approval. Second Corinthians 1, verse 22. Second Corinthians 1:22. Well, let's begin reading at verse 21. Now, he that established us with you in Christ anointed us, is God, who also sealed us and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. God has put his seal, his ownership upon us, and he guarantees the inheritance that we have. He gives a down payment. You know that archaic word in the English language, an earnest. God gives his down payment. He indicates that he intends to make the purchase complete by putting the Spirit within our hearts, Ephesians 1:13, 14. In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest, the down payment of our inheritance unto the redemption of God's own possessions, unto the praise of his glory. It really kind of brings all of it together very nicely. You see, those of us who have the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of promise. We are sealed with him. He is in our hearts, and that seals us as the possession of God. He's the down payment of our inheritance unto the redemption of God's own possession. You see, God is buying back his possession in salvation. He buys us back to himself to the praise of his glory. And one more reference, Ephesians 4:30. You see, so important is this act of God's sealing in our salvation for Paul that he can actually make an exhortation. And his exhortation turns on that important notion of sealing. He says, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God with whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption. Don't grieve the Spirit, because that Spirit is the seal of your redemption. That Spirit is the down payment of your inheritance, the mark of God's ownership upon you. And so when we read of the seal of the living God, we're reading of that action whereby believers gain eternal security in their Savior, Jesus Christ. Remember John 3:33, a seal that God is true. Paul says, God sets his seal upon us, that he owns us because he has redeemed us. He has brought us back. Let's look at one more passage, 2 Timothy 2:19. It's kind of the climax of the whole scriptural doctrine of sin, if you want to put it that way. Howbeit the firm foundation of God stands having this seal, the firm foundation of God, that in itself tells you something, but he says it stands. You see, it's a very significant word in the Greek. It has this unalterable character. The firm foundation of God is standing with this seal upon it, the seal that the Lord knows them that are his. The Lord knows those who belong to him. He preserves them. Because he preserves them, he can call them to depart from iniquity. He says, persevere. It's important that we see, especially as a Calvinist, how the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints goes hand in hand with the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. Very often people consider themselves California Calvinists, by the way, because they believe in the preservation of the saints. They believe once saved, always saved. They believe in eternal security. And that makes them Calvinist. Well, it doesn't really make them Calvinist simply to believe that, but it's important to see that the distinctive of the Calvinistic doctrine is not really preservation of the saints, although that's taught very definitely. It's perseverance of the saints. Let all those who have this seal upon them that the Lord knows His own, that he possesses them. Let them depart from iniquity. That's the preservation of the saints, okay? No, that's the perseverance of the saints, we said. But how do you tell the difference? What's the difference between preservation and perseverance? Well, it's all the difference between a strawberry and an athlete. That's the way I like to put it. You see, a strawberry is preserved, isn't it? And an athlete perseveres to the end. And so we're both strawberries and athletes. You see, in terms of going, God's care over us, he preserves us, but he calls us to persevere to the end. And now in Revelation 7:2, the angel ascending from the source of blessing, from the sun rising has the seal of the living God. And time doesn't permit us to go through the numerous sections of Scripture that use that designation, the living God. Let me just give you a few places you can look if you want to do some homework. Psalm 42, Psalm 84, Acts 14, Romans 9 in connection with Hosea 1, 2 Corinthians 3, 2 Corinthians 6, 1st Thessalonians 1, 1 Timothy 3, 1st Timothy 4, Hebrews 3, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 10, Hebrews 12, and then add to that Matthew the 16th chapter, and all these passages. A good deal of theology of that particular passage, or pericope in God's word, rest upon the notion of the living God, the living God. And so time doesn't allow us to look at all those. But the point is this, in contrast to the gods which are impotent, and the ancient world had plenty of impotent gods, gods that could do nothing. You see, they enslaved their followers, but they weren't able to bless or to preserve their followers, or even to exhort them to perseverance. These gods were impotent. They were silent, they heard no prayers, they said nothing in return. They performed no deeds in history. In contrast to the numerous impotent gods of the ancient world that make no difference and which generate no feeling, which can bring no love and can really instill no fear. Actually, in contrast to those impotent gods stands the living God, the living and true God. And that's quite a source of comfort when you think about the seal of God. You see, to be sealed with the God of Dathan, or to be sealed with one of the gods of the ancient world, be it Tyche or whatever it may be, doesn't mean too much, because such gods are impotent. But we are sealed with the seal of the living God. That's interesting that we are sealed in the midst of tribulation. You see the sixth seal upon. Now this is a different kind of seal, right? The sixth seal upon the scroll has broken. And in its breaking, we see that God is going to bring a devastation upon the city of Jerusalem for its rejection of the Messiah, for its persecution of the Messiah's people. But God will set his own seal upon his people. That means that we are sealed. We belong to God. God guarantees our safe deliverance through the midst of tribulation, through the midst of turmoil. Which is a clear indication that God's conception of security is much different than man's conception of security. In fact, God's conception of security is much different often than many Christians conception of security. As we think, if God is going to make us secure, if he's going to put his seal upon us and make us safe, that means we won't have to undergo any difficulties, right? In fact, we even have a large segment of the Christian church that teaches in connection with this very passage that the sealing of God means the rapture, that the hundred and forty four thousand those who are sealed are those who are going to be raptured or those who are going to be protected and in the midst of the tribulation, one or the other. But I'd like to read from RJ Rushduni's commentary on the Book of Revelation a short paragraph about God's conception of sealing. Rushton he says the answer to the question who is able to stand? That's how chapter six ends the question who is able to stand? The answer is clear cut. The seals of God are able to stand. His saints are able to stand because their strength and security are not in themselves, but in the Lord. But if the saints have security, then why are they exposed to the wrath of the world, to the fiery darts of the devil, to the temptations of the world, to the flesh and to the devil? Why does the hatred of Egypt fall upon the saints of God? The answer is that God's conception of security is different from man's. Man's conception of evil too often revolves around the fear of defeat, tribulation and suffering. For the Lord, the real evil is sin and compromise with sin. As all of Scripture makes clear, God makes His people eternally secure from the destruction of sin and he protects his people from being overcome by sin. And very often the means to this security involves defeat, tribulation and suffering. Let me reread that last section because because it's put so briefly, I think it's easy to miss the gem of a point that's being made here. God's conception of security is different from man's. Man's conception of evil too often revolves around the fear of defeat, tribulation and suffering. But for the Lord, the real evil is sin and compromise with sin. As all of Scripture makes clear, God makes His people eternally secure from the destruction of sin sin and he protects his people from being overcome by sin. And very often the means to this security involves defeat, tribulation and suffering. You see, in the very midst of tribulation and suffering, God makes us conquerors because he teaches us in that sanctifying process, even in the midst of earthly defeat, that we trust in him and we are not overcome by sin. You see, tribulation is supposed to work patience in God's saints. Tribulation is supposed to refine them as fire refines gold and burns off their impurities. And so rush journey is right. You see, God's conception of security is different from man's. And we don't believe that the sealing of God means he's going to deliver us from every historical torture, every historical failure. Those who are sealed in verse two of chapter seven are called the servants of God. The angel ascending from the sun rising has the seal of the living God. And he cries with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God. The servants of God. Actually, the word is the slaves of God, stressing their utter devotion to God and notice that they are going to be sealed on their foreheads with the seal of God. God's mark is on his own. And it's important to see that in terms of the book of Revelation, because it's one of the contrasts, one of the thematic contrasts, that the mark of God is upon his people. And the wicked are also marked with the ownership to the beast. Look at Revelation 9, 4. And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads. So you can see the background in the Passover story in Ezekiel, the ninth chapter. Those who have not got the seal of God upon them shall be hurt by his judgment. Chapter 14, verse 1. And I saw and behold the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. And so the mark of ownership turns out to be the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father written on the foreheads of the saints. Chapter 22, verse 4. And they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. It's an important theme in Revelation to see that God is writing his name on our foreheads. The name of the Lamb and the name of his Father are upon the Foreheads of believers. But the wicked are also marked, as I said. And interestingly, they are marked with the name also, but the name of the beast. Chapter 13, verses 16 and 17. And he causeth all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free, and the bond, that there shall be given them a mark on their right hand or upon their forehead, and that no man shall be able to buy or sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name. It's going to be important to see how the number of the name and the the name are one and the same. We're going to discuss that when we get to chapter 13. Let me say in just a minute. Okay, let's look at a couple more verses, and then I'll indicate that. Chapter 14, verse 9. And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, if any man worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. Chapter 16, verse 2. And the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast and that worshipped his image. Chapter 19, verse 20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight. Sight wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image. And the two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone. Chapter 20, verse 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead. Forehead. And upon their hand they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Okay, so we see pervasive references throughout the book of Revelation to this sealing process with the writing of a name upon a forehead. And everybody has a name upon their forehead. See, there are those who have the name of the beast upon their forehead and those who refuse to have the name of the beast upon their forehead because they have the name of God upon their forehead instead. Now, Greg has asked us what exactly that means to have it written upon the forehead. And as is often the case, to understand the imagery of the Book of Revelation, one has to go back to the Old Testament. John was steeped in the Old Testament. He understood The Jewish ways. He understood the symbolism of God's word of Old. And in the Old Testament you read that something was to be upon the forehead and upon the hand, and what was it? The law of God. God required that his law be written upon the forehead and upon the hand a mark of ownership. And when God marks us with his law upon our forehead, that is symbolically meaning we see all of the world in terms of his law. We see things through his law. It's kind of, if you will, to use a modern idiom, the eyeglasses through which we perceive the world and the law upon the hand means what, what we do in the world, how we operate in the world world, how we function is governed by the law of God. So how we see things and how we operate are governed by God's word. There's an important apologetical point there, isn't there? To those of us who study apologetics, are interested in the theory of apologetics, there is a school of thought, I think it's a fairly biblical school of thought that teaches there is a radical antithesis of being the unbeliever's point of view and the believer's point of view. In fact, everything the unbeliever sees, he sees in terms of his ownership to a false God. He sees everything in a naturalistic perspective or a secular perspective or a humanistic perspective or a materialistic perspective, somehow self centered perspective. You see, he has that mark upon his forehead by which he perceives everything. The Christian is just the opposite of that. He's radically different. He sees everything in terms of the word of God and his ownership and God's ownership over him. And so that's the way I would interpret the forehead imagery in terms of the Old Testament and its significance. Verse 4, chapter 7. And I heard the number of them that were sealed. You see, we're building this point by point. Yes, Jim, That's right. The Old Testament has a good deal to say about the forehead and also the area between the eyes. And Jim is bringing up a couple of important ones. Yeah, I don't like to, you know, to judge off the top of my head about that sort of thing. I think it's certainly worth pursuing that. That could be the case in the 20th chapter of Revelation. The angel coming down from heaven, I have no question is Jesus Christ. And so it's not inappropriate in the language of Revelation for Christ to be designated an angel. And throughout the Old Testament, the biblical theology of the Old Testament, the second person of the Trinity, is often called the angel of The Lord. And then you're specifying even more in terms of Ezekiel's imagery of the angel being Christ himself. And so, yeah, I think that's possible. It's just that I haven't studied that enough to make any judgment of it. Yeah, yeah, very good. Everybody get that in their notes? In verse 4 now of chapter 7, I heard the number of them that were sealed. This will probably be lost upon everybody who doesn't study or hasn't studied Greek, but I can't overlook a chance to make this point. We're often told, you see, as preachers, that we're supposed to bring meat and potential potatoes to our people, but not take them into the kitchen. And I'm going to stop for a minute and take you into the kitchen here and just do a little bit of Greek. You'll notice that those who were sealed, the. The verb sealed there is in the perfect tense. Okay, Greek scholars, what is the significance of the perfect tense? That's right. Completed action, accomplished action, with continuing results. They were searching. Sealed, perfect tense. That is, it has been accomplished. But the effects of that, the guarantee and the benefits of that continue on. Okay, God does not go back on his choice then. And we might even translate this because of the perfect tense. They were sealed permanently. I heard the number of them that were sealed permanently. A hundred and 4 and 4,000. Sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel. Is God's procedure with reference to his people in the midst of tribulation, one of sealing or one of rapturing? That's an important theological question that I would set before you, and I think we can get an answer to it from John 17:18. Does God do toward those whom he owns a work of rapturing or seal ceiling when they encounter tribulation? John 17, beginning at verse 14. I have given them Thy word, and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world. Jesus prays for his disciples. Jesus prays for his people. He knows they're not of the world, and the world hates them for that reason. He knows of the tribulation the world will bring to his people. But he says to the Lord, I don't pray that you take them from the world, but that you keep them from the evil one and sanctify them by the word of truth. I have been sent into the world to do God's work, to do God's mission, and even so, I send them into the world. I would maintain that it's not just simply a difference of how you draw the charts eschatologically between us and premillennialists. It is a deep theological and ethical issue to decide whether God seals his saints and sends them into the world to be sealed from Satan, to be sanctified by the Word and to overcome, or whether he draws them out of the world and raptures them from tribulation and then lets the world go to the devil. Did you have, consistent with every character and every major personage that we find in the Scriptures, that they are not sold out of times of tribulation, but in fact, because of their relationship with the living God, they just. It's totally out of character for God to have revealed himself to us in the Scripture and then make a whole new plan for the rest of us. That's right, yes. It goes two different directions. A predominant way of looking at this is that the ceiling is of the 144,000 Jews that are left on earth. But why does it have to be the Jews that are left? Because God has taken his other people out. You see, they will be converted in the midst of tribulation and sin. But God has taken his saints from the world. He has raptured them. And so it becomes now important to decide who the 144,000 are. And that's the way we want to end today's lesson. So I'll get on to that. But before we go on to that, just let me finish making this point. In the midst of great turmoil that is sent upon the earth by the Lord, the believer is sealed and he's protected. He's made secure by God. And I would like to liken that to a mantle clock that is inside a house draw during a terrible storm. You see that mantle clock keeps ticking quietly, faithfully away. Even though the trees may be falling and the lightning may be striking outside, that mantle clock just keeps ticking with regular movement. The Christian has that same kind of inner calm in his heart. Despite the troubles you see that are external to us, despite the turmoil that breaks upon the world, the. Despite our situation in a very sometimes cruel world, the Christian is like that mantle clock. And his heart just keeps ticking regularly away, knowing that the seal of God is upon him, that God protects his own, and God will bring them through the trial. God throughout Scripture is said to protect his people amidst tribulation. Psalm 34, verses 17 to 22 the righteous cried, and Jehovah heard and delivered them out of all their troubles. Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Jehovah delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be condemned. Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of them that take refuge in him shall be condemned. Psalm 91:7, One of the most comforting psalms of the entire Scripture, begins, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Then John 17:15 Jesus says, I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. God seals and protects. God brings us through tribulation and keeps keeps us from the evil one. Not a one of his servants is condemned. God delivers them from every affliction. Well, who are the ones that are delivered? I heard the number of them that were sealed 104, 40, and 4,000 sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel. And then we have the listing of the 12 tribes of Israel and 12,000 from each one of the 12. Well, right after you read of the hundred and forty four thousand, verse nine says, after these things I saw and behold a great multitude which no man could number out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes with palms in their hands. The first question is, are the hundred and forty four thousand different from this great multitude, from all nations, tribes and tongues? Are these two different groups? You have to answer that question first, and then you have to answer this question. Is it literal Israel that is sealed, or spiritual Israel that is sealed? And then finally, do either one of these groups, be it literal Israel, spiritual Israel, or the Gentile multitude mentioned in the next verse, are any of those groups? Do either of those groups refer specifically to the martyrs as those who give up their life for the testimony they have in Jesus Christ? Those are the key interpretive questions when you come to this portion of Scripture. And let's try to take them one by one. First of all, there's the view that the 144,000 refer to literal Israel. A literal 140, 44,000 Israelites shall be sealed of God. We are told that this will be in the midst of the Tribulation. The reason it's in the midst of the tribulation, the great tribulation that lies in the future, is because, according to premillennial interpretation, chapters four through 18 have got to refer to the tribulation period. The Church is not mentioned in those chapters, and therefore the Church has been raptured. The only people left then to go through the tribulation and be sealed by God would be Jewish, Jews, literal Israel, and a literal 144,000. It would be a perfect number of Israelites found among the redeemed would be another way of saying that without making the 144,000 literal. Of course, that's a little inconsistent. If it must be literal Israel, you might expect a literal number as well. But either way, it's Israel of the flesh, physical Israel that's being referred to on some interpretations. The interesting thing is what we read in verse nine, after these things, I saw and behold a great multitude which no man could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Here's a great multitude of people standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They are saved, they are redeemed, they are justified, they are glorified, they are in the presence of God. But somehow they are in that presence without the sealing of God. You would think if these were different groups in the midst of this context and what John is teaching us here, if these were different groups of people, you would expect that both groups would receive the sealing of God. Why do the Jews receive God's sealing and the others not? Why is eternal security promised to the Jewish Church in the midst of the Tribulation? And that eternal security, not the privilege of those who, if you will, the Gentile Church stands before God. It makes it rather difficult. Now, Dr. Adams, J. Adams, in his commentary in the Book of Revelation, says that the identification of the hundred and forty four thousand is certain. He says they are Jewish Christians. He doesn't mean by that that it's a spiritual Israel. He means it is spiritual Israel in the form of literal Israel, that is, those who are literally Jews, who have become Christians, who escaped to Pella according to Christ's commandment when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by Roman armies. And Adams gives these arguments in favor of his point of view. Ancestry is being emphasized here, and therefore it must be Jewish. Secondly, there's a contrast with the great Gentile multitude in the next verse. One is small, the other is a large host. One is one race, the other is all races. One escapes persecution, the other have been slain. And then Adams goes on to say, since the fall of Jerusalem is seen in this context to be the topic under discussion, these must be the Jewish Christians who escaped the persecution of AD 70. And then another interpretation is that one or other of these groups refers specifically to martyrs. Allegedly, a greater destiny is reserved for those who actually give up their physical lives for the cause of Christ. Now, about this view of the martyrs, I think we just have to dismiss it because no adequate reason has been and I think can be forwarded to support the viewpoint. All men are saved in the manner described in Revelation 7, verse 4. And I say unto him, my Lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me, these are they that come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That is true of every believer, not just those who come out of the alleged great tribulation in the future, not just those who are martyrs physically throughout history, all Christians, all saved men are saved in just that manner. The 144,000 I want to maintain refers to Spiritual Israel, and spiritual Israel in turn refers to the Church of Jesus Christ. You will notice in the New Testament, and we're going to have to hurry to beat the time here now. And in the New Testament, the church of Jesus Christ is referred to as the 12 tribes, James 1, Luke 22. They are also referred to as the dispersion, a common term for the Jews. First Peter 1. The Christian, Paul says, is the true Jew. Romans 2, 29. The Christian is God's peculiar people. Titus 2. The phrase used in the Old Testament for God's people. The Christian is Abraham's seed. Galatians 3. The Christian is the circumcision. Philippians 3. In Galatians 6, the church is called the Israel of God. Now in the Book of Revelation, John himself speaks of pseudo Jews in Revelation 2 and 3. John regards the New Jerusalem as the Christian's home in Revelation 21. And the new Jerusalem has the names of the twelve tribes on its gates. Revelation 21. And so spiritual Israel is a common theme in the New Testament, and it's found in the Book of Revelation as well. Spiritual Israel, not the Pseudo Israel, not the physical Israelites that think they still are Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise. Spiritual Israel is the church. Now, the great multitude we read of in Revelation 7, verse 9 includes all nations and consequently includes Israel as a nation. 144,000, I will conclude, must be spiritual Israel because they come out of the 12 tribes. And that imagery in the New Testament and in the Book of Revelation applies to the church these days. For those of you who are interested in biblical numerology, I'm not sure exactly how much weight to put on this, but it's interesting to note that 12 is the number of Israel in Scripture. And if you square 12, then you have 144. And if you multiply that by the number of completeness or perfection 10, you get the perfect total for Israel or 144,000. Some commentators point that out and I at least throw it out for your consideration. But I think the conclusive arguments that the 144,000 refer to the church come out of Revelation 21 and Revelation 14. And I think that's what we'll take up next week. Week in preparation. Do try to compare the description of the new Jerusalem with what we read in Revelation 7, 15 and 17. And then you might also look at Revelation chapter 14 to see how the 144,000 are there described. Yes. Yeah, I was going to get to that. Dan is not listed because of its traditional association of the Old Testament with idolatry. Replaced is Manasseh. Can I ask you another question about the Matthew Scripture you quoted? All authority has been given name in heaven and on earth. Would you explain the Greek first, tenth, Zion has been. Has been given. Well, I don't have a Greek testament with me. Has anybody got their Greek Bible with him? I just don't recall whether it's in the perfect tense or not. Yeah, I'll try to look that up this week for you. Sure. Let's close with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts that you do call us your own, that you as the living God, have set your seal upon us, that your Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts as a down payment of our inheritance. We ask you, Father, that you would continue to protect us and to be with us, to keep us strong and bold in the midst of tribulation. But Lord, we do not ask that we be taken from the world, but that we be delivered from the evil one, that we be sanctified by your Word.