It is Time for a Breather!
The Book that Promises a Blessing!
A study of the book of Revelation
by Pastor Frank Rice
Revelation 7:1-17
Most of us have experienced seasons of life when things just seem to be moving so fast that we find it difficult, if not impossible, to keep up the torrid pace! Non-stop, fast-paced activities must cease! There has to be some time to slow down the action a little, catch our breath, clear our heads, and get a new perspective so that we can survive the next few days! The action in the Revelation is “paused” for a moment as judgment on the earth takes a “time out” to make some purposeful adjustments!
I. The Action Thus Far Had Been Fast, Furious, and Frightening!
v We’ve seen the impact of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who were released by the Lamb’s opening of the first four seals!
v We’ve seen multitudes of martyrs from the tribulation now in heaven, asking about God’s timing for retributive wrath (seal #5).
v And we’ve seen further devastation on the earth caused by unprecedented cosmic disturbances via the sixth seal.
II. The Action Ceases for the Setting-Aside of Servants (Vv. 1-8)!
v Instead of the anticipated seventh seal being opened, we discover a momentary delay in judgment (vv. 1-3). (What’s this all about?)
1. Four angels are restraining the four winds from further devastation on the earth (v. 1). We assume these angels had been assigned to unleash the impending trumpet judgments.
2. “In this case John observes four angels who are actually restraining the judgments.” (Patterson)
3. Another angel ascends from the east with the seal of the living God in his possession (v. 2a). This seal symbolizes ownership, protection, and authority. God’s sealing is for a purpose.
4. “It is the angel that has the seal, and so the act of sealing the saints here is done by God through His angel, protecting them from the judgments about to be inflicted in the trumpets and bowls.” (Osborne)
5. We do not serve a lifeless impotent dead god (Ps 115)! We serve a living God as the following texts insist! Matt 16:16; John 6:69; Acts 14:15; 2 Cor 3;3, 6:16; 1 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 3:15, 4:10, 6:17; Heb 3:12, 9:14, 10:31, and 12:22!
6. This angel shouts to the four to “hold up a minute” before they carry out their destructive assignment (v. 2b).
7. This angel is responsible for placing a seal on the foreheads of those who are already servants of God (v. 3).
8. Many attempt to replace Israel with the church, replacement theology. “Reference to the Twelve Tribes would most naturally be understood to refer to the ancient historic Israel and not to the church.” (Johnson)
v Those who are to be marked with this seal are Jewish (vv. 4-8). The following observations will help determine their identity.
1. They are not the church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, or members of the Flying Scroll!
2. These are Jewish men! Lists of the tribes of Israel appear 29 times in scripture and every time they are literal Jews! God has not terminated His commitment to His people, the Jews!
3. The term “Israel” appears 66 times in the NT and every time refers to the sons of Jacob.
4. John heard and recorded specific names and numbers, indicating they are literal! Why would John include a detailed list of the twelve tribes if he had no intention of readers identifying them as such?!
5. There is no evidence of the language of symbolism (as, like)!
6. Saying that “This is impossible!” since the tribes are lost and there is no way to reconstitute them is like saying there is no resurrection for those MIA or for decomposed bodies!
7. These same servants will re-emerge at a later time (14:1-5).
III. The Scene Shifts to a Host of Heavenly Worshippers (Vv. 9-12)!
v The scenes shift from the sealing of men on the earth to the singing of the redeemed in heaven (vv. 9-10). (Who are these people?)
1. They are not the same group as the one previously mentioned!
2. They are an amazingly and obviously diverse group, not Jews! Our God is inclusivistic all may come. He is also exclusivistic; only through Christ can anyone come to Him.
3. “John is making the point that this group is ethnically distinct from the Jews who are sealed in the first part of the chapter, and they are further ethnically, tribally, and linguistically diverse from one another – indicating the extent to which the gospel of Jesus Christ has permeated the entire earth.” (Patterson)
4. There are so many, unlike the previous 144,000, they cannot be counted!
5. The previous group was sealed for service on earth; these are safe in heaven with symbols of salvation, victory, and purity.
6. This group is singing loudly and thankfully of the salvation they’ve experienced via the sole source, God and the Lamb.
v The witnesses of this amazing drama join the chorus (vv. 11-12)!
1. This recalls chapters 4 & 5 where angels, elders, and living beings express empirical awareness of God’s attributes!
2. They all agree wholeheartedly that seven distinctive and self-explanatory attributes belong solely to the eternal God!
3. The double Amen indicates affirmation and agreement!
IV. The Worshippers Are Identified by One of the Elders (Vv. 13-17)!
v A rhetorical question sets the stage for identifying the multitude of worshippers, who they are and where they come from (v. 13).
v A thorough and understandable identification is given (vv. 14-17). Their appearance in heaven is evidence of their “untimely” deaths.
1. They had died, most likely & almost certainly, as a result of the opening of the first four seals of the tribulation. There is no hint of martyrdom.
2. Since “there is no direct evidence that the great multitude are martyrs,” these may very well be victims of the four horsemen and their catastrophic plagues on the earth.
3. Believers are not immune to earthly calamities. These entered into a relationship by the blood of Christ, by faith alone in Him alone!
4. They now stand and serve in His presence, forever with Him!
5. They will NEVER AGAIN experience the plagues that were responsible for their deaths; famine, thirst, and scorching heat.
6. The ever-present Lamb will shepherd and refresh them (Psalm 23).
7. And God the Father will tenderly wipe away every tear. Oh, that will be glory!