REVELATION
CHAPTER 7, “World-wide Revival And Preaching / Martyrdom Of Multitudes Of
Believers”
By
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last
study, we looked at the beginning of
the 7 Year Tribulation and six of the seven seals being opened.
1.1.1. We began our study however
with an overview of the Tribulation Period itself as well as an overview of
this man known as the “Beast” or “Anti-Christ”.
1.1.2. We first looked at the four
riders on horses who are know as the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”.
1.1.2.1.Each of these riders of the
horses represented judgments that would be poured out upon the earth.
1.1.2.1.1.The first seal saw the rider
on the white horse sent out to conquer equipped with a bow and no arrows, and
we saw that he symbolized the anti-Christ who will be building his coalition
government that will become the global government over the whole earth, doing
so first by peaceful and diplomatic means.
1.1.2.1.2.The second seal saw the
rider on the red horse sent out, and we saw that red symbolized bloodshed
because the peaceful surrender of their sovereignty by nations ended up
resulting in a number of extremely violent regional clashes among governments.
1.1.2.1.2.1.We saw that there was a
remote possibility that this could be the Ezekiel 38-39 battle being played
out.
1.1.2.1.3.The third seal saw the rider
on the black horse sent out who had a pair of scales in his hand, and we saw
this symbolized financial collapse or depression, along with famine, that would
ensue all over the earth.
1.1.2.1.4.The fourth seal saw the
rider on the ashen horse sent out and we saw that this rider symbolized death,
for 1/4th of the world’s population would die because of war, natural
disasters, famine, pestilence, etc.
1.1.2.1.5.The fifth seal saw a large
group of martyrs dressed in white in heaven, who were located under the alter,
and we saw that this group had come to Christ during the 7 Year Tribulation and
had been killed for their faith.
1.1.2.1.6.The sixth seal saw a large
earthquake and violent cosmic disturbances, and what may actually be a
description of nuclear war upon the earth.
1.1.2.1.6.1.We saw that this also could
be the Ezekiel 38-39 battle being played out.
1.1.2.2.The first four (or so) seal
judgments that were poured out were catastrophic versions of those signs of the
times that Jesus said would happen all throughout the period of the Church Age
and which would increase with frequency before the 7 Year Tribulation Period
began.
1.1.3. The fifth seal brought about
a tremendous martyrdom of believers in Christ.
1.1.4. The sixth seal brought about
a catastrophic earthquake and possible nuclear war.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to see the emergence of 144,000 Jewish
evangelists who will go all over the world preaching the gospel and winning
people to Christ, and this will bring about a huge revival of people coming to
salvation by faith in Christ.
2.
VS 7:1 - “7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four
corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind
should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.” - John tells us that at this
point in time, after the sixth seal has been opened, that there are four angels
who hold back the four winds of the earth so that there is no wind blowing on
the earth
2.1.
Having opened the
sixth seal at the close of chapter 6, we
now come to chapter 7 which is a parenthetical scene in-between the opening of
the sixth and the seventh seals.
In chapter 8, the seventh seal is opened which actually contains the 7
trumpet judgments.
2.2.
We see here in chapter 7 that there is some necessary work that must be
done on the earth before the rest of God’s judgments can be carried out. Actually, chapter 7 perhaps looks backwards as well as
forward even into the Millennium and perhaps even the New Heavens and
Earth.
2.3.
There are a group of Jewish believers whom God is going to direct His
angels to place a special seal on. This seal is more than the seal of the Holy Spirit which believers in Christ have
been given, it is a seal which will
protect them from the troubles that are about to come upon the whole
world.
2.4.
In the book of Exodus, we see God doing similar things to Pharaoh and the
Egyptians as He is planning to do to the whole world during the 7 Year
Tribulation.
2.4.1. Pharaoh and the Egyptians were smitten with 10 plagues
through the ministration of Moses and Aaron, and one thing that is interesting concerning these plagues is that none of the curses that came upon the
Egyptians came also upon God’s people, the Israelites. For
instance:
2.4.1.1.Plague #4: Swarms of
insects.
2.4.1.1.1.Exod. 8:22-23, “22 “But
on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so
that no swarms of insects will be there, in order that you may know that I, the
Lord, am in the midst of the land.23 “And I will put a division between My
people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall occur.”’””
2.4.1.2.Plague #5: Cattle dying.
2.4.1.2.1.Exod. 9:4, “4 “But the
Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock
of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’””
2.4.1.3.Plague #7: Hail.
2.4.1.3.1.Exod. 9:26, “26 Only in
the
2.4.1.4.Plague #9: Darkness.
2.4.1.4.1.Exod. 10:23, “23 They did
not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all
the sons of
2.4.1.5.Plague #10: Death of
Firstborn.
2.4.1.5.1.Exod. 11:6-7, “6
‘Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there
has not been before and such as shall never be again.7 ‘But against any of the
sons of Israel a dog shall not even bark, whether against man or beast, that
you may understand how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’”
2.4.2. We will see regarding
the remaining judgments upon the earth in the book of Revelation, that there
are many similarities to these plagues of
2.4.2.1.This argument would of
course also strengthen the position that the church will be “raptured” before
the 7 year Tribulation period, because God never punishes His people along with
the wicked.
2.4.3. Here in the book of
Revelation, just as it was true with the Israelites in
2.5.
Four angels hold
back the winds. It is interesting seeing in the Bible the
wondrous ways in which God has designed some of His angelic creatures. We see for instance that they have
control over the natural forces in our world.
2.5.1. In Rev. 14:18
we see an angel who has power over fire,
and in 16:5 one who has power over the
waters.
2.5.2. The Psalmist wrote in Ps. 103:20, “20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength,
who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word!”
2.6.
So in this verse,
we see that God has appointed ‘four angels’ who are to hold back the
four winds. These creatures are located at the ‘four corners of the earth’. Some
have said that in this chapter we
see evidence of an improper view of the earth as being flat, and that
these angels are at the four corners of it. However, this is not what is
implied here. Henry Morris writes, “Parenthetically,
accurate modern geodetic measurements in recent years have proved that the
earth actually does have four “corners.”
These are protuberances standing out from the basic “geoid,” that is,
the basic spherical shape of the earth.
The earth is not really a perfect sphere, but is slightly flattened at
the poles. Its equatorial bulge is presumably
caused by the earth’s axial rotation, and its four “corners” protrude from
that. The meaning of this verse,
however, is undoubtedly that the angels located in four different key positions
on the earth, perhaps one at each pole and two at opposite ends of a strategic
equatorial diameter, are able to control the great atmospheric circulation
which governs the winds of the earth.” So, we should look at these angels as
standing one at each literal quadrant of the earth, holding back the four
winds.
3.
VS 7:2-3 - “2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of
the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice
to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3
saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed
the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”” - John tells us that another angel, one who has
the seal of the living God, cries out to the four angels not to do anything to
harm the earth and the sea until the bond-servants of God have been sealed
3.1.
The angel in this verse appears to be stronger than or having more
authority than the previous four angels
who are holding back the four winds on earth, this one commands the previous
four angels.
3.2.
This strong angel
tells the four angels not to do anything that would cause the inhabitants on
the earth to be harmed (nor even the earth, trees, and the sea) until these
special 144,000 Jewish believers have been sealed. The
angels calls these 144,000, ‘the bondservants of our God’, which
indicates that they have a special calling and ministry designed by God just
for this special time during the Tribulation.
3.3.
Though the Bible
does not specifically say this, it has
long been speculated by the church that these 144,000 are God’s anointed evangelists
to preach the saving gospel of Christ to the lost people of the world during
the Tribulation period. One
reason for this view is that the
description of these 144,000 on earth being sealed is followed directly by the
description of a great throng in heaven who are believers who have come out of
the Tribulation through death, and it has been suggested that there is a necessary implication that the
144,000 were the evangelists who won this multitude to salvation in
Christ.
3.4.
It is interesting that this sealing
that these ones are to receive is
described as being ‘on their
foreheads’. This has fueled much speculation as to
what this seal might consist of. Is it
something that is visible? Could it be similar to what the people under
the Beast will have to wear with the number of the Beast, ‘666’, on it? If
this is so, then the Beast in mockery copies what these angels have done
to God’s servants. How does it protect them? We have only speculations, no substantive
answers...
4.
VS 7:4-8 - “4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one
hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve
thousand, 7 from the tribe of Simeon
twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi
twelve thousand, from the tribe of
Issachar twelve thousand, 8 from the
tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from
the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.” - John tells us the number from each tribe who
were sealed is 12,000
4.1.
Here in these
verses is the list of the 144,000 people whom the Lord is going to seal from
the 12 tribes of
4.2.
There are 29 or 30 different lists of the tribes of
4.2.1. In almost every list the
order of the tribes is different.
4.2.2. Though there are always 12 tribes of
4.2.3. Here in Revelation chapter 7, we see that the tribe of Dan is left out completely, and instead of Manasseh and Ephraim being
listed, Manasseh and Joseph are listed, so Ephraim is indirectly listed through Joseph. Dan
is seen in the scriptures as being the most wicked of all of the tribes.
4.2.3.1.In Genesis 37, Dan
is probably the ring-leader of the brothers in selling Joseph into slavery to
4.2.3.2.In Gen. 49:17, the tribe of
Dan is called a serpent by the way.
4.2.3.3.In Gen. 46, the genealogy of
Dan’s sons is not listed. See also Num. 26 and Lev. 7.
4.2.3.4.In Lev. 24:11, a member of
Dan blasphemies.
4.2.3.5.In Judges 18, the Danites
set up an idol.
4.2.3.6.Under the wicked king
Jereboam, they set up a golden calf at
4.2.3.7.Grace wins out however, for
though Dan is not listed here, in Ezekiel 40, Dan is the first listed among the tribes present during the Millennium.
4.2.4. Reuben lost his birthright
as the eldest son when he went into his father’s concubine, so
4.3.
It is interesting to me that several cultish groups have claimed that
they represent the chosen 144,000,
however in order to come to that wrong conclusion they have to first make a major allegorical leap by saying that not only
is the “church” called “Israel” in the scripture, but also the 12
tribes symbolize in some way the church.
4.3.1. The Jehovah Witnesses, as well as some other cultish
type of groups, have proclaimed that they are part of the 144,000.
4.4.
When someone claims that through their church and beliefs that they are
part of the 144,000, then you ought to ask them which tribe they are from???
4.5.
Another myth that is debunked in these verses regards the lost 10 tribes
of
4.5.1. There are many who have come to the false conclusion
that during the time of the Babylonian exile that ten of the tribes of
4.6.
However, what we
see in the scriptures is that though
the Israelites in today’s world do not know from what tribe they have
originated, God knows from where they have come. God
will seal 12,000 from each of the tribes here, which indicates that there must not be any lost tribes.
4.7.
We can see also from two writers of NT books that these men did not
consider that there were any tribes of
5.
VS 7:9-10 - “9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great
multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and
peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a
loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb.”” - John tells us that at this point he saw a
great multitude of peoples clothed in white robes and carrying palm branches,
some from all tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and the
Lamb
5.1.
We come now in John’s writings to a group of people who are in heaven,
whom John does not recognize. It is curious that he cannot recognize this
group, and it indicates that these ones
are distinct and different from the previous group of elders who were
representative of the church.
5.2.
This group is not the church. Adding to the intrigue, is that it is a very large group of people,
consisting of people from every nation,
tribe, and people, whom John cannot identify.
5.3.
You see, during the 7 Year Tribulation, in particular the early parts of
it, there is going to be perhaps the largest revival of people coming to know
Christ, as has happened any time since Christ rose from the dead.
5.3.1. The hearts of multitudes of
people will be softened when they realize that Christ has left with His church
and that the earth is now encountering judgment after judgment leading up to Christ’s Second Coming (“Glorious
Appearing”).
5.3.2. Also, since the population
of the earth will have grown so significantly there will be greater numbers coming to salvation through faith in Christ.
5.3.2.1.Remember, the population on
earth is increasing exponentially such that in the last 40 years the population
on earth has doubled.
5.4.
These ones here are people who have come into God’s presence, through
death, during the time of the Tribulation. The death of this group of people may have been caused by martyrdom, and/or
it may have come as a result of the
various judgments that have come upon the earth.
5.5.
These people are redeemed and are singing of the salvation they have
received through Christ, however they are
different from the church which John
had seen earlier in chapter 4 and 5 in the vision he had of the third
heaven (throne of God).
5.6.
Smith writes about this group that
John sees, “That they are distinct
from the church appears from the following considerations: Believers living at the time of the rapture
of the church will have no place or part in the tribulation; these people will live during some of the
tribulation days, be killed, and received into heaven. Those wear white garments (4:4); these white robes. those sit on thrones round about the
throne; these stand before the
throne. Those wear crowns; these are uncrowned. Those have harps and vials; these have palms in their hands. those sing a new song; these cry with a loud voice. Those are kings and priests and reign with
Him; these serve Him day and night.”
5.6.1. This group will serve God day and night in the temple,
however the church is destined to reign with Him.
5.7.
Even though the
scripture does not make this inference, because
of the association made by John of this group directly after the 144,000 sealed
Jewish converts, it has been inferred that this huge group of believers
who have come into God’s presence during the Tribulation via death, were witnessed to and won to faith in Christ
for salvation by the 144,000 Jews who will be acting as evangelists to
the world.
5.8.
The ‘palm branches’ being waved by this group standing before the throne of the Lamb in heaven is the type for which the story of Christ’s
Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem upon a donkey was the anti-type. In that gospel account, they waved palm
branches before Jesus as though He were their King.
6.
VS 7:11-12 - “11 And all the angels were standing around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their
faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory
and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God
forever and ever. Amen.”” - John
records that at this point in time that once again the elders and the four
living creatures before the throne of God fell on their faces and worshipped
the Lord
6.1.
Here in these
verses, we see that along with this
immense group before the throne, plus the elders and the four living creatures,
that ‘all the angels’ were likewise ‘standing around the throne’.
6.2.
All of these
angels ‘fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God’, giving Him the seven-fold anthem of
praise: blessing, glory, wisdom,
thanksgiving, honor, power, and might.
6.2.1. ‘Forever and ever’ is
the Lord worthy of this seven-fold anthem of worship, the angels sing together.
6.2.2. The angels and elders here are showing the utmost in reverence for the Lord worshipping Him upon ‘their
faces’.
7.
VS 7:13-14 - “13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These
who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they
come?” 14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are
the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” - One of the elders answers John here and tells
him where this large multitude has come from:
they have come out of the Tribulation
7.1.
It is in response to John’s original question as to whom this group that
is before the throne of God consisted, that ‘one of the elders’ who
represent the church in heaven, answers
John: ‘these are the ones who come out of the
great tribulation’.
7.2.
This verse has been interpreted wrongly by some who view eschatology from
a position other than the pre-millennial pre-tribulation point of view.
7.2.1. They believe these ones have tried to say that these ones have gone all of the way through the
Tribulation, and that therefore this particular vision in this chapter
is actually a flash forward into the future after the Tribulation period. However,
it seems clear from the language of the text that the elder is telling
John that these particular people have
come into God’s presence via death sometime during the period of the
seven year Tribulation.
7.3.
Interestingly, the elder explains to John that the white ‘robes’ that these ones are
wearing were ‘washed’ and made ‘white in the blood of the Lamb’. Of course, the elder is referring to the cleansing of purity which has occurred in
their life, for blood cannot be used for washing, and, blood being the
color of red could never of itself cause any garment to become white which was
soaked in blood. This symbolism explains why their ‘robes’ are the
color ‘white’.
7.4.
Further, this word used here for ‘robes’ is
better translated as ‘stoles’, which tells us of the tremendous
value to us of the cleansing of sins and of salvation itself.
8.
VS 7:15 - “15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of
God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the
throne shall spread His tabernacle over them.” - The elder
tells John that this is the reason that these saints are before the throne of
God and serve Him day and night
8.1.
Because this huge multitude have come out of the Tribulation through
martyrdom for Christ, having received salvation through Christ, and because
they have been purified of all of their sins
through Christ’s blood (symbolized in the white robes), therefore the elder tells John that these ones are ‘before the throne of God’, and that ‘they serve
Him day and night in His temple’, plus God has given a promise to
them that He will ‘spread His tabernacle over them’. In other words, being forgiven leads to
worshipping the Lord.
8.2.
There are some
things that lend to confusion we will need to look at here in this verse.
8.2.1. First of all, in
Rev. 20:10, the phrase ‘day and night’ refers to eternity, “10 And
the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day
and night forever and ever.”
So, this reference to ‘day and night’ in this verse perhaps
relates to this multitude serving Him “forever and ever”.
8.2.2. Secondly, this
multitude is said to ‘serve Him day and night in His temple’. What temple is the elder referring to?
8.2.2.1.Is this the millennial
temple that the scriptures refer to in Ezekiel 43:1-7? In Rev. 20:1-6, John writes that after
Satan is bound for 1,000 years that all the saints will reign upon the earth
during the millennium, “20:1 And I
saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great
chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is
the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into
the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive
the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these
things he must be released for a short time.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to
them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the
testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their
forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for
a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the
thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and
holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second
death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will
reign with Him for a thousand years.”
8.2.2.2.Or, could this phrase relate
to the years beyond the millennium when God has created a new heavens and a new
earth? Interestingly, in Rev. 21:3,4,6, the comforts found for those who participate in that
inheritance of the new heavens and earth are identical to those promised to
this multitude, “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and
they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, 4 and He shall
wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death;
there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things
have passed away.” ...6 And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the
spring of the water of life without cost.”
8.2.2.2.1.If this is the correct interpretation
for this phrase, then the word ‘temple’ is used in a metaphorical sense,
since in the new heavens and earth there shall be no temple, for the Lord
Himself shall be the temple, as Rev. 21:22 says, “22 And I saw no temple in
it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.” If you take
this view, then you would also have to make the phrase ‘day and night’
metaphorical since in the new heavens and earth there will be no more night
because the Lord Himself will continually be its light, as Rev. 21:23-25 says, “23 And the city has no need of the sun or
of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its
lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of
the earth shall bring their glory into it. 25 And in the daytime (for there
shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed.”
8.2.2.2.2.The phrase here saying that
the Lord ‘shall spread His tabernacle over them’ is an interesting one and may confirm this interpretation.
In the period after the
millennial reign of Christ which is known as the period of the new
heavens and new earth, God says that He
Himself will be the temple, and that He will tabernacle among men (Rev.
21:22 and 21:3). So, I think it is probably safe to say that the
Lord is indicating here that He shall include them as His people, and
that being so they shall share in Him who is the tabernacle and the temple.
8.2.2.3.Or, this could be the
9.
VS 7:16 - “16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;” - The elder tells John that this multitude will
hunger and thirst no more, nor suffer from the sun and its heat beating down
upon them
9.1.
These are promises for all of God’s people for all of eternity, and they are recited
again in reference to the period for God’s people of the new heavens and new
earth (see Rev. 21:3,4,6).
9.2.
When Christians go to be with the Lord, they will never again have to
worry about being hungry, thirsty, nor being hot, nor feeling any of the discomforts which our bodies experience at
times in this present life.
9.3.
Since these people have just come out of the tremendous trials and testings
characteristic of the Tribulation, then these promises will mean all the more
to them.
10.
VS 7:17 - “17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be
their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God
shall wipe every tear from their eyes.”” - The elder
tells John that the Lamb will wipe every tear away from the eyes of those in
this multitude of martyrs in heaven
10.1. Jesus is promised to be the
‘shepherd’ even for these ones who
have come out of the Tribulation through death.
10.2. John’s phrasing in this
verse is intended to remind us of his vision in chapter 5 of the book of
Revelation, where he sees the lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes who was as if it had been slain. Then, it is the Lamb alone who is worthy to
look into the scroll and to loosen its seals.
10.3. John tells us also that
Jesus shall guide this group ‘to springs of the water of life’.
10.3.1.This is a promise to
believers today in this life, as John in
his gospel, John 7:38, reminds us, “38
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being
shall flow rivers of living water.’””
10.3.2.The “eternal life” (zoa in the Greek) that believers are given to enjoy in this life, is just a foretaste of
the same quality of life that they shall experience for eternity in the
afterlife.
10.3.3.Likewise, in
the future period of the new
heavens and earth, Christ will also flood the earth with a river of living
water that shall flow from His throne, “22:1 And he showed me a river of the
water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
2 in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of
life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
10.4. God also promises these
Tribulation believers that though they have suffered mightily in
this life, and especially for His
Name’s sake, that one day He
Himself is going to wipe away all of their tears from their eyes.