If you're visiting this morning, we are working through the book of Revelation, and this morning we come to Revelation chapter 6, verse 12, and we'll read through chapter 7. I think it's helpful to not get too tied up in all the details of Revelation, but keep the big picture in front of you, and if we're able to do that, I believe you'll see this is not as difficult as many as make it out to be, but the picture and the message here is very clear for a church in the world, His church in the world. Revelation 6, beginning at verse 12. When He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth. The full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone slave and free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 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? After this, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on the earth or sea or against any tree. 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 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben 12,000 from the tribe of Gad 12,000 from the tribe of Asher 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. After this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the land. 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 saying, amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders addressed me saying, who are these? clothed in white robes and from where have they come i said to him sir you know and he said to me these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation they've washed the robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb therefore they are before the throne of god and serve him day and night in his temple and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence they shall hunger no more neither thirst anymore the sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water and god will wipe every tear from their eyes there is the reading of god's word this morning well the heart of this text this morning comes with a question that is asked uh really in chapter 6 toward the end of chapter 6 where it says there in verse 17 that the great day of the wrath of the lamb has come and who is able to stand i've emphasized that numerous times in sermons now that this is a central question of scripture this is a central question of the bible who is able to stand on that day we're all hustling and bustling about and one day this is all going to stop and everyone's going to give an account things are going to sober up real quick things are going to get real serious who is going to stand and that question the bible presenting to us over and over it was something here particularly in the book of revelation that the churches needed to consider and the churches need to think about as a question to help them in their struggle as a languishing and discouraged church in the earth this is the purpose of this the lord's going to answer that question for them they were to understand how how jesus's powerful victory had achieved any uh that they were struggling to understand how jesus's powerful victory had achieved much of anything in this world it sure doesn't seem like it sure doesn't seem like much is being proven on the earth sure doesn't seem like his power is being put on display i don't see it do you it seems like he he wasn't in control of much of anything they were facing nothing but affliction suffering persecution in the first century hatred rome was coming down on them they uh already terrible things had happened under nero and their discouragements were real land was being taken property was being taken this doesn't feel like much protection does it who's defending our cause did jesus really win ever ever feel like that you ever have these uh these thoughts when you see things going the way that they go how are we really going to make it through this mess where is this going to twist and turn tomorrow where is this going to all go how who really is in control of all this and come on um is there really somebody holding all of this together in the midst of this mess and revelation is is giving us a very simple word to us revelation is giving us a very simple message i'm not forsaking you in the world in fact you have to think differently you have to look at things differently all of history is moving to an appointed end this end is already fixed this end is already happening a day of judgment's coming and every knee will bow every tongue will confess everyone will recognize and say jesus is lord over all the striking claim isn't it through all of this this book is is showing us how wonderful the lord is that it is as we considered from first thessalonians it is the god of peace who sanctifies us and will preserve us blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will do it. Well, that's Revelation 6 and 7. That's the message of Revelation 6 and 7. It's as good as done. That's the encouragement of this particular section. And I want to open that and consider that with you this morning, and I think you'll find this is not as difficult as we make it. We leave off where we left last time. We come back to where we left off last time christ has taken the scroll and remember uh he has been seated ascension he came from up and he walked up and he took the scroll he had fulfilled all righteousness and he is pictured as taking that scroll the one worthy the only one worthy uh to fulfill what is written on that scroll he opened the seals he is able to loose them so our scene left off where he has been given all authority this is matthew 28 all authority in heaven and earth belongs to me you're getting a heavenly vision of that now what does that mean what does that look like of matthew 28 when jesus said those things and last week we considered that from the throne these seal judgments are coming down on the earth they're pictured as a apocalyptic horsemen riding through the earth you remember the different horsemen that were represented the white horse the red horse the black horse the pale horse all of them bringing a particular kind of judgment on the earth and that message was important for the churches because they needed to understand and see no no no you're looking at things wrongly jesus indeed is in control he's handling Rome he's handling the kings and the kingdoms of the earth this is uh the whole book of Haggai he's going to shake the kingdoms of the earth so that they will come to the desire of the nations he's the king he has heavenly horses and trust me these were in Rome your Cadillacs. Horses were signals of power, were symbols of prestige, honor. You had a powerful horse that was the symbol of strength, and the Lord says, no, no, no, let me show you my horses. I'm in control of all this. And so these riders signify certain things that are happening in the earth for us conquest look at all the conquest that goes on and has happened in various forms conflict do i need to talk about conflict why does all this stuff keep happening and where does it come from a writer is writing right now famines um pestilences earthquakes in various places and then death murder hatred all this stuff is happening and and i don't need to prove it you know it you just need to know how to categorize and think about this stuff well that's what revelation is doing he is letting the world know and letting his church know you're getting the inside on this today he's letting us know this is all evidence of a coming judgment you need to think about that you need to look at things that are happening that way their birth pains wham wham wham wham wham boom there there's that you know how this goes you've been in there well that that's exactly um what revelation is helping us with the lord's control over all of this and then he is bringing judgments on the earth and um we can validate this we've seen the wars you know war could break open at any moment we've seen awful destruction and and at times we haven't known how to process it we have all sorts of people say well where was god when this happened and we can say god was on the throne you need to think about why this stuff's happening there are serious judgments coming you need to think about who's in control you think about why things are twisting and turning this way. Christ is making clear to his struggling church that the judgments that they're seeing play out on the earth and the persecutions that often result from them. Remember, when the fire destroyed Rome and Nero blamed the Christians for this and hung them on lampposts lighting them up. When these things go on and Christians are then persecuted, You need to think a little bit about what the bigger picture is here. I was thinking this last week, a few weeks ago, these Coptic Christians were on a bus and militants come in and slaughter I think it was like 30 of them for their faith. You don't think their blood cries out from the earth for justice? Well, you haven't lived that in the U.S. But we need to think about that, don't we? Stuff starts turning that way which it could easily, you're going to appreciate this message. When they're hitting your children, you're going to appreciate this message of I'm going to defend you. I'm going to fight for you. It's no longer eat, drink, and be merry, is it? And the glowing question that came from His suffering people and martyrs in heaven in the last chapter was how much longer until you avenge our blood? They were killed for the faith. they were martyred for the faith and the answer came back just wait a little bit longer until the rest of your brethren come in until you come in i'm bringing them all in and so immediately after this the lord is pictured as opening up the sixth seal notice that he's opening up the sixth seal to further answer this question of how much longer and so what we have in the sixth seal then is a description of the final day the final day of judgment look at verse 12 and i looked when he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth the full moon became like blood the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree sheds its winter fruit when it's shaken by a gale the sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up and every mountain and island was moved out of its place and then he describes the morning that begins to take place from all of the world's Mighty, powerful, wise men. Jesus, of course, discussed this often in His earthly ministry. You'll remember Matthew 24 where Jesus described the last day. Then, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then you're going to see. Here's the sign of the Son of Man coming. Everyone's going to see this. He said, then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they're going to see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. That, beloved, is judgment day. So you remember when I said in Revelation 6, now we're seeing the whole plan here. We're seeing what's happening in the interim. As the gospel goes out to the nations, as Jesus said it would, he's also handling and dealing with and defending his people and stirring things up so that people would come to the desire of the nation. He's not letting us get comfortable, too comfortable in Babylon, is he? Our home is Jerusalem, not Babylon. And we'll look at that more as we go. So the imagery of the sixth seal is that of an entire worldwide phenomenon now of the final pouring out of judgment and wrath on the earth where it is rolled up as a scroll and everything that is set in heaven the sun the moons and the stars will no longer be visible and the kings of the earth the great men all the wise men that we see trying to solve all the problems and save planet earth it's not going to happen the earth it's going to all be judged. They're going to run and hide. I often think to myself, can you imagine having fought your whole life for something, and then on that day you realize your whole pursuit was wrong. That's it. Let the mountains cover us from this. We need to get away from this judgment. it this is taken from isaiah 2 enter the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the lord and the glory of his majesty but the idols he shall utterly abolish they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth from the terror of the lord and the glory of his majesty when he rises to shake the earth mightily in that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold which they made each for himself to worship to the moles and bats to go into the clefts of the rocks into the crags of the rugged rocks from the terror of the lord and the glory of his majesty when he arises to shake the earth mightily you see where it came from revelations borrowing all the language of the old testament well that's that's the the the course of history laid out for you in that one vision there's more of this coming revelation is not chronological it's showing us pictures again of this of history like this that's one complete picture now you've seen how do you feel about it what do you think about this i think this is uh why people stay away from revelation i think this stuff terrifies people this stuff makes people scared But the irony is it makes the wrong people scared. Thomas Watson once said that the most difficult thing in the ministry is to make the righteous happy and the wicked sad. It's kind of true with the book of Revelation. It's the most difficult thing for the righteous, God's people, to be confident and the wicked to despair. And that's the challenge here. It's all backward. But I want you to think now of what's being presented to you immediately after this to see what the book of Revelation is doing for you. The scene is making a great contrast now between those who are in Jesus and who have Jesus and those who are not. This particular statement when they say, well, let the rocks fall and hide us is for those who are outside of Jesus. You'll remember somebody was hid in the cleft of the rock. We sing about that. But that rock is Jesus. There's a contrast made in the Scriptures. You have a contrast with those who worship idols and trust in the spirit of this age to solve all the world's problems. A contrast between that and those who are hidden in Christ who trust Him. So the question then of this particular text is the great day of His wrath has come and who is going to be able to stand? That's the question, isn't it? The church needed to think about that. They needed to have a perspective change about this. Why? They're fearing Caesar. They're fearing, we could put it in our terms, the future. They're fearing their retirements. They're fearing governments. How does all of this turbulence that's happening, what does this mean for my security? Remember, they didn't have social security. They didn't have insurance. And he's shaking the nations. And all the stuff's going on. What in the world are we going to do? What are my children going to do? You heard this past week, that Christian was sort of put on trial by Bernie Sanders. Why was he put on trial? Was he put on trial for saying that people who don't have Jesus as a Savior are condemned? Is that new? The whole history of Christianity was put on trial before Bernie Sanders today in his view. Christians have always said certain things. But there we see how quickly the antagonism and hatred can rise up. And all of a sudden, you're put on trial. What are you going to say? When everything turns on you, does that attitude of the world scare you? when you read about that, of what's coming, does that attitude scare you about where this is going to go? This hatred that we're seeing unfold? When we're saying to people, we don't want anyone to be judged that way. We want people to come to Jesus and be saved, but He is the only way. Does that scare you? Well, that's the Christians in Rome. And Jesus is saying to them, look, your problem's not Rome. The problem's not Rome. The problem's not bad economies. The problem is not the spirit of this age turning people this way and that way. It's not the kings of the earth you fear. You need to consider the real problem for everyone. A persecuted and dazed and confused church had to consider this, didn't they? I'm going to defend you. Their problem is much bigger. Their problem is much bigger. and i think all of this is perceptive perspective reorienting and prioritizing of things isn't it what revelation 6 is doing is reprioritizing the church to who they are and uh who they should realize is in power and in authority and in control and that should motivate all kinds of living it was interesting sitting with my father um in the hospital this past week you know and and we're talking about things. And I said, Dad, do you want to watch the ball game? Nope. My dad was a sports guy. I have no interest in sports. What an absolutely pointless thing right now. Well, do you want to know what's going on in the world? Nope. I don't even care about my stuff, Chris. No. He's almost dying. Now you realize when you get there, your priorities change, don't they? We're holding on often to all the wrong things. And we're fearing all the wrong things. And we're pursuing all the wrong things. And that's the thing that Revelation is doing is reprioritizing us to what's most important. And that's a mercy of God to reprioritize. We all need it. Well, that's what happens here. This leads John to say in the second point to his church here, who is able to stand on judgment day? the next scene answers this how are you going to stand um if that day is going to be that awful how are you going to be kept how are your children going to be kept you want to know that's this that's this chapter that's chapter 7 so i love revelation after the the six seals revelation stops and give us gives us a sort of parentheses explaining what we've studied here and john get then is given a vision and explains how christians are going to be preserved through all of it? How are we going to be preserved through all this? Well, that's this. Look at verse 1. After these things, it's chapter 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 the earth or sea or against any tree. 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 the 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 what an interesting moment in revelation this has led to all kinds of crazy interpretations and views of course i want you to look at this carefully it's the most comforting message probably in the book what does it mean after john was given the vision of the seals these horsemen riding out through the earth wreaking havoc on the earth judging the earth where we are all of a sudden the vision is given again taken back prior to that point of the release of the horses so you can imagine this boys and girls the horses snouts are going and they're ready to head out into the earth but the angels have the reins not yet and they want to go they want to go and exercise the judgments of the lamb not yet and john says i saw something what did he see well he looks and he says going back before the horses are let go all of a sudden another angel ascending from the rising of the sun from the east you'll notice this here and what does this angel do he comes up to the throne and he has in his hand the seal of the living god it's powerful imagery the instruction is given to the four angels don't let the horsemen go yet so we're back before the horsemen have started to ride until the seal is given on all the foreheads of god's servant so before the horsemen can go out before they can wreak havoc on the earth before they can bring war sickness death all these things that we see happen the lord is pictured as doing something to his people you know where this is taken it's taken right out of the book of ezekiel let me read ezekiel 9 and it'll make all the sense to you in the world i hope Now, the glory of the Lord God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And he called to the man clothed with linen, who had the rider's ink horn at his side. He is an ink horn. And the Lord said to him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who cry and sigh over all the abominations that are done in it. get that so those who are grieving over sin grieving over the state of things those who are the lord's people burdened by all of this who are in the midst of all this who are considered righteous before the lord notice what happens to the others he said in my hearing go after him through the city and kill do not let your eyes spare nor have pity utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women, but do not come upon anyone who has the mark and begin at my sanctuary. So it was that while they were killing them, I was left alone and I fell on my face and cried out and said, Oh Lord God, will you destroy all the remnant of Israel and pouring out your fury on Jerusalem? Then he said to me, the iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. Just then, the man clothed with linen who had the ink horn at his side reported back and say, it's done. It's done. I've marked them. What is this? The same thing. Revelation is picking up on. You know it from history when the angel of death was going through the camp and slaying and killing and there was blood put on doorposts. The Passover. What does the Lord want you to know? He's answering your concern. What's your concern? If God is judging the world, as Jesus said, now is the judgment of this world. Now, John 12. If judgment's falling, leading to a final climactic judgment day, what's going to happen to you? You've believed, haven't you? Well, maybe this verse helps. In Him you trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory. You know what this is saying to you? What the Lord wants you to know is He has marked all of His people with a seal it's not a literal mark on foreheads that's how you make millions of dollars if you want to write books like that he's marked you your seal for the day of redemption he put a mark on you and he told the angels don't touch my people told the horsemen and then all of a sudden once the inkman comes back. It's done. There go the horses. That's the imagery. That's the picture. And so verse 4 says, I heard about the number of those who were sealed. 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. This is where you're going to get in trouble if you say, I just read the Bible literally. Jehovah's Witnesses do that and they say that's all there is. It's got to be used up by now if that's the case. This is a multitude in the next vision that no man can number. So that doesn't work. It's multiples of 12. Every number in Revelation is symbolic. Notice all the tribes of the children of Israel is mentioned here. It's saying the fullness of Israel is brought in. The fullness. All of them. He sealed you before the horsemen ever went out. You know what that's called in the Bible? election you don't want to despise it trust me it's the best news you'll ever get god chose you for salvation chose you revelation is telling you that's as good as done he has given you complete and full spiritual protection one of my um great great great great grandfathers, Joel Gordon. He was in Andersonville prison. And I think this kind of captures a good imagery for you to hold on to. If you know anything about Andersonville prison in the Civil War, it was absolutely horrendous. He was a union private, fought for the Union Army, and if you know anything about that prison, they opened it up there in Andersonville, Georgia, and they called it 14 months of hell. They dumped 40,000 men in a small area only designed to hold 10,000. The way that they ate and fed, it was horrendous. There was a little stream that went through Andersonville. If any of you have been there, I'd love to hear about it. It was so polluted from all the soldiers up the stream doing whatever, by the time it got through and you have 40,000 men, That was their only source of drinking water. They called it hell because thousands and thousands and thousands died of disease, dysentery, diarrhea. That was how my great-great-great-grandfather died. One author wrote, Untreated wounds and disease, incessant hunger and thirst, as well as mortal despair, Andersonville became a name synonymous with a veritable hell on earth, a nightmare in unimaginable dimension, unreal and impossible to ever fully describe even by those who were there. The author goes on to say that in this camp, in certain pockets, you had services that were being held by believers, Christians, and they would have prayer meetings and there would be some preachers there and they would preach in these pockets. This is a true story of what happened. I'm not making this up. In the hot summer of 1864, clouds formed over the prison like nothing they had ever seen before. No water. They're all dying. I think 13,000 died. Streams of water filled the camp. On August 13, as the report goes, a bowl of lightning struck the ground and opened up a spring of water that is still flowing to this day. You know, you can visit it today and you can go drink out of this stream. It's still pure. On the plaque in front of this, it says, God smoked the side hill and gave them drink. It's called Providence Spring. Providence Spring in Anderson. Right on the far corner, you can see this thing and they built a little monument around it and the water keeps coming out. Happened that summer. I only repeat that to give you a picture of something. Like the children of Israel who were in Goshen when the plagues hit. and we're protected. Revelation is giving you the same message. I'm not saying you're never going to get hit with physical suffering or sickness or death. That's not what I'm saying. That's a false prophet. What I'm saying is that whatever happens in this sad world as the writers go out, God's people were delivered before it started. He helps them. Nothing can change it. Nothing. He's going to help you through all this. That's His promise. Do you believe that? Do you know the next section is all about prayer? Revelation 8 is about prayer? Well, we're closing with this image then today. You know the final picture of this vision for you is this. When the sixth seal was opened, what is the question that happened? Who's able to stand before the wrath of the Lamb? Who's able to stand? The vision ends with a whole bunch of people standing before the throne, doesn't it? Look at verse 9. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude no one could number, from every nation, from the tribes and peoples and languages, standing. They're standing before the throne. That's on purpose. Before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. What a wonderful vision, isn't it? They're worshiping. Day and night, by the way. I don't think I'm putting too much pressure on one day of the week to tell people to worship Jesus twice. I really don't. Day and night is what they're doing. What we're going to do. They have palm branches in their hands. They're crying out. They're singing a new song. They're singing the song of their deliverance of salvation. salvation belongs to our god who sits on the throne and to the lamb and as they say this all the angels and the elders around the throne drop and worship and say oh man blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and might be to our god who forever lives forever and ever amen so who's standing who is this who is this who's standing there who's he seeing one of the elders uh comes and asks john that who is this john who is this john says you know probably the most beautiful scene john that's you you're there man it's you you're there this is you this is the future this is a vision of what he sees they're covered in rich robes these are the ones who were covered by the blood of the lamb that's why they're standing and what we're going to do is work and serve the Lord in heaven and glory delighting ourselves in him forever amazed at him in awe of him worshiping him with no more sin and sorrow no more hardship it never you see how this is all anticipating revelation 21 which you all love which we read at funerals never again will they feel alone look about the little widow here today who feels alone and the widower never again will they cry never will they face famine never again will they face pain the sun's not going to scorch him you see the writers are out the writers are done why the lamb is there he's there covering he loves them he will shepherd them forever into living fountains of waters you're always going to be provided for you're always going to be have every bit of your sustenance and fellowship and communion face to face with christ and every bit of the sorrow and the memories of them that we have here on earth god's going to take his gracious hand and he's going to wipe away all your tears they're done you're not going to know them god by his grace is protecting pursuing sealing in these visions that we've considered redeeming and preserving his sheep to the end what an encouragement then to go forward isn't it What an encouragement for a church that often feels like giving up. What an encouragement for a church that can't understand where's the glory now. This is part of it. It's part of the trials and sufferings of this present evil age. But something so glorious is laid out for you and you're there. So press on. No matter what we face here, don't grow weary in doing good. Don't grow weary in worship. I know it's not easy because we have sin to us. Don't grow weary in it. This is what you're made for. This is where you're headed. What are your priorities in life? What are your priorities? Revelation is showing you what it should be. Don't lose heart. He who promised is faithful and He will do it. So I close this morning then with the words in the ending of Jude. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for Your words to us this morning. What an encouragement. We confess, Lord, that often our priorities are all wrong. Make excuses not to worship You. It's unbelievable. We hold tight to Babylon. And the reason, if we're honest, is because we have not suffered in the ways that many of these Christians had in being persecuted for their faith. It shouldn't have to be that way, though. In times of plenty, in times of good, in times when we're not faced with these things, let us crowd your gates with thanksgiving and enter your courts with thanksgiving and with praise. And let us prioritize what's most important in our life. Not holding on to Babylon, but remembering where we're headed. How You've encouraged us. How You've chosen us for salvation. May we respond, since the evidence of that is true faith in Jesus, may we respond by believing these promises and trusting in the true King of kings and Lord of lords. And not doubt Your gracious works and ways to us. So help us this day. Be merciful to us. And thank You for encouraging us in Your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you.