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Revelation 7
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
9 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, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 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.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “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.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 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 away every tear from their eyes.”
Watch the Sermon
Summary: In Revelation 7, we find an answer to the question posed at the end of chapter 6. Who can stand on the day of the wrath of the Lamb? The answer is that all those sealed by God, all those washed in the blood of the Lamb, are the ones who will stand, and they will worship God in his presence forever.
Review & Apply
God's final judgement described in chapter 6 from last week is delayed until "the servants of God" are sealed. How does the truth of deliverance from judgement make the Christian's life distinct in the world?
How are the servants of God sealed? Who are those "sealed" today? How do we know if we are sealed?
John sees a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language. What are they doing, and what does this tell us about God's plan for the world?
What does it mean that salvation belongs to God and to the Lamb?
What is the tribulation and why is it that the great multitude, whose robes are washed in the Lamb's blood, are rescued from it?
Verses 15 through 17 describe what it will be like for God to "shelter [his people] with his presence". What language in this description strikes you? How should it shape the hopes you have today?
If the Lamb will be our shepherd forever, how should we think about death?
In what ways can we better consider and meditate on the glory of heaven?
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