Show Notes
Pastor Christopher Chelpka
Revelation 6:12-8:1
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Let's pray.
[00:00:02] Our Heavenly Father, we ask that you would bless the reading and preaching of your word. As we hear of the Lamb who was slain, our King Jesus, the Lion of Judah, and the bridegroom of the Church, Lord, it is from him and because of him, that we have hope in the resurrection that is to come in the land of Emmanuel, God with us.
[00:00:28] Lord, we ask that as we put our hope in heaven, as we hear of it in your word, that you would also help us to understand in light of it, the times in which we live, these sands of time that are seeking even as the dawn of heaven breaks.
[00:00:49] Lord, we ask that you would make us awake and aware, conscious of the things that you are doing, as you have said so in your word.
[00:01:02] Not merely that we might have our curiosity satisfied, but so that we might live out every day before you, so that we might pray.
[00:01:13] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:01:18] Lord, teach us how to live our lives. In light of you, your promises and your work with King Jesus ruling over us, may your spirit be at work in our hearts. And we pray this in his name. Amen.
[00:01:35] You may be seated. And let's turn to Revelation, chapter 6, Revelation 6. I'm going to begin reading at verse 12 and then read through the first verse of chapter.
[00:02:14] So Revelation 6:12.
[00:02:17] And to remind you where we are in the book the Apostle John has received, is receiving this revelation about Jesus Christ. And from Jesus Christ, Jesus, who is not speaking as he spoke on earth, because, I mean, it's him, it's still him, but it's different. He is different in that he is now speaking as one who has gone to the cross, has resurrected from the dead, has ascended into heaven, and is now ruling over heaven and earth. And in a particular way, and it's in these particular ways that he's describing to us.
[00:03:05] We will see throughout the book now, this description in various ways cycled like a replay, like a sports replay, from different angles and in different ways.
[00:03:17] Last time we were in this passage, we thought about the opening of the first five seals in which we see the restrained judgments of God coming on the world against sin.
[00:03:32] Not that final day of judgment, but the restrained judgments which are meant to both punish sinners, protect his people, sanctify his people, but also anticipate and warn of the coming end, so that people would turn to the Lord and be saved.
[00:03:54] When we come to this 6th century seal, now we see that the end is very near.
[00:04:02] Restraint is being removed.
[00:04:05] Instead of only a little bit of punishment. Here a little bit of judgment. Here a little bit of struggle. And the powers of this world having the restrained power and limits that they do.
[00:04:20] This sixth seal is opened and we see the coming judgment of God, the coming, the second coming of Jesus.
[00:04:29] And then this question is asked in verse 17.
[00:04:34] Who can stand?
[00:04:36] When we think about the coming judgment of Christ, it is asked, who can stand? And the rest of the chapter or the rest of our passage today then answers that question.
[00:04:48] So keep that in your mind.
[00:04:50] Who can stand?
[00:04:52] All right.
[00:04:54] Revelation 6:12.
[00:04:58] When he, that is the Lamb of God, when he opened the sixth seal, I looked and behold, there was a great earthquake.
[00:05:08] And the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood. And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the 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.
[00:05:35] 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, and calling to the mountains, and the 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.
[00:06:00] For the great day of their wrath has come.
[00:06:04] And who can stand after this? I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, the that no wind might blow on earth or sea, or against any tree.
[00:06:19] 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.
[00:06:42] 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 O' Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe D.E. manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe B.E. simeon, 12,000 from the tribe M.E. levi, 12,000 from the tribe G.E. issachar, 12,000 from the tribe N.E. zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe I.E. joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
[00:07:22] 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 Lamb.
[00:07:51] 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.
[00:08:04] Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power, and might be to our God forever and ever.
[00:08:14] Amen.
[00:08:16] Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, who are these clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?
[00:08:23] I said to him, sir, you know.
[00:08:26] And he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
[00:08:32] They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
[00:08:40] 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.
[00:08:49] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, the sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat.
[00:08:58] For the Lamb in the midst of their throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to the springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
[00:09:14] When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
[00:09:24] Amen.
[00:09:34] So, as I mentioned, there's this question of who can stand.
[00:09:42] We've all felt that nervousness that comes from time to time in life about something impending.
[00:09:50] Nothing really compares to this.
[00:09:53] But you felt the beginnings of those feelings when maybe there was a phone call from a bank or a hospital, a friend, where you know that when that phone rings, things are going to happen.
[00:10:13] That when that phone rings, life is going to change as. As you know it.
[00:10:22] This one, though, is not a phone ringing.
[00:10:26] Later we will hear about a trumpet being sounded.
[00:10:32] But the main image here, that's given here and in many other places in scripture is an earthquake.
[00:10:41] Hopefully you've never experienced this except through movies. But in certain movies, right, the army is coming, right? Boom, boom, boom.
[00:10:53] Right in the. You know, the classic camera pans over and there's the cup of water, right?
[00:10:58] And then you see it rippling, boom. And everyone looks up and goes, oh.
[00:11:05] And then the camera pans up and you see the giant army coming over the hill as the earth, right, is shaking, right?
[00:11:13] This is no human army.
[00:11:16] This is not many men and horses and cannons and all of these things coming up over the hill across the land.
[00:11:27] This is the coming judgment of the Lamb.
[00:11:33] The Lamb who was slain.
[00:11:35] The Lamb who the. The.
[00:11:38] The. Sorry, I got. Getting distracted by a hawk out there, a lamb. Who the people of the world, the leaders and governments of this world thought that they could plot against and kill.
[00:11:54] And they did.
[00:11:56] They killed him. They crucified him. They put him on a cross. They shed his blood. They put a crown on his thorns, crown of thorns on his head. King of the Jews on the cross, they got him. Until, of course, the seal on the tomb was broken by God. And the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
[00:12:16] This one that they thought they could kill and did kill, in fact rose from the dead. And now he is the great warrior king over his people, the great resurrected king who is coming in judgment.
[00:12:36] This is so important to remember Jesus ministry. Jesus work did not end on earth.
[00:12:46] It did not even end in a way on the cross.
[00:12:50] Much was finished there. Salvation was accomplished there. But more was to come. The resurrection was to come. The ascension was to come. His work that's going on right now in this exact moment was to come. And his coming, of course, is to come.
[00:13:07] And his coming is like that of a great warrior king, who also is, of course, God.
[00:13:15] And this warrior king is coming not to simply conquer a land, to just add a little extra, not be out of bloodlust, but out of perfect justice and righteousness, to set every single wrong that has ever been done and to make it right to protect the martyrs, his people who have died for him, who have fought, followed him, who have done things for him, perhaps when no one else knew.
[00:13:50] And to avenge their name, to avenge his name, his people, his kingdom, the enemies of the Lord will be destroyed.
[00:14:03] Boom, boom, boom. The earth shaking.
[00:14:09] This seal is opened, and John looks, and behold that language of a new vision, a new thing that he's paying attention to. And a great earthquake.
[00:14:23] This is described in other places in scripture, throughout the prophets, many places, we see earthquakes happening here on earth as the coming judgment or the active judgment of God. But the prophets also speak about this coming thing on the last day.
[00:14:41] And that's what we have here. That's how we know that this is not something that happened many, many years ago.
[00:14:47] This is referring to that great day, as it says, the day of the wrath that comes when Jesus returns.
[00:14:57] Michael 1, 3 parallels. This is one example. For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
[00:15:20] Interestingly, something similar happened at Mount Sinai. Not nearly at this level. But in Exodus 19:18, we read that Mount Sinai was wrapped when the Lord came there to deliver the law, the Ten Commandments, Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.
[00:15:40] The smoke went up from the smoke like a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
[00:15:47] You remember that The Israelites were afraid.
[00:15:50] I think I would be, too.
[00:15:52] If you see, you know, imagine the Catalinas enveloped in smoke because of a great fire, as the God of the universe has descended upon them, and they're shaking. And he commands, don't come near the mountain. Don't touch it, or you will surely die.
[00:16:13] That picture of judgment in light of the law, in light of disobedience, that was this little tiny spot on the whole earth. And now this is an earth, Earth wide, shaking, the mountains, trembling, melting, like wax. You know how wax, right? You melt. It just pours off. Imagine a mountain as big as our Catalinas is just pouring down into the valleys, down through the foothills, down into the rivers, just pouring, pouring, and valleys opening like cracks. Giant, giant seizures in the earth.
[00:16:50] And on top of all of this, as the warrior King comes and as the earth shakes, Dennis Johnson, in his commentary on Revelation, he I've never heard this phrase before. Maybe he coined it, I don't know. But he talks about a skyquake, which I thought was very provocative.
[00:17:08] Not only do we have this great earthquake, but we have this skyquake. The sun becomes black as sackcloth, the moon like blood, the stars falling from the sky like a fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
[00:17:26] All that fruit just sort of sitting there, kind of dead.
[00:17:30] Wind comes, falls to the ground.
[00:17:33] Imagine that happening with the stars. So right as everything under you is giving way, everything is falling apart around you. You look up and the sky is falling apart.
[00:17:46] The sky is being rolled up like a scroll. This is the end.
[00:17:54] And that's why, at this moment, not after this moment, but in this moment, the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone slave and free, are calling for death because they don't want to face what they know is coming.
[00:18:14] No longer is it. This whispers and secret of Psalm 2.
[00:18:19] We'll break apart their bonds.
[00:18:21] Let's come up with a plan. We can separate the Lord from His anointed. We'll get this.
[00:18:26] We'll manipulate the economies, will pressure his people, will kill the Christians.
[00:18:31] We will do this.
[00:18:34] None of that talk anymore.
[00:18:37] Now they are saying, fall on us and Hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne. Let us they are confessing him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
[00:18:48] For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
[00:18:57] This end of the world is described here, and it is described again in later passages of Revelation, Revelation 21. One will read about how John says, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
[00:19:18] In Revelation 11:13, we hear, and at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and they were terrified.
[00:19:29] We hear of more earthquakes in Revelation 16.
[00:19:34] Of course, here in chapter six, the great day of their wrath has come.
[00:19:41] Who can stand?
[00:19:44] Are you prepared to stand on that day before the Lord of the universe, before the Lamb who was slain and resurrected again and is coming to judge men?
[00:19:56] Are you ready to stand and say, like many people do, I tried pretty hard.
[00:20:03] I was a pretty good person.
[00:20:07] I had some rough spots, but if you look at that guy, he's really bad.
[00:20:18] Do you think the perfectly righteous God who is coming at the end of the world to set all things right and establish a kingdom of peace, perfect righteousness, and glory forever, is going to let you into his kingdom and not bring you under your judgment? Because you were a pretty good person and you tried your best.
[00:20:41] That's not the kind of kingdom that is coming.
[00:20:45] It's not a club of friends and nice people who do good things and generally get along and don't have problems.
[00:20:53] It's a kingdom of perfect glory, a kingdom of light shining, and a kingdom of righteousness where there is not a little bit of suffering that we can all manage, but no more suffering, where every single tear is wiped from our eyes and all things are set right.
[00:21:15] That is not a kingdom that I belong to based on my righteousness.
[00:21:23] If I took the best thing that I've ever done, I don't even know what that would be.
[00:21:29] But let's come up with something like. You come up with something like, okay, yeah, that one. That one was pretty good, maybe even awesome.
[00:21:39] That one thing, and then you take away all the rest, and now you're standing on just this one thing that you did that was really good.
[00:21:46] Are you prepared to stand on that thing if that's all you were judged on, the one best thing you ever did? Are you prepared to stand on that in front of this God?
[00:21:59] I'm not.
[00:22:00] And no one is no one is. No one is.
[00:22:07] No one can stand under this judgment.
[00:22:11] No one can stand under this judgment who stands on their own righteousness.
[00:22:15] And of course, no one who is standing their own self sufficiency and their own anger against God and their bitterness against other people and all the sins and garbage we carry around in our hearts.
[00:22:30] So who can be saved?
[00:22:32] Well, no one except those who are mentioned here in this next passage, those who have been cleansed, forgiven and perfected by the blood of the Lamb.
[00:22:48] No one except those who have been sealed by the warrior king himself with his name who said, that one's mine and that one's mine and that one's mine, who have put his name. It doesn't say here what the seal is. But later in Revelation 14, we hear, Then I looked and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and the Father's name written on his foreheads. As I say, these images, right, they cycle and they come back. So later we hear what it is. What's this seal, what it says?
[00:23:27] People have a coat of arms, right? Maybe a ring or a family crest, sometimes seals in various ways that say, I'm a this or I'm a that. I belong to this clan.
[00:23:42] For those who belong in Christ, you belong to Jesus.
[00:23:46] You are under the seal and the protection of this warrior king, of this great Lamb who comes in his wrath to judge the world. And that's what's pictured here, both. First, the protective care of of Christ over his people and then their triumph.
[00:24:09] So let's look at this briefly.
[00:24:13] This question is asked, who can stand? And then chapter seven answers that, and it does it not in a chronological sequence. So he says, after this I saw. So it's chronologically, he's receiving this vision after the last one. But that doesn't mean that the visions are chronological, right? You've read stories like this. So for example, CS Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. Some people will read them in the order of release, right? This one was released and this one was released, or the order in which they were written. And other people will read them in the order in which the story and the events happen, right? So two different kinds of timelines, depending on which you look at it. This vision, John is receiving after the last one, but it is not happening. The things in it are not happening.
[00:25:01] And we know that because before the angels act, before they, as we read in verse 2, they are given power to harm the earth and the sea, which we see happening. In Revelation 6, the Lord says, do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads so we don't go through it all and then hope we get the seal at the end.
[00:25:29] We are those who have already been sealed as this is going through, which means as we face suffering, as we face sometimes death for the confession of Christ, as we give up wealth and riches and kingdom and power and glory and families and friends and all kinds of things for the sake of Jesus, it's okay, because we've already been sealed.
[00:25:54] A seal we didn't earn because. Because of our great works, but a seal that was given to us before all of it happened.
[00:26:01] A seal that was given to us by God. A seal on our foreheads marked by Him.
[00:26:09] The completeness of the people of God that every single person is represented, is represented by these numbers symbolically.
[00:26:20] 12 times 12, 144, 12,000 times 12,000. 144,000.
[00:26:27] The fullness of God's people.
[00:26:29] This is a symbolic way of representing the people of Abraham, which we, we are told, belong to.
[00:26:39] Gentiles. Belong to this family.
[00:26:42] How do we belong to this family? Well, through faith, as the Scriptures tell us, through faith.
[00:26:48] Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I'm one of them, and so are you. And you know what we should do?
[00:26:58] We should praise the Lord.
[00:27:00] We should. We belong to this family.
[00:27:03] This family. And there we see God fulfilling the covenant promises, fulfilling the covenant of grace made a long time ago in establishing the people of Abraham, as many as the stars in the heaven and the sands of the sea. A complete number, 144,000. 12 tribes, 12,000 in every tribe.
[00:27:26] We know this is symbolic not only from the way that these numbers are used here to represent fullness and completeness of the people of God, but also from the tribes that are listed here.
[00:27:38] I can't go into all the details for the sake of time, but this list is not like the lists in the Old Testament. It might seem like it at first. You're like, oh, tribes of Israel, right?
[00:27:49] But we don't see the list in this order in any other place.
[00:27:54] And in fact, there's odd things about this list. Judah, for example, is promoted to the top of the list. Even though he's firstborn or fourth. I think a fourth born.
[00:28:06] Why is Judah at the top of the list? He's not usually at the top of the list. Well, because of the Lamb, the Lion of Judah, the one who has promised to come and to leave lead of the people.
[00:28:17] There's other ways in which less prominent tribes or people that were a part of the concubines of Abraham, and if you remember, all of that are brought up to the front of this list, likely to represent the inclusion of outsiders, inclusion of Gentiles. We see other odd things in this list, like Manasseh being named along with Joseph.
[00:28:45] Manasseh and Ephraim were two tribes that were usually stood. They were the two sons of Joseph. So you either get those two tribes or you get Joseph, not Joseph and one of those tribes.
[00:28:59] I won't get into all of this, but I'm just highlighting there's things that are about this list that are written in this way that are different because there's theological implications going on meant to lead us to this point, that here we have a picture of the fullness of the people of God identified with Abraham and the promises God made to him.
[00:29:19] So protection, sealing the family of God. That's who we are before and during the great day of judgment.
[00:29:29] Who can stand?
[00:29:31] Well, if your forehead is written, spiritually speaking, if you are identified, if God has sealed you and put his name on you, you have nothing to worry about.
[00:29:48] Another picture of God's people is then given again in verse nine.
[00:29:53] Again you hear this language. After this I looked and behold, he sees something else. It's the same people, but from another angle.
[00:30:01] Instead of seeing in connection with Israel and the promises, there, now we see the great number, a multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the Lamb.
[00:30:16] And instead of the image being sealing and protection, the image here is triumph.
[00:30:24] The image here in this second picture is triumph. As they sing, clothed in white robes.
[00:30:34] Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lambs and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing. This is verse 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 saying Amen.
[00:30:52] An amazing thing.
[00:30:54] Two things I just want to mention as an aside in verse 12, first of all, notice they're giving their Amen to the truth of the that is confessed by the people, by the humans, by the other part of creation. As we, the people of God together confess the salvation of our God, the angels respond and say, we agree with that.
[00:31:14] Amen.
[00:31:15] An amazing picture. It's an amazing picture for so many reasons. But one of the things I love about it is here we have all of These parts of God's creation, the invisible part that is invisible to us now, and the visible part joined together, the creatures of the Lord praising him.
[00:31:33] And we see that here as they continue blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power, and might be to our God forever and ever.
[00:31:43] Another reminder that the angels, although powerful and mighty, are not themselves gods, but they worship God as we do.
[00:31:53] More praise comes and we are reminded the core truth of all of this. Who can stand?
[00:32:02] Is answered here in verse 14.
[00:32:05] These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation, right? The people who survived, the people who endured this thing that's impossible to do and do. Or why? Because they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
[00:32:22] Really an odd image.
[00:32:24] When's the last time you used blood to clean your clothes, right? It's usually the opposite, right? When we get blood on our clothes, we go, oh, no, how do I get this out, Right? This is a difficult thing to get out. But this striking image reminds us of the power of God, the blood of the Lamb, the price that he paid to make us his, to make us clean, to give us his righteousness through his sacrifice and his life.
[00:32:58] And this victory that is described here is great.
[00:33:05] Nahum echoes in similar judgment passages. He says, the mountains quake before him, the hills melt, the earth heaves before him the world and all who dwell in it. Nahum 1:6. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by Him.
[00:33:28] Well, here we are.
[00:33:30] And Jesus says to them, to us who belong to him, by his grace they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat for the Lamb. This is the reason why. 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.
[00:33:58] Again we see that these are pictures of the great coming, the great things that are to come, the promise of what happens after judgment, the great revealing of the Kingdom of God, and the rest into which the saints enter.
[00:34:16] This is yet another proof that these are, as we see the similar passages in Revelation, we are not, over and over again, like the world is not being undone multiple times, many second comings and many, many revealings of the new Jerusalem, but they are pictures of the same thing.
[00:34:42] And as we get that picture, not only do we have these white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb, but another striking image.
[00:34:51] I'm highlighting these in the hope that you remember them, that you think about them, that you meditate on them. And here's another one for you. Ready?
[00:34:59] The Lamb will be their shepherd.
[00:35:03] That's not usually how it works.
[00:35:07] Usually the shepherd leads the lambs.
[00:35:12] So what do you make of that?
[00:35:14] Why is the Lamb the shepherd?
[00:35:18] Well, I think one reason it is is because we are reminded here that Emmanuel, God with us, became like us.
[00:35:30] He became a sheep.
[00:35:33] He became a lamb.
[00:35:35] He became one of us. To do what? To stand in our place.
[00:35:41] So that he could lead us not just as God, but as man, as the one who had completed perfect righteousness, as the one who could lead us as our great King, as the second Adam, as the one who did what we failed to do. And now us under him, and under his covenant, being led by him, our victorious king, the Lamb of God leading the sheep.
[00:36:10] And he leads us to springs of living water.
[00:36:14] Images in psalms, of course, Psalm 23, and many other places.
[00:36:21] These are the images, brothers and sisters, that the Lord gives to us. Not just so that we go, oh, that's interesting, but so that we could have hope.
[00:36:30] Life is hard.
[00:36:32] This world is hard.
[00:36:35] And there are tough, tough things that happen and make us cry and make us sigh and not know what to do and wonder if anything will ever be right.
[00:36:47] They will.
[00:36:50] They will.
[00:36:52] This picture is recorded for us. To teach us that we are under as we put our faith in Christ, as He has sealed us for this great day of redemption, to use language from elsewhere in Scripture, that we are under his protection and we will be victorious, full stop.
[00:37:13] Because judgment for us has already passed as the Lord poured out his wrath on Jesus on the cross for our place in our place.
[00:37:25] This, of course, teaches us as well that if you think you can stand on your own against the great warrior King, you're crazy.
[00:37:36] And you've been warned.
[00:37:39] I've warned you.
[00:37:41] More importantly, the Scriptures have warned you, which I've delivered to you, you will not stand. And that what we hear today, that's not the judgment really, that's the beginning. He hasn't even come yet. When we read the what's pictured in Revelation 6, that's just the earthquake and the world undoing itself or being undone, rather, as he comes in judgment.
[00:38:13] The warning is meant to scare you out of your complacency and self righteousness, out of your refusal to repent and turn from your sins.
[00:38:31] You do not want to stay in that place. And the reason for the restraint, the Reason the Lord is holding things back. The reason this hasn't happened yet is because he is gracious and he is giving you and many others time to repent.
[00:38:49] Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to repent. You do not want to wait and delay and think that somehow you will avoid this. No one will avoid it.
[00:39:06] And this is also good news for those who belong to Jesus. As we have said, the counterfeit kingdoms, the mark of the beast, which is kind of. We'll get to that later, but a sort of pretend version of what Jesus seal is here, all these things, it all passes away, which for for you who are in Christ, means we can have confidence. And that's what this passage is for. As well as you know the Lord Jesus through faith, let your heart rest not in the fear of the coming judgment, but in the Pictures of Revelation 7, in the Joy, in the victory, in the triumph. And let your hearts and your mouths praise God every day.
[00:39:57] Wake up in the morning and say, salvation belongs to the Lord our God, who's worthy to receive honor and wealth and might and glory.
[00:40:08] And know that what the Scriptures promise you are true.
[00:40:13] Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[00:40:20] Let's pray.
[00:40:24] Our Heavenly Father. There are many times in which we feel afraid.
[00:40:29] We're not sure what is happening and what to do.
[00:40:33] There are trials and difficulties, and there are special trials and difficulties when we decide that we're going to do the right thing, that we're going to be humble, that we're going to be gracious, that we're going to love our enemies, bless those who persecute us, that we're going to follow you no matter what the cost of.
[00:41:05] Because Satan would terrify us, would seek to terrify us with all kinds of things.
[00:41:11] Lord, help us not to believe it. Help us to instead believe your word.
[00:41:17] Help us to consider ourselves and to meditate on this great picture of this multitude that no one can number.
[00:41:25] Let us picture ourselves as belonging to this place where every tribe and tongue and language and people are standing before the throne of the Lamb, before the throne of God, clothed in white, waving palm branches.
[00:41:43] In the joy and the victory, in the protection and the triumph of what you have done.
[00:41:50] Lord, we ask that you would comfort our hearts and strengthen us for hard times, and then you would help us to live out our lives in light of it.
[00:42:05] And for those, Lord, who do not yet know, we ask that you would do the miraculous work that only you can do in their hearts, strengthen their hearts in your faith, plant those seeds of truth that they might come to you, repent of their sins, and turn to you for forgiveness and hope in the coming kingdom.
[00:42:30] Lord, we also ask that we would remember the love out of which all of this has come.
[00:42:42] That you, our great warrior King, does everything you do, not only in judgment and in perfect righteousness, but but you do all things in perfect love.
[00:42:55] Love for truth, love for your name, and love for us when we doubt that love and we get frustrated with ourselves, and when we get frustrated with the things that we do and the struggles that we have. Help us to remember over and over again how much you love us.
[00:43:17] Thank you Lord, for your great love, for your great salvation, and for your word to us. Today we pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.
