144,000: Increased Volume

Well, if you have your Bibles with you this morning, open them to Revelation Chapter seven. Revelation Chapter seven. As we continue our journey through this often neglected letter, prayerfully, we are becoming more and more aware of how much of a detriment it is to neglect this letter because of the encouragement that we find herein Here in chapter seven, we come to one of the most familiar and yet perplexing passages in the Revelation. If anybody knows anything about the Book of Revelation and numbers in the Book of Revelation, one of the numbers that they probably know is one hundred and forty four thousand. Amen. They may not. Understand to what that refers, They may not understand this significance of it. But everybody's heard of this number of one hundred and forty four thousand, and there are varying views and opinions on the significance of this number, ranging all the way from cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses, who hold this number in high esteem as the number of people who will end up in heaven the rest being on the New Earth, all the way to the most common and most familiar interpretation of this passenger scripture which we will address today, that being the idea that this one hundred and forty four thousand represents a remnant of Israel who is saved and sealed after the secret rapture of the Gentile Church in order that they might make it through this period known as the Great Tribulation. Somewhere in the midst of all of that is where we will land on today as we examine this passage scripture here in the Relation, chapter seven. But as we look at. This passage, we must be struck by the fact that it comes at a very awkward time, because we've just gone through Revelation chapter six, and we've seen these seals opened in rapid fire, and this judgment upon the earth, and after the sixth seal, we see the greatest of these judgments. And they are beginning of verse fifteen. And the kings of the Earth, and the great ones, and the generals, and the rich and the powerful, and everyone's slave and free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and 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 here's the question, who can stand? It's our question today who on earth can stand? And in the midst of this picture of the wrath of God, there is a breaking point between the sixth and the seventh seals. Now, as we look at this picture of the wrath of God and this question who on earth can stand? I think it's important for us to look at it in light of recent events in our own culture. Recently, all eyes have been turned to Connecticut into the slaying of these twenty eight people, twenty of whom were elementary school kindergarten aged children. And I'm always fascinated at times like this because, in general, we live in a culture that does not believe in the judgment of God or the wrath of God. In general, we believe in it. We live in a culture that rejects God because of the idea of a wrathful God. We reject God because we reject the idea of a God who judges sinners. But all of a sudden, when something like this happens, we believe in evil again, and we believe in judgment again. Not because we believe what God has said, but because we find our own sensibilities violated. This is not because we value life, but because these are children who've barely had a chance to get started. This is not because we have a sense of righteousness, but because it was a school where people ought. To have felt safe. We live in a bloody, deadly calloused culture that does not value life, and that does not believe in the wrath to come. And it is only out of convenience and our own personal sense of anger that we are calling for any justice whatsoever. And interestingly enough, we always call for justice just on the other side of the door. Well I mean by that. What I mean by that is the wrath of God. And the justice of God is deserved by all of those who are just a little more sinful than I am. Those who would do things that I would never do are the ones who deserve the wrath of God. Now, now me, I don't deserve the wrath of God. Those whom I know, those whom I love, those whom I respect, we don't deserve the wrath of God. But only those who would violate my sensibilities deserve the wrath of God. The reason we believe that is because ultimately we believe that we are God. I set the standard. I draw the line. By the way. That's the only way that most people can make it through. Because the moment we realize the reality of Revelation chapter six, we have to ask the same question, if I understand what God's standard of guilt is, if I understand what it means to be deserving of the wrath of God, if I understand that I thought and said and did things on Yesterday for which I deserve every ounce of the wrath of God in Revelation chapter six, What that ultimately leads me to is same question, who. Who can stand? Who can stand? And John answers that question, and his answer is not people who've never killed children. His answer is not people who've never committed adultery. His answer is not people who've never cheated on their taxes. His answer is not people who fill in the blank. His answer has absolutely nothing to do with a human standard of behavior. His answer has everything to do with the sovereignty of Almighty God. And so we read in our today Revelation seven, verses one through eight. After this, I saw that's important. 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 see or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun. So he saw four angels. He saw another angel important 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 see, 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, I saw, I saw, I heard. Now he hears, and I heard the number of the sealed. One hundred and forty four thousand sealed from every tribe of the Sons of Israel. Twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah were sealed, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of God, twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Natali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manassa, twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Isakar, twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, and twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. I saw I saw I heard. Remember the question who on earth can stand when you look at the wrath of God and the judgment of God and the justice of God, and recognize that we are all sinful creatures and that every last one of us deserves every ounce of the wrath of God poured out in Revelation chapter six, and again, after we get through this, we will see another picture of this wrath being poured out again, and yet another picture of this wrath being poured out again. Once we realize that the question is how do we escape this wrath? Who can escape this wrath? And the answer that John gives is those who are sealed. There are several questions raised by this passage of scripture, and we need to answer those questions in order to understand it. The first is, what does it mean to stand? Who can stand? To remain unharmed in the tribulation? Well, can't mean that, we know that. It doesn't mean that because one of the things that we read about earlier in chapter six, and one of the things that we'll read about again throughout this Book of Revelation is this number of martyrs. So it does not mean that you will be unharmed in the tribulation. Because one of the things that we see in the Tribulation, and one of the themes that is carried throughout the Book of Revelation is this idea of the completion of the number of martyrs who will be killed. So to stand does not mean that you will be unharmed. Does it mean to be saved out of the tribulation. That is a common idea, that is the most common idea in our culture. We have been inundated with the dispensational reading of the Book of Revelation, with the futurist reading of the Book of Revelation, the series of books and movies, and we've talked about these before, and this idea of the secret rapture of the Church prior to this great tribulation. We've already seen that the idea of tribulation begins there. In chapter one, John is speaking about the tribulation as something that has already come and that is already occurring, not something that is going to come, so it doesn't mean it will be saved out of the tribulation. We know that also because the ceiling of this one hundred and forty four thousand, at this particular period in time cannot mean that they're going to be saved out of the tribulation. It means to be saved through and in spite of the tribulation, to be sealed, so that you might be saved through the tribulation, that you might be saved in spite of the tribulation, a salvation that is much more meaningful than your physical body, not experiencing difficulties, but a salvation that means much much more. Revelation five one through five. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? And no one in heaven, or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. One of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. If you remember, that scroll and its seven seals had to do with two ideas. One the idea of the justice and judgment of God to be poured out against sin. This is important, especially in the light of the martyrs who continue to ask when they're going to be vindicated. God is going to vindicate his righteousness and pour out his wrath and judge sin. By the way. That's why we don't have to vindicate ourselves. Amen. But second, there's this idea. Of this scroll and the seal being broken as an inheritance. This is a picture of a document that is a will, and there is an inheritance. So justice and judgment and the inheritance and salvation of those who belong to God. That's the idea behind the scroll and the seals. So what this means is that God's judgment comes, and yet in spite of the fact that his just judgment comes, those who are his are saved, those who are his are protected, those who are His are rescued, not in the sense that we don't experience difficulty, not in the sense that we escape tribulation. There's nothing here that would indicate that we escape tribulation, especially when you recognize the fact that we are in the midst of tribulation. The tribulation is not something that coming. The tribulation is something that is here. Or did you not hear the news about people being gunned down in a school? But where do we have to get? Where do we have to go? It is here, it is now. All the things that we talked about in chapter six we've seen and continue to see on an ongoing basis. We're engaged in military operations right now that have taken over a million lives. See, you don't hear that. All you hear about is the American losses, few thousand American losses. That's bad enough. These operations in which we've been engaged in the Middle East have cost over a million lives already. That's the kind of stuff reading about here in Revelation. It's here, it's now. This kind of death and destruction, it's here, it's now. But there is a final day of judgment that is coming. What does it mean to be sealed means to be known by God. Notice this very specific idea there in Revelation chapter seven that God knows those whom he is sealing. He's not waiting upon people to seal themselves. Amen. God knows whom he seals, those who belong to God. God is identifying these individuals as his. There is also this idea of the contrast between the seal and the mark, this seal that God gives to those who are His and this mark of the beast that are taken by those who worship Him. This seal that ends up with people being able to stand in an ultimate sense in spite of the tribulation, and this mark that ends up with people being judged as a result of having taken it. To those who are protected by God. We see this in Revelation nine four. They were told not to harm the grass or the earth, or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. It is also those who are kept by God. We see this because of what follows immediately after, and also what follows later on in chapter fourteen as it relates to this number of individuals. These people who are. They are kept by God in spite of the tribulation. They are kept by God, even those who are killed, even those who are martyred. This seal means that even being martyred cannot separate you from God. Is this not what Jesus talks about in John eleven. I'm the resurrection of life. He who believes in Me, though he die, actually want live. That's what this. Seal refers to. Those who are preserved through the tribulation. That's the idea of the seal. But as we look at this idea of the seal, we have a curious list, and we have to answer questions about this curious list. Before we answer questions about this curious list, there's another issue, and the issue is why do we have chapter seven breaking up the seals. Because at the end of chapter six it looks like the judgment is final, looks like the judgment is finished. Chapter six has moved toward a crescendo, and we get to the crescendo, and all types of individuals from the greatest to the smallest, from kings and rulers all the way down to those who are poor and those who are slaves are saying let the mountains come and fall on us and cover us up, because who can stand? Ultimately, it seems as though we ought to have the end of chapter six and then go into the New heavens and the New Earth, because this is it. God has wiped everything out. But after that we go to chapter seven and we have some curiosities here. One curiosity is this, why would God now be sealing people after He's already judged everybody if we're going chronologically. If you go chronologically, you go through chapter six and you've had all of this judgment. God's basically finished pouring out his judgment. And now we get to chapter seven and then they say who can stand? And God goes here, I'm gonna seal these one hundred and forty four thousand. Well, how are you gonna seal one hundred and forty four thousand when basically judgment has been completed. But here's what you need to know that this is not chronological. When we get to chapter seven, we go all the way back to the beginning of chapter six. It's as though we've walked through these judgments of God that are being poured out, and the question comes who can stand? And then John sees a picture that hearkens back to the beginning of chapter six. It's like a flashback, if you will, in a book or in a movie. It's a flashback that goes back. You come to the end and you go, well, that's it. Nobody made it, nobody got out, and God goes, ho hold on, wait a minute, there are some who made it. No, absolutely not, there's nobody who made it. There's nobody who got out, because I mean, these four horsemen came and then all this other stuff happened, and people were dying and all this stuff that nobody made it. They're going to make the mountains fall on us and saw it and so forth. Then notice, back at the beginning, what he says, after this I saw doesn't necessarily mean that after this happened in a chronological order. It means that he saw it after this, after this, I saw 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. Huh. So, now you see these four angels at the four corners of the earth. These four angels correspond to these four horsemen that we saw at the beginning. Of chapter six. What's going on is this ceiling is taking place before all these judgments are taking place, and markening back to these four angels in these four corners is showing us that were going back in time. This goes back to Zechariah chapter six. Listen with me, is Zachariah chapter six, verses one through five. Again, I lifted my eyes and saw and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses, all of them strong. So now we have four chariots drawn by horses. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, what are these? My Lord? And the angel answered and said to me, these are going out to the four winds of heaven after presenting themselves. Before the Lord of all the earth. He's pointing back to this same terminology, the same theme in an another apocalyptic book, of these four chariots drawn by four sets of horses to the four winds of the earth. Now we have these four angels holding back, as it were, the four winds on the four corners of the Earth before a judgment is coming. The picture here is of them standing ready because they've been they've been given authority to execute judgment, which makes absolutely no sense chronologically because it's already happened in chapter six. The only way this makes sense is if the question comes at the end of chapter six and then we go back to the beginning in chapter seven in order to answer it. Who can stand? Those who were sealed are the only ones who can stand. By the way, we need to put a footnote here. You know, if you you cut me, I bleed apologetics conversations with people about these types of things all the time, and this one just screams because of these four angels at the four corners of the Earth. There's a common misconception that the Church believed and taught that the earth was flat. Many believe that it was text like this one that led to that assumption. The fact is the Church never taught the flat earth theory. Let me see that again. The Church never taught the flat earth theory. That is a myth. In nineteen forty five, the Historical Association of Britain published a pamphlet on the twenty most common errors in history. Number two was the idea that Columbus set sail to prove that the Earth was round, over against what the Church was teaching, which was that the Church was flat, and that Galileo was actually persecuted by the Church for teaching that the world was actually spherical and not flat. It is a lie, it is a myth. It's easily disproven, it never happened, and yet people still point to it. Here's the argument by evolutionists today. The church one belief once believed dogmatically that the Earth was flat. The Church was proved wrong by Galileo and then by Columbus. The Church now believes that the world was created in six days. The Church has been proved wrong by evolution, and so evolutionists will say, yeah, you're still holding onto that you guys used to hurl onto the idea that the earth was flat. It's not true, it's never been true. That doesn't stop some of the most intelligent, well educated, degreed people in the world from making this fallacious argument. It ain't true, folks. Church didn't teach a flat earth. Galileo was not persecuted for believing that the Earth was round, and Columbus did not set out to prove that the earth was round. It was already known, believed, and taught that we lived on a spherical earth. Now back to our text, here's the question that we have to answer, what about this curious list. Let me give you four basic beliefs about this list, and then I'll deal with the one that I believe to be correct. Sums you this list as literal and taken to be a Jewish remnant sealed after the secret rapture. Of the Church. That's the most common view of our day that this is a literal list and this is the Jewish remnant that sealed after the secret rapture of the Church. Now, the secret rapture of the Church is very important and very necessary because the idea is that God has two peoples. He has the Jews and he has the Church, and that originally his people, the Jews. Christ came offered the kingdom to the Jews. The Jews rejected him. God went to Plan B, which was the Church, which is only a parentheses in history, and that parentheses has to be closed so that God can go back and finish his work with the ethnic nation of Israel. So the rapture occurs. The church, the gentile Church is taken out of the world, and then God can go back and deal with his people ethnic Israel, and this list of the one hundred and forty four thousand listed specifically here from tribes in Judah is offered oftentimes as a proof text in that regard. Again, that is the most common position taken by those in our culture today. Secondly, and related to that, some people think that this list is linked to the prophecy in Romans eleven twenty four to twenty six that says all Israel will be saved, and they go back here to this list and connect it to Romans chapter eleven, which is rather difficult because those who argue that this has to be a literal list of ethnic Jews do so because of their insistence that we have to take a. Literal approach to the Book of Revelation. And if they're doing that and we've only got one hundred and forty four thousand that doesn't match with all Israel, then it still would have to be a symbolic number, a symbolic number of one hundred and forty four thousand representing all of Israel. So you would still have to accept symbolism there. Thirdly, some see this list very few, but some see this list as a remnant of ethnic Jews living during the first century. And finally, some see this list as figurative, pointing to the people of God as a whole who are sealed and who make it through. The tribulation. I'm arguing for that fourth position, I do not believe that this list of one hundred and forty four thousand is literally referring to ethnic Jews. I do not believe that there's anything in the Book of Revelation that supports the idea of a secret rapture of a church before the tribulation. That's conjecture based. Solely upon the fact that we see chapters one through three dealing with things on earth, and then we see chapters four and five dealing with things in heaven. The conjecture is that there's been this rapture that's taken place between chapter three and chapter four. Nothing in the text that says so, nothing anywhere else in the Bible that teaches so, absolutely nothing that teaches that the Church will not be present during tribulation. And in fact, Revelation chapter one, John says he's our partner in the tribulation, So he can't be talking about t relation is something that's future if he already believed that he was our partner in tribulation. I believe this this is a figurative list that refers to the people of God as a whole. First, let me give you problems with the idea that this is a literal list, and then I'll explain why I believe that this is a figurative list. Problems Number one, there are irregularities with the list. Let me just give you seven irregularities, since seven is such an important number in Revelation. One. The list in this form of the tribes of Israel is not repeated anywhere else in the Bible. You won't find this list in this order, or with this particular collection of names repeated anywhere else in the Bible. This is the only place you find it. It is utterly unique. Secondly, the list is out of birth order. The list is out of birth order in more ways than one. Now, Judah's listed first, That's not all that strange. We see that before. We know Judas's significance and his importance. But then after Judah you have Reuben, After Ruben, you have collected together the sons of the concubines, and then after that you have the sons of the legitimate why and then the other wife that was added all so it's out of birth order. It's not listed in birth order. Thirdly, Joseph is included, which points to the list being sons and not tribes. You understand that there's a difference between the sons of Jacob and the tribes of Israel. Okay, Joseph's name is listed here, which seems to point to the idea that we're talking about the sons of Jacob and not the tribes of Israel. But Manassa is included, which points to tribes and not sons, because Manasa was one of Joseph's twin boys adopted by Jacob, who become the half tribes of Ephraim and Manassa and replace Joseph and Levi when it comes to the distribution of the land. So Joseph's there, which says this ought to be sons and not tribes. Manassa's there, which says this ought to be tribes and not sons. Well, Ephraim is excluded. If you got Manassa, then you ought to have Ephram. Ephram is excluded, which points to sons and not tribes. Dan is excluded, which has no apparent precedent whatsoever. Why is Dan not here? Why Manassa and not Dan? Does John not know? Now, surely he knows, He knows both the list of sons and the list of tribes. Levi is included, but they didn't inherit Land, which points to sons. Do you see my point? The idea that this is a literal list and that we're to take this literally as one hundred and forty four thousand Jews who are sealed after the rapture of the Gentile Church is problematic because of the irregularities in the list. Second, a familiar promise. There's a familiar promise here in chapter three, verse twelve, we hear this, the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, never shall he go out of it. And I will write on him. The name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. Here's a picture of this ceiling, if you will. That we find in chapter three, which refers to church, to a church that is not simply an ethnic Jewish church. Thirdly, this would be the only place in the Book of Revelation where you have the idea of the servants of God meaning a particular ethnic group and not all servants of God regardless of ethnicity. The term shows up thirteen times, and it always refers to the people of God by faith, not by ethnicity. This would be the only time, so it would be the only time that the names are listed like this anywhere in the Bible, and it would be the only time in the Book of Revelation that that identification of servants of God refers to ethnicity only. Also, there is the parallel between chapters seven, five and fourteen. Chapter seven comes in between these two chapters, and chapter five we have a picture. In chapter fourteen we have a picture both that have elements that you find in chapter seven. Listen here in chapter fourteen. This is very important because in chapter fourteen you find that one hundred and forty four thousand. Again, listen to this very carefully, and they were singing a new song. Before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and before the elders. No one could learn the song, except the one hundred and forty four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. And now we got this idea. The one hundred and forty four thousand are all virgin men. That's a problem. Amen, all of his world will be saved. One hundred and forty four thousand virgin men. How do you get there from here? This is the remnant whom God is saving out of Israel after the secret rapture of the Gentile Church. All male virgins doesn't fit. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. That phrase occurs again and again and again. Has to do with the people of God. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb. They've been redeemed from mankind, from all of mankind, not just from ethnic Israel. The one hundred and forty four thousand in chapter fourteen, not limited to ethnic Israel. Chapter five some of the same language beginning verse nine, and they sang a new song, saying. By see that it's parallel. It's parallel to. What we find in the second half of chapter seven, what we find in fourteen, and they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals? For you were slain, and by your blood you ransom people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom of priests to our God, and they shall raise on the earth. Where's this one hundred and forty four thousand on the earth? So the parallel between chapters five, seven and fourteen mitigate against the idea that this is a literal list of one hundred and forty four thousand ethnic Jews. Also, it's a symbolic list. We know this because of the way that numbers are used in the Book of Revelation. There's a better answer, I believe. I understand that the other answer is compelling, seems more straightforward. And that's the argument that people have against taking an idealist view of the Book of Revelation. Well, if the numbers don't mean what they literally mean here, then what do you do with numbers in other parts of that through the Bible? Next thing, you know, you won't be believing in you know, literal creation and literal this, and literal that. We read Revelation symbolically because in Revelation chapter one, verse one, we're told that it's symbolic. We're told to read it symbolically. So the only way that you can read Revelation literally is to read it symbolically, because in verse one it literally says it's symbolism. First, the idea that this is a symbolic list can explain the irregularities in the list. I can't find another way to explain the irregularities in the list. I can't get there from here. But if this is a symbolic list, there are several things that start to make sense. One the easy one. Judah is first, not fourth. Why because he's pointing to Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah that we already read about earlier on, especially in chapter five. That's why Judah is listed first. He has the pre eminence here because we are talking about the Messiah and him saving his people. That's the easy one. Ruben is second, not first, because he was disqualified from his position of pre eminence, but he's still listed second behind Judah, so that there's the idea that Judah has replaced him in the birth order, which makes the third one very interesting because now you don't have the rest of their brothers. They don't go Judah, then Reuben, then Simeon, then Levi. If all you're doing is taking Judah out of order and putting him first, you would go Judah and then you would go Ruben, and then you would go Simeon, and then you would go Levi. That's not how they go. Look at how they go first Judah. Then Reuben, then gad Asher, Nephthali, and then Manassa. So he doesn't do that, But what does he do? He puts the children of the concubine right after Reuben. So Ruben's there. So you know that Judah is first because of its preeminence and birth order. But after Ruben you have the outcasts who are put in the list before everybody else. Why because this list is not about birth order, it's about redemption, and even the outcasts are redeemed. Amen four, the tribe of Dan is excluded. Why what is the tribe of Dan known for leading the people of God astray and leading them into idolatry and leading those ten northern tribes by the way to lose their ethnic identity, which also makes it impossible for this to be a literal list, see those ten northern tribes lost their ethnic identity. Dan is excluded from this list because of idolatry. Remember what I said earlier, there is the seal and against the seal the march. How do you get the mark idolatry. Who's left off the list? The idolator. That's why he's left off because of the idolatry of the tribe of Dan. The tribe of Manassa is included. Manassa the son born to Joseph in Egypt and his wife, who is the daughter of Potiferah, priest of own. Manassa's mother is Egyptian. Manassa is a gentile. Why is Manassa added to this list? Because gentiles are included in this list. That's why this is not just ethnic Jews. This is a list of the people of God, the all encompassing people of God. The tribe of Levi is included, which eliminates the idea of simple replication of the land grant. This is not just about the land grant he's talking about on the earth, but he includes Levi. Levi doesn't have a land grant. Why do you include Levi? Because this is about the new Jerusalem, not about the old land. Amen. That's why Levi's included here. See, if this is a symbolic list, this makes sense. If it's not a symbolic list, how do we answer those questions? Not only is it better at explaining those questions about the list, but it also jibes with the use of the number twelve and the number one thousand elsewhere in Revelation. What is this twelve times twelve times one thousand or twelve times twelve thousand. The number twelve occurs again and again and again in the book of Revelation. It's an important number. Revelation twenty one, twelve through fourteen. Just listen to this talking about the city. It had great, a great high wall with. Twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the of Israel were included on the east three gates, in the north three gates, in the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And they had those four corners again. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were twelve names of the twelve apostles of the land six times the number twelve. Just in that short statement right there, the number twelve is extremely important. But how is the number twelve used in revelation to refer to the complete people of God. It's always the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles, the twenty four elders. When the number twelve is used, and multiples of the number twelve, it is the people of God in the Old Testament and the people of God in the New Testament. Therefore, it makes sense that disuse of the number of twelve, which is multiplied by twelve and by a thousand, which would refer to the people of God in the Old Testament and the people of God in the New Testament multiples of twelve twenty four. We already talked about that the number one thousand. Now again, in order to contemplate this number one thousand, you have to understand that these people didn't live during our time or in our culture. We've been jaded. We've been talking about trillions so long that the number thousand doesn't bother us. Amen, And some of you just lived long enough for the number thousand not to bother you. I remember when I was in college and I got a job, and I was trying to make some money, and I wanted to make some good money. So I went and found a sales job. And I had this guy who was training me as a salesman. And I sold a lot of stuff. I sold cars, I sold cutlery, I sold I just I sold a lot of stuff. And so this guy who was training me as a salesman, I remember, he was trying to encourage me and to motivate me. He was a guy a little bit older than I was. So here, I was about twenty twenty one years old, and he's a little bit older than I was. And one of the things he did to encourage and motivate me was he showed me the copy of a check that he had kept because it was the first check that he had ever written for a thousand dollars. He was like, you too could write a check like this someday back then, before mortgages and cars and kids. And everything else. Like, dude, I could write a thousand dollars check one day. Not so impressed with those anymore, We get jaded. Put yourself in this context, though, they're not dealing with numbers and the billions and the trillions, like we are. This is a huge number. Twelve times twelve times of th thousand. What's another way to say that, I believe, another way to say that is what we're going to talk about on next week. A number that no man can number, just a huge number. It's symbolic. The number one thousand is important as well, especially as it relates to Judgment, the thousand year reign of Christ, the thousand year binding of Satan, and so on and so forth. This also harmonizes with the rest of the chapter. If this is a symbolic list referring to the people of God, then what happens here is almost identical to what happens earlier on. Earlier on, before the Throne, we see the lamb who was slain, and in the very next section we see the lion of the tribe of Judah, same individual referred to two times by two different identifiers. That's a pattern that John has used already in Revelation, and it's a pattern that we see here in chapter seven. First, there's one hundred and forty four thousand, twelve times twelve. We see we've seen multiples of twelve before, We've seen twelve and twelve foot together before twelve and twelve referring to the fullness of the people of God. Right now we see this number one thousand attached to it. And in the very next scene that we're going to look to on next week, that before the Throne, and it's this innumerable multitude repetition of the same idea in a different way. But don't lose the glorious promise in all of this. We get caught up in trying to determine to what does this number refer Who are the one hundred and forty four thousand? How are we gonna know the one hundred and forty five thousand? Sort of If we get caught up in that tedium, we miss the greater point. What's the greater point? The greater point is that there's an answer to the question who can stand? The answer is not nobody, Amen, who can stand? Those who are sealed by God can stand because there is nothing that will separate them from the love of God. Not height, not depth, not sword, not principalities. Nothing will separate them from the love of God. Why, because they've been sealed by God. By the way, what's the seal? It's the Holy Spirit? How do we know that Ephesians Chapter one, Verses eleven to fourteen. And him, we have obtained an inheritance by the way, and him we've obtained an inheritance. Two ideas to breaking seals. One releasing judgment. Two opening a will so you can read what the inheritance is. In him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be to the praise of His glory. In him. You also, when you heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is a guarantee or an earnest of your inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory. It's the Holy Spirit that's the seal. By the way. The word that he uses here, that word guaranteor or earnest. I like to use the word earnest because we still use that word. When you are buying a house, you sign an earnest money contract. What is your earnest money contract? You go and you see the house, and you say I want to buy the house, and you write a contract, and your contract says I will buy the house at this price. You attach a check, and the check says here is to let you know that I am serious. I'm so serious that if you accept this contract and I don't show up on closing day with the rest of the money, you get to keep. Both the house and my check. What does God say to those who are saved and put earnest money down on your salvation? That earnest money is the third person of the trinity. He is a seal, a promise, and a guarantee that I will show up on closing day and redeem that which is mine. If he doesn't show up on closing day, he loses his earnest money, which is the third person of the trinity. Which means that the only way a Christian can lose his salvation is if God stops being God. That's not going to happen. That's how secure this seal is. Nothing that we've read in Revelation chapter six will break the seal that God has on his head. People, Amen, Nothing that you experience in your life can break the seal. Nothing that goes on around us can break that seal. No matter how horrific things get around us. God is still God. God is still on his throne. Where was God when those children were being killed? Same place he was when his child was killed. That's where he was, seated on his throne, not surprised at all, and waiting for the moment when his justice will be enacted. And for those who want the justice here and now, be careful what you ask for, because if God gets rid of all wickedness tonight, none of us is here tomorrow. But for those who are sealed, for those who have been purchased by the lamb, for those who are his here's the great promise that we have. The one who comes to exact justice is also the one who has sealed us. He's also the one who died to save us. He's also the one who has gone to prepare a place for us. He's also the one who's coming again to receive us unto himself. He's also the one who will take us away with him. He's also the one who is our bridegroom. He's also the one who is our only hope. He is the one for whom we wait. This seal that we have is not just so that we can have a better here and now. Wow, the seal that we have have reminds us that we are living for a city whose builder and maker is God, and we belong to him, and we will always belong to him, and there's nothing that can make us not belong to him. My admonition to every one of you is to be sure that you belong to Him, that you come to him in repentance and faith, that you turn from your sin and from your idolatry, that you turn from trusting yourself, that you turn from believing the lie. That there are evil people out. There that you have to worry about, but no evil person in here that you have to worry about. The evil that is of greatest concern to you ought to be your own. And the only hope that you will ever have of that evil meeting with anything other than the just wrath of God is being sealed against that great day, the repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to purchase pardon for those who placed faith in him. Let's pray