In this message, we consider the doctrine of the rapture before seeing Jesus remove the first four seals of the scroll of God.

Transcript

I don’t think I’ve ever had a perfect job where I liked everything about it. Being a RiverLife pastor has come really close, but there are things that I don’t look forward to, like finances and reports.

One job that had moments of deep dreading was being a student driver instructor. I didn’t have many, but once every 6 months or so, I’d get a parent who was scared to take their teen driving so I would have the honor to take a student for the very first time, and I hated those experiences. They weren’t often, but I knew I always had to prepare for those moments. And as stressful as they were, at least it was the company car and insurance that would cover damages.

This reminds me of the passage that we will be in today as we continue our Revelation series. There are responsibilities we have that we might not be looking forward to, but we must prepare ourselves for them knowing that someone’s got us covered. Are you ready to dive in?

I’m going to do a quick recap. We were in Revelation 5 last week, and John saw a scroll sealed with 7 seals. The scroll had God’s final plans to restore the world from all the evil, but no one was able to open it. John wept because he felt hopeless. No one would experience God’s complete restoration if the scroll wasn’t opened.

But, an elder assures John that someone can open it. John sees Jesus, who appeared like a slain lamb, take the scroll because he can open it. And that’s where we’re picking up today.

We’ll be in chapters 6, 7, and the beginning of 8. In chapter 6, the lamb opens the 7 seals to initiate God’s restoration plan by first bringing judgment. We’re going to fly through these seals.

The first 4 seals are often referred to as the 4 Horsemen. Each seal consisted of a rider on a horse bringing a form of God’s judgment on the world. The horsemen are an Old Testament referenced in Zechariah 1:8-11.

The first horseman rides a white horse holding a bow. Some argue that this is Jesus Christ who brings a conquest of peace, while others say it is a false imitator of Christ, often referred to as the Antichrist. Those who say it’s Jesus refer to Revelation 19, which talks about a rider on a white horse, but the descriptions are different.

The rider in Revelation 6 carries a bow, whereas the rider in Revelation 19 carries a sword. Jesus is often associated with a sword, but not so much a bow. Plus, the other riders bring judgment, not peace, so it’s best to understand the first rider similarly. The first rider brings conquest that appears to create peace but instead creates destruction.

The second seal is a rider on a red horse who brings war and bloodshed. The third seal is a rider on a black horse who brings famine to the world. The famine is so bad that it costs an entire day’s wage to purchase just enough food to cover one person for the day.

And the 4th seal is a rider on a pale horse that brings death to 25% of the world’s population by war, famine, diseases, and animals harming humans. When the 5th seal opens, John sees martyrs, believers killed because of their faith. They all cry out for God’s justice. The martyrs are told to be patient until more believers are martyred, and they are given white robes to wear. This depicts their right relationship with God because of their faithfulness.

This seal also demonstrates the desire for God’s justice to be shown. The martyrs are asking for God to rightfully judge their persecutors.

When the lamb breaks the 6th seal, an earthquake and crazy astronomical disturbances occur. John describes how the sun turns black, the moon turns red, stars fall to the earth, and the heavens disappear like a scroll being rolled up.

Literal or not, verse 15-17 tells us that all the people hide in caves, fearful of God’s judgment. They respond by saying to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

Lastly, when the lamb breaks the 7th seal, heaven is silent for half an hour. The prayers of all God’s people and the incense from the angel go up before God.

An angel then takes the container holding the incense and fills it with fire from the altar, and hurls it to earth, announcing God’s judgment on the earth from the throne of heaven. This then ushers the seven trumpets, another set of judgments on the earth that we’ll talk about next week.

I don’t know about you, but I felt frightened, uncomfortable, and anxious about all that happened when the seals were broken. I look forward to experiencing God’s complete restoration, but does it have to be at this cost? Is it worth it? Is it worth seeing our world ravaged by God’s judgment? And I echo the people from the 6th seal, who can withstand it?

As catastrophic as these seven seals are, God’s judgment is meant to wake the world up. The 7 seals are meant to get the world’s attention and make them realize they need Jesus. God’s judgment is upon unbelievers.

So what about believers? What happens to them? How can believers withstand God’s judgment? Chapter 7 tells us.

John sees 4 angels protecting believers from the harm of the seven seals. Believers, numbering a total of 144,00, are given a seal on their foreheads to protect them. Some interpret the 144,000 literally and go as far as to say that there will only be 144,000 who get to go to heaven. Others interpret the 144,000 as only Israelites who belong to the 12 tribes of Israel, while others say the 144,000 is symbolic and represents every believer.

Here are a couple of reasons why I think it represents every believer.

• First, we know numbers are symbolic in Revelation so to say that a literal 144,000 can only go to heaven does not fit the genre of Revelation.

• Second, the stance that these 144,000 strictly represent Israelites from the 12 tribes of Israel doesn’t fully make sense in my opinion because the original 12 tribes of Israel aren’t listed in John’s account.

The original 12 tribes listed in the Old Testament are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. The 12 tribes listed in Revelation are Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin. Revelation replaces Dan, with Manasseh. It’s believed that Dan was excluded because they worshipped idols and turned away from God.

What’s interesting is that Manasseh’s dad is Joseph, one of the original 12 tribes and Manasseh’s mother was Egyptian, so he wasn’t a pure Israelite. Culturally, this was looked down upon, but I think Revelation is trying to show us that God’s protection isn't based on cultural privileges. And we’ll get to this some more in a bit.

Instead, it’s based on an individual’s faithfulness in God. Birth order is also culturally significant and while Genesis lists the tribes beginning with Reuben, the oldest, Revelation lists the tribes beginning with Judah, the fourth oldest, and the tribe where Jesus came from.

These are some reasons why I think the 144,000 symbolize all believers.

Because of their faith, they are given a seal on their forehead to protect them from God’s judgment. This seal is a reference to the Holy Spirit based on Ephesians 1:13 where it says, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.”

Not only are the believers protected, but in verse 9 and 10, John describes what he sees. Let me read it for us.

“9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Believers from every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language worship by waving palm branches. Palm branches are a symbol of victory. They also wear white robes and an elder describes to John that this large group has come out of the great tribulation, a time of God’s judgment over the world. These are the same white robes the martyrs wear and they signify the believer’s perseverance in proclaiming God’s promise even though they were persecuted because they trust in God’s protection.

The seven seals and the expectation of God’s redemptive plan can be summarized like this today. Proclaim God’s promise. Prepare for persecution. Protection is provided.

So what does this mean for us?

As frightening as the seals are, I found myself fixated on chapter 7 and what it means to be a believer in God. All the believers that John saw in heaven experienced persecution because they proclaimed Jesus. And they cried out for God’s justice.

We know God wants us to proclaim His promise of Jesus to others, but often times we might shy away from it. We might shy away from it because we want to tolerate others, we want to accept others, and we want to support others. Or maybe it’s the other way around.

We might shy away from it because we want others to tolerate us, we want others to accept us, we want others to support us. And when we don’t feel tolerated, accepted, or support, we become uncomfortable.

But, we must remember that the Bible tells us that we will experience discomfort as believers. It’s something Jesus tells his disciples. So, we need to prepare for discomfort. It’s a part of the process.

Jesus reminds his disciples that they will be rejected and hated because the world first rejected and hated Jesus. I know no one looks forward to feeling uncomfortable and we can be shocked when others hate us, but I think the real shock is realizing that we are always comfortable.

If we don’t ever experience discomfort because of our faith, I think we’re missing a key ingredient to our spiritual growth and development. If we’re not taking risks to love others by sharing Jesus with others, I think we’re missing out on something.

If John saw all the believers in heaven wearing white robes because they were persecuted, I think it says we should expect a level of discomfort as believers. I’m not saying that we should look forward to pain or discomfort, but we can expect discomfort when we bring others to Christ so they can be protected from God’s judgment and experience comfort when we are in heaven.

So, find a way to take a risk this week to love somebody or be kind to someone with the intention of sharing Jesus with them. Feel that discomfort knowing that it’s for your good and their good. And know that God provides protection to us even when we feel discomfort.

We might not feel fully comfortable in this world, but we will in heaven.