When the Lord Jesus taught about the last days and what is
commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, He made an
extraordinary promise concerning that time to come.
In the middle of his teaching, Christ said in Matthew 24, verse
14, And the gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed
throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and
then the end will come. What a remarkable declaration.
You see, what Christ is saying here when you consider the
surrounding teaching around this promise is that the rise of
false teachers and deception, global upheaval, rapid cultural
decay, and the unprecedented persecutions of Christians will
in no way hinder the spread of the Gospel.
Somehow, someway, the saving message of Jesus Christ will
permeate the four corners of the earth.
Furthermore, what this verse reveals is that although there
will be mounting judgement in that brief period of time,
Christ assures us that He will give the nation's a final
opportunity, a final invitation to receive salvation before that
door is closed forever. Which means that while the
tribulation period will bring an escalation of judgments, it also
guarantees an amplification of the preaching of the gospel at
the same time. And this is undeniably a
demonstration of the incredible mercy of God as He carries out
his most visible and fierce sequence of judgments.
He will also make a way for people to hear the truth that
can save their souls for eternity.
Now, last week we discussed if you were here, Revelation 7 in
the first portion as we witness God's initial fulfilment that He
would save the nation of Israel. The budding of that promise was
made known in the first few verses.
And I want to tell you today that the confirmation of God's
trustworthiness will only continue in the rest of this
chapter. Because now we are going to
discover, as we get a future glimpse of how the Lord will
keep His word from Matthew 2414, that the gospel will indeed go
to all nations before the very end of all things unfolds.
So let's reach it and read it together in Revelation 7,
beginning in verse 9. Revelation 7, beginning in verse
9, we will read together attentively down to verse 17.
John says 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.
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 worshipped 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 and 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 have washed their 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 away every tear from their eyes.
Father, we ask, as always, with a complete awareness of our need
for your help, that you would lead us so faithfully, so
clearly, so powerfully through these truths.
We need you Lord, open our minds, burn in our hearts, and
may this transform us in Jesus name, Amen.
As I was meditating on this passage, the phrase that came to
mind was the great tribulation harvest.
And there's so much more to learn from this passage than
seeing it as an expansion of what Christ taught in the
Gospels. I want us to consider at least
three things with you from this glorious scene.
The first thing is the people described in this division, the
people described. There's so much about this
people that we have to consider from the people described.
We must look at the praise that was given, the praise that is
offered to the throne and him who sits on it in the Lamb.
And lastly, I want us to look at the promise that is given, this
promise that is given to those people that are described and
those who follow in their direction.
So let's look again at verse 9. As we look at the people
described. At first glance, we read it.
This may seem like a description of all believers from all ages,
right? But that assumption is quickly
clarified by one of the elders who taught John.
And John teaches us by the Spirit that these are the
innumerable group of people who will come out of the great
tribulation. This is speaking about a future
group of people. And so this is not speaking
about all believers from all time.
And what this shows us right away is that there is a coming
move of God on the earth that will result in a reach and a
rescuing of souls unlike any other time in human history.
This should excite us. This should thrill us.
And as exciting as it sounds, you may be like me and wondering
how is that going to happen? Especially up to this point when
we have considered all the things that the world will
endure, the tragedies and the tumultuous events and the
problems and the wars and all these things will come crashing
upon the earth. And yet we read that there's
going to be an uncountable amount of people who will be
saved. And I believe in this very same
chapter, we get our clue. I want to present to you today
the possibility that the reason why we will see this and why
we're seeing it now is because of the direct ministry of the
144,000. Look again at verse 3 of Chapter
7, the 144,000, which we've established to be the Jewish
people who will be saved, a remnant, A revival.
Among this people are called servants of our God.
Near the end of that verse, showing us that the ceiling, the
spiritual application, is not just a way of marking these
people for salvation, but for extraordinary service.
They're being set apart to perform something to serve the
Lord in an incredible fashion during the Tribulation period.
Besides that, we also see something else that this unique
mark that will be placed upon each of these Jews.
We'll also provide a unique level of protection against the
things that will transpire following this the the growing
escalation of problems and of judgments.
This will shield them. How do we know that?
Because the Lord told the four angels of the earth to hold back
any further punishment until they were protected.
And why are they being protected?
I think the answer that makes the most sense is so that they
can carry out their gospel mission more effectively, that
they would be able to do what God has set him apart to do, and
that is present the gospel of Jesus Christ to the rest of the
world. As things are coming to an end,
I think these suggestions are possible.
I think this is more likely than one might think because it is
totally in concert with the rest of the Scriptures.
Here's what I mean. Were you here last week when we
talked about Romans 11 briefly and how Paul taught that ethnic
Israel will know a national revival in salvation, that at
one point they will acknowledge that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is
indeed their prophesied Messiah? Well, I want us to revisit
Romans 11 and I want us to see the fruit of the salvation of
the Jewish people, the growing fruit as the number of
salvations increase among this particular people group.
Let's go to Romans 11 and let's look at verse 13.
Romans 11 verse 13. There's that sound again.
I pray that that sound will never go away.
Hear what the Spirit of God says through Paul.
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles in as much then I am an
apostle to the Gentiles. I magnify my ministry.
So he wants to, he wants to comfort the Gentile believers.
Look, I am an apostle to the Gentiles.
I don't think less of my ministry, but let me tell you
why. One of the reasons why I magnify
my ministry, verse 14, in order somehow to make my fellow Jews
jealous and thus save some of them.
In other words, I'm going to preach the Hebrew Scriptures.
I'm going to show how God is relatable, how he's personal.
I'm going to show him how we are enjoying the fruit of the
message of their prophets. And my prayer is that as a
Christian, as a leader in the church, that the Jewish people
watching from a distance would be stirred not with an unhealthy
evil envy, but a pure holy jealousy to say, I want what you
have. I want the assurance, I want the
comfort, I want the joy, I want the peace that you have.
Are you saying that your faith is rooted and grounded in the
Hebrew Scriptures? Yes.
So Paul says, I want to magnify my ministry so I can serve some
of these Jews to be saved. But notice what he goes on to
say this brilliant point in verse 15.
For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
Do you see what he's saying here?
Paul's reminding this Gentile church, do you understand that
it was the denial of the Jewish people in terms of the Messiah,
Jesus Christ that led to the world being blessed by the
gospel? Their rejection of the gospel
made it more available for the Gentiles to hear and receive the
truth. But he doesn't stop there.
He adds to that, if their rejection, their vehement denial
of Christ benefited us in such a way, what will happen to the
world when they accept the truth?
It's an amazing line of reasoning.
And he gives us the answer, life from the dead.
Now there's debate about that passage.
What does he mean, life from the dead?
Some think it's a spiritual revival that will take place,
but it's more likely that Paul's actually making a connection, a
link between the salvation of the Jewish people and that
triggering and ushering in the glories of the world to come.
Because as we're going to see in Revelation, Israel's salvation
will immediately precede the return of Christ.
There's that. You can't separate those
realities. That's why having an
understanding of Israel is absolutely foundational for your
eschatology, a fancy word for your understanding and study of
the end times. It will determine everything in
terms of the order, events and why things happen and how
prophecy works. And Paul understands here that
if their rejection of the gospel has brought riches to the world,
what it what will happen when they embrace Christ?
That's why I magnify my ministry.
That's why I preach to the Jews. That's why I pray for them.
One thing is very clear about Paul's message.
The world will experience spiritual riches in proportion
to how the Jewish people accept the gospel.
Look at verse 12 of Romans 11. He says it more than once.
Now, if their trespass means riches for the world, and if
their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will
their full inclusion mean? It's very plain, is it not?
If the world was blessed because they denied Christ, what will
happen when they are fully gathered into the fold of the
truth? There's no separation between
the Jewish people and their relationship with God and how
that impacts the globe. Now, why do I bring all of this
up? Because it complements what we
see in Revelation 7. What do we see in Revelation 7?
Again, let me remind you, you have a revival among the Jewish
people, 144,000 who are set apart and sealed as servants of
God. And immediately following that,
what is John C? An innumerable amount of
Gentiles who are saved the visions of Revelation 7 agrees
completely with Paul's teaching about the future of Israel and
how that will impact the nation's.
Now this is something for us to really rejoice in, especially
with all the supposed controversy with the Jewish
people. Us believers need to be very
careful to not allow arguments and ideas to persuade you away
from the love that God has for them, the love that the apostle
Paul had for them, and the desire for them to be saved.
There's so much confusion of how Christians should relate to the
people of Israel. Let me make it very simple.
You desire them to be saved. You pray that their eyes would
be open to see Christ and that they would bend their knee to
the true Messiah. We are not to be caught up in
politics. Our mission is a heavenly 1 and
our desire ultimately is that they would be saved.
That's your priority and mine. And don't let anybody convince
you otherwise. Study this verse, Study this
passage carefully and understand God's heart for the Jewish
people. Not what some popular pundit
says. Not what some famous pastors may
say. What does the Bible say about
this people? And align your heart with gods
so that you can be more in the will of God.
Now, there's more to say about this.
People described come back here in Revelation 7.
We're still in verse 9. They're very familiar attributes
made known to us. But there's something that
stands out. There is something mentioned
that never showed up before. Look here at the end of verse 9.
They were holding palm branches in their hands.
Is that significant? If you believe details in the
Bible are yes. Palm branches throughout the
Bible are always connected to celebratory events, joyous
occasions. Maybe your mind is going to
where it went for me when Jesus came in triumphantly into the
Jerusalem, right? The people received them and
they quoted the Psalms with palm branches in their hands.
But the history of palm branches goes further back.
Israel was given 7 feasts by God to celebrate on a yearly basis,
and the very last feast is known as the Feast of Booths.
But in Exodus it's also known as the Feast of In Gathering of in
Gathering. Why?
Because it was recognized at the very end of the harvest season
and God had given them many instructions of how they were to
bring offerings during that feast.
But one of the most unique instructions was that the Jewish
people were to make booths or tents and to live in them as
long as that celebration endured for various reasons, mainly to
remember their 40 year wilderness journey and how God
had provided and protected them during that process.
They were to almost relive that experience as they recollected
how God's presence among them in that desert shielded them as
they lived in these transportable shelters.
But it was also recognition of the moment that God was faithful
to provide for them in that year and that He has come through yet
again. It's really putting into focus
their present and their past. But I want you to see one of the
instructions of how they were to make these tents go to Leviticus
23 in verse 40. Leviticus 23, verse 40.
The Lord says to this people, and you shall take on the first
day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees, and bows
of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice
before the Lord your God. Seven days.
Now if you're a note taker, when you go to Nehemiah 8, you'll see
that these branches that were called to be collected were
actually the material for the tents.
And in Leviticus 23 is the very first appearance of palm
branches in the Bible. And as we mentioned, they are so
associated with jubilation, excitement, thrill, delight with
the truth of God and for the truth of God.
So Israel was to take these palm branches, make these tents, live
in them for that week, and realize God at this final moment
of the harvest season has come through for us.
And it didn't just happen this past year.
God has always been for us. God's presence has always met us
and always provided and protected us.
It's a wonderful thing, a wonderful climax to their
celebrations. And now we come to Revelation 7
and we see the redeemed from all nations, all tribes brought
before the throne of God coming out of the great tribulation,
and they're celebrating with palm branches in their hands.
What are they doing with those? Could it be that they are
celebrating for the same reason that they would have in the
Feast of Booths? A little bit different though,
because this group now represents the final gathering
not of produce, not of fruit, but of souls.
That as we are approaching the end of time, God is now bringing
in more people to add to the number of the redeemed.
And this harvest out of the great Tribulation is recognizing
that. That as we are coming to the end
of all things in the same way that the Feast of Booth signaled
the end of that year, we're part of the harvest.
We've been gathered in, we're saved.
God is faithful. Moreover, are they not also
recognizing that they are now eternally provided for,
protected by the unfiltered presence of God, That God now is
tabernacling with us, He is dwelling with us, we are with
Him forever and ever. I believe So even in this do we
see a wonderful connection with the rest of Scripture?
A small detail as the palm branches can have so much
richness to it. These are the people described.
I'm sure we can go over every single thing that's mentioned,
but we have to now go on to the praise that is provided.
Look again at verse 11 of Revelation 7.
As the people of God from all nations and tribes and tongues
are rejoicing, the angels and the heavenly host now
spontaneously join them. And I want you to see how, yes,
verse 11 describes them, but you come to verse 12 and you see the
attributes that they ascribe to the Lord.
There's several of them. Look again at verse 12, saying
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and
honor and power, and might be to our God forever and ever.
Amen. Now does this refrain sound
familiar? It should, because we've seen it
before, earlier in Revelation. And when you compare the similar
refrain, you'll learn at least two things about praise.
Look back at Revelation 5, when the same heavenly host offered
their praise to the Lord before any of those seals were broken,
when the Lamb received the scroll from the Father's hand,
the people broke out and praised these creatures in another
realm. And look at verse 11 of
Revelation 5. John says in verse 11.
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living
creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering
myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud
voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and
wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
Two things to learn about praise.
Here's the first Almost identical wording, right?
Different order, different order.
Compare it. And that's intentional.
That's intentional because if these worshippers repeated the
very same words in the exact same way, we might be left with
the impression that heavenly praise is a monotonous routine.
There are already people, Christians, who think that
worship in heaven eventually is going to get stale.
I mean, how much variety can you come up with?
It's just going to become this tedious repetition.
But I find something instructive about this subtle hint when you
compare these two refrains, that praise in heaven will always be
fresh. That praise in heaven will
always be zealous and meaningful and responsive to the
revelations of who God is. As those revelations will be
unfolding throughout eternity And before you and I get to our
heavenly home, I believe we also have to be making the effort to
keep our praise dynamic and heartfelt.
Now, even now, the Lord is not interesting and interested in
the sacrifice of praise that just repeats words off the
screen that don't spring from the depths of your soul.
And if you're a person in here who struggles to sing, singing
is very important to the Christian faith because it's
important to God. But if you struggle and many
people do, I want to encourage you.
The Holy Spirit is here to help you because one of the outcomes
of being filled with the Holy Spirit according to Ephesians 5,
is that one will make melody to the Lord.
From where? From their heart, Not just here,
not just here, from here, the depths of who you are.
One of the ways you know that you're filled with the Spirit is
that you can sing from your heart.
You mean it, You delighted it, It excites you.
And as one preacher said, the Holy Spirit is able to help us
hear an old song as though it was new, or to open our eyes and
our hearts to a completely new song to add to our list of
praise. It will always be a special
thing to sing to God in heaven. But there's a second thing to
consider, and that is the placement of the praise.
So in Revelation 5, as I mentioned, the people are
singing to the Lord, worshiping Lord, falling on their face the
moment that the Lamb took the scroll into his own possession.
But when you go to Revelation 7, they're singing similarly when
the seals on the scroll are near its completion in their opening.
What's the lesson? That in every season God is
worthy of praise. That's the truth.
That no matter what He is doing at this moment, He deserves
glory with praise always. So in Revelation 5, they are
rejoicing together and what Christ is about to do.
Revelation 7, they're singing about what Christ has already
accomplished. You and I must do the same.
When we come here together, we're looking forward to what
the Lord will do, and we sing about it, but we also come to
celebrate what He's already done.
It's a wonderful instruction about how praise works in God's
economy. But now we come to the longest
part and the most important in terms of this message being
conveyed to the hearts of God's people for this time.
And that's the promise. There's a promise that is made.
Look at verse 13 of Revelation 7, as is heavenly choirs
crowning the Lord with their worship.
One of the 24 elders turns and asks John a question.
Verse 13 that 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 have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb. So the elder one of them looks
at John and he says, do you know who this group is?
He says, Sir, you know, that's just another way of saying, I
don't, you know, I don't know. Now, you would think that the
answer was obvious, right? I mean, any Christian can look
at this scene and say these are believers who've been saved.
Why does John not know? Let me give you an idea, because
you look back and you realize that he saw what a great
multitude that no one can number from every nation, from all
tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne.
I think the enormous size and the diversity shocked John to
the point where he didn't really know how to identify them.
Remember, we're we're talking about the same John who early in
Revelation was used by Christ to minister to a handful of local
churches who most of them were experienced great persecution.
He was living at a time when Christianity was under severe
attack. And so now he's transported into
this vision from ministering to these believers who are
suffering in their own way, suffering externally, even
internally in terms of faithfulness to truth.
And then now he sees the sea of people that he can't even
number. Are these really Christians?
Are they really among those who are called to the narrow path?
He couldn't register it. And so the Lord uses one of the
elders to confirm it. These are those who've been
saved by the blood of the Lamb. Now, he describes in two ways.
The first is that they are coming out of the great
tribulation. We saw that earlier.
These are the ones coming out of this period of time.
And we understand this to mean that the followers of Christ
here are those who precede the second coming.
But we also see something here about the believer today.
Even though this is describing something to come, it says
something about every believer, every age, that a true Christian
is someone who will go through many tribulations and make it
they will endure until the end. That's true for any person who
claims to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Not the absence of troubles, but the endurance in them and
through them. They are coming out, not that
they've escaped, but that they have succeeded in responding to
these problems that came their way.
And that is the mark of a true Christian.
But we see something else here. This quality of devotion, right?
This faithfulness until the end is the result of a saving act of
faith. What does he say about them?
Yes, they've come out of the great tribulation, but they have
also washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. That was the cause of the
faithfulness. It's not their faithfulness that
made them worthy. It's not their faithfulness that
made them clean. It's not their faithfulness that
erased their sin. They were faithful because
they've been washed. Don't you think it's a strange
image to say that these robes have been made white by blood?
Blood stains? So this is clearly symbolic and
this is a very powerful message, strange to the new reader
perhaps, but not strange to the Christian or understands what
the blood of Christ can do. What this shows is that the
worthiness of this people standing before God without
fear, with complete joy, is because of something outside of
themselves that is cleanse them. They have not been made white
because of what they've produced in themselves.
It's something outside of them that has enabled them and
extracted these things. And that is something to
consider because the gospel message that will save them then
is the same gospel message that saves people.
Now, there's not going to be a different gospel in the
tribulation period. It's going to be the same truth
that will reel in souls that are open to being under the lordship
of Christ. Now here's what's amazing in the
average mind, being religious is about doing your part over a
lifetime to scrub away the sins that have stained your life, the
sins of your own actions and your own attitudes.
And so they work hard and they try to remove those stains and
they try to remove all their past, and they try to remove all
their habits and their reputation so that they can be
more acceptable, They can be more attractive to God.
But a true Christian is someone who hears Christ say, I alone
can make you clean, and you take your heart that is stained with
sin, and you joyfully give it to him, and allow his blood to make
it all white. That's a true Christian.
Does it perform in their garments, but removes them and
let's Christ take them and wash them, and do with them what no
man can do for you. But notice how the elder says
what they have washed their robes.
Who did it? God.
That God forced them to wash their robes?
No, Christ has done his part by shedding his blood.
They made the conscience choice of taking their robes,
acknowledging the cleansing force of that sacrifice, and
allowing that agent to do the work.
So it's really up to you, it's up to every person to recognize
what the Lord has done and then to respond to it.
No one can blame God for their unbelief.
No one can blame God for them not having the chance of being
saved. They have washed their robes,
Have you? That's the question today, have
you? A lot of churches are filling up
these days because of recent events, and I'm glad that's
happening. And I think it's one of the
greatest evangelistic opportunities of our time.
So as much as we're teaching through Revelation, I can't help
myself but preach the gospel and use this to perhaps point out
anybody who is an unbelief, who has not said with confidence,
yes, I made the conscious choice to be washed by His blood.
You can do it today and it's up to you.
So I, my, my desire really is that you can walk out of here
with absolute assurance that even if heaven testifies against
you, they can say he or she has washed their robe in the blood
of the Lamb. And you can have that confidence
by the Spirit if you truly repent and believe they have
done it. Now here's what's amazing.
He now goes on to give the promise that awaits the person
who has done this. It's not just for this group in
the great Tribulation. It's for any person who has
followed their example in washing themselves in Christ's
love. Forgiveness and cleansing is
just, it's just the beginning. There are three main future
pledges that are described here that I want us to consider
before we close. Three things that are
guaranteed. You believer if you can say I'm
clean because of his blood. Three things.
The first one might be the most surprising #1 this is your
promise we will serve him. What do I mean by that?
Look again here at verse 15. Therefore what is therefore?
Therefore, as a result of them being cleansed by 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.
This is more than just a description of the activity that
will happen in the world to come.
It's phrased in a way to stir up anticipation.
You have to remember, only Levites were permitted to serve
God in the temple in the Old Testament, right?
Not every Jew, even among the Jews, only one specific line
from one particular tribe. We're permitted to serve God in
that capacity. And what is now God saying here
about those who've washed the robes in above the Lamb there
before the throne, and serve him day, night in his temple?
Now it's access to everybody. Now it's made available to all
tribes and all tongues and all nations.
Now we all have been given that privilege to serve God.
That's true today, and that's true for the world to come in.
In what way? What's the full nature of
serving God in heaven? I'm not sure, but I'm sure it
includes some realization of what we do here on earth, though
imperfectly and in weakness. I find it amazing that one of
the promises for us is that we will serve God.
Serve God. I'm not sure how many Christians
see that as a heavenly thing, but it but it is.
And if heaven is associated with heavenly bliss and eternal
delight, then obviously the equation is that there's
something about serving God that unlocks that kind of joy and the
light. And I want to challenge any
believer here who may not be actively serving God, who may
not be serving him intentionally, Consciously.
You're just kind of consuming Christian content and messages,
but you're not exercising your faith.
Notice something here, if you want to make your life more
heavenly, then you have to imitate heavenly activity.
And part of that is that with all your limitations and all
your responsibilities that you seek God and you say, Lord, what
is it that you want me to do to serve you now?
What is it that you want me to do now to actually honor you in
this way? And I assure you, based on the
inside of this verse, if you tap into that, then you will know a
deep otherworldly contentment because you were created for it.
You were made to serve God. Imagine this.
We will serve God in the world to come.
And so you and I can know something about the fragrance
and the the light of that world to come.
If you seek to imitate the activity that is presented to us
here. We will serve him.
That's a promise. And for those who serve God now
that should be exciting because you know the joy of honoring God
in that way. But secondly, we will be safe
with him. We will be safe with him.
Look at here at verse 16. They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them
nor any scorching heat. So you have the the fears and
the heartaches and the discomforts of this life.
The things that we are all vulnerable to will suddenly come
to an end. They will no longer threaten
you. And I listen.
Even the very environment of heaven will be pleasurable, will
be cooperative. There won't even be a hint of
anything making us uncomfortable in that kind of an atmosphere.
The sun itself will always be to our contentment and our joy, not
like the unpredictable elements of this life.
And there's something here about the contrast between what is
provided in terms of shelter and what is promised to the wicked,
even in the tribulation period. Notice what's mentioned here.
Water the sun. Go to Revelation 16.
This is describing the bold judgments, the last sequence of
judgments that will be poured out on the earth.
And notice what happens early in those series of executions.
Revelation 16 Four. The third Angel poured out his
bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they
became blood. In other words, they weren't
able to drink it anymore. It was poisoned.
Look at verse 8. The 4th Angel poured out his
bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with
fire. Do you see the comparison?
Our future is much different than the future of the wicked,
and you've heard this many times before.
For us, this world is the closest thing to experiencing
hell. But for the wicked, this is the
closest thing that they will ever know of Paradise.
We won't thirst, we won't hunger.
The sun won't burn us. When it comes to Revelation 16,
the wicked, their future is much different.
They can't drink, they will scour for food, and the very sun
will torture them for all of eternity.
We'll be unharmed. We will be the safest that we've
ever been. And lastly, my favorite, not
only will we serve Him, not only will we be sheltered and safe
with them, but we will also be satisfied in Him.
Look at verse 17 of Revelation 7.
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.
What an amazing reminder of the manifold beauty of Christ.
Read your Bible slowly, would you?
We're being told about the Lamb who's also a shepherd.
How does that work? Lamb and a shepherd.
You know why that's being described to us in this way?
To show us that Christ is All in all.
No matter what you need, you can find it in Him.
He is the ultimate sacrifice that can save us.
He's the Lamb, and at the same time He's the strong Shepherd
who can guide us and shield us and protect us all the days of
our lives up into eternity. He's everything.
No matter what your soul needs, you can tap into it and taste it
in Jesus. And notice how this, the springs
of living water that he will lead us to, is not in the
singular, but in the plural. It's not a spring, it's springs.
And you might have a different translation that reads fountain,
but even if you have that, it doesn't say fountain, but
fountains referring to the abundant, unending, overflowing
provision that fulfills the deepest longings of the human
heart. And you can't miss how we can
have access to this eternal reality.
It can't be an it can't be known apart from what He will guide
them. That's the middle of verse 17.
He will guide them. Only when you put your hand in
the hand of him can you be led to this kind of experience that
will never be interrupted. And here's the thing, Christ is
the only road map to that promise.
And it's true even today. This is not just speaking about
what's going to be known in the world to come.
You and I can sample on that living water day by day.
Now there are some miserable Christians, and some of you
might even be here, miserable, joyless, frustrated.
You know sin is wrong, but for whatever reason in your mind you
think that it actually tastes better than what Christ has to
offer. That is not what Christianity is
about. Yes, this, this flesh does tempt
us. It does lie to us.
It does remind us of some of the things that we know, knew before
we came to Christ. But all that is being described
here is experiential. It's real, it can be owned, and
it can be known. And I want to tell you this, the
way to claim it is no different here.
We're told that in eternity He will guide them to these living
waters and he's willing to guide you now.
But you have to stop leading yourself and you, you have to
stop chasing all these different options, all these different
avenues, all these different things and just give yourself to
his leadership completely. How do I do that?
You come to what his word says. You do and you do it.
You just do it by faith with desperation.
You don't give up. You say, Lord, if this is
possible, I want to know it. I'm I wasn't planning to end
here. Let's end here.
Go to first Peter 1 and look at verse 8 because I want, I don't
want to give the impression that everything that we just read
there about how we will serve Him and how we will be safe with
Him and how we will be satisfied in Him, it's just something that
we have to wait for. Yes, it will be on a level that
requires glorified bodies to endure.
But look at this verse eight of first Peter 1.
Though you have not seen him, you love him.
That's a miracle in itself. How do you love somebody you've
never seen before? It's because you're more than
just flesh and bones. You're a spirit being, and when
you get saved, your spiritual eyes open to who Christ is, and
you fall in love with Him. Though you have not seen Him,
you love Him, Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him.
He doesn't stop there and rejoice with joy that is
inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of
your faith, the salvation of your souls.
You can ask different people today what makes them happy, but
there is a level of happiness that you can't even explain, and
it's only in Christ, inexpressible.
I have no expressions to tell you the joy I feel for someone
that I've never seen before, for someone that I just believe and
trust in because He's given me His Word.
Do you have that joy And I know it fluctuates and I know it gets
difficult that sometimes I know sometimes it's it's this paradox
of rejoicing but suffering. I get it.
But but do you know it on any level?
Can you hear Peter and say I know what that's like.
And if you don't take the instruction from the end of
Revelation 7. Let Christ guide you there, ask
for it and watch him lead you to it.
Brothers and sisters, although we are looking at a great
tribulation harvest, the truths here are for us today and I hope
you will take it to heart. Lord, we thank you for these
truths and we ask, oh God, that we would be able to, by Your
grace, know again this joy that is inexpressible and filled with
glory. If anybody here is not born
again, please, Lord, hear our prayers on their behalf that
they would be saved, truly saved.
And for the believer here who is struggling, barely made it to
the service today. May their future home and their
present promises at their disposal deliver them from
despondency and discouragement. And may they actually know a new
strength as they follow you. Thank you, O God, that you are a
faithful King. What you've said you will
perform and you've shown us here more than once how you are
dependable. We love you and we honor you and
we sing to you from our hearts and Jesus name we pray.
Amen and Amen can we stand together?