The Epistle of Jesus #5 The Seven Sealed Scroll - Revelation 6-7

 The Epistle of Jesus #5 The Seven Sealed Scroll

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Introduction: God's people are a people of persecution and tribulation.

From Abel’s murder by Cain to Pharaoh’s killing of the firstborn, to the Tribulation, the people of the Book have been under attack. Theologically speaking we understand why. This world by God’s sovereign will is controlled or at least greatly influenced by Satan, whom the Bible titles the “Ruler of This World” and the “Prince and Power of the Air.” Lucifer, Satan, the Devil rebelled against God, and was throw from heaven with His angels to his own kingdom of earth. Satan hates all things of God, but especially His people in the nation of Israel and in the institution of the church. These he actively and constantly seeks to erase from his sphere of power. He has not and never will succeed, but He cannot stop. At times it seems the Devil is winning, the people of God waning, but it is only for a moment. Such a time is the book of the Apocalypse, the Unveiling of The True Coming King. In chapter 6 the Seven Sealed Scroll is opened and the last Tribulation of God’s people begins and then in 7 terrible, horrifying years ends and with it the persecution of God’s own.

But before we can come to the last persecution we must go back to an earlier time of trouble for God’s people, this time the nation of Israel. We find them scattered throughout the middle east and under the power of the conquering nation of Babylon. Though they have been taken from their homeland, they have not been taken from God and in this time of captivity a prophecy of God’s plan for his people is given to the prophet Daniel. This prophecy is the keystone, the foundation to all the end time prophecies of God and we must be aware of it or else we cannot rightly understand the book of Revelation. Go to …

 Foundation - Daniel 9:24-27

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Daniel’s Doubts

Background to Daniel’s Vision. Daniel began praying because he had read from the writings of Jeremiah that God had given 70 years as the time Israel would be removed from their land. He had read from Jeremiah 25:11, 12, which says, “when seventy years are accomplished ... I will punish the king of Babylon.” Also 2 Chronicles 36:20 says, “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:  21 To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years. 

Now 50 years later, the Babylonian king had been defeated by the Persian empire and Daniel knew it was time for the desolations of Jerusalem also to be ended.

He begins to fast, pray and confess his sin and the sins of his people. Through the prophecy of Jeremiah was soon due to be fulfilled, Daniel cannot see how God can do this while the sin of Israel is still so strong. Why will God allow them to return them to their promised land while they still do the things that God punished them for.

God sends his answer by the angel Gabriel and that answer gives us God’s perspective, His plan for the Ages, not just Jeremiah’s 70 years but of God’s thousands of years and even eternity. It is here in vss. 24-27 and is called the Seventy Weeks Prophecy.

Daniel is told in 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Six purposes of God’s Plan will occur during the 70 weeks:

(1) To finish the transgression. “Finish” (Heb. lƒkallē˒) means “to complete,” The kind of transgressions Daniel had been confessing for his people were to come to an end. That has not yet, two and a half millenniums later, occurred.

(2) To make an end of sins. Literally, to seal up. This word (as in Job 9:7; 37:7) means to bring under full restraint. Cf. the sealing of Satan’s prison to restrain him (Rev 20:1-3).

(3) To make reconciliation for iniquity Calvary’s reconciliation will become effective for Daniel’s people when again, “in that Day” of Messiah’s second advent, they look on Him “whom they have pierced” (Zech 12:10; cf. Rev 1:7) and shall in repentance believe on Him (Jer 50:4, 5, 17-20).

The first three items of accomplishment are negative. The remaining three are positive:

(4) To bring in everlasting righteousness. This will be effected by inward moral transformation (Jer 31:33, 34).

(5) To seal up the vision and prophecy (Heb. prophet). When the people cease sinning, the disciplinary oracles of prophets will no longer be needed (Jer 31:34).

(6) To anoint the most Holy (most holy place, ASV marg.). Most commentators, feel that this refers to a renewed Temple, anointed like the Tabernacle of old, following the results enumerated in the five promises preceding (see Ezk 40:1-7; Isa 4:2-6). - Charles F. Pfeiffer, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), Da 9:24.

So what kind of time period is the word week describing? It comes from the Hebrew word shabuwa`{shaw-boo'-ah} which mean seven, or a period of seven (days or years), heptad, week. In this case it is a week of years so 70 weeks is 490 years.

This plan for the ages has a starting point in vs 25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. When the Persian king granted Nehemiah the right to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem God’s program to reclaim his people, the nation of Israel began.

Seventy Weeks of Daniel Timeline

 

Restoration of  Israel 538-424 BC From command to rebuild Neh 2:1-8 445 BC	7 Weeks to rebuild the wall	Nehemiah receives permission to rebuild the wall. 49 years	Start of God's Countdown
Unto Messiah  30 AD	62 Weeks	434 years       Jesus Revealed 483 years	Four Centuries Between Testaments
Messiah cut off after 69th week   City Destroyed  70AD		Jesus Crucified	Church Age
He shall confirm the covenant for 1 week Daniel 9:27	1 Week	Begin of Tribulation 7 Years	Great
Oblation to cease, The abomination of desolation Daniel 9:27		Midpoint 3 1/2 years	Tribulation
		Jesus Returns	Second Coming

 

We are even told when the Messiah would be revealed? Seven weeks and three score and two weeks. 7x7+ 62 is 69 weeks or 483 years. This prophecy is probably when the wise men, the magi from the east came looking for One born King of the Jews. Daniel wrote this prophecy in Persia and as a seer for the Babylonians and the Persians his writing would be recorded and preserved.

One more thing we are told is when the Messiah would die or be cut off? In vs. 26   And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:  We are not given an exact time just that it would be after the 62 weeks.

Further we are told that that “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end thereof shall be with a flood and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. This is a prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans that took place in 70 AD.

The reference to the prince who is to come is the “he” in vs. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: One 7 year time period. The last week of Daniels 70 year prophecy. The last week we will see fully revealed in Revelation. This prince who is to come is the anti-christ. He comes from the same people or same kingdom who destroyed the temple in AD 70 and he signs a covenant with Israel. That covenant and nothing else begins the final week of Daniel prophecy.

There is one final part of the prophecy and that is the midst, the middle, of the week “ and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate.   Here the AntiChrist, the Beast of the Book of Revelation will cause the sacrifice and offering in the Temple to cease. This will occur  3 ½ years after the covenant is signed, right in the middle of the Tribulation.

 Transition

Daniels’s time was a time of oppression for God’s captive people and Daniel prayed and God gave a prophecy of hope. In Matthew 24 once again God’s people are oppressed this time by the Roman Empire and when Jesus tells his Jewish disciples that the great Temple of Herod will be razed to the ground. They ask Him when and when he will return. What He tells them is a reinforcement of Daniel and our next enlightenment and enlargement of God’s Plan for His People.

 Reinforcement - Matthew 24

Matthew 24:1–3 1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

The Disciple’s Dilemma – Jesus returns but the Temple is destroyed

The Disciples ask Jesus when will the Temple be destroyed and what will be the sign of His return and the end of the world. Once more God’s people, his disciples are confronted with a seemingly hopeless outcome and once again Jesus give them a different perspective. Just like Daniel’s answer it is not an easy prophecy but it also ends with the promise of the Messiah coming, this time leading the army of Heaven, returning to save God’s People.

Matthew 24:4–31 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

For sake of time I’m going to just leave Mat 24 right there. We can see that it is tied to Daniel for Jesus makes the connection himself and the prophecy began with the Discples questions about the destruction of the Temple, which Daniel also had prophesied.

Matthew 24 expands Daniels’s prophecy and makes Jesus the fulfillment. He is the Messiah what will return. He is the Son of man who will come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The disciple’s dilemma of the destruction of their Temple and the return of their Lord is resolved by Him that sits with them and teaches. Jesus is the answer to all their fears and questions.

Transition

Now lets move to Revelation 6 and the final time of Jacob’s trouble, the tribulation what will be the last for God’s people Israel.

Final Revelation - Desolation 6-7

Revelation 6:1–17 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

John’s Despair

John’s dark night of the soul, there on the island of Patmos, brings him to the place where Jesus once again appears to comfort his people, both the New Covenant people and the Old Covenant, the saved of the church age and the elect of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Once again, as it was with Daniel and with the disciples on the mount of Olives it is a dark picture, even darker and more horrific when all the details are revealed, yet it ends with a glorious picture of Jesus return, His Kingdom and eternity. It is the most wonderful, the most detailed and the most beautiful revelation ever given. Made even more wonderful by the contrast of all the horror and tribulation that has gone before it.

John sees the lamb open the seven sealed book one seal at a time. This scroll is the final revelation of God’s plan for the ages, His final redemption of his people Israel. What John sees in visions we read as the book of revelation and all of it is found in the scroll held in the hand of the lamb who is a lion. The only one worthy to take and open the scroll.

The Seven Seals Chapter 6

The Seven Seals: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The first seal is the antichrist who will rule the world by bringing a false peace to Israel and the world. The signing of his covenant begins the great tribulation.

The second seal is widespread war.

The third seal is famine and scarcity which always follows war.

The fourth seal is disease and death which always follows war and starvation.

The fifth seal is the persecution and martyrdom of the saints on the earth.

The sixth seal is great earthquake, natural catastrophes and disasters.

The seventh seal contains the seven trumpets and opens the next series of judgments and tribulations.

Now compare the Lord’s Olivet Discourse with Revelation chapter 6

Matthew 24:5-9 Signs of the Times	Revelation 6 The Six Seals
Vs. 5 - False Christs	Vs. 2 -1st Seal Antichrist on a white horse
Vs. 6 - Wars	Vs. 3 - 2nd Seal War rides on a red horse
Vs. 7 - Famines	Vs. 5 - 3rd Seal Famine, scarcity
Vs 7 - Pestilence	Vs. 7 - 4th Seal death rides a pale horse
Vs 9 - Saints Persecuted	Vs. 9 - 5th Seal martyrs cry out
Vs. 7 - Earthquakes	Vs. 12 -  6th Seal, natural disasters

 

You can see that they are the same prophecy and that they are both built upon the original prophecy conveyed to Daniel by Gabriel. God’s Plan for the Age. He program to reclaim His People Israel.

Many people look to Matthew 24 as a way of gauging how soon the Lord will return or the tribulation will start, but it does not fit there. It does not belong in the church age, but in the time of Jacob’s trouble, the tribulation and it begins with the same event that Daniel, and Revelation 6 begins, with a covenant between Israel and the Anti-christ. The false Messiah who promised peace but brings desolation.

The opening of the Scroll for which all of heaven waiting and longed for has finally begun and the events that take place like acts from an orchestrated script are terrible to see. War, famine, pandemics, mass confusion, mass anarchy and mass delustion as the world looks to the most evil man who has ever lived to save them, but instead he bring his own destruction and it is worse than what they were enduring.

Perhaps that is why in the midst of such horror and desolation, John is not given the vision of Revelation 7 and it will be where we conclude this morning, in hope, in faith that God is still working and will always be working even when it seems darkest and hopeless.

Conclusion The Sealing

Revelation 7, The Sealing of the 144,000 and the Great White-robed Multitude

Rev 7:1-8 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.  And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

The Four Angels Wait, they are not allowed to act in the judgment of God until the Sealing of the 144,000 is finished.

These sealed one are God’s people, named as tribes of Israel, and here are called the servants of God.  Not just Jews, but those chosen, sealed, for a special service to God. During the Tribulation, these sealed ones, these chosen ones will be God’s witnesses upon the earth proclaiming the coming of the kingdom. The church is glaring in its absence. The church, God’s house of witness during the church age is not spreading the Gospel on the earth. It cannot because it has been called home to be with the bridegroom. Now the task of warning and preaching falls back to God’s people Israel.

And in our last verses we see the harvest of their work and it is incredible.

The Great, White-robed Multitude Rev 7:9-17

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

John is told that these in white robes, have come out of great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. This great multitude which John says no man can number, are the harvest of the 144,000 who preach during the tribulation. These people of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues proved their faith by the testimony of their own death during the great tribulation.

The great multitude shows that God will triumph. Innumerable multitudes are saved out of the tribulation by the grace and power of God. Satan even at his strongest, most dominating position over this world cannot stop the light of God, the love of Christ or the loud voice of the Gospel. God’s people will give their lives because they know, the truth. Satan’s kingdom must come down and Jesus, Lord and King is coming to rule and reign.  

This is also our application our hope, our lesson. I don’t need to know when He is coming back because I know He is coming back. I don’t need to know when the darkness will end because I know the light will always overcome the dark. Daniel 9, Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation was never about when, or why it was always about Who.

That Who is Jesus, Lord, Messiah, King, Son of God, very God of very God, ruler and Savior. That is what it is all about, that is what it has always been about. Its Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.