Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190006A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says to, 00:08 "Receive with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls 00:13 and to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God, 00:17 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:24 Our study today is "The Book of Revelation. 00:31 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School panel. 00:33 I'm Jill Morikone, 00:34 and we are so excited that you have joined us 00:37 for a study of the Book of Revelation. 00:39 We are on lesson number 6, "The Sealed People of God." 00:44 We just came out of the six seals 00:46 and it's almost as if John takes an interlude 00:49 when we get to Revelation 7, at the end of the sixth seal, 00:52 before we even break open the seventh seal, 00:55 we do this little interlude, 00:57 and I'm excited about our study today. 01:00 I want to encourage you to go to the website 01:02 if you would like your very own copy 01:04 of the quarterly. 01:05 That's ABSG.Adventist.org, 01:10 that stands for Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventist.org 01:15 or you can always visit 01:16 your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:19 let them know that 3ABN sent you 01:21 and they would be happy to give you a quarterly 01:24 and you could join a discussion group yourself. 01:27 I want to introduce our panel at this time. 01:29 To my left is Pastor Ryan Day, and my sis, Shelley Quinn, 01:34 and another sis, 01:36 we're so glad to have you here, Yvonne Lewis-Shelton, 01:39 and then Pastor John Lomacang, 01:41 our pastor here at the church. 01:43 It's a privilege to open up the Word of God 01:44 with each one of you and thank you 01:47 for the time you put into studying, 01:48 and preparing, and praying over it, 01:50 and I know the Lord is going to bless this lesson 01:53 in a special way. 01:55 Before we go any further, 01:56 we want to go to the Lord in prayer. 01:57 And, Yvonne, would you pray for us here today? 02:00 Father God, we just thank You so very much 02:02 for the privilege of opening up Your Word 02:05 and learning more about the Revelation 02:07 of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ. 02:10 So we just ask for Your presence, 02:11 the presence of Your Holy Spirit 02:13 to anoint every word that's said, 02:15 and to be in our midst. 02:16 You are welcome in this place, in Jesus' name, amen. 02:19 Amen! Amen. 02:21 Remember in our discussion last week of the fifth seal, 02:24 I know, Ryan, you had that, and they said, 02:26 "How long O Lord," how long until the persecuted, 02:32 those who have been martyred for their faith, 02:34 how long until God stands up and does something about it. 02:38 And we see the beginning of that in the sixth seal 02:41 that God is ready to deal with those 02:43 who have harmed His people. 02:46 The sixth seal brings us all the way up until the moment 02:49 just before the second coming of Christ 02:52 we see that. 02:53 I want to pick that up, actually, in Revelation 6:17, 02:57 the last verse of Revelation 6, 02:59 and then we're going to jump in to Revelation 7. 03:01 Revelation 6:17, it says, 03:03 "The great day of His wrath has come 03:07 and who is able to stand?" 03:09 Remember the wicked in the verse 03:11 before were saying, 03:12 "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him." 03:16 They want to hide in the caves and the rocks because they say, 03:18 "Who can stand?" 03:20 So Revelation 7 is the answer to that question, 03:23 who can stand the sealed of God. 03:25 And that's what we're going to talk about here today. 03:28 So let's look, I have Sunday is "Restraining the Winds." 03:32 I have the first couple of verses of Revelation 7. 03:36 Revelation 7 begins with the four angels 03:38 who are holding back, as it were, 03:41 the four winds of strife 03:43 until the servants of God can be sealed. 03:46 They are holding back the four winds. 03:48 Now in the Bible, 03:49 the four winds is mentioned several different times 03:51 in the Bible. 03:53 In Daniel 7, the four winds can churn the Great Sea. 03:57 In Daniel 11, the four winds can uproot 04:00 and scatter powerful empires. 04:03 In Jeremiah 49, 04:05 the four winds are deployed against the nation, 04:08 the nation of Elam 04:09 and they scatter people in every direction. 04:12 Many times, the four winds come to bring judgment, 04:17 but the angels are holding back those winds 04:20 of judgment and destruction 04:22 until the people of God can be sealed. 04:25 So let's read that, Revelation 7:1, 04:28 "After these things 04:29 I saw four angels standing at the four corners 04:32 of the earth, 04:33 holding the four winds of the earth, 04:35 that the wind should not blow on the earth, 04:37 on the sea, or on any tree. 04:39 Then I saw another angel ascending 04:42 from the east having, 04:44 there's our word, the seal of the living God. 04:48 And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels 04:50 to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 04:53 saying, 'Do not harm the earth, 04:56 the sea or the trees till we have sealed 04:59 the servants of our God on their foreheads.' " 05:04 So we're talking today about the seal. 05:06 What is the seal? 05:07 I want to talk about the purpose of the seal, 05:09 and preparation for the seal 05:13 because if we're going to be able to stand 05:16 and the only way we can stand is to be sealed, 05:18 I want to know how I can be sealed 05:20 because that's important! 05:21 We want to look at the purpose and the preparation, 05:24 but before we do that, 05:25 I just want to touch on one thing, 05:26 there's actually two different sealings 05:29 mentioned in the word of God. 05:32 There's a sealing, I call it, "The seal of salvation." 05:35 We're going to talk about that in Ephesians Chapter 1. 05:38 After we accept the Lord Jesus Christ 05:40 and make Him Lord of our life, what happens? 05:43 We are sealed 05:45 with the Holy Spirit of promise, 05:46 so we'll look at that. 05:48 The second seal is the seal of protection. 05:51 This seal takes place here in Revelation 7, 05:54 and we see it again in Revelation 14 05:56 at the end of time, 05:57 and this is the seal of protection. 05:59 It's also from the Holy Spirit. 06:01 We cannot have the seal of protection 06:03 unless we've had the seal of salvation. 06:06 One has to precede the other. 06:09 There's one more passage we're going to look 06:11 at before we get into the purpose. 06:13 Turn with me to Ezekiel Chapter 9, 06:16 this is kind of a parallel passage 06:17 and it talks about the sealing. 06:20 So turn with me to Ezekiel Chapter 9, 06:22 we're going to pick this up in verse 3, 06:25 Ezekiel 9:3, 06:27 "Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up 06:29 from the cherub, where it had been, 06:31 to the threshold of the temple. 06:32 And He called to the man clothed with linen," 06:35 now being clothed with linen is the dress of what? 06:38 Priests or of angels, clothed with linen, 06:42 "who had the writer's inkhorn at his side," 06:44 like he's a scribe, "and the Lord said to him, 06:47 'Go through the midst of the city, 06:48 through the midst of Jerusalem, 06:50 and put a" what word is that? 06:51 Mark! 06:53 "A mark, put a mark on the foreheads of the men 06:56 who sigh and cry over 06:57 all the abominations that are done within it.' " 06:59 Now the word for "mark" in Hebrew 07:01 is actually the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet 07:05 and it's a symbol of the last or remaining ones 07:09 or we could say the remnant. 07:11 We see that in Revelation where the remnant are sealed. 07:15 So those are sealed who are sighing and crying 07:19 over the abominations 07:21 that are done within it. 07:22 To the others, He said in my hearing, 07:24 "Go after them through the city and kill, 07:26 do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 07:29 Utterly slay old and young men, 07:31 maidens and little children and women, 07:33 but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark, 07:38 and begin at My sanctuary." 07:40 1 Peter 4:17 says, "Judgment begins" where? 07:43 "At the house of God, begin at My sanctuary." 07:46 This reminds me almost as if, 07:48 remember the children of Israel, 07:50 the night before the Passover 07:51 and here's the sign on the doorpost, 07:54 you know, indicating to pass by. 07:57 So this seal, 07:59 this mark saves them from the destruction 08:02 that is to come. 08:04 So let's look at the purpose and preparation for the seal. 08:07 The purpose of the seal, I think it has three purposes. 08:09 First, it's identification and ownership. 08:12 It shows who we belong to. 08:14 Second, it's allegiance. 08:16 It shows who we serve. 08:18 And third, it's protection. 08:21 So let's look at, 08:22 the seal is identification and ownership. 08:25 It identifies the owner or organization. 08:29 Think about Haman, he took the king's signet ring, 08:32 and what did it show? 08:33 That he had authority, 08:35 it showed that he was acting on behalf of who? 08:38 The king. 08:40 Animals are branded 08:42 showing that someone else owns them. 08:45 Think about 3ABN, we have a corporate seal, 08:47 and on our important official documents 08:49 we put the seal because it shows, 08:52 this comes from 3ABN, this belongs to 3ABN. 08:55 Now there's a seal that the Lord gives us 08:57 that shows we belong to Christ. 08:58 Ephesians 1:13, this is the first seal, 09:02 the seal of salvation. 09:04 Ephesians 1:13, "In Him you also trusted, 09:07 after you heard the word of truth, 09:10 the gospel of your salvation, 09:11 in whom also, having believed, 09:13 you were sealed 09:14 with the Holy Spirit of promise." 09:17 When we believe and accept Christ by faith, 09:20 the Holy Spirit marks us, as it were, 09:22 as belonging to Jesus. 09:24 Again, 09:25 in 2 Timothy 2:19, 09:32 it says, "Nevertheless, 09:33 the solid foundation of God stands, 09:36 having this seal," there's our word again, 09:38 "the Lord knows who are His." 09:41 So the seal identifies that we belong to Christ. 09:45 Number 2, the seal gives authority 09:48 among other people. 09:50 If you use the king's signet ring, 09:52 or you use 3ABN's seal, 09:54 it comes with the full backing of the person 09:57 who gave the seal. 09:58 Ephesians 1:14, we just read verse 13, 10:01 but the very next verse says, 10:03 "Who is the guarantee of our inheritance," 10:05 who is that? 10:06 "The Holy Spirit is the guarantee 10:07 of our inheritance 10:09 until the redemption of the purchased possession, 10:12 to the praise of His glory." 10:14 He is the guarantee of our inheritance. 10:16 The word in Greek, "guarantee," 10:18 is in earnest, 10:19 like you would pay earnest money, 10:21 if you were making a down payment on a house 10:24 or a partial payment, and to me, 10:26 it's the Holy Spirit saying, "I've got you. 10:29 I've got you. 10:30 You are mine 10:31 and I will complete this process in your life. 10:35 I will bring you to that place 10:37 where you can stand at the end 10:40 without any sin in your life 10:41 because I'm the one who does that work in you." 10:45 Amen! 10:46 The seal shows our allegiance whom we serve. 10:51 It says in Revelation 7:4, 10:54 "I heard the number of those 10:56 who were sealed, 144,000." 10:58 So the sealed are the 144,000. 11:01 Now in Revelation 14:1, it says, 11:04 "John looked and saw the Lamb on the Mount of Zion, 11:07 with Him 144,000, 11:08 who had the Father's name in their forehead." 11:11 So if the sealed are the 144,000 11:14 and the 144,000 have the Father's name 11:17 in their forehead, 11:18 that means the sealed represent the Father. 11:21 The sealed obey, serve and follow the Father. 11:25 They have given Him their full allegiance. 11:28 Finally, the final test 11:31 will be over the keeping of God's commandments, 11:33 we know especially the fourth commandment. 11:36 The Sabbath was a sign of God's people in biblical time. 11:40 At the end of time, it's a sign of loyalty, worship, 11:45 whom will we worship? 11:46 And the Sabbath is a test, is a sign of that. 11:50 There's a great quote in the lesson 11:52 from Last Day Events, page 220, 11:55 "That the seal of God is not a visible mark, 11:57 it is a settling into the truth 12:00 both intellectually and spiritually 12:04 so that we cannot be moved. 12:06 So who shall be able to stand? 12:07 We will not be shaken, we will not be moved, 12:10 in the winds of doctrine, in the deception, 12:12 in those final climatic events because we are sealed. 12:16 It gives us protection. 12:18 Protection against the four winds. 12:20 Protection against the great day of His wrath. 12:24 So the purpose of the seal: 12:25 It identifies that we belong to Christ, 12:27 we're sealed the first time, 12:29 the seal of salvation 12:30 when the Holy Spirit gives that to us. 12:33 Then we're sealed again at the end of time. 12:37 This is a seal giving us authority. 12:39 It's a seal that shows our allegiance 12:41 and that we have committed ourselves 12:43 fully to the Lord Jesus Christ. 12:45 It's a seal with protection against what's to come. 12:48 And finally, the preparation for the seal. 12:51 The end times will be a time of extreme testing of trial, 12:55 of temptation, and spiritual warfare, 12:57 of battles from within and without, 12:59 battles with selfishness, stubbornness, and sin, 13:02 winds of doctrine that are going to be blowing, 13:04 immorality will be rampant, deception will be everywhere. 13:08 If it is even possible, 13:09 the very elect will be deceived. 13:12 God's commandments, 13:14 especially the fourth one will be under attack. 13:17 So what does God want us to do? 13:19 Open up your heart to Him right now. 13:22 Accept Him as Lord and Savior of your life. 13:26 Receive the seal of the Holy Spirit. 13:28 When you accept Him, you receive that first sealing, 13:31 the seal of salvation. 13:32 And then choose to study His Word, 13:35 choose to walk in obedience to all of His commandments 13:40 and He will seal you that final time 13:43 just before the close of probation 13:45 and Jesus comes. 13:46 Ryan? Amen. 13:48 Praise the Lord! Thank you, 13:49 you set that up very well for this passage 13:52 that I'm going to take on now 13:54 which is actually discussing 13:55 the mysterious number of this 144,000. 13:59 When I traveled on the road for many years 14:02 with Amazing Facts Ministry doing evangelism, 14:05 this is probably one of the most asked questions 14:07 I got which was in reference to the 144,000. 14:10 Is it a literal number? 14:12 Is it a symbolic number? 14:13 Who are these people who are sealed, this 144,000? 14:17 So we want to cover that, 14:18 we want to look at that at this moment. 14:20 And, you know, this particular passage 14:22 is the perfect example of this symbolism 14:25 that we're talking about 14:27 because while there's tons of symbolism we know, 14:29 all throughout the Book of Revelation, 14:31 perhaps in no other passage than this one here 14:33 is put on display better than Revelation 7. 14:37 For instance, right there at the top, verse 1, 14:38 "After these things, 14:40 I saw four angels standing 14:41 in the four corners of the earth 14:43 holding back the four winds of the earth." 14:44 If you get that picture in your mind, 14:45 I mean, it's not like we can go to four different corners 14:48 of the earth, and see angels sitting there 14:50 holding back these massive strong winds, 14:52 we know that that is symbolic, 14:54 obviously, for God is, 14:57 He is allowing His angels, 14:58 He is allowing His kingdom to hold back the strife, 15:01 the major time of trouble that will come upon this planet 15:04 in the last days 15:05 after the sealing of His people. 15:07 And so what I want to look at, I want to start with verse 4. 15:10 Boy, I have a lot to work with here. 15:12 Hint, hint! 15:14 But we're going to do our best to get through this. 15:19 Revelation 7:4-8, and I'm going to read through it, 15:23 and then we're going to go back and backtrack 15:25 and try to make some sense of this. 15:28 Verse 4 says, 15:29 "And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 15:33 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel 15:38 were sealed. 15:39 And then verses 5-8 here lists those particular tribes. 15:43 And, you know, many people would overlook this list. 15:46 They would go right over it and think, 15:47 "Aw, I'm not interested in these 12 different tribes 15:50 but if you don't read them, you don't study them, 15:52 you might miss something. 15:54 Let's read through this because there's the reason 15:56 why God put this in this particular revelation. 15:59 "Of the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed, 16:03 of the tribe of Reuben 12,000 were sealed, 16:07 of the tribe of Gad, 12,000 were sealed, 16:09 of the tribe of Asher, 12,000 were sealed, 16:12 of the tribe of Naphtali," 16:14 I'm guessing that's how you say it, 16:16 "Naphtali," all right, "12,000 were sealed, 16:19 of the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 were sealed, 16:22 of the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 were sealed, 16:27 of the tribe of Levi, 12,000 were sealed, 16:30 of the tribe of, " I'm guessing that Issachar, 16:33 "Issachar, 12,000 were sealed, 16:35 of the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 were sealed, 16:39 of the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 were sealed, 16:42 of the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000 were sealed." 16:46 Now the question is, 16:48 is this a literal 144,000 16:51 or is it a symbolic number? 16:54 Let's look at this first, first notice a few things, 16:57 I'm just going to reread 16:58 the first part of this passage in verse 4. 17:01 "And I heard the number of who were sealed, 17:03 144,000 17:04 all the tribes of the children of Israel 17:06 were sealed." 17:07 So I made a note here, notice this, 17:09 144,000 represent those who are able to stand 17:13 through the events portrayed in 6:17, 17:17 and for those of you, she just read it earlier, 6:17, 17:20 end of the sixth seal, 17:21 "For the great day of His wrath has come," 17:23 speaking of Christ Jesus, that Lamb, 17:25 "and who shall be able to stand?" 17:28 These people are able to stand 17:30 because they know Christ. 17:32 They have the seal of the living God 17:35 and I know that in the near future, 17:37 we will have an entire message 17:39 in which we identify what this seal is 17:42 and are protected at the time of the universal destruction 17:45 as were those who possess the mark 17:47 in Ezekiel's vision which you read 17:49 in just a few moments ago. 17:50 So God has a mark 17:51 and we're going to read in the future, 17:53 the devil has a mark. 17:54 He has a mark only because God has a mark. 17:56 He counterfeits always the original. 17:59 But notice this, and I made this note. 18:00 Twelve is a significant number in the Bible 18:04 because there were 12 tribes in Israel 18:07 and 12 apostles. 18:08 Twelve is kind of a representation of leadership, 18:11 and so we see that 12 has a special meaning, 18:13 but what about this 144,000? 18:15 Is it symbolic or is it spiritual, 18:18 is it literal? 18:19 Well, I believe that there's enough evidence 18:21 to show that this is a symbolic number. 18:23 Amen. 18:24 First of all, you will notice that 18:26 it mentions these 12 specific tribes. 18:29 Do those 12 tribes exist today? 18:30 No. 18:32 Where are they, if they are? 18:33 Obviously those 12 tribes do not exist today in our time, 18:36 so there's some symbolism being communicated here. 18:39 Also if you notice, 18:40 and I'll probably come back to this in just a few moments, 18:42 but if you compare the actual list here 18:46 mentioned in Revelation Chapter 7, 18:48 to the original list provided in the Book of Numbers 18:50 and in the Book of Ezekiel, 18:52 you will see that it's not the exact same list. 18:54 There's actually two that are omitted 18:56 from this list in Revelation that are included 18:59 in the list in Ezekiel and in Numbers. 19:02 We'll come back to that in just a few moments. 19:07 Romans 2:28-29 19:10 and the reason why I'm referencing this 19:13 is to further prove the fact 19:14 that Paul has already established to us 19:17 and for us that we are Jews 19:21 if we are Christ's. 19:22 If we have joined ourselves together with Jesus Christ, 19:27 we are part of that seed of Abraham. 19:28 Notice Romans 2:28-29, 19:32 "For He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, 19:35 nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, 19:39 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, 19:43 and circumcision is that of the heart, 19:45 in the Spirit, not in the letter 19:47 whose praise is not from men but from God." 19:51 Now that's powerful! 19:52 So this particular list here, these 12 different tribes, 19:56 most people when they think of the tribes of Israel, 19:58 they think of the Jewish people or the Hebrew people. 20:01 But we know that here in the last days, 20:03 that line of distinction has been destroyed 20:05 in a sense that once we come to Christ 20:08 as the Bible is inspired and told us, 20:10 we obviously know that we are Christ's 20:11 when we adjoin ourselves to Him. 20:13 So we know, automatically, 20:14 that's more proof that this number here, 20:16 this 144,000, it is a symbolic number, 20:19 a representation of God's people right here 20:22 in the last days. 20:23 Every single one of us have an opportunity 20:25 to be part of that 144,000. 20:27 It's a personal choice! 20:28 It is a personal choice of the gospel. 20:31 For he is not... I already read that. 20:32 Notice Psalm 91:5-10. Let's go here. 20:35 Psalm 91:5-10, 20:37 there's a beautiful promise for all of us 20:39 who join ourself in Christ 20:41 and make that preparation to be a part of this 144,000. 20:45 Psalm 91, I'm going to read verses 5-10 20:48 for the sake of time, 20:49 although I would encourage you to read the entire chapter, 20:51 it's a beautiful chapter. 20:53 Psalm 91 beginning with verse 5, 20:56 notice what it says, 20:57 "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, 21:00 nor of the arrow that flies by day, 21:05 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, 21:07 nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 21:11 A thousand may fall at your side, 21:12 and 10, 000 at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. 21:17 Only with your eyes shall you look 21:19 and see the reward of the wicked. 21:22 Because you have made the Lord," here it is, 21:24 "Who is my refuge, 21:26 even the Most High, your dwelling place, 21:29 no evil shall befall you, 21:31 nor shall any plague come near your dwelling." 21:34 We mentioned that time of trouble 21:36 that will happen at the end of time 21:38 after the sealing, 21:40 we're talking about the sealing of God's people, 21:42 the special group of 144,000, 21:44 these people will be saved. 21:45 That's right. 21:47 These people are promised, right here in Psalm 91, 21:49 that they will not be touched because they had made the Lord 21:51 their Savior, they had made the Lord their God. 21:54 Let's look at Revelation 7:5, 21:58 and we're going to actually continue on through 22:00 because I have a little time, 22:01 but I want to show you something here really quickly 22:03 about these individual tribe names. 22:05 Each one of these tribe names mean something, okay? 22:08 There's a message in each one of these tribe names, okay. 22:11 Check this out. 22:13 Judah, do you know what Judah means? 22:15 It means, "I will praise the Lord." 22:17 All right. 22:18 Notice the next one on the list here 22:20 in Revelation 7, 22:21 Ruben means, "He has looked on me." 22:24 Gad, he means, "Given good fortune." 22:28 Asher means, "Happy am I." 22:31 Okay notice, there's just something here 22:32 that's beautiful. 22:34 Naphtali means, "For my wrestling." 22:37 Manasseh means, "God is making me forget." 22:42 Simeon means, "God hears me." 22:45 Levi means, "And is joined to me." 22:49 Issachar means, "He has purchased me." 22:54 Zebulun means, "A dwelling." 22:57 Joseph means, "God shall add to me." 23:01 And Benjamin means, "The son of his right hand." 23:04 Now I just want to quickly 23:06 because I have a few seconds here. 23:07 So you'll notice if you look at the original list 23:09 in Revelation Chapter 7 here, 23:12 you'll notice that the tribe of Dan is removed 23:14 and the reason why that's the case 23:16 is the tribe of Dan fell into apostasy. 23:18 Now if you look at the original list 23:19 in Genesis 49, 23:21 while the tribe of Dan is mentioned, 23:23 you'll notice in this list, 23:24 it's not because it was replaced by Manasseh, 23:26 so all of the other original are there, 23:29 and I think that's a pretty cool thing. 23:31 I didn't notice that before. 23:32 But I also want to just, really quickly, 23:34 read this last little thing, very quickly. 23:36 If you sum up all of what each name means, 23:39 Asher, Naphtali, all of the 12 tribes' names, 23:41 notice what message you get 23:43 when you sum up what all of their names mean. 23:46 "I will praise the Lord, 23:47 He has looked on me and given good fortune, 23:50 happy am I for my wrestling, 23:53 God is making me forget, 23:57 God hears me and is joined to me, 23:59 He has purchased me a dwelling, 24:01 God shall add to me the son of His right hand." 24:05 That's powerful, there's like a nice little encrypted message 24:07 right there, it's wonderful. 24:08 Amen! 24:10 Thank you so much Ryan, 24:11 what an incredible study of the 144,000. 24:14 We're going to take a short break, 24:15 we'll be right back. 24:21 Ever wish you could watch 24:23 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again 24:25 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:28 Well, you can by visiting 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.com 24:33 A clean design makes it easy 24:35 to find the program you're looking for. 24:38 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:41 so you can follow along. 24:43 Sharing is easy, just click share 24:45 and choose your favorite social media. 24:47 Share a link, save a life, for eternity. 24:54 Welcome back as we continue our study 24:56 of Revelation Chapter 7. 24:58 We're going to pick it up with Tuesday, Shelley's day, 25:00 "The Great Multitude." 25:01 Oh, thank you both for your excellent studies. 25:05 I will begin in Revelation 7:9, 25:09 and the Bible says this, 25:11 "After these things I looked, and behold, 25:14 a great multitude 25:17 which no one could number of all nations, 25:20 tribes, peoples, and tongues." 25:23 John first heard a number and that number was 144,000, 25:29 and this is the church militant on earth 25:32 because they're suffering persecution 25:34 and martyrdom and they were sealed, 25:37 why? 25:38 Because they obeyed the covenant, 25:42 they're preserved 25:43 not by being delivered from death, 25:47 but delivered from the conquest of death, 25:51 if you think about that 25:52 because they prevailed over the persecution and death 25:56 because of the word of their testimony, 25:58 and the blood of the Lamb. 26:00 Now, he heard that number, 144,000, 26:04 then he says, 26:06 he turns and sees this great multitude 26:09 and you'll see throughout Revelation, 26:12 John hears, he turns and sees, 26:14 he hears, he turns and sees. 26:17 So this is the church triumphant, 26:20 the redeemed who have arrived in heaven 26:22 after the second advent of Christ, 26:25 and they're standing before the throne of the Lamb, 26:27 they're eternally saved, every nation, tongue, 26:31 tribe, and people, 26:33 the worldwide universal church is represented here. 26:36 So it mentions, this is interesting, 26:39 that the 144,000 are sealed, 26:43 but it doesn't mention 26:44 that the great multitude is sealed 26:46 and that's most likely 26:48 because they are the same group. 26:51 So they've already been sealed here on earth, 26:54 now they're receiving their inheritance. 26:57 Let's look at verse 9. 26:59 "And they are standing before the throne 27:02 and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, 27:05 with palm branches in their hands." 27:08 What does the white robe represent? 27:10 The righteousness of Jesus Christ 27:13 and you'll remember at His triumphal entry, 27:16 they had the palm branches 27:18 that they were waving and laying down. 27:20 This was a sign of victory, 27:22 so what we're seeing here both the white robes 27:27 and the palm branches are signs of victory and joy. 27:31 In Revelation 7:10, 27:33 "And they were crying out with a loud voice saying, 27:37 'Salvation belongs to our God 27:39 who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' " 27:43 And it's interesting 27:44 because this crying out is a present tense, 27:49 so it is an unceasing adoration for salvation by grace. 27:56 Amen. Salvation belongs to the Lamb. 27:59 And then Revelation 7:11, 28:02 "All the angels stood around the throne 28:04 and the elders and the four living creatures, 28:07 and they fell on their faces before the throne 28:10 and worshiped God saying: 'Amen! 28:12 Blessing and glory and wisdom, 28:15 thanksgiving and honor and power and might, 28:19 be to our God forever and ever.' " 28:22 The angels, and the elders, 28:25 and the four living creatures are joining in, 28:28 rejoicing in the salvation of humanity 28:32 in a symphony of praise to God. 28:35 I just wanted to read to you, Ephesians 1:9-10, 28:38 it says that 28:40 "God having made known to us the mystery of His will, 28:43 according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 28:47 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times 28:51 He might gather together in one all things in Christ, 28:56 both which are in heaven and which are on earth." 29:00 And that's what you see happening here. 29:01 Amen. 29:03 And you know, I love this seven-fold doxology here. 29:07 It says, "Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, 29:11 honor, power, might, 29:14 be to our God forever and ever." 29:17 Seven is the number of perfection, 29:19 so what we're seeing here 29:21 is it's talking about the infinite perfection 29:24 of Jesus Christ and His worthiness, 29:27 but it does not by any means 29:30 exhaust the list that's possible. 29:32 And that's similar to Revelation 5:12 29:35 that you had read before, Jill. 29:38 So he's saying, when it says that it is, 29:41 be to our God, 29:43 this isn't just limiting it to God the Father, 29:47 this is now Christ the Holy Spirit 29:51 and God the Father, 29:52 it's inclusive of the entire Godhead. 29:54 Revelation 7:13, 29:57 "Then one of the elders answered, 29:58 saying to me, 30:00 "Who are these arrayed in white robes, 30:03 and where did they come from?" 30:05 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." 30:08 Now, I think the fact 30:10 that the elder asked John their identity, 30:15 means that he most likely knew who their identity was. 30:21 He recognized and understood. 30:25 These are the covenant keepers from earth, right? 30:29 So he didn't offer his own opinion, 30:31 rather as one who is still under probation, 30:35 he just gave a respectful reply, 30:37 "Sir, you know." 30:39 And then verse 14, he says, "So he said to me, 30:43 'These are the ones 30:44 who came out of the great tribulation, 30:47 and washed their robes, 30:49 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' " 30:53 From the dark background of persecution, 30:57 the church has suffered intense persecution beginning 31:02 in John's day and throughout the Middle Ages 31:05 and even we'll see in the greatest tribulation 31:09 toward the end of the earth. 31:10 And in my opinion, 31:14 I will say this humbly, 31:16 I think tribulation here is probably the tribulation 31:20 of all the church history, not just talking about the end. 31:24 But we see this great multitude 31:27 and it's mentioned again, 31:28 the great multitude, in Revelation 19:1. 31:31 It says, "I heard a loud voice of a great multitude 31:34 in heaven saying, "Hallelujah! 31:36 Salvation and glory and honor and power 31:39 belong to the Lord our God." 31:40 So again in Revelation 19:6, 31:44 "The voice of the great multitude saying, 31:47 "Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns. 31:51 Let us be glad and rejoice 31:53 and give glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 31:57 and His wife has made herself ready." 32:00 So this crowd in heaven is composed of all those 32:04 who have remained faithful to God 32:07 from the beginning of time and throughout all generations. 32:12 You know, no true believer ever needs to worry 32:16 about being excluded from this group 32:19 because we are all included. 32:22 And when it says that their robes 32:24 were made white in the blood of the Lamb, 32:26 this is referring 32:28 to the redemptive works of Christ. 32:30 "They washed their robes" 32:32 is an undeniable reference 32:36 to the conversion of the saints 32:38 and their obedience 32:43 to the gospel. 32:44 So even though salvation is by grace, through faith, 32:48 obedience is how we wash our robes, 32:51 you know? 32:53 This is something that we need to think about. 32:55 He, Christ, 32:56 provides the means of redemption, 32:59 but it requires people 33:01 to appropriate the blessings of it 33:04 through obedience. 33:06 There's many, many New Testament passages 33:09 that stress the human response to salvation. 33:14 So here is praise being offered to the Lord. 33:19 It's interesting, there's no mention 33:21 of what they had done in obedience, 33:23 it's only the blood of the Lamb 33:25 because salvation from the penalty of sin, 33:28 it doesn't matter, you can obey from now 33:30 till the cows come in, 33:32 and you know what? 33:34 That obedience isn't going to save you. 33:35 That's right. 33:36 It is only the blood of the Lamb 33:38 that can remove the stain of sin. 33:41 White symbolizes His perfection and His righteousness 33:46 that is imputed to us. 33:47 So let me read this to you real quickly. 33:49 This comes from the... 33:54 What was the comments in the quarterly? 33:56 "John sees the great multitude, 33:58 those who came out of the great tribulation 34:00 and washed their robes 34:02 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 34:04 And this is the special group of people 34:06 who no matter what despite their struggles 34:09 that they went through, 34:11 they had stayed faithful to Jesus, 34:14 a faithfulness that symbolized by their being covered 34:17 in their robes of His perfect righteousness. 34:20 And this great theme of salvation by grace appears, 34:23 no matter who these people are, 34:26 whether they are a literal 144,000 34:29 that are saved at the end of time, 34:31 or if it's everybody, 34:33 their only claim to salvation and eternal life 34:36 on the new earth 34:38 is because of the blood of Jesus Christ." 34:41 Amen! Amen! 34:43 Thank you, Shelley, that is so beautiful. 34:45 You know, we have so much to be grateful for 34:49 and to be thankful for the blood of Jesus 34:51 which washes away 34:53 our sins and His righteousness, not our own. 34:57 Amen. 34:58 My lesson is Wednesday's lesson 35:01 and it's "Those Who Follow the Lamb." 35:03 And let's take a look at Revelation 14. 35:09 I need to tell you, 35:11 I have the privilege of studying Revelation 35:15 on a program called, "Salvation and Symbols and Signs." 35:18 A very popular program! 35:19 Yes, praise the Lord and I would be remiss 35:21 if I did not mention that, 35:23 and if you want 35:24 a more in-depth study of Revelation, 35:26 because it's hard to get everything in, 35:28 in 10 minutes. 35:30 You can go and watch on YouTube, 35:33 YouTube.com/D2DNetworkTV. 35:38 And we have study guides available as well, 35:40 salvationsymbols.tv. 35:43 So I needed to mention that real quickly. 35:44 So let's turn to Revelation 14 35:48 and let's talk about those who follow the Lamb. 35:53 Let's read verses 1-5, 35:55 "Then I looked 35:56 and behold a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, 35:59 and with Him 144,000, 36:02 having His Father's name written on their foreheads. 36:05 And I heard a voice from heaven, 36:07 like the voice of many waters, 36:09 and like the voice of loud thunder. 36:11 And I heard the sound of harpists 36:13 playing their harps. 36:14 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, 36:18 before the four living creatures, and the elders, 36:21 and no one could learn that song except the 144,000 36:26 who were redeemed from the earth. 36:28 These are the ones 36:30 who were not defiled with women, 36:31 for they are virgins. 36:33 These are the ones 36:34 who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. 36:37 These were redeemed from among men, 36:39 being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 36:42 And in their mouth was found no deceit, 36:45 for they are without fault before the throne of God." 36:49 So let's look at some of the characteristics 36:52 of those who follow the Lamb 36:54 and what was different 36:57 about this particular group. 37:01 First of all, they sang a new song 37:04 that no one could sing except the 144,000. 37:09 This new song, 37:11 them singing a new song, 37:12 this represents an experience that they had 37:15 that was different from anybody else, 37:18 no one else could sing this song 37:20 because the 144,000, 37:23 the redeemed of the Lord 37:25 had their own experience, a unique experience. 37:28 Isaiah 51:11 says, 37:31 "So the redeemed of the Lord shall return 37:34 and come to Zion with singing, 37:36 with everlasting joy on their heads. 37:39 They shall obtain joy and gladness, 37:41 sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 37:43 Amen. 37:45 So the redeemed of the Lord 37:46 shall return to Zion with singing. 37:48 The 144,000 are the redeemed of the Lord 37:52 and therefore, again, 37:54 not a literal number 37:55 because it's the redeemed from all ages 37:57 that are on Mount Zion standing there with the Lamb. 38:02 You know, it's interesting to me 38:03 that we had, in Revelation 13, 38:06 we had these two beasts, 38:08 one coming up from the sea, one coming up from the earth. 38:12 The one coming up from the earth spoke... 38:16 It looked like a lamb, it had two horns like a lamb, 38:18 but spoke like a dragon. 38:21 It seemed lamblike, 38:23 it seemed harmless 38:25 but in Revelation 14, 38:27 we actually have the Lamb, 38:29 the Lamb of God who was being followed, 38:35 the sheep was actually the shepherd, 38:37 right? 38:38 So Lamb, 38:40 we're following the Lamb of God 38:42 who had redeemed us with His blood. 38:47 There's a lot of symbolic language here, 38:51 so in verse 4, 38:52 it says, "They were not defiled with women." 38:55 Now the Bible alludes to women 39:01 as it pertains to spirituality, 39:02 so there is the pure church, 39:05 the woman represents the church, 39:07 the pure church as represented in Revelation 12:1 39:12 or the harlot as represented in Revelation 17:5. 39:18 2 Corinthians 11:2 says, 39:21 "For I am jealous for you with godly jealously, 39:24 for I have betrothed you to one husband, 39:27 that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 39:31 Again, symbolic language depicting Christ's relationship 39:35 with His people. 39:36 So here we have, when it says, 39:39 they were not defiled with women, 39:41 they are virgins, 39:42 it merely means that they had not apostasized, 39:46 they were belonging to Christ, 39:49 to the Lamb. 39:51 Now, 39:53 if this were literal, 39:54 it would mean that the 144,000 were just 144,000, 39:59 it would mean that they were men, just men, 40:02 and it would mean that they had never had 40:04 any kind of experience with women, they were virgins. 40:08 So we know that this is, again, symbolic language, 40:11 and it's showing the relationship 40:15 between Christ and His church. 40:18 To be a virgin spiritually and symbolically 40:21 is to be among those who are led by the Spirit, 40:24 who are not deceived by the false christ, 40:27 by Satan and his false prophets. 40:29 It's a spiritual comparison that indicates 40:32 the faithfulness of the 144,000. 40:36 So they weren't contaminated 40:37 by the false doctrines of the harlot of Babylon. 40:42 Also, it says here in verse 4, 40:46 "They followed the Lamb wherever He goes." 40:49 That means they have unquestioning loyalty, 40:51 that means they have followed Him, 40:53 they will go through thick and thin following the Lamb 40:57 because He's their Savior because He is their Deliverer. 41:03 Jesus said, in John 10:27, 41:06 "My sheep hear My voice, 41:08 and I know them, and they follow Me." 41:11 So the Lamb actually also represents 41:14 the incarnation of God. 41:18 In verse 4, also it says, 41:20 "They are redeemed from among men 41:21 being the firstfruits to God and of the Lamb." 41:24 Now what, in ancient Israel, 41:27 the firstfruits were the harvest, 41:30 the best of the best. 41:32 The harvested fruits 41:33 that were given to God as an offering, 41:36 the firstfruits were your best fruit. 41:39 Then the second fruits, you know, 41:40 the firstfruits were taken into the temple, 41:43 then the second fruits you ate yourself. 41:46 So the 144,000, 41:50 it's saying are the firstfruits. 41:53 They are firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 41:57 Jeremiah 2:3 says, 41:59 "Israel was holiness to the Lord, 42:01 the firstfruits of His increase." 42:04 James 1:18 says, "Of His own will, 42:07 He brought us forth by the word of truth 42:10 that we might be a kind of firstfruits 42:13 of His creatures." 42:15 We are the firstfruits and what does it say 42:17 in Revelation 14:14? 42:19 "Then I looked and behold a white cloud, 42:22 and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, 42:25 having on His head a golden crown, 42:27 and in His hand a sharp sickle." 42:30 What's He going to do with that sickle? 42:31 He is harvesting the firstfruits, come on now! 42:36 We are going to be saved by Jesus Christ. 42:39 He's coming with that sickle to harvest the firstfruits. 42:43 And that's us, we are, we are the redeemed of the Lord 42:48 because we have given our hearts to Jesus 42:51 and so He is going to take us with Him. 42:55 So I have just a few more minutes, 42:57 I want to talk about how... 43:01 Well, first of all, the last characteristic is, 43:05 "they have no guile," and we need to cover that. 43:07 "No deceit or falsehood, for they are faultless 43:10 before the throne of God." 43:12 The 144,000 is not a group that's faultless 43:17 because of themselves. 43:18 That's right! 43:20 It says that in Jude 24, "He is, 43:25 Christ is able to keep us from falling 43:27 and to present us faultless 43:30 before the presence of His glory 43:32 with exceeding joy." 43:34 So we are not standing there faultless 43:37 because of something on our own, 43:40 we have the blood of Jesus 43:42 and the power of the Holy Spirit 43:44 to make us victorious over sin. 43:46 Amen. 43:47 We don't want to fall into spiritual fornication. 43:50 What is that? 43:52 It's disloyalty and unfaithfulness to God. 43:55 What are some ways that we can be unfaithful? 43:57 Disregarding His laws. 43:59 The law of God is a transcript of His character 44:02 and so when we disregard His laws, 44:05 we're disregarding God. 44:07 See Deuteronomy 28:20, 44:09 and I'll just have you read that on your own 44:11 because I don't have that much time. 44:13 I wish I did. 44:14 The next one is, 44:16 when we don't give God proper time and focus. 44:19 Jeremiah 18:15 says, 44:21 "Because My people have forgotten Me, 44:23 they burned incense to worthless idols, 44:25 and they caused themselves 44:27 to stumble in their ways from ancient paths, 44:31 to walk in pathways and not on a highway." 44:34 So, when we don't give God His proper time, 44:38 we're disregarding Him. 44:40 We also can allow relationships and problems to interfere 44:43 with our relationship with God. 44:46 It's good. 44:47 God has given us a way, 44:49 we are to walk in it, and we can be, 44:52 by His grace, the redeemed of the Lord. 44:55 Amen! Amen! 44:57 This lesson is getting just deeper and deeper, 44:59 and deeper and deeper, 45:01 and that's beautiful because Revelation, 45:02 you have to dive into it 45:05 to be able to find out the substance to it. 45:10 I said that most of Christianity 45:13 might enjoy waterskiing, 45:14 well here, we like deep sea diving. 45:17 And so that's the way Revelation demands 45:20 that you put on oxygen 45:21 because you cannot go under the surface and survive 45:23 without the Holy Spirit guiding your mind. 45:26 Thank you, all of you, for laying the foundation. 45:28 And sis, Yvonne, 45:33 you've touched on some of the things 45:34 that are also in my lesson 45:36 for "Salvation to Our God unto the Lamb." 45:39 A couple of things I want to point out 45:40 because there's so many beautiful parallels 45:43 brought out in this study. 45:44 I mean, they're just everywhere, 45:47 you can't get away from them. 45:50 We talk about Revelation Chapter 7, 45:53 where the 144,000 are introduced 45:56 and then we see the multitude that no one could number. 45:59 The 144,000 representing those 46:02 who had no guile in their mouth, 46:04 and then you have the number which no man can number 46:07 that came out of the great tribulation. 46:09 When you look at that, 46:10 you see some amazing parallels, 46:12 then you find the question you have to ask yourself is, 46:15 "What made them come out of the great tribulation?" 46:18 Well, what made them come out at all? 46:20 A call, Revelation 18, "Come out of her My people." 46:24 The question is, "Who made the call?" 46:27 Somebody had to make the call. 46:29 Those who were sealed before... 46:32 Because the tribulation, 46:34 we talked about the great tribulation, 46:35 the 1,260 year tribulation, 46:37 but there's going to be one later on, 46:40 a time of trouble 46:41 such as never was ever since there was a nation. 46:44 And the Lord is going to, as Isaiah 60 says, 46:48 "Arise, shine for your light has come!" 46:50 Look at that very quickly. 46:51 This is the preparation 46:53 for the bringing out of that multitude 46:55 that no one could number and then, 46:58 and there's a quotation here 47:00 that Ellen White brings out, it's amazing. 47:02 What did I say, Isaiah? 60. 47:03 Isaiah 60. Okay I'm there. 47:06 Look at Isaiah 60, 47:07 because there's a gathering that has to take place 47:10 but the gathering cannot take place 47:13 in the absence of a light that calls them out. 47:16 Isaiah 60, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, 47:19 and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." 47:22 What's the message of Revelation 14? 47:24 "Fear God and...? Give glory to Him." 47:26 So the glory has to be seen somewhere! 47:29 The glory will be seen among those with no guile, 47:31 those who are not defiled with other teachings. 47:35 That means they were never defiled, 47:37 so they have held on to the pure gospel, 47:39 they were not defiled. 47:41 But the ones that came out of the great tribulation, 47:43 they had to come out from this former defilement 47:46 as the call of Revelation 18 makes it clear. 47:48 Look at this, it's going to be put together in this verse, 47:51 "For behold the darkness shall cover the earth 47:53 and deep darkness or gross darkness the people. 47:57 But the Lord will arise over you 47:58 and His glory will be seen upon you, the glory again." 48:02 The Gentiles shall come to your light 48:05 and kings to the brightness of your rising. 48:08 Lift up your eyes all around and see: 48:11 They all gather together, they come to you, 48:15 Your sons shall come from afar, 48:18 and your daughters shall be nursed at your side." 48:21 And if you look about, it goes on further talking 48:22 about the wealth of the Gentiles, 48:24 but if you look at what's happening here, 48:25 there's a gathering coming 48:27 because the Gentiles see something 48:29 they hadn't seen before. 48:31 They see the brightness of the arising, 48:33 the glory of God is risen upon you, 48:35 fear God and give glory to Him." 48:37 When this time comes, 48:38 and the reason why the Lord is holding back, 48:41 the reason why you go to Revelation 7, 48:44 He says, 48:45 "Don't let anything harm the earth, the sea or the trees 48:47 until I've sealed the servants." 48:49 After the servants are sealed, 48:50 which are described as the 144,000, 48:52 then he turns and says, 48:54 "Well then, if that's 144,000, who are they?" 48:58 These are the ones that came out of the great tribulation. 49:00 They can only come out if a call to come out is made. 49:04 "Come out of her My people." 49:06 And as we're sitting here and we're talking to you. 49:08 Our church is made up of people that have come out. 49:11 I mean, Ryan, Shelley, 49:14 and well, Jill and I and Yvonne 49:16 were in this movement most of our lives, 49:18 but we've had to come out of other things. 49:20 Absolutely. Okay? 49:22 But when the Lord gives a message 49:23 that maintains its purity 49:24 and you embrace it and hold on to it, 49:26 He says, "Okay, I could use you because in your mouth 49:28 is nothing that's going to destroy the mentality 49:31 or the connection with My word, 49:33 there's no guile found there. 49:34 That means it's truth and not only that, 49:37 you are not defiled with other women, 49:39 so your theology is not mixed up 49:41 because nobody else 49:43 from other places has thrown a wrench 49:45 into what I've given you that's completely pure. 49:48 That's why they're referred to as Israel, 49:50 to whom Paul made the very statement, 49:53 he says, 49:55 "It was necessary 49:57 that the Word of God should be given to you first, 50:00 but seeing that you judge yourselves 50:02 unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles!" 50:06 The comparison clearly there. 50:08 Paul and Barnabas are rebuking Israel 50:10 to whom the message was given first, 50:12 when they rejected them. 50:14 They're separate from the Gentiles, 50:15 they always knew it. 50:17 They knew there were 12 tribes, 50:18 they always knew they were not the Gentiles. 50:20 The Gentiles now become 50:21 the multitude that no one could number 50:23 that Paul says, "Since you don't want it, 50:25 we're turning to the Gentiles." 50:27 And then number 12, Old Testament, 12 tribes, 50:29 then 12 disciples and the apostles, 50:32 they're separate from that number 50:33 that they're calling out, but they're calling them out 50:36 because they have something that that number doesn't have. 50:39 And Ellen White makes this statement, she says, 50:41 during this time of trouble, 50:43 she says, when the... 50:44 At the commencement of the time of trouble, 50:46 she talks about the commencement of it. 50:48 She says, and I'm paraphrasing. 50:50 There were those among other ranks that came out, 50:53 joined our ranks 50:54 and endured the persecution with us. 50:56 So you find this gathering and you'll be clear 50:58 when you go to Revelation 14, you'll see, 51:01 look at the cadence in Revelation 14. 51:06 You see the 144,000 are reintroduced 51:09 in Revelation 14:1-5 51:14 and they are the firstfruits meaning 51:16 they're not the only fruits, but they're the first. 51:19 There are some more fruits 51:20 and when the harvest comes down to 14, it says, 51:25 "Thrust in your sickle and reap, 51:28 I behold a white cloud 51:29 and He who sat on the cloud 51:30 having on His head the golden crown 51:34 and in His hand a sharp sickle." 51:36 And then you go further to verse 15, 51:38 you see in verse 15, it says, 51:40 "Thrust in your sickle and reap, 51:42 for the time has come for You to reap, 51:44 for the harvest of the earth..." 51:47 This one came from the firstfruits, 51:49 but now He says, 51:50 "The harvest of the earth is ready, gather them in. 51:54 So He who sat on the cloud 51:55 thrust in His sickle on the earth 51:57 and the earth was reaped." 51:59 And so what happens is, you clearly... 52:01 That reaping now comes out of that great multitude 52:05 that's being pulled in. 52:06 But what are they being pulled in 52:08 and that's the focus of the lesson, 52:09 what's pulling them in? 52:10 And, Shelley, I love the way you set this up 52:12 in one of our prior studies. 52:13 When Revelation says, 52:15 "Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees 52:19 until the servants of God are sealed," 52:21 it was preluded by, 52:22 "Do not hurt the oil and the wine." 52:25 Now the reason why... 52:27 Because the oil and the wine is needed by the 144,000 52:31 to reap the harvest. 52:34 You cannot reap a harvest without the Holy Spirit 52:36 and you cannot reap the harvest 52:38 without the message of salvation. 52:39 Amen. 52:40 So don't mess with the oil and the wine 52:42 because they're going to need it. 52:43 And so the next chapter, because Chapter 6, 52:46 don't harm the oil and wine, 52:47 do not harm the oil or the wine, 52:49 do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees until... 52:52 So that multitude is going to need that wine, 52:55 the gospel of salvation, and the oil, the Holy Spirit. 52:58 And when the Spirit of God falls on them, the latter rain, 53:02 the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, 53:05 then Revelation 18 comes in, look at this very quickly. 53:08 And we're going to go back to this later on 53:09 and bring it out even more. 53:11 But this is why the gospel message, 53:13 which is the focal point of this one, 53:15 He says, Revelation 18:1, "And after these, 53:18 I saw another angel coming down from heaven having 53:21 great authority and the earth was" what? 53:23 "Illuminated with His glory." 53:25 For the harvest of the earth to be reaped, 53:29 the earth has to be illuminated with the glory of God. 53:32 How is the glory of God illuminated on the earth? 53:36 For the glory of God is risen upon you. 53:39 The glory of God is risen upon His people 53:41 and because His people are all over the world, 53:44 the glory of God illuminates the earth through His people. 53:49 Thus we get the quotation, 53:51 "When the character of God 53:52 is fully reproduced in His people." 53:55 So this character is what's illuminating the earth. 53:58 What is the character revealing? 54:00 The saving message, 54:02 the saving grace of Christ, the character of Christ. 54:06 It's being revealed so that the earth now seeing that 54:10 redemption is extended to the final multitude 54:14 that have not heard it to this particular point. 54:17 People are embracing it, they're coming out of Babylon, 54:19 they're coming from all the places 54:21 where the women prior, in Revelation 17, 54:24 they were defiled by those women, 54:25 but now they hear the truth and they're coming out. 54:28 And then you get the scene in Revelation 14, 54:30 they're all standing on the sea of glass 54:32 and they're all proclaiming. 54:34 And listen to this, "Nearest the throne..." 54:36 This is from Ellen White's writings, 54:38 "Nearest the throne are those 54:39 who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, 54:42 but who plucked as brands from the burning, 54:44 have followed their Savior. 54:45 Next, are those who perfected character 54:47 in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, 54:50 who honor the law of God..." 54:52 And it says, 54:53 "Beyond is the great multitude which no one could number 54:55 of all nations and kindred and peoples. 54:57 Their warfare is ended," all of them together now, 55:00 "their victory is won, 55:01 the palm branches is a symbol of the triumph, 55:04 the white robe and the emblem of the righteousness of Christ 55:08 which is now theirs." 55:09 Everybody has the righteousness of Christ 55:11 which comes through the final proclamation of the gospel. 55:13 Amen! 55:14 Thank you so much, Pastor John, 55:16 and Yvonne, and Shelley, and Ryan. 55:17 What an incredible study. 55:20 What a privilege to be a part of the people of God 55:22 in these last days. 55:24 What a privilege to be a part of the 144,000, 55:27 and that number is, as we talked, it's symbolic, 55:31 but it's not elusive, 55:32 it's not like you have to sit and pine and say, 55:34 "I'll never be part of the number." 55:36 Every one of us can have the privilege, 55:39 if we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, 55:42 if we allow His Holy Spirit into our hearts, 55:45 He is the One who will change us. 55:47 We have just a few moments left 55:49 and I want to give each one of you an opportunity 55:50 to share a thought on your lesson 55:52 or just something about the lesson in general. 55:54 Absolutely. 55:55 You know, as I'm hearing all this incredible information 55:59 that is real, that is legitimate, 56:01 straight from the Book of Revelation, 56:02 you know, 56:03 it shows me and teaches me that 56:05 none of us have an excuse to be lost. 56:07 Christ has done everything 56:08 that He can to communicate His love and His compassion, 56:13 and all that He has for His children. 56:15 And, you know, my prayer for myself and for my brothers 56:17 and all of us, is that we will humble ourselves 56:20 and pray and seek Him now 56:22 that we might be saved and stand confident 56:25 at His appearing. 56:26 You know, I just come back to probably 56:28 my favorite scripture is 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, 56:32 where Paul prays that 56:34 "We praise that we will abound in love 56:38 to one another so that..." 56:41 Listen to this. 56:42 "So that God, this is may God cause you to abound, 56:46 so that He may establish your hearts 56:48 blameless in holiness before our God and Father 56:51 at the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." 56:53 So it is all about, if we want to be blameless, 56:58 if we want to be part of the 144,000, 57:01 the great multitude, 57:03 it is all about opening up our hearts 57:05 to the Lord and saying, 57:06 "Oh Father, pour Your love into my heart 57:09 by the power of the Holy Spirit," 57:11 and love will do no wrong to its neighbor, 57:14 and love will obey Jesus. 57:17 Amen. Amen. 57:18 We can be part of that 144,000 57:23 if we just need to make a choice 57:25 to choose Jesus, that's it. 57:27 When we choose Him, 57:29 His Holy Spirit will take over and give us the power 57:32 to have victory over sin 57:34 and one day we can all stand together 57:36 on that sea of glass and say, 57:38 "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." 57:40 Simply put, 57:42 be willing to follow the Lamb 57:44 wherever He leads 57:46 and you'll be on that sea of glass. 57:47 Amen! Amen! 57:49 I know from the panel here, 57:51 each one of us has made a choice 57:52 that we want to follow the Lamb wherever He leads 57:54 and I just want to appeal to you, 57:56 make a choice, today is the day of salvation. 58:00 Make a choice today to follow the Lamb 58:02 wherever He goes. 58:03 That's all the time we have for today. 58:05 Next week, we jump into a deep subject, 58:07 "The Seven Trumpets," join us then. |
Revised 2024-08-15