June 5th

“Who can stand?” That is the question asked at the end of Revelation 6 after the sixth seal is opened. The answer to that question is Revelation 7, which is perhaps one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible.

One of the important things we must pay attention to in Revelation is the difference between what John hears and what John sees. In Revelation 7, John hears an angel cry out with a loud voice: “Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” But that is not all John hears. He also hears a numbered census totaling 144,000 from every tribe of the sons of Israel.

However, when John looks, he sees something breathtaking: a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

That should not surprise us. God’s promise to Abraham was never meant to end with one nation. From the beginning, God promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s offspring. In Revelation 7, we see that promise in full bloom as the nations stand before the Lamb and cry out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

The world may shake, but God’s people are not forgotten. Judgment may come, but those who belong to the Lamb are sealed. Suffering may press in, but the Lamb will keep His own.

This Sunday, we will look at Revelation 7:1–12 and discover who can stand when the wrath of the Lamb comes.

Grace,

Pastor Keith