David Pawson - Revelation Seminar Part 2b

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THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS 5.6.26 BY JOHN DUNNING. 

GOD’s MARK & MARTYRS 

REVELATION part 2B; Chapter 7. 

INTRODUCTION…

Last time we looked at Revelation 4 to 6, and so we finished at the opening of Seal 6. 

We will be coming onto Seal 7 in the order in which it is opened… which is not just yet!

Chapters 6 to 16 reveal that worldwide trouble is coming for believers which will increase in intensity and scale because when Satan knows the end is near, he throws everything he can at believers. 

We look at chapter 7 next, which tells us that God will protect His people from the punishments He will bring on the world, but not protect them from persecution by the world. The first six seals having been opened by the Lamb who sits on the throne, starts the final countdown to the end of world history as we know it. The seventh seal has been delayed from being opened.

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7:1-8. The wind will be stopped & God’s ‘Mark’ is given to His people.

First, the wind will be stopped.

Then in 7:2-3 an angel comes with a message to halt any more punishments because  God’s people are still on the earth, and God tells His angels to put a mark on His people so that they will be protected from the judgements He is to bring on the unrepentant.

When God’s mark of ownership protects God’s people from punishment being brought on the earth by God’s angels, it is similar to the blood on the doorposts at the first Passover. As God’s people are still on earth, it means that they have NOT been taken to heaven as some American telly evangelists have said, in their teaching called a “secret rapture”, which is the opposite of Jesus’ teaching in verse 3.

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In 7:4-8 we see that there will be a ‘completeness’, meaning no one will be overlooked or forgotten, about who belongs to God and who doesn’t. That is in line with what Jesus said in Matthew 13 about God knowing exactly who is in His Kingdom and who isn’t, and so as men cannot be trusted to get it right, God will leave it to His angels to act under His instructions. 

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Rev. 7:9-12. The multitudes in heaven.

Rev. 7:9-10 tells us that those worshipping in heaven will be from “every ethnic group” on the earth. (That is very different from every “nation”, because “nations” are just man’s geographical boundaries.)

The number of people in heaven in 7:9 is such a great multitude, that John says it was just impossible to count them all! What John is seeing fits with what God told Abraham in Genesis 15:5; 22:17; 26:4, that his descendants will number more than he could count. In Abraham’s lifetime, that didn’t happen. But this prophecy is for the end of time, meaning that Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith. God has been waiting for FAITH to be shown by His creation.) John saw the fulfillment of that very prophecy in his vision. Those in John’s vision were wearing white robes praising and worshipping God and the Lamb (better translated as “Ram”) showing gratitude for their salvation, which God brought about. At that, the angels then fall on their faces and worship too.

7:13-17 Martyrs are arriving in heaven throughout the great tribulation.

We see in v.2-3 that God’s punishments on earth will not harm God’s people. However, we now see that the world will persecute disciples by doing terrible things to them. Those in white robes are believers who are being martyred continuously for their faith, made worse by the time of big trouble. Believers therefore have not been secretly taken out of the world, as these verses tell us that disciples are STILL being martyred and entering into the presence of God in paradise during this time. They go from their death to life with God. Martyrs are arriving in tears from what they’ve been through on the earth, but God will wipe their tears away.

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SUMMARY

1). God will put His mark on His people, (Ch.7:3) so that His terrors will not hurt them. (Compare what happened to the Egyptians when they refused to release the Israelites… God had blood put over the Israelite doorposts which protected them from God’s punishments on the Egyptians.)

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2). At the same time, terror will fall on those persecuting God’s people. In other words, Jesus is warning His church that discipleship is costly. Later, we will see that believers will be identified by those REFUSING Satan’s mark;- (13:16-18). 

EPILOGUE

After four angels prevent wind from blowing on the earth, (v.1), we see in 7:2-3 that another angel tells the first four angels not to do anything else yet – until God’s people are identified with a ‘seal on the foreheads of our God’. (This compares with the Israelites putting blood on their doorposts in Egypt so that an angel of death knows to pass them by, without harming them.) No further details are provided on what God’s seal on believer’s foreheads will look like, but the important thing about this information is that it tells us that God’s punishment on mankind won’t harm the disciples of Jesus. (Cf the Exodus Passover where blood is put on the door posts of the Israelites.) Angels will know who NOT to harm when carrying out God’s instructions. It also means believers are still here on the earth during the tribulation. 

There will be global persecution of believers who continue making petitions to God. When the believers are being persecuted, God will bring His terrors on the persecutors.

John witnesses a pause in God’s punishments, suddenly broken by a huge earthquake.

All this means that God is Sovereign and still in complete control, as He knows all that is going to happen and what He will do about it. For those who will go through persecution, Jesus says;- 

“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”.

(Rev. 7:17). Do share this study with your friends…

This is John Dunning signing off from “Thoughtful Thoughts” for another week.

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