Revelation 7:1-17
Revelation 7
144,000 Sealed
1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3"Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 4Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying:
"Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!"
13Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"
14I answered, "Sir, you know."
And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore,
"they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
17For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
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2 comments:
both at emp and oyb we are talking about end times.
yes i believe this will all happen exactly how it is described in the Bible, and it gives me wonderful perspective on my life and today's current events when i read this part of scripture.
one day God will be worshipped by all nations and all peoples and one day people will never hunger and there will be no tears.
let us remember to praise Him this day.
The Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation
The fact that there are seven churches means they can be linked with two other sevens in the Word of God – the seven feasts of the Lord (Lev 23) and the seven parables of the Kingdom found in Matt 13.
7 Churches 7 Feasts 7 Parables
Ephesus Passover Sower
Smyrna unleavened Bread Tares
Pergamos Firstfruits Mustard Seed
Thyatira Penetecost Leaven
Sardis Trumpets Treasure
Philadelphia Atonement Pearl
Laodicea Tabernacles Net
The seven churches represented different stages of CHURCH, Laodicea is the End Time Church, all the Jewish Feasts are fulfilled by Jesus except the Feast of Tabernacles. Each parallel tell us something interesting. The Feast of Tabernacles was the feast of revival, the latter rain, the ingathering. The Seven parables about the Net, which speaks of the last days, ingathering of "fish", in my time and your time, we will see the Feast of Tabernacle fulfilled. It is extremely important we keep our hearts pure, not to be offended easily, for in the last days, many will fall away from the Lord because of loosing their first love.
Ephesus speaks of the early NT Church
Smyrna speaks of the late NT Church that experienced great persecution
Pergamos speaks of the early Roman Church
Thyatira speaks of the Dark Age
Sardis speaks of the Middle Ages (Martin Luther's time)
Philadelphia speaks of the Wesley Era (Holiness Revival)
Laodicea speaks of the last day Church
The city names reflect the spiritual status of the Church. Solomon Porch comes from Act 5:12, signs and wonders took place, so we need to pray for SP, that God will use all of us to perform signs and wonders for His glory. Many come to our SP to seek God for healing and will find it.
Ephesus means "desired one" or "desirable". Ephesus had the temple of Diana, with that came with temple prostitution. It became a city desire for the flash.
Smyrna , root word means "myrrh" which signifies suffering and particularly death. Myrrh was used to embalm dead bodies in the Middle East.
Pergamos means "married" and also "elevated" both of which have spiritual significance for the Church. Pergamos was the capital of Asia until the end of the first century. It was renowned for the worship of Asklepios, the symbol was a serpent entwined around a sapling, the power to heal. The Church ended up married to the State (Constantine) later Church was elevated to be persecuted.
Thyatire root word means "continual sacrifice". This church was birthed from Ephesus during the 3 years period when Paul was teaching in Ephesus. This local church ended up involved constant sacrifice called "Mass".
Sardis means "the escaping ones" or "those who come out of". This church typifies the Reformation Era when the eyes of many were opened about the true church of God. After they have known the things of God, somehow it became decay in later years, this is the condition of many modern churches.
Philadelphia represents the Methodist revival and the Holiness movement led by John Wesley in the 1700. Philadelphia means "brotherly love". There was an atmosphere of love in the city, as we knew what is in the natural, is in the spiritual.
Laodicea was an extremely wealthy city, renowned for its banking establishment and medical schools. Laodicea was devastated by an earthquake in A.D. 61. Refusing help from the Roman senate, the population rebuilt the whole city with their own money. Regretfully, Laodicea church was very self-confidence and self-sufficient. This is the last church the Lord addressed, and it is about US, we are in the last day Church which will complete the Church Age. Do not be lukewarm for God or He will spit you out. Do not drink from cistern but ask for fresh living water. Go through the refinery fire of God to become gold bar (Pure). Burn for Christ, do not burn for ministry. The Laodiceans had everything. They did not rely on God nor seek God, therefore, spiritually they were poor, blind and naked.
True wealth is when we are rich toward God. We seek rich in His mercy (not money). Rich in His good works. Rich in faith, that we may find our sufficiency comes from the All Sufficient One.
At the end time we needed to be pure and in white garment before the Lord. We do not want our garment to be spoiled by the works of the flash. Our spiritual eyes need to be anointed to see what Paul sees. A thankful heart, true love speaks the truth.
In a recent seminar, the teacher used Laodicea as how we can "escape" the troubles coming in the world, I took time to study this church to learn how to avoid the troubles that are coming to this world. Perhaps you too like to re-read these verses (3:14-22)
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