Revelation 7:13-14 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I 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.”
 
ONE of the 24 elders asked and then answered the question, “These in white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?” The elder is using the method of a teacher who asks a question to get a student and class focused on the lesson to be spoken. The elder had John’s attention. John was ready to listen to him, and I hope we are, too. The elder’s answer affirms that Jesus is, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of he world.” (John 1:29)
    The uncountable multitude of Jesus’ church revealed in verses 4-12 are dressed in white. They wear the robes of salvation. No longer will they face the tribulation of opposition, sin and temptation. Their lives marked with struggles for the kingdom of God on earth are finished. Their lives in God’s heavenly kingdom has begun.
    Their salvation and eternal life is made possible because of Jesus. I know  this seems elementary teaching; we’ve heard this many, many times. But even that must be a reason to stop and consider the Lord God’s extraordinary grace. Joyfully know in your heart of the great salvation to be called a child of the Living God.
    How is it, though, that can blood wash robes white? It can do so in God’s power to renew even death to life. In Jesus, the Word with God in the beginning (see John 1:1-2) the Creator spoke a formless void into a beautiful earth and endless universe. The Father, Son and Spirit demonstrate throughout the Bible “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26b)  
    Recall that Jesus has called John into heaven to “show him what must take place after this.” (Revelation 4:1b) In God’s gracious plan, salvation must take place. The Bible is God’s redeeming story to cleanse our sins, so we will forever live in heaven’s holy perfection.
    Believe this and be saved. Know this and trumpet the good news to all who will listen.
 
Prayer: In thanksgiving and joy, I am eager to wear the white robe you have prepared for me, Jesus. Amen.
     

Revelation 7:4-12 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. 5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. 9 After 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. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All 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, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
 
LOOK here! What is God doing? In the previous Scripture, we saw how he has sealed his own in Jesus’ blood. Now we see more clearly the gathering of his people. It is not a few, it is not even only 144,000 as some cults believe. Rejoice and be sure, John reports that God’s eternal church is 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.
    Think of it! This is great number is the result of 12 men who obeyed Jesus to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Empowered with the Holy Spirit, the Helper, God’s faithful disciples that has changed the world.
    Do you think John was overwhelmed with joy when he saw this? By this time in his ministry, he had been persecuted and isolated. He has preached the good news to many deaf ears. He had struggled with church members turning from Jesus to their former idolatrous ways. The apostle experienced the frustrations and limitations of any earthly evangelist, pastor and teacher.
    But here God gave him the vision of joy and victory for all who are faithful. Jesus’ church waved palm branches and sang praise songs. The cross is done. Death is gone. Sin is washed clean. Praise the Lord O my soul and all my inmost being, praise his Holy Name. (Psalm 103:1)
    Revelation’s foundational theme of victory through the tribulation is again reinforced in the vast view of the eternal church to come. The 144,000 relating to 12 tribes of Israel symbolizes the fullness of the “true Israel”, Jesus’ church. Paul and Peter write of this in such places as Galatians 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (also Romans 2:29; 1 Peter 2:9)  
    Throughout the centuries, God has called and empowered his people to advance the gospel. The work continues today. As you may wonder about telling the gospel, “Is it worthwhile? Am I doing any good?” recall this vision. Each person who comes to faith becomes a member of this uncountable church before God’s throne.
 
Prayer: “Amen! (May this be according to your will.) Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

Revelation 7:1-3 After 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. 2 Then 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.”
 
WITH the phrase “after this”, John continues to relate the sequence of events in Jesus’ revelation from the Father. Four angels – the seraphim - have been moving in obedience to God’s judgment against the earth. Now a fifth angel comes at the Lord’s command to protect God’s people – his church – still on earth.
    This fifth angel’s seal is not one of the seven seals Jesus has been opening. Before the seventh is opened, the Father mercifully sends an angel to seal his people from harm amid the earth-changing turmoil.
    Scripture has many passages about God’s judgment stopped with God’s mercy. His peace stops war and ends sieges. God’s providence allows mankind to choose the wrong. Then he acts to righteousness. Amid turmoil, be assured this is the pattern of a fallen world in God’s providence: Ecclesiastes 3:3 (There is) a time to kill and a time to heal, time to tear down and a time to build. Since Eden, the Creator has been tearing down Satan’s evil on the earth to build a redeemed world, a new perfect “Eden” for his church. Time and again the Lord God has proven he is the protective Good Shepherd who leads his people to shelter.
    Do you see salvation’s picture here? As you are God’s own in the Spirit’s power, you are “sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30b) with Jesus’ atoning blood. How sweet and pleasing to know “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) This is the Holy Trinity choosing, calling and sealing you against Satan’s mark described further in the vision. The King of Kings has spoken from heaven’s throne to bring calm, security and peace to your heart.
    Be of faith. As the world’s destructive winds rage against you, know you can trust the quiet and gentle breeze of your Almighty God.
    Again, we can see this event as literal moment in history to come at some future day. For our lives right now, we must see this revelation as God’s ongoing work to give us a faith to trust his peace and joy for eternal life. John 14:27 (Jesus said) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
   
Prayer: Thank you, Holy Father, for your eternal peace. Thank you for marking my heart with Jesus’ blood! In His Precious Name, Amen.  
 

Revelation 6:15-17 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
 
INDEED, who can stand before the holy God? No one who breaks his commands and rejects his law will be able to bear the sight of God coming upon his earth.
    Let’s look back to Eden to see this truth. What was Adam’s and Eve’s response to God’s approach after they had sinned? Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” The first couple knew their sin. They knew God’s perfection. They knew God was justified to judge them, and they could not bear to stand before hm face-to-face.
    That is the scene in Revelation 6. God reveals his holiness through war, disease and earth’s violent shakings. All people on earth, even the rich and rulers realize their sins have made them defenseless against God’s holiness. So afraid of meeting God face-to-face, they call desire the earth to fall in on  them. Sadly, they do not even know that death is no escape against the Lord’s judgment.
    On that day, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-1). The saved will bow their knee in worship. The cursed will bow their knee in fear and helplessness. Too late, they will recognize their mocking hearts and lying words against the Lord will condemn them to eternal hell.
    I know, you don’t like to hear this. Neither do I. But this is the Lord’s truth. We must know sin’s full penalty, so we will strive to offer sin’s full reward to the unbeliever.
    We don’t know the day, but we do know it will happen. In his love, God wants us to be ready to meet him face-to-face. Joel 2:30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
    Then we praise God the prophet also declares Joel 2:32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
    Who do you know mocks the Lord? Pray for them. Their souls are in mortal jeopardy.
 
Pray: Lord God, please transform the minds and hearts of my family and friends who do not call on your name. Humble their hearts that they may be saved. Amen.
   
 

Revelation 6:12-14 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
 
WHEN we reach the end of Revelation, we will see God’s promise of a new heaven and earth. That means the old, the current, earth and heavenly structures will be changed. Just as in Christ we are a new creation, the old has gone the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17) the Creator will recreate a sin-broken physical world to his ultimate holiness.
    The sixth seal reveals sin’s affects and God’s redemption on the world. The earth will shake. It often does with cataclysmic results. In Scripture the earth always shakes when God steps onto it. Something will happen, perhaps volcanic eruptions, to turn the sun black. The black sun is as black sackcloth made from black goat hair. Sackcloth is repentance, mourning and humility. The physical changes will bring God’s people to their knees.
    The moon will look red due to the same atmospheric changes that turns the sun black. Meteors will be as stars falling to shower the earth. The sky rolling up as a scroll can signify other visual affects of the earth’s physical disruptions. Or it can be Christ’s return on the clouds. The mountain and islands will be changed. The new heaven and earth must take place.
    One thing to remember about Revelation is that it is not the only place in the Bible that points to God’s holy perfection and power. We have seen connections to the prophets of old in John’s vision. Now see this remarkable passage that is another picture of these events: Hebrews 12:26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
    The new heaven and earth will be the unshakeable dominion of the Father, Son, Spirit and all his church. No sin will ever shake God’s eternal kingdom. Again, in the tumult of dramatic disruption and change, we know the hope of God’s assurance of eternal life.
    Look upward to heaven. From heaven is where our salvation comes. To heaven is where our salvation will lead us.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Give us hearts to be still and know you are God. (from Psalm 46) Amen.

Revelation 6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
 
THE vivid description of conquest and death throughout the world in verses 1-8 is difficult and fearful to comprehend. God abruptly breaks into our day-to-day comforts to show us why he told Adam: Genesis 2:17 “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."  And why Jesus says of Satan in John 8:44b “The devil was a murderer from the beginning.” Sin is death. When man broke his relationship with God, he opened the door for Satan’s evil to kill and destroy.
    Then God shows us more personally sin’s deadly forces in the reality of a Christian’s death. Our hearts break as we grieve our countless martyred brothers and sisters who loved Jesus more than themselves.
    Yet, within the heartbreak, this scripture also tells us the great hope we see in God’s sovereign care. How can martyrdom evoke both heartbreak and hope?
    First, it is often very difficult for us to understand that faithful disciples are sometimes killed for their steadfast proclamation, “Repent and call on the name of the Lord Jesus. He is Savior. Believe in him and you will have eternal life.” Satan has raised in the world a deadly animosity against the Living God and all who serve him. Our hearts break over stories of men, women and even children killed for their faith. We count it as a loss to Jesus’ church on earth to know faithful hearts have been stilled. Yes, we often wonder at the Sovereign God’s eternal plan to permit sinful man’s will to disobey and destroy.
     But then we see sure hope. This passage describes the martyrs’ faith and reward. Taking up martyrdom’s cross is ultimate sacrificial love and worship to demonstrate total heart-love for Jesus. Martyrs reveal what it means to physically and spiritually give our lives to the one who has given us Life. Martyrs stir our faith and hearts. Martyrs point us to heaven’s white robes at the Lord’s holy altar. We know hope because the Lord affirms all of this is under his Sovereign purpose. Martyrdom is not a random act perpetrated in chaos. It is a purposeful demonstration of faith and reward for all of us to see.
    Notice, too, the Lord says there will be more martyrs before the end. Since John’s day, God has used many martyrs to expand his kingdom and spread the gospel.  
    Understand this lesson in your heart. Expect you will suffer for Jesus. Rejoice when it comes. Be of faith. Know you will live in his glory forever.
 
Prayer: Praise the Lord God Almighty who has overcome death to the joy of his creation. Amen.   

Revelation 6:7-8 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
 
MANY see Revelation as entirely future oriented. Revelation’s trials, suffering, warfare and ultimate victory begin at a certain day God has appointed in the world’s future. Many, though, understand Revelation as history plus future. The Lord has revealed a future the world has not yet encountered; furthermore, he has given to John a vision of a view of events that occur in the world from the late 1st century until Christ returns.
    What do you think? Does not Revelation describe all the world’s history from Eden until today? Certainly the cataclysms of conquest (white horse), warfare (red horse), famine and disease (red horse) and death (pale horse followed by Hades – the grave) mark generation upon generation. As God has given to John the picture of, “what must take place after this." (Rev 4:1b) we can understand the vision is a preview of world history as long as God permits.
    How terrible this is! A fourth of the earth is too terrible (1.8 billion people today) to contemplate. But is it not true countless millions of people have died violent deaths? But even in this great tragedy, we can still be assured our hope is in the Lord.
    Yes, you can see God’s life is within the world’s death. Amid the deadly vision shines God’s promise: Isaiah 45:17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting. And 1 Timothy 2:3 (Godliness and holiness) is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
    Rejoice that God has not and will not allow all the earth to be destroyed. Praise his name that he withholds judgment from the great majority of mankind until history concludes when Christ comes again.
    Revelation is a warning and a promise. Be alert to prepare your life against judgment. Trust in God’s sure salvation when you call on his name.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your life-giving patience and your great love to teach us the way of salvation. We pray for a world that rejects you. Turn their hearts to repent and be saved. Amen.
 

 

Revelation 6:5-6 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
 
IN succession, each of the four living creatures known as the seraphim, first introduced in chapter 5, call out a horse and its rider to initiate violence upon the earth. God’s vision to John continues to become more grim as it moves from conquest, to war’s bloodshed and now to famine.
    The food cost mentioned here would be 10-15 times above normal to John’s first-century readers. A day’s wages would buy food for one person, but there would be no food for any family member.
    Here is the price of mankind’s sin. The Bible informs us of many famines and sieges among God’s people throughout the ages. Sin brought God’s judgment on his people centuries ago, and sin is the reason for God’s judgment on us now and into the future. We see in our own culture and cultures of the world today that many people are hungry. Some even live without food for days. This is very often the pain from sinful habits perpetrated in households, communities and nations. We see this consistently in our work throughout the world. Rejecting God’s laws is a sure reason for physical starvation.
    This hunger and deprivation is not God’s will, his desire, for his people. Very clearly, he spoke long ago that obedience to his law is a key to peaceful and prosperous living. Listen to the Lord God’s promise in Deuteronomy 11:13 “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today — to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul — then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.”
    Then hear his warning: Deut 11:16 “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain, and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.”
    Then be of faith in his gracious command: Deut 11:18 “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”
    Again, hear his promise: Deut 11:22 “If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow — to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him — 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.”  
    What do you choose? Starvation or plenty? Sin or Salvation?
 
Prayer: Lord God, I pray I obey your commands and help others to see the joy of living in your true Word. You are the Bread of Life. Amen.

Revelation 6:3-4 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
 
ONE result of sin is the division that arises within people’s hearts within families, communities and nations. The very first sin was God’s children turning their hearts from God’s law to seek their own reward. The first murder was Cain’s jealous heart killing his brother Abel. Genesis relates also the division in Noah’s family after the flood and the conflicts that arise in Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s families. The Old Testament also tells of the Hebrew nation dividing into 10 nations to form Israel and two nations to create Judah.
    Heart strife also afflicts the church and its members. People pridefully oppose one other. We completely disregard God’s healing command, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34b)  
    In this Scripture, God reveals civil strife leads to bloody destruction. The fiery red horse is an image of bloody battle. Its sword-wielding rider will cause men to “slay each other” as they war against one another. Yes, this is another grim picture of sin. We must see it. We must know Jesus’ own blood is the single sure way to peace in our hearts and in the world.
    Do you wonder, “Where is peace?” Then know the answer is mankind’s sin-divided heart. Regardless of how many peace treaties are signed and promises of unity spoken, there will be no lasting peace until Christ returns.
    This bloody image is very distressful because it is real. The toll of human carnage throughout history is uncountable. Yet, this affirms why we need Jesus. Only when Christ returns will we see the fulfillment of the angels proclamation in Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and  on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
    But as wars rage, may your heart be at peace. Rejoice in the Lord’s ultimate promise of peace on earth. Give thanks that he has come to demonstrate his love for you. Know the blessing that you may live in love with God and with one another forever.
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for your promise of peace for our eternal souls. Amen.  
 

 

Revelation 6:1-2 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
 
JOHN has seen the heavenly throne room and worship of the King. Jesus, the only One who is worthy to open the seven seals of the scroll, now begins to reveal the scroll’s promise of conquest, warfare, famine and death to come. As Jesus opens the first seal, one of the four living creatures – a seraphim – calls, “Come.” A rider on a white horse responds to the command. Given a crown of authority, he rides out into the world to conquer. What is the conquest?
    Because the horse is white some interpretations say this is the conquering power of the gospel for the cleansing of sins. But in understanding Scripture, it is always vital we look at the context of the verses – or text – we seek to understand. When you read ahead, you will see three other horses going from heaven as God’s agents of judgment. One reason Revelation is difficult to read and accept is because God reveals severe judgment on the earth. But we must have Spirit-centered minds to receive even the most difficult of the Lord’s judgment. Otherwise, we cannot know the fullness of Jesus’ redemptive grace.
    Thus, we can understand white is not likely to be spiritual conquest. In the context, we can see the white horse and its rider representing a desire for conquest. One consistent truth of mankind is that nations strive to conquer others. Even individuals consistently try to compete and “win” against others. The passion for “more” stirs greedy hearts to expand territory, wealth and power through warring conquest.
    This is the message. The Lord Jesus has opened a seal to reveal the conquering evil of mankind is loose on the earth. Those who read Revelation in the first century fully understood the power of men on horseback to conquer and destroy. People in the Roman Empire were particularly concerned about the Parthians to the east. With their cavalry, they had twice defeated the Roman army.  
    God’s revelation to John, his church and to us is to teach us that mankind’s greed is the beginning of and reason for great human suffering. Remember the words from James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 
    This is true for our own lives. It is true for our families, the church and the world. Let us be content with our lives. Pray for your heart and for the nations to be satisfied to be transformed from conquest to compassion.
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have given us a vision of conquest rooted in our desire for what we do not have. Grow contentment and peace in our hearts. Help us to know all comes from you. Amen.