Times Up! Revelation

“Can I Get a (bunch) of Witness”

Revelation 7

8/13/2023

Justin Scarberry

Message Notes

Revelation 7 NASB

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, holding the seal of the living God; and he called out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴ And I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵ from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, ⁶ from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, ⁷ from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, ⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; ¹⁰ and they *cried out with a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying,

“Amen, blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. ¹⁶ They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Angels=angelos (Greek)=messenger

Varying interpretations on who the 4 angels are in Revelation 7.

• Angels from heaven
• Fallen angels
• 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse
• Evil spirits

Righteous=Being right with God

We have to be in Jesus to be right with God!

We Become the Righteousness of God

1 Corinthians 5:21

²¹ He made Him who knew no sin to be ^]sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When we become Jesus’ Righteousness We will Want to Worship!

Without Jesus our Self Righteousness is Repulsive to God

Isaiah 64:6 NIV

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.

We Become a New Creation in Jesus and get a New Body in Heaven!

Traits of Jesus’ Resurrection Body

1. Jesus ate food
2. Jesus not contained by walls
3. Jesus’ resurrection body resembled His earthly body

What will we do in heaven?

1. We will be with Jesus!
2. We will be always satisfied.
3. We will never be bored
4. We will be with other believers

Will you be there?

1. Do you have any questions so far regarding the study of Revelation? Is there anything coming up in the book that you may have had confusion about in the past?
2. Read Revelation 7:1-4, why is God judging the earth? Can you name some of the judgements? Is God’s judgement always fair?  Why or why not?  Why do you think there is an interlude between the 6^th and 7^th seal judgement?
3. Who are the 144,000 sealed in verse 4? Are all believers sealed, why or why not?
4. What does it mean to be righteous according to the Bible? Can we be righteous on our own?
5. Read Revelation 7:11-14, what does it mean to worship? What are some of the ways we can worship God?  On a personal note, considering 24 hours in a day, how many of those hours would you estimate you use worshipping God?
6. What does it mean in verse 14 that “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb”?
7. Read Revelation 15-17, what are some of the things a shepherd does? What are some of the things the Bible teaches we will be doing in heaven?
8. What are some things we know about Jesus’ in His resurrection body? When we get our resurrection body will it have the same characteristics?  Why or why not?
9. Some things in scripture are not made perfectly clear. What should we do when we come across varying interpretations for any topics we would not consider core to the Christian faith?   Read 1 Corinthians 13:12, what does this tell us about when we are face to face with Jesus?
10. Is there someone you’ve had on your heart to invite to church? Maybe you’ve been hesitant for any of a number of reasons.  Would you consider extending that invitation this week?