6th Seal 3 - Sealing of God's Servants

(Rev 7 KJV) And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. {2} And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, {3} Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. {4} And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. {5} Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. {6} Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. {7} Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. {8} Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. {9} After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; {10} And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. {11} And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, {12} Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. {13} And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? {14} And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. {15} Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. {16} They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. {17} 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.

Continuing our study of the Book of Revelation, today we turn our attention to the revelation in chapter seven. I have titled this message Sealing of God’s Servants as that is the main theme of this chapter. You will see what it means to be sealed, how the faithful servants of our God are sealed and the results of being sealed.

In review, we have studied in previous messages how the Revelation reveals the War of Righteousness against Sinfulness. We have seen many strategies of the enemy and how that by following our Commander, Jesus, we can win the war. We have seen how the Bible is like a book that is sealed (meaning closed) and that it can only be opened by our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we obey our Commander, He opens our understanding so that we learn how to fight the good fight of faith and defeat the devil. He shows us how the devil will work to undermine and destroy us. With the knowledge that Jesus reveals to us, we are able to anticipate the moves of the devil. Then we can prepare our defense and plan our offense in a way that insures our victory.

In chapter six we learned that the devil kills with four methods: sword, hunger, death and beasts of the earth. We studied each of these methods so that we can prepare our strategies and plan our fight so that we can defeat the devil. Now as we begin our study in chapter seven, John starts out telling us that he sees four angels standing on the four corners of the earth. These four angels are holding the four winds of the earth so that they cannot blow on the earth, sea or any tree. What is Jesus revealing to us?

The word, angels, used here is from a Greek word meaning: messengers or pastors; the same as it was used in chapters one and two. So we understand that the pastors, ministers are the ones that hold the four winds to prevent them from blowing and harming the earth. The fact that there are four winds represents all directions: North, South, East or West. We know that the devil will try to attack us from every direction and it stands to reason that our Lord would have our pastors teach us how to protect ourselves from every effort of Satan.

We know that earth, sea and trees are referring to people as the Bible uses those metaphors in many other places. A few of those places are:

(Rev 17:15 KJV) And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

(Isa 61:3 KJV) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

(Psa 1:1-3 KJV) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. {3} And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

(Rev 5:13 KJV) And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

So we understand that the angels, our ministers are holding back the winds to protect us. What do these winds refer to? Let us look at what the Bible teaches us about winds that can harm the child of God:

(Eph 4:11-14 KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: {13} Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: {14} That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Here we see that wind is referred to as _Doctrine___ and that God has given gifts to his people for the purpose of _perfecting________ the saints. Your Lord has gone to great lengths to make every opportunity for you to be built up and strengthened so that you can come to the full measure of Christ. He does not want you to be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. He wants you to be established in the truth and He has given the ministry the ability to feed you with understanding and knowledge of God’s Word. This is the responsibility of every true minister; to feed you with knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. There are too many false prophets in our land today that are tossing people about with winds of false doctrine. Some of the most incredible and wild beliefs about the Revelation are being taught by cunning craftiness and sleight of men.

These false doctrines (winds) are so contrary to the Word of God, it is hard to comprehend how people are so gullible as to swallow it up and yet they do. You need an angel to hold back these false doctrines and teach you the truth of God’s Word. God’s Word will lead you into paths of righteousness and peace and joy in this world and into heaven in the world to come. God’s Word will not lead you to hate people that you have never met or had any dealings with. God’s Word will not emphasize to you the things of the earthy man. God will emphasize to you the need of repenting of your sin and following the Lord in a life of holiness. He wants you to be established so that you can recognize false doctrine. The only way to do that is to be knowledgeable of the Word of God.

(James 1:5-8 KJV) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. {6} But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. {7} For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. {8} A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James lets us know that _wisdom_____ comes from God; you need wisdom so that you will not be tossed about with winds of false doctrines. To serve the Lord, you need to be stable. So we have seen that the four winds represent false doctrines coming from all directions. The angels holding back the winds represent the ministers of God protecting you by teaching you the true sayings of God. As you learn the true sayings of God, your mind becomes filled with the truth. Our lesson says that the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. What does this mean?

First of all, the meaning of the word sealed is4972. sphragizo, sfrag-id'-zo; from G4973; to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (lit. or fig.); by impl. to keep secret, to attest:--(set a, set to) seal up. Therefore, we understand that when God seals you, you have been marked in some way that identifies you as a child of God. This mark is to secure you and preserve you as a Christian. So what is it that identifies you as a Christian? Let’s consider this question for a little. What is it that identifies you as a Christian?

Is it your manner of dress? Is it your style of home that you live in? Is it the adornment that you wear or don’t wear? Is it the name of the church that you belong to? Is it the fact that you have been baptized? Is it because you have a letter saying that you are a church member? To answer this question, let’s think a little about what the Bible tells us of Jesus, our Lord. How did the people recognize that He was Jesus? It was not his manner of dress, style of home, adornment, church affiliation, baptism or any other such thing for if it was then Judas would not have had to kiss Him for the guards to get the right person. No, it was His love, speech and compassion that let people know that He was indeed the Christ.

(Mat 9:36 KJV) But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

People often debated whether or not Jesus was indeed the Christ. One of those debates is recorded in:

(John 7:40-46 KJV) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. {41} Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? {42} Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? {43} So there was a division among the people because of him. {44} And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. {45} Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? {46} The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

Yes, never man _spake____ like this man. Jesus was recognized because He spoke with authority, He spoke and the waves of the sea were calm, He spoke and the devils fled, He spoke and the winds stopped, He spoke and the multitudes were healed, He spoke and the multitudes were fed. When He spoke, the power of God was in His voice for He spoke as the Holy Spirit instructed Him to speak.

(John 7:16 KJV) Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

(John 14:24 KJV) He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

And so it is with the Christian today. When a Christian speaks, you can believe what they say for they speak according to the will of God. They know what the Bible says about situations and problems of life and they speak with authority the Word of God. They dress in modest apparel and they obey the instructions of the Word of God in many other details, but the distinguishing mark of the Christian is their belief. In fact in many parts of the world the Christians are known as believers. How do you know what someone really believes? You listen to what they say and watch to see if they do what they say. Jesus taught us:

(Mat 12:34 KJV) O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

(Mat 15:10-20 KJV) And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: {11} Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. {12} Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? {13} But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. {14} Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. {15} Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. {16} And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? {17} Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? {18} But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. {19} For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: {20} These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Yes, what is in your heart will ultimately come out and that is what will tell us if you are a _Christian_________ or not. When you are talking freely of your hopes, plans and dreams, we will hear whether or not you are one that is following Jesus as your Lord. At times like this is when you reveal what you really believe. If you really believe that you must love God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul, then you will talk as if you do. If you really believe that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, then you will talk as if there is. If you really believe that you are required to love your neighbor as yourself, then you will talk that way. If you really believe that you are expected to live righteous and godly in this present world, then you will talk that way. And on and on you can go listening to the evidence of what you really believe.

And so we see that the seal in the forehead is a reference to having the mind of Christ.

(1 Cor 2:16 KJV) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

If you will repent of sin, take the instruction that Jesus has provided for you, learn of Him the Word of God, then you will obtain the same mind that He had. That was a mind to do the Father’s will and to obey the Word of God. The more of God’s Word that is planted in your mind the greater becomes your security against false teachings. You cannot teach me a lie when I know the truth. Thank God for the true angels of God that feed us the knowledge and understanding of the Word of God for God’s Word is truth.

(Jer 3:15 KJV) And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

(John 17:17 KJV) Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

In our lesson John tells us that 144,000 are sealed, 12,000 of each of the tribes of Israel. This reference does not mean that only 144,000 Jews will be saved. What it means is that all of the Jews have an equal opportunity to be saved, regardless of their lineage.

Then John goes on to reveal to us that he saw a great multitude that no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. So many people that they could not be numbered are arrayed in white robes praising God for salvation. You can be one of that group if you will repent of your sin, forsake it and take Jesus Christ as your Lord.

We are standing on the corners of the earth this morning holding back the winds of false doctrines and teaching you what the Word of God has to say. What will you do with our message this morning? Will you take heed and obey the Word of God to obtain the life of righteousness and peace and joy that Jesus has for you? Or will you look to one of the winds that the devil is blowing to convince you that you cannot be freed from the bondage of sin? Satan is out to destroy you; Jesus is out to bless you! The choice is up to you!

(Rev 7:14-15 KJV) And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. {15} Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.