Introduction

Revelation 7:1-8 ESV  After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.  (2)  Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,  (3)  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”  (4)  And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:  (5)  12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,  (6)  12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,  (7)  12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,  (8)  12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

And I want us to focus on this key verse from this passage this morning:

Revelation 7:3 ESV  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Chapter six of Revelation ended with a question. Do you remember what that question was?

Revelation 6:15-17 ESV  Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,  (16)  calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  (17)  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

• WHO CAN STAND?! The great and terrible day of wrath has come. Who can stand?
  • Who can survive this?
  • Who can get through this?
  • Who can stand?
• So this question is asked “Who can stand” at the end of chapter six, and then God reveals that answer to John, and to us, in the seventh chapter of Revelation.
• Chapter seven focuses on answering the question “Who can stand”. So that is what we are going to look at this week.

Who can stand?

Who can stand: Let me answer that question:

Who can stand: Those who are signed, sealed, and delivered (see what I did there?).

Those who are SIGNED by the name of Christ, SEALED by the Holy Spirit, and DELEVERED from their sins… they can stand

So in todays message I am going to be asking you “Are you signed, are you sealed, and are you delivered?” and if the answer to those questions are yes, yes, and yes… then I can assure you that you will be able to stand in the day of God’s great wrath.

Why will you be able to stand? Is it because you will be so strong that you can withstand the wrath of God?

Of course not, no one can withstand the wrath of God.

But instead, it will be because God’s wrath is not directed at you.

You see God has these four horsemen that He is using to pour out His wrath, but if you are sealed then they are instructed NOT TO HARM YOU.

Revelation 7:1-3 ESV  After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.  (2)  Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,  (3)  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

• We here have three sets of characters.
  • We have four angles, we have four winds, and we have God.
    • We clearly know who God is. He is God… nothing metaphorical there.
    • We know who the angles are, they are angles… nothing metaphorical there either.
    • Then we have the four winds… this must be metaphorical, right?
      • Well, sort of… but not really. The Biblically astute among you probably already know that the word for wind in Hebrew is the same word for breath and the same word for spirit.
      • The word רוּחַ “roo-akh” means spirit, wind, or breath.
    • And as such in the Old Testament any time you see the word wind you might also be able to say it is a spirit, depending on the context.
    • So then does that apply here in Revelation 7? Could these four winds be four spirits… well fortunately for us we don’t have to play guessing games, because the prophet Jeremiah tells us EXACTLY what and who these four winds are…

Zechariah 6:1-5 NIV  I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze.  (2)  The first chariot had red horses, the second black,  (3)  the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful.  (4)  I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”  (5)  The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.

• Now hold on, here there are four chariots drawn by horses…. And we get the color of the horses…
  • White, read, black, and dappled.
    • Dappled means spotted or sickly…
  • Where else do we see in scripture a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, and a sickly horse?
    • In Revelation 6… the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse!
    • And here in Zechariah the four horsemen are specifically called the four spirits of heaven, or the four WINDS of heaven. Some translations will even translate it as winds.
• So here in revelation we have God telling four angles to hold back the four horsemen until He has sealed His servants.

Revelation 7:3 ESV  [God told them] “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

• And after this we get a glimpse of who is sealed:

Revelation 7:4 ESV  And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

• Now, I believe the Bible should be taken literally whenever possible.
  • I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t take this passage literally.
  • I believe when the end comes there will be 144,000 Jewish people who God will seal and protect.
    • Some argue that this number represents the whole church or has some other significance… but I have no issue looking at the number and saying “yeah, when the end comes there will be 144,000 Jewish people who will be saved and thus sealed”.
  • But either way, symbolic or not, it doesn’t really matter because verse 9, which we will talk about in depth next week, shows us it’s not just the 144,000 who are sealed and can stand, but that there are multitudes of others from all over the earth who will be able to stand.

Revelation 7:9 ESV  After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

• Now what you believe about the rapture and the timeline of revelation will cause you to understand these verses a little differently from whatever viewpoint… but this much is clear: There will be Christians who make it… A countless number… both from the Hebrew people… but also from every nation and people group.
• So let’s not get caught up in the weeds worrying about the specific understanding of finer details, if that interest you I encourage you to study it out, but for today let’s just understand…
  • Christians make heaven! One way or another we make it through the trials of revelation… whether we are raptured or not beforehand… the truth remains… we make it through.
  • Whether we are Jewish or not, the truth remains, we make it through.
• But if we are to make it through we must be a TRUE Christian… we must be signed, sealed and delivered.

Trumpet and bowl plagues coming later closely resemble the plagues of Egypt. Think mark of the lamb of the blood.

Point One – Are You Signed?

• Point one this morning… Are you Signed?
  • Literally, is God’s name upon your life?
• Remember our key verse this morning?

Revelation 7:3 ESV  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

• How many were sealed? Well the first number we get is 144,000…

Revelation 7:4 ESV  And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

• Now compare that with Revelation 14 verse 1 and we get some more details about this seal…

Revelation 14:1 ESV  Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

• So the seal is the name of Jesus and God the Father on their foreheads. They are literally signed by God.
  • So the question needs to be asked: Are you signed by God?
  • In other words… does God own you?
  • Because that is what you put your name on, you put your name on the things that you own.
    • You see the enemy owns a lot of people, and he is going to put his name on them isn’t he?

(Please bold and underline as below)

Revelation 13:16-17 ESV  Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,  (17)  so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

• So in the same way, as almost a divine counter to the mark of the beast, God marks His servants with His name.
  • And you have all done this, you have put you name on things you own… you don’t want it to get lost, or stolen, or mistaken as someone else’s… so you take out a permanent marker and put your name on it.
  • Thus God puts His name on us. He is a jealous God, He doesn’t want to share us with the enemy. He want’s all of us to Himself.

Exodus 34:14 ESV  (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

• So you need to ask yourself “Am I signed by God”.
  • Does God own me or am I simply allowing Him to borrow me for a little bit?
  • Is my life completely surrendered to Him? Or am I only going to allow God to use me while it benefits me?
• To be signed by God you need to be owned by God… that means you need to have been purchased by God:

(Please bold and underline as below)

Revelation 5:9 ESV  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

• Where you ransomed… where you PURCHASED by the blood of Christ?
  • In other words: Have you been born again, washed in the blood of Christ?
• To be signed by God  means, again, to be OWNED by God. In otherwords, we must be slaves to God:

Romans 6:22 ESV  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

• Now of course Paul even specifies in Romans that he is speaking in human terms… we are not slaves like the Hebrews in Egypt… we are not slaves like those from America’s horrific past.
  • We are not slaves who suffer under an unjust master.
• But we ARE slaves in that God owns us and we do whatever He says. We don’t argue, we don’t complain, we don’t do things “our way”, no, we obey.
• To Call Jesus Lord means we MUST do what He says.

Luke 6:46 ESV  “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

• So, are you signed? Where you purchased by God and are you now in perfect submission to Him?
  • If not, there is grace and help for you, we will get there in the conclusion.
  • If  so, the next question is for you… are you sealed?

Point Two – Are You Sealed?

Revelation 7:3 ESV  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

• Now being sealed by God by having a mark put on you is nothing new to Scripture… it happened in Ezekiel to protect those who hated sin…

Ezekiel 9:4-6 ESV  And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”  (5)  And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.  (6)  Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.

• It could also be noted that the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt put a mark or a seal over their doors so the angel of death would pass over their houses.
  • And I believe that when the time comes, when the end comes, that Christians, particularly Christian Jews, but possible all Christians, will be marked with a physical mark showing that they are followers of Yeshua… followers of Jesus Christ.
• But the question remains: Are you sealed? Because there is another seal that God gives believers here and now!  The seal of the Holy Spirit!

Ephesians 1:13 ESV  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 4:30-32 ESV  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  (31)  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  (32)  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ESV  And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,  (22)  and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

• Now some people take these verses too far… and they say things like:
  • If you don’t speak in tongues, then you don’t have the Holy Spirit and are not saved.
  • Now I believe in the gift of tongues, but like all the other gifts I believe it is a GIFT of the Holy Spirit… not proof of the Holy Spirit.
    • Because we don’t say “If you don’t prophesy you are not saved”.
    • And we don’t say “if you don’t move mountains you are not saved”.
    • So why say that tongues is the proof of salvation.
  • But none the less I think the Holy Spirit is a proof, a seal, of salvation. Not His gifts, but His person living inside of me.
• And there are signs of this happening that are far more universal than the outward gifts of the Spirit.
• First, if the Holy Spirit is living in you, He will produce His fruit in your life:

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23)  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

• When you are saved you should experience this fruit like never before.
  • I never knew love like Christs love.
  • I never knew peace or joy or kindness or any of this like I have since the Holy Spirit began to dwell in me.
• But secondly, if you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, if you are SEALED by the Holy Spirit… then you should hate what the Spirit hates… in other words, you should hate sin!

Psalms 97:10 ESV  O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Romans 12:9 ESV  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Proverbs 8:13 ESV  The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

1 John 3:9 ESV  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

• Listen when I got saved and the Holy Spirit dwelt in me, I was still addicted to p****graphy.
  • Before I got saved I didn’t think there was anything wrong with p**n.
    • “Who am I hurting?” I thought to my self.
  • Then I got saved, and unfortunately my addiction stuck around like a bad cold… but now all of the sudden I HATED IT.
    • Even if I feel into the addiction again, I would weep afterword’s…
    • WHY? Because I was grieving God and the spirit inside of me!
    • That’s why I fought HARD to get free of the addiction, and other sins too! Because I hate what the Spirit Hates… because He lives inside of me.
• If you don’t hate sin… if you don’t have the fruit of the spirit… Then I worry about your salvation… in fact, I would say you are not saved at all…

Romans 8:9 ESV  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

• Therefore the question “Are you sealed” is an important question. It is a question of salvation.
• Finally, point three, are you delivered?

Point Three – Are You Delivered?

Revelation 7:3 ESV  saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

• I will make this point short… but listen…If you are signed and sealed, then you ought also to be delivered…
  • Of course we are not talking about being delivered as a package is delivered… but we are talking about deliverance from sin… from distress… from anxiety… from the fruits of wickedness…

2 Samuel 22:2 ESV  He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

Psalms 40:13 ESV  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

Psalms 34:4 ESV  I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalms 34:17 ESV  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

• When you cry for help, does God answer and deliver you?
  • Or is your life a whirlwind of Chaos and destruction?
• When you are distressed, do you call out to God… does He answer?
  • Or do you just go from one crisis to another in your life?
• When you repent from sin, are you delivered from that sin…
  • Or do you just change the flavor of your sin?
• Listen the Christian Life is a life of freedom from sin… slavery to Christ, but freedom from sin.
  • Freedom from anxieties and fear.
  • Freedom from hopelessness and despair.
• If you are in times of trouble, you should be able to cry out to the Lord and be delivered from that trouble…
  • Now I am not saying that God is going to fix your situation like YOU think He should fix it… I am not saying the horrible situation will go away… But God will deliver you.
  • Sometimes that means making the horrible situation go away.
    • But many times that means giving you peace and contentment even though things look horrible around you.
• Listen, Paul was put in prison for Christ… He was in horrible conditions. He went from a wealthy political leader to chains in a dungeon.
  • But he was delivered. Was he freed from the dungeon? No… in fact he would later be killed by Nero.
  • But he was delivered none the less.
    • Delivered from his worries.
    • Delivered from his fears.
    • Delivered from restlessness.
    • Delivered from anxieties.
    • Delivered from contentment.
  • This is what he wrote while in chains…

Philippians 4:10-13 ESV  I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.  (11)  Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  (12)  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  (13)  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

• That is what it looks like to be delivered!
  • Delivered from sin, yes of course, but also delivered from the fruits of sin.
• Is that how your life looks? Are you living a delivered life.
  • Better to figure it out now church, before things get worse!
  • Because if your life is chaos now, how then can you expect to stand when the day of God’s terrible wrath comes.
• WHO CAN STAND.
  • Those who are signed, sealed, and delivered can stand!

Conclusion

Now if you know you are not signed and sealed, if you know you are not saved… let’s deal with that now…

Gospel Call

Now let me address the rest of you. Do you struggle to know if you are signed, sealed, or delivered?

You have been saved and baptized… but some of these points still hit home… what are you to do?

You think you are saved but you still struggle with crisis… with anxieties… you still struggle with fear and maybe you even tremble at the thought of the things in revelation…

What are you to do? Use that fear and trembling to work out your own salvation… to test yourself to see if you are truly saved…

Philippians 2:12-13 ESV  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,  (13)  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

• But the good news is, you don’t have to do it alone.
  • Whether you need to seek out if you are saved or not…
  • Or if you are struggling with sin you need to overcome…
  • Or if you just need some refinement and strength in certain areas of your life…
  • YOU SHOULD BE DOING THIS WITH SOMEONE ELSE. WE ARE CALLED TO DO THESE THINGS TOGETHER!

Proverbs 27:17 ESV  Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

James 5:16 ESV  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  (19)  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  (20)  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

• Listen, I shouldn’t have to do an altar call every Sunday for you to be able to confess your sins, for you to be able to cry out for deliverance, for you to be able to be on fire for Christ.
  • You should have a discipler that you are able to go to the throne room of God with and cry out and be delivered and be assured of your sealing and know you are signed with the name of Christ.
    • Your Discipler should be helping you with these things.
  • If you don’t have anyone in the church who you can say “Yes, this person is discipling me” then we need to fix that… lets fix that right now…
    • Because Discipleship is in this church’s DNA.
    • If you have never been through Foundations with someone (That is our Bible study we use to teach what Jesus taught)… if you are a part of this church and you don’t have someone taking you through these and other Bible studies… someone you KNOW is your discipler, who you can call on to sharpen you… who you can confess to… and you want a discipler, raise your hand and we will get you hooked up.