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[0:00] Friends, undoubtedly you have heard the news over the last week or two as I have or watched it on your screens. You've seen photos, film clips perhaps, such as the devastating bushfires in Western Australia.

[0:13] Perhaps you've seen those flattened, hollowed out or charred remains of the 121 houses or other structures that were destroyed in that fire. You've seen the devastation perhaps on lives, property, animals and over 67,000 hectares of land burning.

[0:30] Friends, it is overwhelming, isn't it? Locals talk of a fire that was terrible, devastating and huge. Or perhaps you've been shocked by today's news of yet another terrorist attack, this time in Istanbul.

[0:43] Or the stories emerging from the brutal war and its effects in Syria. Maybe you've heard the stories or seen the shocking images of starving residents of Medea, a city under siege by Syrian regime forces since July.

[0:57] Stories of people surviving by eating boiled grass or local cats and dogs. For there's nothing else to eat. Or of others starving to death as a result of being caught in the middle of these opposing forces.

[1:11] Friends, these stories, although devastatingly visible in our technological world, are not news stories. They have been repeated over and over again in human history.

[1:24] They are part of the very fabric of our world. They are pictures of our world. Portraits of humanity taken, snapshots almost anywhere at any time in our world.

[1:37] Posters of world mess. And today we're going to get a big perspective on those matters. And that big perspective is going to come out of the book of Revelation from chapters 6 and 7.

[1:49] You see, the perspective will come from God and it will be brimful of theology. It will be told in ancient images, but with amazing, incredible echoes of our own world.

[2:01] So let's get started. Let's hear about, from God, about our world. Friends, let me say that in order to understand this last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, I'm increasingly of the view that you need to understand the first book of the Bible.

[2:16] In fact, you need particularly to understand the first three or four chapters of the book of Genesis. Let me remind you of the story that is told there. It's a story that begins in a garden. A secluded garden in a newly created world.

[2:30] A garden set up by God is a place where humans could live. Where they could live in harmony with each other and with him. In harmony also with the environment in which he has placed them.

[2:42] It is a paradisical place. Created by a good God who wants good things for his creation. And into that place, there comes a serpent.

[2:56] Characteristically, he deceives the woman. The man then joins in. Together, they act independently of God. They do what is best in their own eyes and disobey God. As a result, the harmony of the garden gives place to disharmony.

[3:10] Humans find their relationship with God has now been fractured, damaged. Their relationship with each other is similarly strained. And their relationship with the environment into which he has placed them is now also fractured.

[3:23] But there is more. A curse uttered by God to the serpent contains ominous threat and yet also creeping hope. God promises that life will now consist of enmity between the serpent and the offspring of the seed or the woman.

[3:41] The serpent and his offspring, the offspring of the woman. In Genesis 3.15, God offers these words to the serpent. He says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers.

[3:54] He will crush your head and you will strike his heel. And then the Lord God casts the couple out of the garden. They no longer remain in the garden. In fact, they're barred from coming back in.

[4:06] He puts cherubim and flaming swords at the boundary of the garden to guard the way back into the tree of life. And then in chapter 4 of Genesis, we hear about life outside the garden.

[4:16] The conflicts, the disharmony founded in the garden find new expression in this environment outside. Although brothers should exist together in harmony, there is not harmony but jealousy, sin crouching at the door, and murder enacted in this very first family outside the garden.

[4:37] Right from the beginning, the offspring of the woman and the offspring of the serpent struggle. That is the backdrop we need to keep in mind as we study the book of Revelation.

[4:48] It is largely, you see, the book of Revelation is largely addressed to the world outside the garden. True, it might end up back in the garden, although a transformed garden, but the majority of Revelation is to address to that world outside of Eden.

[5:05] A world that is under the curse of God, under the influence of the evil one. Moreover, it is addressed to a world after the emergence of the offspring of the woman, the son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[5:17] It is addressing that world, that post-Jesus entering the world world. And we'll see that spelled out in later chapters of Revelation. However, for the moment, I need to make sure you understand that context.

[5:31] You see, this is the theological backdrop against which our chapters were written. It seeps out every now and then and you catch a glimpse of it. It is there, it is foundational, it exists. And at times you will need to understand that backdrop in order to understand what is going on.

[5:45] That is particularly true of these passages we start looking at today. So with that larger background painted, let's now remember where we've been in these last three talks.

[5:56] I want you to open your Bibles at page one of the book of Revelation. I think it's 1236 if you're using the Bibles in the pews. So look at that first verse.

[6:07] It literally reads, an apocalypse of Jesus Christ. Now the word apocalypse literally means an unveiling, a disclosure, a revelation, a making clear of something that was unclear.

[6:19] And that's exactly what the book is. It is an unveiling of Jesus Christ. An unveiling from Jesus Christ. Whatever it is, Jesus is at the core of this revelation, this unveiling.

[6:33] Next we learn that there was a long chain involved in that revelation. God the Father was the origin of it. He gives it to Jesus the Son. It's made clear by God's angel to John.

[6:45] That angel brings it to God's servant. But that's not the end, you see. We hear that there are other servants who are the end goal. God gave this revelation to Jesus who passed it to his servant John so that other servants might know what must happen very soon.

[7:01] And that includes us, the readers of this text. For it was circulated so that we might read it as well. And God has inscribed it in his book so that we might hear it. So it is a revelation of Jesus Christ that has the servants of Jesus Christ as its intended audience.

[7:17] And we heard that at the heart of the message is the word of God. That's its heart. That is God's word which is the testimony of Jesus. That is the gospel. That's what John saw.

[7:29] That's what John wanted to pass on. And he did it by putting this revelation in letter form and sending it off to seven churches. Now in chapter 1 verses 9 to 20 tells us what he then saw in a vision.

[7:41] It was the Son of Man walking among the churches. Then in chapters 2 and 3 we hear that he was to relay this to each of the seven churches in Asia.

[7:53] The pattern of each church letter was somewhat similar. You might remember it. It demonstrates to us that the Lord Jesus, the heavenly Son of Man, oversees his church. He walks amongst it. He sees them all.

[8:04] He sees Holy Trinity, Doncaster as well. He sees all the churches of the world. He just chose seven as examples of what he does. And he knows what is going on in each of those churches. What's more, he knows that they know that he sees and has communicated.

[8:18] And he also tells us that he will reward within those churches the victorious. That is, those who overcome. Then we come, as we did the other night, to Revelation 4 and 5, where we got this sneak peek into heaven's throne room.

[8:32] First, we're introduced to God, the creator king, worthy of all, praise of all creation. That happens in chapter 4. Then in chapter 5, we're introduced to God, the creator, we're introduced, sorry, in chapter 5 we find that God holds in his hands a scroll which holds the secret plans.

[8:51] His secret plans. It has seven seals on it. And we're told that only one is worthy enough to open it. We're also told that the worthy one is the lion of the tribe of Judah.

[9:02] Heather told us about this. We're then surprised to find that that worthy lion is actually a lamb that has been slaughtered but remains standing. And upon finding this out, heaven erupts with the same sort of praise directed toward the lamb that has been directed toward God himself.

[9:23] In verse 13, he who sits on the throne and the lamb are worshipped in the same breath and with the same words indicating that they are both considered divine and together divine. The lamb descended from Judah is able to open the seals containing the plans for the whole world.

[9:42] We know that in the end, he will even share the throne with God the Father. That is the goal to which God is headed. Universal worship in the new heaven and the new earth.

[9:56] Overseen by God the Father and God the Son seated together. And that brings us to our chapters for tonight. Now again, I ask that you have your Bibles open so that you can follow with me and check that I'm being faithful to the text of scripture.

[10:09] That you'll search the scriptures with me. Don't just listen. Search. Do it yourself. Be like the Bereans. Now our chapters tonight will focus on the seven seals. Then, after that, we'll come on our next night together to the seven trumpets, then the seven bowls.

[10:27] And the pattern we see in the seals is somewhat similar to what we will see with the trumpets and the bowls that will follow. Let me talk to you about this pattern that is seen. The first stage in the pattern of seven is the first four.

[10:43] They come in quick succession and they look as though they belong together. That is that they are a package with each other. And they concern life in general outside the garden.

[10:54] The sort of life outside the garden that all humanity might experience. Not just the people of God, but everyone. Life in a world of sin. Life that arises in a world of human sin.

[11:05] In other words, the focus of the very first four will be the things that most people face throughout history and have faced throughout all history and will face throughout the remainder of history. Those things which are part and parcel of living in a fallen world.

[11:19] That's the first four. They're then followed by two others, five and six, understandably. Again, five and six should be taken together as giving one picture. And the focus of this picture is very significant.

[11:34] And it is the deleterious, the bad spiritual effect of self-centered, human-centeredness on world history. In the end, the first six of the seven therefore flow from human failure such as that enacted in Genesis 2, Genesis 3.

[11:56] Human failure under the influence of evil external forces. Satan deceived humanity ends up producing these sorts of things, these sorts of judgments.

[12:06] You see, humans failed. That created a world out of plum as outlined in the first four. But it also created a world in which there is deep division between those humans allied with God and those set against God.

[12:22] If we were used to use the language of Genesis, those five and six judgments show us a world deeply divided between those linked to the seed of the woman and those linked to the serpent and his seed.

[12:35] The focus shifts, you see, in five and six. It shifts toward the end of history. And it finds its focus there. Oh, but of course we've missed the final one.

[12:48] The seventh bowl. The seventh trumpet. But these just function as a sort of introduction to the next series of judgments. For the bowls, that happens in chapter 8 verse 1 and that's where we're going to finish tonight.

[13:01] Okay. I now want to look at the process. I want you to look at chapter 6 verse 1 with me. I want you to look at what happens. I want you to imagine the scroll. And the lamb picks up off the seals one by one.

[13:16] And the scroll cannot be read until all seven have been removed. So what happens after each of the seals is removed is not the reading of the scroll. No, what happens after the seven seals have been removed is things happen that you see.

[13:33] So I've got my own scroll with me tonight. Okay. It's got seven seals. You can count them. I've tried to put them in colour so you can vaguely see them there. Okay. Seven seals. Elastic bands.

[13:45] Jesus didn't have them, but nevertheless. Just to give you a feel for it. Can you see that with my scroll I cannot read it until I've picked off one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

[13:56] All the way down. So I can't actually read what's in it until they have been taken off. And until all seven of them have been taken off. You see, I have to wait for all seals to be removed before I can read the scroll.

[14:12] And that's what I think is going on in the book of Revelation here. So between now and next Sunday, why don't you read ahead and see if you can work out when that happens. When the scroll is actually read.

[14:25] Because we're not going to read it tonight. It cannot be read until all seven seals have been removed. And we're only going to get there in chapter eight, verse one, and then we're going to close down for the day, as it were.

[14:37] So there's the big picture. That's the process. Now let's take a look at the seven seals. Look at verse one. John hears one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, come.

[14:48] Actually, it could equally mean go. It doesn't really matter. It could equally mean either of those. Whatever it is, the command is for the horses and their riders to do something.

[15:00] Either come somewhere or go somewhere. Now, I need to tell you that in Revelation, not just numbers are important, so are colours. And here we have four horses of four colours.

[15:11] The first colour is white. Now, for us in our world, white is the colour for purity. Not so in Revelation. Here, in the book of Revelation, white is the colour for victory or conquest.

[15:28] You see, so when people are dressed in white later on in our passage for tonight, they are victorious. You see, it's not that they're pure. They may very well be that as well.

[15:40] But the main thing communicated by the whiteness is victory or conquest. Anyway, that's what this white horse and rider are about. The rider has a bow. He's given a crown of rule.

[15:53] He rides out on his white steed as a conqueror bent on conquest. That is the world, friends, of military endeavour and violence. You know, if we were riding it in our age, we might have tanks and planes and smart bombs and all of that, all in white, as it were.

[16:09] That would be the equivalent. Here is military endeavour and violence conquering. Then the second seal is broken. And another horse is commanded to come or to go.

[16:20] And this one is fiery red. Now, red is the colour of blood, as you know. And sure enough, the rider of this horse engages in a conflict of military and violent sort.

[16:32] He takes peace from the earth and makes people kill each other. His weapon is this large sword. Then the third seal brings out a black horse and his rider.

[16:45] Now, this rider holds a pair of scales. Voices call for extraordinary prices for goods. The black horse and his rider stand for, I think, severe famine resulting in economic manipulation.

[17:03] And the result? Hardship for most, but luxury for that minority controlling the market. Then the fourth seal is opened.

[17:16] And out comes a pale horse. Now, I think most of us are confused by it. And our versions don't really help us terribly much. The sense of the pale is pale green. My father was a surgeon. And he had this little painting of, I think, Leonardo da Vinci's.

[17:31] Of a corpse on a slab. And some ancient doctors working on it. And the corpse was pale green. Because that's the colour of death.

[17:43] You see? Pale green. The colour of a corpse. This is born out by the rider on a pale green horse. And his name is? Death. He is closely succeeded by Hades, who is the ruler of the dead.

[17:57] They are given power over a quarter of the earth. And the power that they have is to kill by sword, by famine and plague, and by wild beasts of the earth. Friends, this looks like the appalling aftermath of war.

[18:09] Slaughtered people. Slaughtered people. Starved people. People belittled and killed by lack and by disease. Then finally, those who were given in the garden authority over the animals are what?

[18:27] Remember the garden? Back in Eden. Authority to name the animals. Authority over them. Well, what happens, you see, is a reversal of that garden of Eden order.

[18:38] For the animals overrun the people here. Friends, for time immemorial in human history, this has been the pattern that we've seen in our world, haven't we?

[18:48] We're seeing it in our day. You see, in our day, it's being played out in rickety ships with people buying life vests, I heard this week, filled with cardboard rather than buoyancy.

[18:59] In Turkish cities. Or towns where children eat dogs, cats and grass.

[19:10] Twenty-five kilometres from the luxury residence of the one who keeps the war going. Friends, that is not the world God created good.

[19:23] It is not the God created world. Well, it is the God created world, but it's the world tainted by sin. God created a good world. This, friends, is life outside the garden in a sin-affected, Satan-deceived world.

[19:40] And that is the world you and I live in. That is the world that bursts out of the pages of our newspapers. It affects all four corners of our world, as it were.

[19:53] Now, let's turn to the breaking of the fifth seal. In apocalyptic, the number four is often the number four, the earthly sphere. It probably comes from the term, the four corners of the earth, or that concept. But with seal five, we move into a spiritual realm.

[20:08] In fact, the focus now shifts back to the heavenly court. Can you see it there? Because what does John see? He sees an altar. And under that altar are the souls of those who have been slain because of their gospel focus, their gospel loyalty.

[20:24] They were slain because of the word of God. Remember I said, I think that's the gospel. They were slain because of the gospel and their testimony that they had maintained to that gospel. And they cry out from under the altar in verse 10, how long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood.

[20:44] The cry how long is very common in the Bible or relatively common. And it's common in a fallen world. See, it's common when we look around and we say, how long, our God, must this go on?

[20:57] How long must children eat dogs and cats and grass and then starve to death? How long?

[21:09] But here it's a cry, how long until you're, we see fully established and displayed the justice that we know is yours by nature?

[21:19] How long until that justice is in your world and we see it? And the answer is silence. We don't know how long.

[21:34] We're not told. What we do here in verse 11 is that their number, the number of the saints slain because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus is not yet full.

[21:44] It is yet to be added to. And those who already there are in the meanwhile, given a white robe. Perhaps they've been victorious in death and the white robe is an acknowledgement of this.

[21:56] Friends, I want you to hear that first. Because it's immensely hard, isn't it? Because we Christians think that cannot be true. But these are eternal realities.

[22:10] And at times, even now, our brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing this, asking how long to which God's answer may very well be. Not yet. Then we come to verse 12.

[22:25] And the time has come for the sixth seal to be broken. Look at the language. There are earthquakes. The sun is turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair. The moon turns blood red.

[22:36] Stars fall to earth. Earth and heaven are in upheaval. This is the language of the prophets, isn't it? About the end of days. The end of the world. Look at verse 15.

[22:47] People of every class and status recoil in horror at the prospect of facing God. In verse 16. They would rather have the mountains and the rocks fall on them than to be faced with the true and living God who sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb.

[23:04] Did you hear it when we read it earlier on? And the wrath of the Lamb. That is the anger of Christ. His judgment upon His will.

[23:15] They do not want to face it. Now let me say there is no attempt here at repentance, is there? You see, you don't have them running to God and saying, please forgive us. We have done wrong.

[23:29] No. In its place is terror at the coming of God. Just like sinful Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.8. They only want to run and hide to avoid the coming judgment.

[23:41] They do not want to face up to it. And they do not want to repent of it. At this point, we expect the opening of the seventh seal, don't we?

[23:54] It doesn't happen though. But what happens, what does happen is in chapter 7 we have this interlude. In this interlude, the focus falls on what John hears and sees.

[24:06] See if you can follow it with me. In verse 1 of chapter 7, he sees four angels. In verse 2, he sees another angel who has the seal of the living God. Then in verse 4, he hears of the number who are to be sealed.

[24:20] Now, in my view, these two seeings in verse 1 and 2 belong together. And they deal with what John hears about in verse 4. That is, the sealing of the 144,000.

[24:35] Okay? Let me just repeat that. In verse 1, he sees four angels. He sees another angel. In verse 2, then he hears of the number who are to be sealed. And I think all of those are concerned with the one issue, that is the sealing of the 144,000.

[24:48] So, foci one is that issue. The sealing of the 144,000. Now, look at verse 9. John looks again. This time, he looks at a great multitude. And then finally, look at verse 13.

[25:01] Literally, this reads, And one of the elders said to me. In other words, what happens for him this time is, again, he sees and hears. This time, he hears an elder speak to him. And he interacts with that elder on the issue of the identity of the white-robed multitude.

[25:17] Now, in my view, this looking and this hearing belong together as well. And the focus this time, so focus in the first part was the 144,000. Focus in the second part is the huge multitude before the throne.

[25:30] Now, let's turn our attention to that two foci for a moment. You see, there's much debate and much confusion over both issues. Let's see if we can work it out. Look at foci number one. Let's ask, what is this sealing all about?

[25:44] Now, I think the best way to see, to approach it, is to see if there are hints within Revelation itself. You know, first point of biblical interpretation, look in the most, in the closest place first. And then branch out after that.

[25:56] So, what have we got? Well, turn in your Bibles to Revelation 13, verse 17. 13, verse 17. And later on in Revelation, we're going to hear about a beast who's opposed to God.

[26:10] We'll come across him, you know, chapter 12, or just after chapter 12. Well, in verse 17, we hear that unless a person has a mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name, they cannot buy or sell in the world.

[26:24] Okay? Now look at Revelation 14, 9 to 11. This time we hear about marks of the beast on the forehead or the hand.

[26:34] Right? So, here or here. And bearing the mark of the beast on the forehead or on the hand identifies you as a worshipper or someone identified with the beast.

[26:45] That is, you've lined up with him or you want his custom and so on. You want to belong to him some way so you can get all the benefits of that. You belong to him, can access the benefits of belonging to him.

[26:57] So, I think that the seal spoken about in Revelation 7 is a godly equivalent. Okay? It's similar. So, now flip back to Revelation 7 and have a look at verse 3.

[27:09] Did you notice there's something now on the forehead again? This time, it's not the mark of the beast, as it were, but this time it's a seal. Now, this seal is very different from the mark of the beast.

[27:21] This seal, we're told in the verse, marks the person as a genuine member of the community of God's redeemed people. Without it, entry into the eternal city of God is impossible.

[27:34] That is, without this mark on you, you can't get in. So, the seal is a seal of ownership. A seal of ownership. You belong to the God who is at the centre of the city.

[27:44] You're under his power, his protection. Now, look at verse 4. Chapter 7, verse 4. We hear of the number of those who are sealed, and they are 144,000.

[27:56] Now, here I need to pause and let you know what I think this figure means. Okay? First, the mass. It is 12 squared, as you know, and I wonder, the 12 squared plus some other multiples, which we'll come to in a moment.

[28:11] I wonder if the two 12s might represent both Israel and Gentile converts to Christ. Okay? We've already seen, you know, the 12 tribes are paralleled by 12 elders back earlier on, who are Christian and so on, but they're Jews as well.

[28:26] I wonder whether it could be 12 tribes representing both Jews and Gentile converts. Then, that 12 squared is multiplied by 10 cubed.

[28:41] Now, a cube is a good round number, isn't it? In other words, I think this is all Israelite and Gentile converts rounded out. The whole lot of them put together.

[28:52] Okay? I think that's what's being said. In other words, all Christians from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds, this is them. I think I could argue this from the numbers and from the rather strange lists of tribes, which are not normal in some ways.

[29:07] Anyway, I need to do some work on this, but I'm telling you, that's my thesis at the moment. Okay? I think it is supported by other reference to the 144,000.

[29:17] So, I want to show you this. Turn to Revelation 14. Revelation 14 again. Look at verses 1 to 3. They are sealed with the name of the Lamb and the Father.

[29:31] Verse 1. So, this is the same 144,000. How are they sealed? They're sealed with the name of the Lamb and the Father. Now, look at the last half of verse 3. They are those who have been redeemed from the earth.

[29:46] And notice the last half sentence. And there are none others. So, you're looking at everyone. That is, this 144,000 represents everyone. Okay?

[29:58] None other than them is able to learn the song. So, I think this is a picture of all converts to Christ. This is the new Israel of God, the new people of God. All captured in this image.

[30:10] Okay, so there's the first foci, the sealed ones in chapter 7. They're the servants or slaves of God. So, then the big question comes, who on earth are the multitude or crowd mentioned in verse 9?

[30:25] I mean, think about the contrast between the 144,000 and the huge multitude. Just for a moment. The huge multitude, unlike the 144,000, you can't count them.

[30:37] Too many. Okay? Unlike the 144,000, they're from every nation. Whereas, the others looked as though they were just from Israel. I don't think they were, but they looked that way.

[30:49] Unlike the 144,000, they're not in imminent danger, but they're victorious and secure. Very different from the 144,000 who were in danger. In my view, what is happening is determined by location.

[31:04] Have a look. What is the location of the 144,000? See if you can spot it. Just skim down the first few verses of chapter 7.

[31:14] Where are they? They are on earth, aren't they? Okay? They are caught up in a very real conflict. They're about to enter a time of earthly opposition and persecution.

[31:25] Now, once you look at the location of the great crowd. Flip down to verse 9. They are not entering a period of opposition on earth, are they?

[31:37] That's not what's happening in verse 9. No, they are standing before the throne of God and the Lamb. And they are wearing white robes of victory. You see, this second view, I think, is a view into heaven.

[31:50] So the first one of the 144,000 was a view on earth. This is now a view in heaven. A heavenly glimpse of the same people from a different perspective.

[32:01] They have been victorious. They have overcome. Now, look at verses 13 and 14.

[32:13] One of the elders asked about the ones in white robes. And he answers his own question in verse 14. He says, they are those who came out of the great tribulation. That is, they are those who came out of what the 144,000 went through.

[32:26] They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It's a strange thing, isn't it? How do you make robes white in blood? Well, it's because it's a metaphorical way of speaking, isn't it?

[32:39] But they are now before the throne of God. That is, they are there in his presence. Friends, I want you to grasp this. It's very important. There is only one way to be part of this large throng in heaven.

[32:52] This enormous crowd. This great, joyous gathering. And it is this. To have your robes made white in the blood of the Lamb.

[33:05] The victory from first to last is due to him, not you. Due to him, not you. Friends, we are saved in one way and one way alone. Through the atoning work of Christ for us on the cross.

[33:20] We will get there through him. Friends, we have one more verse before we tie this together. You see, there is one more seal to be broken, isn't there?

[33:31] Let's just have a look at it. Verse 7. I find this quite strange, actually.

[33:47] Because when you think about it. It is all pretty fast moving in Revelation, isn't it? All of a sudden, you've stopped.

[33:59] There is silence. And you are waiting. Because you know, with this seventh seal opened, you can read.

[34:11] And you can see all the purposes of God. And where God is going in his world. And so we find ourselves waiting and thinking, yeah.

[34:22] But unfortunately, you have to wait until next week for us to get a glimpse of that. Maybe even, if not Sunday, then next Wednesday. Friends, I wonder if you can see the great truths of this passage.

[34:33] So I've gone through lots of detail. And it's looked easy. But let me tell you, it's not easy trying to work it out. Because these are some of the most tricky passages in this book.

[34:47] And the most debated ones. Do you remember how I started? With a picture of the mess that our world finds itself in. We have progressed through the breaking of six seals.

[34:59] And where have we found ourselves? Well, we found ourselves travelling through eternal realities. This is what must take place. What will take place.

[35:10] No, no, let me tell you. What must take place. What must take place in the fallen world. The world will experience all the great tribulations that lie outside of the Garden of Eden.

[35:26] That is the world we'll find on our doorstep. And in our midst. And on our television screens. I'm sorry to say this.

[35:38] But that's what God is telling us. Before the Garden City comes. This will be our world outside of Eden. However.

[35:52] That world is also the battleground between the progeny of the woman and the serpent. Between the seed who is Jesus and the ancient serpent who is the devil. And we, the people of God, are caught up in it.

[36:06] In fact. We are in the crosshairs of that struggle. In the midst of it. However. What this passage tells us is this.

[36:17] That a day of judgment will come. We're told that in Revelation 6.15. And in that day what will happen. The redeemed. Will be rescued.

[36:27] And they will enter the fullness of salvation. However. However. The message of chapter 8 verse 1. Is that although we know the background. The shape and the end. There is yet more to be known.

[36:40] So although we know the background. The shape. And the end. There is more to become. To become. We are only just in chapter 7. We are a third of the way.

[36:52] Through this book. The seventh seal is yet to be read. The scroll is yet to be read. So you will need to come back.

[37:03] As we advance through this spectacular book. But what I want to leave you with. Is that magnificent picture. Of verses 15 to 17. At the end of chapter 7. Friends.

[37:16] Are you amongst the lambs? That is a lambs people. Are you who. Those. Who have declared your allegiance.

[37:27] To the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you who will follow him. Are you the slaves. Of Christ. The servants.

[37:38] Of the word of God. And the testimony of Jesus. Let me tell you your destiny. Therefore they are before the throne of God. And they serve him day and night.

[37:50] In his temple. And he who sits on the throne. Will shelter them in his presence. Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst.

[38:04] Sun won't beat down on them. Nor any scorching heat. For the lamb at the center of the throne. Will be their shepherd. And he will lead them. To springs of living water.

[38:15] And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Friends this is your destiny. But it won't be gained.

[38:27] Without a struggle. Without pain. Before the огаша part. Anyone who tells you otherwise. Has not read. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation.

[38:38] Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation.

[38:48] Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. Revelation. revelation. Revelation.���oting. Revelation. Revelation. E waste. Vanderkit. Revelation.