09-02-12 THE 7^th SEAL

Our study of the Book of Revelation

has brought us to

the most terrifying series of events

found anywhere in Scripture,

or for that matter,

anywhere in literature.

Revelation chapters 8 through 16

present a vivid, chronological account

of the events that ultimately bring about the total devastation

of the entire physical world

and death of nearly every person on the earth.

We are not going to inch our way

verse by verse

through those nine chapters.

But neither are we going to skip them altogether.

What I want to offer you today is a brief description

of the events outlined in these chapters

and then encourage you

to read these chapters on your own.

And I should warn you

when you read these chapters

you are going to come across some creatures

and some events in this section of the book

unlike anything you have ever seen before.

You will find swarms of locusts

with tails like scorpions

and faces like men,

who have their own king.

I have heard people

attempt to offer explanations for these creatures

suggesting that they are really

a massive squadron of helicopters

or some other similar war machine.

I understand the urge

to attempt to fit all the pieces

of the book of Revelation

into a scenario that fits perfectly

with the world as we know it right now,

but I also have to tell you

I have real problems with it.

I believe John could have easily recognized the difference

between a locust

and a helicopter.

True, he would not have known

what a helicopter was,

but I do think he would have recognized that it was

several thousand times bigger than a bug,

and I think he would have easily

recognized it as being some kind of

flying man-made chariot

or war machine.

I'll tell you what I do see going on in these creatures

that we see in these chapters

describing the final events

preceding the return of Christ.

Just as our God brought into being a multitude of

uniquely designed plants,

and animals,

and insects,

and chemicals,

and life-forms

for the purpose of creating and sustaining life on this planet,

so we will see Him creating special creatures

to serve specific roles

in the final judgement of this planet.

The fact that they are not like anything we see on the earth right now

should not surprise us

because they have been designed

and created for a special role

of judgement and destruction

for a brief few months in history.

Now, I want to take a few minutes

to just walk us through

the breaking of the 7^th seal,

the 7 trumpet blasts that result from it,

and the 7 final bowls of wrath.

Then we'll talk a little bit

about why this is happening

and what it means.

If you've been here during the past few weeks

you know the pattern being followed

throughout this section of Revelation.

The Lord Jesus Christ

is breaking a series of 7 seals

on the outside of a book

in the Throne room of God.

John has been permitted to witness this process,

and he tells us that the breaking of each seal

produces specific results on the earth.

In our study the past two weeks

we looked at the breaking

of the first 6 seals and the results they brought.

1^st seal - the Anti-Christ steps onto the scene.

2^nd seal- massive world wars erupt.

3^rd seal- world-wide economic collapse.

4^th seal- one fourth of the world population dies through war, famine, disease, and beasts.

5^th seal- brings an outcry from the Christians in heaven

as they see evil winning on the earth.

6^th seal- terrifying earthquakes,

and dramatic changes in the sun, moon, and stars.

Now, I think the easiest way

for me to do this

is to read a 34 verse summery

of the events we have presented in

Revelation chapters 8 through 16.

It's not easy reading,

it's not pleasant reading,

but most of it is self-explanatory.

Rev. 8:1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Rev. 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

...Rev. 8:6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

Rev. 8:7 The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

Rev. 8:8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood,

Rev. 8:9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Rev. 8:10 The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.

Rev. 8:11 The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

Rev. 8:12 The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

Rev. 8:13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"

Rev. 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.

Rev. 9:2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.

Rev. 9:3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Rev. 9:4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Rev. 9:5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.

Rev. 9:6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.

...Rev. 9:13 Then the sixth angel sounded, ...

Rev. 9:15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

...Rev. 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."

At the sounding of the 7^th trumpet

the Lord then pours out

the 7 final bowls of the wrath of God.

...Rev. 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God."

Rev. 16:2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

Rev. 16:3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.

Rev. 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood.

Rev. 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, "Righteous are You, who are and who were, 0 Holy One, because You judged these things;

Rev. 16:6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it. "

Rev. 16:7 And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, 0 Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."

Rev. 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.

Rev. 16:9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

Rev. 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,

Rev. 16:11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

Rev. 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

Rev. 16:17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done."

Rev. 16:18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.

Rev. 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Rev. 16:21 And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

Now clearly, what we have here needs some clarification.

I think very likely with many of you a question comes to mind

when you see this record

of the events immediately preceding

the return of Christ.

And the question is this -

how in the world

can a God of Love

Who revealed His compassion

and kindness

and mercy

through Jesus Christ

also be the author

of the events we see in these chapters?

But there is another question

equally as troubling for me.

How can a truly righteous and just God

witness the depth of perversion

and abuse

and dishonesty

and hatred

and evil of every kind

that saturates our world right now,

and not intervene in judgement and wrath?

And the answer to both those questions

is bound up in the nature of free will

and God's commitment to us

to allow each human being

to choose our own response

to His offer of forgiveness through Christ.

Right now we live in a temporary

bubble of Grace,

a bubble in which God

has postponed the ultimate consequences of our choices

both our good and our bad choices,

in order to allow us

to recognize our arrogant rebellion against Him

and return to Him.

Peter says simply,

2 Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

It is crucial that we never forget

who we are

and where we came from.

We are created beings

living in a world given to us by our Creator

as an expression of His love for us.

Following that creation

we shook our little fists

in the face of our Creator,

claimed this world as our personal property,

and now live with the belief

that we have an entitlement

to all the benefits of the Creator

without any heart submission to Him.

We as a human race

actually believe

we have an absolute right

to the warmth of the sun,

and the beauty of the natural world around us,

and the rain that brings life

to that natural world,

and even more that we have

an absolute right

to live any way we choose to

under that sun

with no accountability to our Creator

for our actions.

We are like a rebellious 16 year old son

whose parents have fully stocked their house

and then left for the weekend,

turning the house

and everything in it

over to their boy.

And for 48 hours

that boy pretends that he owns it all.

He brings in his friends

and they party like they have never partied before.

True - there are some consequences along the way.

Some of them get sick,

some of them get pregnant,

some of them contract diseases.

But the full accountability

does not come until Dad walks in the door, declares the party over,

and removes from the son’s control

all those things that rightfully belong to the father.

What we see in this section of Revelation

is Dad coming in the door

and forcing His rebellious creation

to recognize that they have no inalienable right to this world

or anything in it.

Every drop of rain

and every ray of sunshine

is a gift from God,

an expression of His grace

and His compassion.

From the very first day of creation

we were always, only stewards of that grace,

and each of us

will give an account of our stewardship.

And let me add just one additional comment here -

these chapters reflect a tremendous amount of suffering

generated by the events

God brings onto the earth.

The question comes up -

why doesn’t God just exterminate

the entire world population in a single day?

I believe the answer to that question

is found in that same aspect

of the character of God

that motivated Him to give us

the Lord Jesus Christ.

The answer is found

in His love and His compassion

and His desire that none should perish but that all would come to repentance.

You see, throughout this entire ordeal

God’s call to repentance

and offer of forgiveness

is powerfully presented to the entire world.

And there will be many who accept that offer.

But the majority of the world population will not.

Part way through this section of Revelation,

in Rev. 9:20-21 there is a remarkable statement.

Rev. 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Rev. 9:21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

You see,

the truth is a person who will not respond to God

through the revelation of His love,

will not respond to Him

through the revelation of His wrath.

Our modern American culture

loves to believe that all wrong behavior

is ultimately the result of our having been

the victims of unfortunate circumstances.

We were raised in a dysfunctional home.

We were abused by our parents.

We were deprived of access to our fair share

of this country’s affluence.

Now, I am a strong believer

in the value of working through

as much of the baggage from our past

as we are able to.

But I also believe

that whenever we begin to use that baggage

as a justification or rationalization

for our own immorality

we are simply playing man’s favorite game.

Every one of us has at times

suffered because of the actions

and the choices of those around us.

We have been victims of their unrighteousness.

But ultimately our sin,

our immoral choices in life

are not the result of what others have done to us,

they are the result

of our own refusal to trust the voice and love of our Creator at the point of our need.

Lots of things can make me suffer in life,

but nothing and no one can make me sin

unless I choose to.

As always, the Lord said it a lot better than I could.

Matt 15:19-20 “From out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man...”

In this final drama

revealed to us in the Book of Revelation

we see this truth played out to its fullest.

Even when faced with total world destruction,

most people, like Pharaoh in Egypt,

refusing to let go of Israel

while watching the total devastation of his nation,

will continue to cling to their heart rebellion against God

rather than submit to Him.

But I cannot stop there

without completing the picture.

It is certainly true that everyone of us enters this world

with spirits in rebellion against our Creator.

It is also true that letting go of that rebellion,

and the deep mistrust of Him that it breeds within us

bringing us to the point where we bow in submission to Him as our God

is the hardest transition any of us will ever make life.

It is a transition very few are willing to go through.

But once that transition is completed

what we discover on the other side

is nothing like what we could ever have expected.

Because what we discover

is that our God loves us with a love that has no limits and no end.

This past week I had an early morning appointment in town

and I got into town about 20 minutes early.

The sun was just coming up,

and I used my time to walk through one of the city parks.

I was thinking about some of the people my Lord has given to me,

people I love very much.

I was praying for some of them,

realizing that it’s those people and my love for them

that gives me my purpose for living.

And then the most remarkable realization came to me.

I suddenly realized that it was exactly the same way for our Lord Jesus Christ

during those years when He was on this earth.

It was His love for those men and women who loved Him

and who had trusted their lives and their futures into His care

that gave Him His purpose for being there,

and for doing all that He would do that day.

That’s where the parallel stops, of course,

because, whereas He loved perfectly,

my attempts to love are at best so clumsy,

all bound up in my own needs and missperceptions,

but still, the underlying motivation is the same - it’s the relationships that motivated Him.

And I mention this now, in the context of these terrifying events presented in Revelation,

because I want us to see clearly

that it is not God that makes them so terrifying,

it is the response of these men and women to their God.

And no matter how fierce the battle is,

whether it is the battle going on within our own life,

or whether it is the ultimate battle of a world in rebellion against God in Revelation,

that battle, and the fear and anxiety it creates,

can be ended instantly and forever

whenever a person bows in submission before their God.

And here again, I may have taken the simple and made it confusing.

I’ll let Paul say it for me.

Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...

That promise, that truth is eternal,

and it is just as accessible to every human being on the earth at this point in the book of Revelation

as it is to each of us here this morning.

And every person who turns to Him in faith then

will discover the same thing that every child of God

who reaches out in trust to their Lord has found throughout history -

that He is there with them, and able to bring them through whatever they must face.

Now, we are not completely done with this section of Revelation.

We skipped several whole chapters

in the center of this passage we read today,

chapters that need further attention.

We’ll come back to them next week.

But if you remember our movie illustration from last week,

I want us to begin with the panoramic shot

of the whole bloody battle

given to us in these chapters

before we move in for our close-ups

of several specific individuals in the battle.